Sacco and Vanzetti: The Anarchist Background

by Paul Avrich

The Sacco-Vanzetti affair is the most famous and controversial case in American legal history. It divided the nation in the 1920s, and it has continued to arouse deep emotions, giving rise to an enormous literature. Few writers, however, have consulted anarchist sources for the wealth of information available there about the movement of which the defendants were a part. Now Paul Avrich, the preeminent American scholar of anarchism, looks at the case from this new and valuable perspective. This book treats a dramatic and hitherto neglected aspect of the cause célèbre that raised, according to Edmund Wilson, "almost every fundamental question of our political and social system."

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, American History, Biography, United States, Italy

278 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1990

About the author

"He was a noted historian and professor who authored many books on anarchist history, including books on the Haymarket Riot, the Modern School Movement, the Russian Revolution and a collection of oral interviews with American anarchists titled Anarchist Voices. Avrich was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize several times and in 1984 he won the Philip Taft Labor History Award."
From Infoshop News obituary http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?...

Reviews

[Terra · Rating 4 out of 5]

ho letto, visto e sentito parecchio sulla vicenda di sacco e vanzetti, ma è la prima volta che mi trovo in mano tutta la cornice, e che cornice. avrich, che non conoscevo ma mi dicono essere un nome importante, contestualizza questa brutta storia e la prende da lontano, dal secolo precedente, gli immigrati italiani, i diversi anarchismi, i nomi allora famosi e ora dimenticati. è molto interessante, un pezzo di storia che nessuno racconta per bene.

[Aonarán · Rating 4 out of 5]

The few times growing up I heard about Sacco and Vanzetti, they were always described as a poor fish peddler and shoe smith who were victims of xenophobia and classism; innocent Italian immigrant who would have never dreamed of doing anything wrong. Most writing on them and people who've studied the two anarchist continue to portray them as such victims. Avrich blows away this absurd and insulting label, exposing their anarchist convictions and detailing their participation in a series of bombings before their arrests and a trip to Mexico with about five dozen other Galleanists during World War One to dodge conscription and train for the revolution that they thought was going to sweep across Europe from Russia and into North America.

Beautifully researched and written. It's interesting to read this and then some of Letters of Sacco and Vanzetti which picks up in jail where The Anarchist Background stops off and where Sacco and Vanzetti begin to portray themselves very differently in hopes of saving their lives.

4.7

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Avrich sought to reframe the Sacco and Vanzetti story from one of innocent working class Italian immigrants to one where they were active participants in Anarchism organizing and were targeted because of that for the frameup. Sacco and Vanzetti were committed followers of Luigi Galleani, a widely influential Anarchist (unfortunately forgotten) who argued that violence was a necessary part of political activity and widely organized against the First World War. He inspired a conspiracy which set off a series of bombs targeting men of political power in the spring of 1919 after the repression of radicals during the 1st World War, of which the Galleani followers spent some time in Mexico to avoid the draft. That repression set off the Palmer Raids and the first Red Scare of the 20th century. Sacco and Vanzetti were certainly part of that conspiracy, though their involvement in the murder of a paymaster and guard seems dubious. Avrich’s work traces their biographies from their Italian childhood, to their immigration, to their deep involvement in the Galleani anarchist circles, and finally their trial. Avrich shows that Italian anarchism existed as an ideology formed in Italy yet stroked by the inequalities of American life by Italian immigrants.

Key Themes and Concept
-Avrich specifically consults Italian language sources, particularly Italian radical presses that existed in the Italian anarchist communities, and speaks with former activists of the ethnic Italian radical traditions.
-Italian Anarchism generally broke down into anarchocommunists, anarchosyndicalists, anarchoindividualists, and anarchists without labels (Malatesta.)
-Sacco and Vanzetti were convicted because of they were Italian and radicals, not because of the evidence.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing read! When I purchased this many years ago, I only purchased because I was introduced to Sacco and Vanzetti in 7th grade social studies, only briefly mentioned and surprisingly even mentioned at all. I refound this book while organizing my small book collection and knew I needed to read immeadiatly. I am glad I did. Based off the title alone, I figured it would be purely about just those two. But, I learned so much more. It educated on the entire Italian American anarchist movement and all its mentors and what not. Anyone with leftist views should really dive into this, right as well although I don't think they'd be too happy ha. But it's a reminder that every human right "we've been granted by government" we had to obtain with bloodshed and violence. The state is inherently violent, and peace and basic treatment can not come from peace, but direct action. As I type this out, all over this country we are getting set back more and more. The blatant attack against the LGBTQIA+ movement, the passing of Jim cro Era laws again, and militarized police it's a not so gentle reminder.

[Greg Heaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sacco and Vanzetti were Italian anarchist terrorists persecuted by the state for their beliefs. Were they guilty? Of many things, but not the murder that was hung on them.

That's what makes the S&V case so fascinating. It's two stories loosely entwined: that of one of the most deadly terrorist groups in American history and of two wrongly executed men.

[Sceox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply incredible.

They taught us about Sacco and Vanzetti in grade school. That they managed to squeeze all the life out of this amazing story speaks volumes about the nature of official history. It's been a long time since I so devoured a book.

[Kathy Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Riveting, readable, yet academically sound. Gives context for one of the most famous trials of the 20th century. Great information about the Red Scare of the 1920s and draconian measures taken to suppress dissent and deport legal alien residents of the US, without due process.

[Michaelaffl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much more about the anarchist movement then sacco and vanzetti but very interesting. Onto Boston by upton sinclair which is about S and V

[Ducky T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great stories but gets bogged down in unnecessary details.

[wally · Rating 3 out of 5]

thomas sowell has a column this week "the media and bullying" and that column reminded me of one of the many books written about sacco and vanzetti, one of which i read, none of which, honestly, seem to be listed here...at least, the cover does not appear familiar...any of them...

...memory...


at any rate, thomas sowell: http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/sow...
"Back in the 1920s, the intelligentsia on both sides of the Atlantic were loudly protesting the execution of political radicals Sacco and Vanzetti, after what they claimed was an unfair trial. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote to his young leftist friend Harold Laski, pointing out that there were "a thousand-fold worse cases" involving black defendants, "but the world does not worry over them."

Holmes said: "I cannot but ask myself why this so much greater interest in red than black."

To put it bluntly, it was a question of whose ox was gored. That is, what groups were in vogue at the moment among the intelligentsia. Blacks clearly were not."

was it this one that i read? this sacco and vanzetti book?

i can't say definitively...so sue me...i listed it among the books i've read. if i stumble across the exact copy (and this might too have been the one) i'll replace it...until then...live and learn

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Several people have told me this is the best book ever written on American anarchism, so I finally read it. It's very thoroughly researched AND fun to read, which is a great combination. I read it in a lot of little chunks, which made it kind of difficult because there are a lot of names in it and I kept having to look back and make sure I remembered who was involved in which bombing plot and who printed what newspaper. I expected it to be more Sacco & Vanzetti than it was, but it was a nice surprise all the background that was included on all the Italian immigrant anarchists and their activities--from better known folks like Galleani, to people I knew relatively little about, like Ella Antolini (hers was a great story). I mean, I guess that's why it's called "The Anarchist Background." Riiiight. Anyway, great book, read it.

[Micah · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We did not come to be vanquished, but to win, to destroy a world of crimes and miseries and to re-build with its freed atoms a new world."

Gentle, friendly, lovers of animals and children, hard workers, one with a family and good relations with his boss, Sacco and Vanzetti also had very strong ties to an ultra-militant group of Italian anarchist terrorists in the US that carried out a series of audacious bombings as revenge for the killings and deportations of radicals and immigrants during the Red Scare of the First World War. Avrich follows this group's single-minded determination as they gather in cities and towns along the East Coast, following Galleani's incendiary newspaper and holding to their implacable code of honor above all else. The wealth of everyday detail in the book is impressive.

[Jayden · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read this book while backpacking, out loud with two of my greatest friends ever. paul avrich is not only one of the foremost anarchist historians on the last 120 years, but also a really fantastic story teller.

[Zane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike most of the other books about them, which focus on the trial and whether or not they were guilty, this book establishes the relationship between Sacco and Vanzetti and social movements of the time. Nice work of Anarchist history.

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book introduced me to both Paul Avrich and anarchism. I couldn't put it down and went on to read everything else by Avrich I could find, but this one will always hold a special place in my heart.

[Tannen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It can be a bit hard to follow at times because of how the author bounces around between timelines and characters, but overall it's very good and very thorough!