The Legacy of Sacco & Vanzetti

Paul Avrich

5) Avrich, Paul. 1991. Sacco and Vanzetti: The Anarchist Background. Princeton University Press.

This book, still in print, is a scholarly work that places the Sacco and Vanzetti case in its political context. Avrich, who does not write in the style of a dry academic, describes the "Red Scare" hysteria of Attorney General Palmer, and the anarchist movement, particularly among Italians. Correspondingly, Avrich shows why Sacco and Vanzetti and their anarchist colleagues (a result of the arrests and deportations of "reds" and anarchists, and the suspicious death of Salsedo while in the hands of Justice Department officials) became fearful. The bombings by the Italian anarchists that occurred just before and after the executions were inspired by Galleani. Avrich's discussion of the "bomb-throwing" anarchists is thorough and fascinating, particularly the discussion of La Salute e in voi!, Galleani's bomb manual.

Avrich does not deal with the guilt or innocence of Sacco and Vanzetti, but only with the social, political, and cultural aspects of the case. This brief book requires supplementation with one of the works that deals with the crime and the judicial process, such as Ehrman's.

Many of the important figures in the political movement of which Sacco and Vanzetti were a part are rarely discussed in most works. Avrich does this well, and follows their fates after the executions.

Credibility Score: 10

6) Jackson, Brian. 1981. The Black Flag: A look back at the strange case of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. Routledge & Kegan and Paul

Jackson, an English writer interested in martyrs, examines the case of Sacco and Vanzetti as an example of Twentieth-Century martyrdom. During the course of his writing his book, he admits that he vacillated between the guilt and innocence of the two men, concluding that they were most likely innocent. Like Avrich, he makes a strong case for the political sincerity and activism of Sacco and Vanzetti. They were not two innocent idealists, but dedicated radicals.

Nonetheless, it is clear to Jackson, as with many writers since the case ended with the executions of Sacco and Vanzetti, that they did not receive a fair trial, precisely because of the cultural differences of the times. Jackson is particularly effective in describing the vast chasm between the cultural context of President Lowell and the Harvard University of the first quarter of the century and the immigrants who were passionate about a completely different way of life.

Although Russell belittles Jackson's book, he seems to have been quite conscientious about examining archives and primary source materials, and interviewing involved individuals. It is a brief book, but one that makes its argument the place of Sacco and Vanzetti in the pantheon of martyrdom quite well.

Credibility Score: 8

7) Joughin, Louis, & Morgan, Edmund M. 1978 reprint. The Legacy of Sacco and Vanzetti. Princeton University Press.

This is, in my opinion, the best book on the Sacco and Vanzetti case. It not only examines in detail the crime, the trials, and the appeals, but it describes in wonderful detail the cultural and social impact of the case.

Since this book has been described in some detail in other sections of this review, I will only add that I hope that it will be reprinted for a fourth time. It is the best source for viewing Sacco and Vanzetti in their complete context.

Credibility Score: 10