Anarchism seems to be defined many ways by many different sources. Most dictionary definitions define anarchism as the absence of government. William Godwin was the first proclaimed anarchist in history and the first to write about anarchism (Calabrese 84). Godwin published a book called, Political Justice, in 1793 which first introduced his ideas about anarchism. Godwin was forgotten about, however, and after his death, Pierre Joseph Proudhon, became a leading anarchist figure in the world. His book, What is Property?, incorporated greater meaning to the word anarchism; "anarchism became not only a rejection of established authority but a theory opposing ownership of land and property as well" (Calabrese 96). Anarchism fully blossomed as a defined theory when Russian anarchists Mikhail Bakunin (1814-1876) and Peter Kropotkin (1842-1921) started to write and speak. Bakunin had a major influence in the world and introduced anarchism to many people. Kropotkin was one of the many people inspired by Bakunin. Kropotkin wrote many books on anarchism, including Fields Factories and Workshops, and The Conquest of Bread, and greatly aided in the evolution of the theory of anarchism (Bautista 283). As the 20th century emerged anarchism began to peak and the definition of anarchism became concrete with the growth of new anarchist writers and movements. "The execution and imprisonment of eight anarchists in Chicago in 1886 sparked anarchism's growth in the United States. The "Haymarket Eight" flourished anarchists such as Voltairine de Cleyre and Lucy Parsons. Parsons was born into slavery and later became an anarchist and an ardent speaker and working class rebel; the Chicago police labeled Parsons, ".more dangerous than a thousand rioters" (Rogers 38). Although the word anarchism is understood by many in its classic sense, the word often seems to be misused or misunderstood. Anarchism, because of the threat it imposes upon established authority, has been historically, and is still, misused by power holders as violence and chaos.
