Sacco & Vanzetti: The Men, And The Judgment Of Mankind

Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti “two obscure Italian aliens, became the focal point of one of the most controversial episodes in American history”;(ATF CH11p257) when they were arrested on May 5, 1920 for “suspicious character” and connection with the Slater Morrill Shoe Company robbery. Sacco and Vanzetti were arrested carrying hunting weapons and extra ammunition on the way to pick up Mike Boba’s car, which was believed to have connected them to robbery of the Slater Morrill Shoe Company that had occurred on April 15, 1920. Sacco and Vanzetti’s actions depicted “the kind of foreign menace American nativist most feared” (ATF chapter 11p 270), making them prime suspects for the robbery. However the lack of evidence that existed to convict Sacco and Vanzetti lead to the exposure of the fault lines that existed

A notable incident of scapegoating from the U.S. is the Sacco and Vanzetti trials in the 1920s. In 1920, two men were killed in Boston and the suspects were described as Italian men. Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, both Italian anarchists, were accused of the murders and sentenced to death. Although there was little evidence against these two men, during the time period there was a stigma surrounding Italians in Boston, and also a negative view of anarchists. Soon before the men were to be killed, another man and his gang confessed to the killings, however, the judge dismissed these confessions and kept the verdict. This case drew worldwide recognition and sparked protests throughout cities across the world. The two men were eventually killed on August 23, 1927. However, before the killing, Vanzetti spoke to the judge of the trial, and the speech was later published into a short story titled, “This is Our Triumph.” Vanzetti spoke, “We have proved that there could not have been another judge on the face of this earth more prejudiced and more cruel than you(the presiding judge) have been against us… Before you see us you already know that we were radicals, that we were underdogs, that we were the enemy of this institution” (Landau). This court decision scapegoated Sacco and Vanzetti because they were easy targets and people disliked their political views. However, Vanzetti revealed the flaws in the system, saying that he was targeted because he had radical views and even before the evidence was shown, he was an underdog. After Vanzetti gave this speech people began to realize he was completely innocent, but the city of Boston used him as a scapegoat for the murders because he was easy to blame. This reveals the flaws, both in the criminal justice system and the prejudice many societies have against a group of

In the process, Alejandro Hernandez and Stephen Buckley were also implicated. On March 8, 1984, on the basis of his statements and other statements by several witnesses, Cruz, Hernandez and Buckley (whose boot print was said to have been found on the door of the Nicarico house) were arrested. All three were charged with the murder of Jeanine Nicarico, residential burglary, home invasion, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated indecent liberties, deviate sexual assault, and rape.

On December 7th, 1941 “the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” Many were killed in the attack and some of our naval fleet sunk because of the torpedo’s. On September 11th, 2001 a deadly terrorist attack occurred causing the fall of the twin

All willingly, the two volunteered their own lives to protect Captain Preston and all of his men. With their assistance, the determined six soldiers were acquitted and two others were proved guilty of committing manslaughter.

On April 15, 2013 during the Boston Marathon in Copley Square, two bombs exploded near the finish line killing at least three and injuring over 170 people. This bombing sent the nation in an uproar and it was immediately recognized as a terrorist attack. When the Federal Bureau of Investigation took over, a few days later a surveillance video and photographs of the two suspects were released.

By 1920, the Puritan legacy, the cant of nativist racists, the economic wars, World War One, the crime wave, and the Red Scare had conditioned the American people to fear and despise certain groups. These groups usually included eastern and southern Europeans. The arrest and trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti was fixated more on the battle between Anarchy and American traditions rather than the actual evidence the prosecution presented. The Red Scare played a massive part in this. The Sacco and Vanzetti case reflects the fears of immigration, immigrant crime and anarchy.

Immigrants were seen in a negative light as they were stealing their jobs and not favored by native born Americans. This case was dragged out for seven years with political battles, protests, and more until finally a sentenced was made. Sacco and Vanzetti were proclaimed guilty of the crime and were to be executed. When the execution happened it was noted that Vanzetti stated, “I wish to forgive some people for what they are now doing to me.” This chapter does not claim that they were necessarily guilty but ignores the possibility of their innocence.

On April 19, 1995, a detrimental explosion targeting the nine-story Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma took place. This incident of domestic terrorism and the mastermind behind the explosion was credited to Timothy McVeigh who used a truck-bomb to kill 168 people and injure countless others (History.com Staff, 2009).

An example of this was the Haymarket bombing towards the Chicago police during the pace of events. The bombing’s hurt workers’ rights and limited the union use of mass strikes. The rally began peacefully in the evening of May 4. Spies, Albert Parson and Samuel Fielden spoke to the crowd which was estimated to be about 3000 persons. A home-made bomb with a brittle metal casing filled with dynamite and ignited by a fuse, was thrown into the path of the advancing police. Its fuse briefly sputtered, then the bomb exploded, killing policeman Mathias J. Degan with flying metal fragments and mortally wounding six other officers. The police assumed that an anarchist had thrown the bomb as part of a planned conspiracy; their problem was how to prove

The crime occurred on April 15, 1920. The townspeople of Braintree had observed a blue car with five Italian men driving around town. The paymaster of the Slater and Morrill Shoe company and his guard were off to pick

Sacco-Vanzetti trial During the 20th-century one of the most controversial legal cases in American history was the Sacco-Vanzetti trial. Sacco and Vanzetti were accused of a double murder, and were sentenced to death by electric chair. Although, the trial wasn’t as simple as it seems, the only piece of evidence tying them to the case was a tweed cap found on the crime scene and many believed that they were only being accused of these murders because of their political beliefs and the fact that they were italian immigrants. Nicola Sacco was a thirty two year old immigrant born on April 22, 1891 in Torremaggiore, Italy.

Two innocent Italian men, speaking out against an all white Jury, were blamed for the murder of two white men which resulted in death by the electric chair. Although no hard evidence was held against them, these men were charged because the trial occurred during a time when the Red Scare had made a huge influence on the way people viewed non-americans. These two men were named Sacco and Vanzetti and they were believed to be anarchists due to their ethnicity which brought about an unjust trial which, in return, sparked a fire within the United States. The Sacco and Vanzetti case brought to the surface the problems dealing with discrimination against immigrants because their trial was believed to be unjust; therefore, we now have laws abolishing the injustice and discrimination towards immigrants.

At the beginning of the century, Americans were disappointed with the outcome of the European war. This resulted them to go against all things foreign, which included racial political ideas and immigrants. The country had to face many decisions made by communists, which created the Red Scare. The Red Scare was a spread of the fear of communism. One of the most important cases involving the Red Scare was the Sacco and Vanzetti case. Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, who were Italian, atheists, conscientious objectors, and radicals, were both accused of the murder of a paymaster and his guard at South Braintree, Massachusetts. They were both holding revolvers and told lies to the judge and court, but the flaws in evidence proved they were not guilty. “Many critics believed that the accused had been found guilty of radicalism rather than murder- that they were martyrs in the ‘class struggle’” (Race and Ethnicity Packet). Their conviction illustrated the unfairness of the trial based on the beliefs and race. The American jury and judge for the trial was

In the Meno, Socrates finds the meaning of the word virtue in terms of human wisdom. This definition pursues a further question which is “what makes the quest for wisdom possible?” (Gallagher, Commentary on the Meno). In the beginning of the dialogue, Meno asks Socrates if virtue can be taught. Socrates says that doesn’t have a complete and comprehensive understanding of virtue. This is an example of human wisdom, knowing that you don’t know something.