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THE HISTORY OF FREEDOM PRESS
The first Freedom emerged from the British socialist movement in the early
1880's. At that time there were several overlapping organisations with
associated periodicals - The Social Democratic Federation with Justice and Today
,the Fabian society with the Practical Socialist and Our Corner, the Socialist
League with the Commonweal, and so on. Anarchists were active in all these,but
there were no seperate anarchist initiatives in the country until the formation
of a "circle of English anarchists" in May 1885. This group included both
Continental emigres (Such a Nikola Chaikovski and Severio Merlino) and native
British anarchists; among the latter the leading member was Charlotte Wilson,
who was both well educated and well off , and who was an active writer and
speaker advocating anarchism in socialist organisations and publications from
1884.
When Peter Kropotkin,the best-known figure in the international anarchist
movement,was released from prison in France in January 1886,Charlotte Wilson was
responsible for the group inviting him to come to Britain to join them. He
settled in England in March 1886, and the group decided to produce a new
anarchist paper This was the origin of Freedom and the Freedom press.
Meanwhile Charlotte Wilson wrote an account of anarchism in the fourth Fabian
tract,What Socialism is,which was published in June 1886, and led the anarchists
at a joint socialist meeting which supported parliamentary socialism by a
two-to-one vote,at Anderton's Hotel in London in September 1886.
The time had clearly come for a new anarchist initiative.
Freedom began publicatin as a montly in October 1886. From the start it was
intended not as the organ of a particular group but rather as an indpendent
voice in the wider movement. At first it was described as a journal of Anarchist
Socialism, but in June 1889 it became a "Journal of Anarchist Communism"; it has
always represented the mainstream tradition of anarchism, through giving a voice
to differing views. Although Freedom Press concentrated on the periodical from
1889,it also produced other publications - first pamphlets and then booklets and
books, mostly works by foreign writers (Kropotkin above all,but also Errico
Malatesta,Jean Grave,Gustav Landauer,Max Nettlau, Domela Nieuwenhuis,Emile
Pouget,Varlaam Cherkezov,Emma Goldman, Alexander Berkman and, of course,
Proudhon and Bakunin) and also works by British writers(including Herbert
Spencer and William Morris). And From the start there were regular discussions
and occasional public meetings.
For most of the first decade, Freedom was edited,published and largely finanaced
by Charlotte Wilson, although its most important contributor was
Kropotkin.Freedom became the main English language anarchist paper in the
country,a position it has held for most of the time ever since
After the First World War anarchism seemed eclipsed by the rise of Communism and
Facism abroad and parliamentary socialism at home and the original Freedom
ceased publication in December 1927.
When the Spanish Civil War and Revolution began in 1936,Freedom Press helped to
revive the anarchist movement in Britain,Spain and the world appeared
fortnightly from December 1936 to December 1938. When the Second World War began
yet another Freedom Press paper was started. War Commentary began publication in
November 1939, the production of other publications was resumed,a printing press
was acquired in Whitechapel and a bookshop was opened.
War Commentary co-operated with radical pacifists and the few socialists who
escaped the line of the labour and Communist parties,and the Freedom Press was
involved in subversive activity and the circulation of anti-militaris material.
As a result Freedom Press was raided, and three of the editors imprisoned just
as the war was ending in Europe. When the war also ended in Asia, in August
1945, the title was changed back to Freedom