Abstract
Nicola Sacco, a skilled shoeworker born in 1891, and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, a fish peddler born in 1888, were arrested on 5 May 1920, for a payroll holdup and murder in South Braintree, Massachusetts. A jury, sitting under Judge Webster Thayer, found the men guilty on 14 July 1921. Sacco and Vanzetti were executed on 23 August 1927 after several appeals and the recommendation of a special advisory commission serving the Massachusetts governor. The execution sparked worldwide protests against repression of Italian Americans, immigrants, labor militancy, and radical political beliefs.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2003
Publisher Statement
From Dictionary of American History, 3E. © 2003 Gale, a part of Cengage Learning, Inc. Reproduced by permission. www.cengage.com/permissions
Please note that downloads of the article are for private/personal use only.
Recommended Citation
Yellin, Eric, and Louis Foughin. Dictionary of American History. Edited by Stanley I. Kutler. 3rd ed. Vol. 7. New York: Gale, 2003.
Included in
Criminal Law Commons, Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons, United States History Commons