Overview
Newspaper clippings printed between April and November of 1927, a letter from H. G. Wells, and two pamphlets and a petition issued by the Sacco-Vanzetti Defense Committee.
Dates
- Creation: 1927
Conditions Governing Access
Access to these papers is governed by the rules and regulations of the Harvard Law School Library. This collection is open to the public, but is housed off-site at Harvard Depository and requires 2 business-day advance notice for retrieval. Consult the Special Collections staff for further information.
Conditions Governing Use
The Harvard Law School Library holds copyright on some, but not all, of the material in our collections. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be directed to the Special Collections staff. Researchers who obtain permission to publish from the Harvard Law School Library are also responsible for identifying and contacting the persons or organizations who hold copyright.
Extent
4 boxesThe material in the Sacco-Vanzetti Trial Newspaper Clippings dates between April and November of 1927. While the collection primarily consists of newspaper clippings, there is also one letter from H. G. Wells, two pamphlets issued by the Sacco-Vanzetti Defense Committee, and one petition, also issued by the Sacco-Vanzetti Defense Committee.
The collection reflects the media reaction to the case of Sacco and Vanzetti during the five months prior to their execution and the three months immediately following. The clippings included in the collection are selective. Some of the newspapers represented are The New York World, The New York Times, and The Boston Herald.
Historical/Biographical Information
1920
- 15 April Parmenter and Berardelli murdered at South Braintree
- 5 May Sacco and Vanzetti arrested
- 6 May District Attorney Katzmann interviews Sacco and Vanzetti
- 11 June to 16 August Indictment, trial, conviction, and sentencing of Vanzetti for 24 December, 1919, attempted holdup in Bridgewater.
- 11 September Sacco and Vanzetti indicted for South Braintree murder.
1921
- 31 May to 14 July Trial of Sacco and Vanzetti at Dedham.
- 14 July Sacco and Vanzetti found guilty of 1st degree murder.
- 5 November Motion for new trial on the weight of the evidence.
- 8 November 1st Supplementary motion (Ripley) filed
- 24 December Motion for new trial on weight of evidence denied.
1922
- 4 May 2nd Supplementary motion (Gould) filed.
1923
- 1 October Supplement to 1st motion (Daly) filed.
- 5 November 5th Supplementary motion (Proctor) filed.
1924
- 1 October Judge Thayer denies all motions.
1925
- 18 November Medeiros sends confession to Sacco in Dedham jail.
1926
- 12 May Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts affirms conviction of Sacco and Vanzetti and denial of 1st, 2nd, and 5th Supplementary motions.
- 26 May 7th Supplementary motion (Medeiros) filed.
- 23 October Judge Thayer denies Medeiros motion.
1927
- 5 April Supreme Judicial Court affirms denial of Medeiros motion.
- 9 April Judge Thayer sentences Sacco and Vanzetti to death.
- 3 May Sacco and Vanzetti petition Governor Fuller for clemency.
- 1 June Governor Fuller appoints Advisory Committee.
- 3 August Governor Fuller denies clemency.
- 6 August Motion for new trial based on judge's prejudice filed.
- 8 August Judge Thayer denies motion.
- 10 August Justice Holmes of U.S. Supreme Court denies petition for writ of habeas corpus.
- 20 August Justice Holmes denies petition for writ of certiorari.
- 22 August Justice Stone of U.S. Supreme Court denies petition for writ of certiorari.
- 23 August Sacco and Vanzetti executed.
1927
- 5 April
- Supreme Judicial Court affirms denial of Medeiros motion.
- 9 April
- Judge Thayer sentences Sacco and Vanzetti to death.
- 3 May
- Sacco and Vanzetti petition Governor Fuller for clemency.
- 1 June
- Governor Fuller appoints Advisory Committee.
- 3 August
- Governor Fuller denies clemency.
- 6 August
- Motion for new trial based on judge's prejudice filed.
- 8 August
- Judge Thayer denies motion.
- 10 August
- Justice Holmes of U.S. Supreme Court denies petition for writ of habeas corpus.
- 20 August
- Justice Holmes denies petition for writ of certiorari.
- 22 August
- Justice Stone of U.S. Supreme Court denies petition for writ of certiorari.
- 23 August
- Sacco and Vanzetti executed.
Series List
Each series represents the contents one volume of the original of the ten binders. Each page was independently titled by the compiler of the collection (Frank W. Grinnell?). These titles do not necessarily correspond to the newspaper article headlines. The following container list gives the titles assigned to the materials contained within each folder.
- Series I: Volume 1
- Series II: Volume 2
- Series III: Volume 3
- Series IV: Volume 4
- Series V: Volume 5
- Series VI: Volume 6
- Series VII: Volume 7
- Series VIII: Volume 8
- Series IX: Volume 9
- Series X: Volume 10
Physical Location
Harvard Depository
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Frank W. Grinnell. Received Feb. 4, 1930 (date on binders) but no record in Accession Books.
Processing Information
Processed in 2002 by Anne Ramsay.
Subject
- Title
- Sacco-Vanzetti Trial Newspaper Clippings, April-Nov. 1927: Finding Aid.
- Author
- Harvard Law School LibraryCambridge, MA 02138
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- law00088
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard Law School Library, Historical & Special Collections Repository
Harvard Law School Library's Historical & Special Collections (HSC) collects, preserves, and makes available research materials for the study of the law and legal history. HSC holds over 8,000 linear feet of manuscripts, over 100,000 rare books, and more than 70,000 visual images.
1545 Massachusetts Avenue
Langdell Hall
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-4550
specialc@law.harvard.edu