For as long as government has existed, so have those who rebelled against it. But it wasn’t until 1642, during the English Civil War, that the term anarchism entered our language.
Anarchism is a political theory holding all forms of government authority to be unnecessary and envisioning a society based on voluntary cooperation. It first surfaced in the United States in the middle of the 19th century and was adopted by groups advocating socialism and communism. Later in the 20th century it would be teamed with pacifism.
