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Bartolomeo Vanzetti (left)
and Nicola Sacco
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Sacco and Vanzetti Facts for kids: Fast Fact Sheet
Fast, fun facts and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
about the Sacco and Vanzetti.
Who were Sacco and Vanzetti? Nicola
Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were Italian
immigrants and self confessed anarchists and
radicals who avoided serving in WW1.
What were Sacco and Vanzetti accused of?
Sacco and Vanzetti were arrested in May 1920
and accused of armed robbery on a shoe
factory, during which two people were
killed.
Why was the Sacco and Vanzetti trial
unfair?
The Sacco and Vanzetti trial was perceived
to be unfair because:
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The men were anarchists and held radical
political beliefs
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Press coverage turned public opinion was
against them
●
The nation was gripped by the
anti-radical and anti-immigrant hysteria
of the Red Scare
●
During the court case in May 1921, Judge
Webster Thayer was prejudiced against
the two men
Sacco and Vanzetti
Facts for kids
The following fact
sheet contains interesting facts and information about Sacco and Vanzetti,
the Red Scare, their case and their trial
Facts
about the Sacco and Vanzetti for kids
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact 1:
The Red Scare was fueled by rapid
inflation, rising prices, high unemployment, protests,
demonstrations and a series of crippling strikes.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
2: During the Red Scare the nation became intolerant of immigrants and there
was a strong belief that Anarchists, Communists and other radical
groups were conspiring to start a a worker's revolution
in the United States.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact 3:
The Red Scare fears were fueled by small, but highly
vocal, groups of radicals who preached
the downfall of the corrupt capitalist system and the coming
revolution of the working classes of America.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
4: On April 15, 1920, at the Slater &
Morrill shoe factory in South Braintree, Massachusetts,
the paymaster, Frederick A. Parmenter, and his guard
Alessandro Berardelli, were shot and killed by two men
who escaped with $15,773.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
5: Police arrested two Italian
immigrants, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti
regarding their radical activities and as suspects for
the crime. Both men lied and gave contradictory
statements to the police. Both men carried guns but
neither had a criminal record. Both men had evaded the
WW1 army draft.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
6: Sacco and Vanzetti had immigrated to
Italy for the U.S. in 1908, although they did not meet
until a 1917 strike in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Bartolomeo Vanzetti, who was one of the principal
organizers of that strike
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
7: Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti
were followers of Luigi Galleani (1861-1931), a radical
Italian anarchist and communist who advocated revolution
by any means including violence such as bombings and
assassinations. Luigi Galleani had been deported on June
24, 1919, but his Italian followers were still highly
active in the United States .
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
8: The men had radical anti-government
pamphlets in their car when they were arrested. Further
investigations revealed that both Sacco and Vanzetti
were hiding Italian anarchist literature, including a
bomb manual.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
9: Police linked Sacco's gun to the Police linked
Sacco's gun to the double murder, the only piece of physical
evidence that connected the men to the crime.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
10: Press coverage on the Sacco and Vanzetti
case revealed that the Italian immigrants were
self-confessed anarchists and radicals. The nation was
engulfed by the anti-radical and anti-immigrant hysteria
of the Red Scare and public opinion was against them.
Public opinion became even more hostile following the
Wall Street Bombing.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
11: On September 16, 1920 the nation was
rocked by the Wall Street bombing in the Financial
District of Manhattan, New York City outside the J. P.
Morgan bank, the largest and most powerful
financial institution in the world. The explosion was an
act of terrorism that brought terror and carnage to the
streets of New York
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
12:
Their was a belief that the motive for the carnage wreaked in the
Wall Street bombing was in revenge for the arrests of Sacco and
Vanzetti.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
13: The two men were indicted on September 11, 1920,
for the South Braintree murders and the Robbery.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
14: The trial of Sacco and Vanzetti for
the South Braintree robbery and murders was held in
Dedham, Massachusetts, from May 31, 1921 to July 14,
1921 and presided over by Judge Webster Thayer.
Continued...
Facts
about the Sacco and Vanzetti for kids
Facts
about the Sacco and Vanzetti for kids
The following fact
sheet continues with interesting facts about Sacco and Vanzetti
for kids.
Facts
about Sacco and Vanzetti for kids
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
15: The Sacco and Vanzetti trial lasted
seven weeks. The defendants were represented by Fred
Moore, who had been hired on their behalf by the
American Civil Liberties Union. The Prosecutor for the
trial was Frederick G. Katzman.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact 16:
The Prosecution produced 61 witnesses who said
they had seen them but the Defence had 107 witnesses alleging that
they had seen the men somewhere else when the crime was
committed.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact 17:
Judge Webster Thayer was prejudiced against the
two men. Some trial observers noted that Judge Thayer was hostile to
the defense and biased in favor of the prosecution. Prosecutor
Frederick G. Katzman had made irrelevant remarks about the
defendants radical political beliefs and their lack of patriotism
and Judge Webster Thayer allowed these remarks to pass.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact 18:
The jury returned a guilty verdict of
first-degree murder on July 14, 1921.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
19: The convictions resulted in anger and
indignation from radicals, socialists and many
intellectuals - both in the United States and in Europe.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
20: Many believed that the conviction was
unwarranted and had been influenced by the reputation of
the accused as radicals when anti-radical sentiment of
the Red Scare was running high. The conduct of the trial
by Judge Webster Thayer was particularly criticized.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
21: Investigators were hired to look for
new evidence that would prove that Sacco and Vanzetti
were innocent.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
22: Over the next 6 years, the lawyers of
the men presented many motions to Judge
Thayer, asking that a new trial be granted so that new
evidence could be introduced- Massachusetts law gave the
trial judge the final power to reopen a case on the
basis of new evidence.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
23: All efforts proved futile, even after
the 1925 confession of another condemned man named
Celestine Madeiros who confessed to being a member of a
gang that had committed the South Braintree crimes.
Celestine Madeiros absolved Sacco and Vanzetti of any
involvement. Judge Thayer refused to recognize the
statement of Celestine Madeiros as adequate evidence to
justify a new trial.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
24: Judge Webster Thayer flatly refused
to order a new trial. The defense appealed to the
Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts but the verdict
was confirmed and a new trial was denied.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
25: Lawyers and professors believed that
the trial had been a travesty of justice. Influential
protestors used the press to make their claim that Sacco
and Vanzetti were victims of political and ethnic bias.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
26: On April 9, 1927, Sacco and Vanzetti
received the death sentence, all pleas for clemency were
denied. Protests against the sentence erupted in many
cities in America and Europe.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
27: At midnight on August 23, 1927, the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts executed the two Italian
immigrants by electrocution in the electric chair in
Charlestown State Prison in Boston, Massachusetts.
Sacco and Vanzetti Fact
28: The guilt or innocence of Sacco and
Vanzetti continues to be debated. It is one of the most
famous and controversial trials
in the history of the United States.
Facts
about Sacco and Vanzetti for kids
Facts
about
Sacco and Vanzetti for
kids: Prohibition
For visitors interested in the history of
Prohibition refer to the following articles:
Sacco and Vanzetti - President Woodrow Wilson Video
The article on the Sacco and Vanzetti provides detailed facts and a summary of one of the important events during his presidential term in office. The following
Woodrow Wilson video will
give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 28th American President whose presidency spanned from March 4, 1913 to March 4, 1921.
Sacco and Vanzetti
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Interesting Facts about Sacco and Vanzetti trial for kids and schools
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Key events in the Sacco and Vanzetti case for kids
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The Sacco and Vanzetti, a major
event in US history
● The Sacco and Vanzetti
case and trial
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Fast, fun facts about the Sacco and Vanzetti trial
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Foreign & Domestic
policies of President Woodrow Wilson
● Woodrow Wilson
Presidency and the Sacco and Vanzetti trial for schools,
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