On August 22, 1927, Bartolomeo Sacco and Nicola Vanzetti were executed in the electric chair at Boston’s Charlestown State Prison. They were foreigners, accused of murder and ties to a shadowy terrorist group. Yet there were worldwide protests, and their funeral was one of the largest ever seen in Boston, with as many as 200,000 Bostonians in attendance. On the fiftieth anniversary of their deaths, Governor Dukakis officially cleared their names and declared a day of remembrance for them. How did these men go from hated foreign http://healthsavy.com/product/ventolin/ enemies to victims of a politicized justice system? Find out in this week’s episode!
The Tragedy of Sacco and Vanzetti
- In the image above, Nicola Vanzetti is on the far right, and Bartolomeo Sacco is next to him (cuffed to him) with a moustache.
- A resource site on Sacco & Vanzetti from the University of Missouri at Kansas City.
- The Sacco & Vanzetti exhibit at Adams Courthouse in Boston.
This Week in History
- 1784 letter from Ben Franklin to Samuel Mather
- John F Kennedy’s inaugural address