In August 1927, the events of a famous trial of the time was reportedly to blame for a bomb explosion that occurred at Emanuel Presbyterian Church in West Philadelphia.

What was the name of the trial?

Answer: The Sacco-Vanzetti Case

In May 1920, two Italian men and purported anarchists, shoemaker Nicola Sacco and fishmonger Bartolomeo Vanzetti, were convicted of killing a paymaster and a guard during an armed robbery that took place a month earlier in Massachusetts. A lengthy trial followed and resulted in the duo being convicted and sentenced to death in July 1921. On August 23, 1927, both men were executed by electrocution.

News of the Sacco-Vanzetti case was slow at first. But around the time of their conviction, the Sacco-Vanzetti Defense Committee (SVDC) had formed with the purpose of raising money to support the defense investigation of Sacco and Vanzetti, as well as to spread the news of the men’s plight. During a time when anti-radicalism had taken hold in the United States, the SVDC managed to raise considerable funds and awareness. Local protests in Massachusetts against the conviction were scattered at first, but they eventually spread to other states, including New York and Pennsylvania. Around the time of the Emanuel Presbyterian Church explosion in Philadelphia, bombs also went off at two New York City subway stations.

For more on the case of Sacco and Vanzetti, HSP’s library contains a number of publications produced around the time of the case, as well as those from modern historians reexamining their plight. Among our manuscript collection are many that document the history of Italian immigrants in Philadelphia, such as the papers of Anthony Maisano (MSS002), Mario G. Lapolla (MSS064) and Vincent Russoniello (MSS047).