The Sacco-Vanzetti Case
Jovanna Duran
Mrs. Delano
History 17B
November 20, 2018 The Sacco-Vanzetti case was a controversial case that occurred in the 1920’s. Controversial due to the fact that many speculated the hasty trial was built on flimsy evidence and backed by anti-immigrant biases and their radical anti-government views. Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were Italian immigrants and self proclaimed anarchist who advocated for the violent overthrow of the capitalist government.
Sacco and Vanzetti were charged with the double murder of Fred Parmenter, the paymaster of the Slater-Morrill Shoe Company and Alessandro Berardelli, the guard accompanying him. Both men were transporting the factory payroll of $15,776 when they were robbed and killed by two armed men. Eyewitness accounts state that the two thieves were “Italian looking” and fled in a Buick which was later recovered abandoned in the woods while fleeing the robbers fired wildly at company workers. Through further investigation it was found that the car belonged to a man named Mike Boda, who had already fled to Italy by the time this discovery was made. Although Boda evaded the police, they managed to detain his colleagues Sacco and Vanzetti who happened to have loaded weapons with ammo that match the caliber that killed the paymaster and the security guard on April 15, 1920.
Sacco and Vanzetti were anarchist that social justice would only come through the destruction of government. They were followers of Luigi Galleani, a radical Italian anarchist who had instigated a wave of bombings against public officials just after World War I. At the time in the 1920’s America was at the height of the post world war 1 “Red Scare”. The Red Scare was caused by the fear of communism from many Americans. World War 1 led many to embrace strong nationalistic and anti-immigrant sympathies and the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia fed the fears of many Americans that the immigrants from Russia, eastern and western Europe came with the intentions to over throw the U.S. government. Also the end of the war spiked a decrease in production that in turn raised unemployment which caused many workers to join labor unions which often led to strikes that eventually always ended in violence and sparked more fear into the American mind.
America from the get go had always had anti-immigrant sentiment. Immigrants especially from eastern and southern Europe were seen as filthy and vile in contrast to the immigrants from Germany and the United Kingdom. Italians especially faced discrimination because they came from a country with little to no democracy and no room for advancement so they trekked to the United States for better opportunity, but unfortunately accustomed to living in a country run by fascist many Italians grew a disdain for big government and adopted socialist /communistic/anarchical views. Of course this did not sit well especially with the United States.
When the murders occurred and anarchist Italian immigrants were put on the stand it was without a doubt filled with discrimination. On June 22 1920 the trial began on the Sacco-Vanzetti case. Multiple eyewitness accounts pinned Vanzetti at the scene of the crime, Vanzetti refused to take the stand as he was counseled by his attorney Through the discrimination evidence as lack luster as it may have been, the eyewitness was in turn unreliable so everything counted on the ballistics about whether or not the bullets belonged to Sacco’s gun, the prosecutors claimed ballistic reports matched Sacco’s gun the defense saying the contrary, everything ultimately led to the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti. The judge appointed to their case was known for his dislike of foreigners Sacco and Vanzetti never had a shot at a fair trial due to their immigrant status and political views, as guilty as they were, they were not on trial for their actions but for their character and status as Italian immigrants. Bibliography
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. Sacco-Vanzetti Case. 12 July 2018, www.britannica.com/event/Sacco-Vanzetti-case.
Sacco and Vanzetti. www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3387.
The Sacco-Vanzetti Case Draws National Attention. 19 Nov. 2009, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-sacco-vanzetti-case-draws-national-attention.
“Sacco & Vanzetti: The Red Scare of 1919–1920.” Mass.gov, www.mass.gov/info-details/sacco-vanzetti-the-red-scare-of-1919-1920#causes-of-the-red-scare-.