Wall Street bombing
Encyclopedia
The Wall Street bombing occurred at 12:01 p.m. on Thursday, September 16, 1920, in the Financial District of New York City
. The blast killed 38 and seriously injured 143. Although the bombing was never solved, investigators and historians think it likely the Wall Street
bombing was carried out by Galleanists (Italian anarchists), a group responsible for a series of bombings the previous year
. The attack was related to postwar social unrest, labor struggles and anti-capitalist agitation in the United States
.
The Wall Street bomb caused more fatalities than the bombing of the Los Angeles Times
building in 1910, and was the deadliest act of terrorism on U.S. soil up to that point.
passed by lunchtime crowds on Wall Street
in New York City and stopped across the street from the headquarters of the J.P. Morgan bank at 23 Wall Street
, on the Financial District's busiest corner. Inside, 100 pounds (45.4 kg) of dynamite
with 500 pounds (226.8 kg) of heavy, cast-iron sash weights
exploded in a timer-set detonation, sending the slugs tearing through the air. The horse and wagon were blasted into small fragments, but the driver was believed to have left the vehicle and escaped.
The 38 victims, most of whom died within moments of the blast, were mostly young people who worked as messengers, stenographers, clerks and brokers. Many of the wounded suffered severe injuries. The bomb caused more than $2 million in property damage ($23 million inflation adjusted) and destroyed most of the interior spaces of the Morgan building.
. Investigators were puzzled by the number of innocent people killed and the lack of a specific target, other than buildings that suffered relatively superficial, non-structural damage. Exploring the possibility of an accident, police contacted businesses that sold and transported explosives. By 3:30 p.m., the board of governors
of the New York Stock Exchange
had met and decided to open for business the next day. Crews cleaned up the area overnight to allow for normal business operations the next day, but in doing so they destroyed physical evidence that might have helped police investigators solve the crime. The New York assistant district attorney noted that the timing, location, and method of delivery all pointed to Wall Street and J.P. Morgan as the targets of the bomb, suggesting in turn that it was planted by radical opponents of capitalism such as Bolshevik
s, anarchists, communists, or militant socialists. Investigators soon focused on radical groups opposed to U.S. financial and governmental institutions and known to use bombs as a means of violent reprisal. They observed that the Wall Street bomb was packed with heavy sash weights designed to act as shrapnel
, then detonated on the street in order to increase casualties among financial workers and institutions during the busy lunch hour. Officials eventually blamed anarchists and communists. The Washington Post called the bombing an "act of war." The Sons of the American Revolution
had previously scheduled a patriotic rally for the day after (September 17) to celebrate Constitution Day
at exactly the same intersection. On September 17, thousands of people attended the Constitution Day rally in defiance of the previous day's attack.
The bombing stimulated renewed efforts by police and federal investigators to track the activities and movements of foreign radicals. Public demands to track down the perpetrators led to an expanded role for the U.S. Justice Department's Bureau of Investigation (BOI) (the forerunner of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
), including the General Intelligence Division of the BOI headed by J. Edgar Hoover
.
On September 17, the BOI released the contents of flyers found in a post office box in the Wall Street area just before the explosion. Printed in red ink on white paper, they said: "Remember, we will not tolerate any longer. Free the political prisoners, or it will be sure death for all of you." At the bottom was: "American Anarchist Fighters." The BOI quickly decided that the flyer eliminated the possibility of an accidental explosion. William J. Flynn
, Director of the BOI, suggested the flyers were similar to those found at the June 1919 anarchist bombings.
The Bureau of Investigation and local police investigated the case for over three years without success. Occasional arrests garnered headlines but each time they failed to support indictments. Most of the investigation initially focused on anarchists and communists, including the Galleanist group, who authorities believed were involved in the 1919 bombings. During President Warren G. Harding
's administration, officials evaluated the Soviets as possible masterminds of the Wall Street bombing and then the Communist Party USA
. In 1944, the Federal Bureau of Investigation
, successor to the BOI, investigated again. It concluded that its agents had explored many radical groups, "such as the Union of Russian Workers, the I.W.W., Communist, etc....and from the result of the investigations to date it would appear that none of the aforementioned organizations had any hand in the matter and that the explosion was the work of either Italian anarchists or Italian terrorists."
One Galleanist in particular, Mario Buda (1884–1963), an associate of Sacco and Vanzetti
, and the owner of a car which led to the arrest of the latter for a separate robbery and murder, is alleged by some historians, including Paul Avrich
, to be the man most likely to have planted the bomb. Avrich and other historians theorize that Buda acted in revenge for the arrest and indictment of his fellow Galleanists, Sacco and Vanzetti. Buda's involvement as the Wall Street bombmaker was confirmed by statements made by his nephew Frank Maffi and fellow anarchist Charles Poggi, who interviewed Buda in Savignano, Italy, in 1955. Buda (at that time known by the alias of Mike Boda) had eluded authorities at the time of the arrests of Sacco and Vanzetti, was experienced in the use of dynamite and other explosives, was known to use sash weights as shrapnel in his time bombs, and is believed to have constructed several of the largest package bombs for the Galleanists. These included a large black powder bomb that killed nine policemen in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1917. Buda was in New York City at the time of the bombing, but he was neither arrested nor questioned by police.
After leaving New York, Buda resumed the use of his real name in order to secure a passport from the Italian vice-consul, then promptly sailed for Naples
. By November he was back in his native Italy, never to return to the United States. Other Galleanists still in the U.S. continued the bombing and assassination campaign for another twelve years, culminating in a 1932 bomb attack targeting Webster Thayer
, the presiding judge in the Sacco and Vanzetti trial. Thayer, who survived the ensuing blast that destroyed his house and injured his wife and housekeeper, moved his residence to his club for the remainder of his life, where he was guarded 24 hours a day.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The blast killed 38 and seriously injured 143. Although the bombing was never solved, investigators and historians think it likely the Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
bombing was carried out by Galleanists (Italian anarchists), a group responsible for a series of bombings the previous year
1919 United States anarchist bombings
The 1919 United States anarchist bombings were a series of bombings and attempted bombings carried out by anarchist followers of Luigi Galleani from April through June 1919...
. The attack was related to postwar social unrest, labor struggles and anti-capitalist agitation in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The Wall Street bomb caused more fatalities than the bombing of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times bombing
The Los Angeles Times bombing was the purposeful dynamiting of the Los Angeles Times building in Los Angeles, California, on October 1, 1910 by a union member belonging to the International Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers. The explosion started a fire which killed 21 newspaper...
building in 1910, and was the deadliest act of terrorism on U.S. soil up to that point.
Attack
At noon, a horse-drawn wagonWagon
A wagon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals; it was formerly often called a wain, and if low and sideless may be called a dray, trolley or float....
passed by lunchtime crowds on Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
in New York City and stopped across the street from the headquarters of the J.P. Morgan bank at 23 Wall Street
23 Wall Street
23 Wall Street or "The Corner" is an office building formerly owned by J.P. Morgan & Co. located at the southeast corner of Wall Street and Broad Street, in the heart of New York City's Financial District....
, on the Financial District's busiest corner. Inside, 100 pounds (45.4 kg) of dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
with 500 pounds (226.8 kg) of heavy, cast-iron sash weights
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
exploded in a timer-set detonation, sending the slugs tearing through the air. The horse and wagon were blasted into small fragments, but the driver was believed to have left the vehicle and escaped.
The 38 victims, most of whom died within moments of the blast, were mostly young people who worked as messengers, stenographers, clerks and brokers. Many of the wounded suffered severe injuries. The bomb caused more than $2 million in property damage ($23 million inflation adjusted) and destroyed most of the interior spaces of the Morgan building.
Reaction
The Justice Department's Bureau of Investigation (BOI) did not immediately conclude that the bomb was an act of terrorismTerrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
. Investigators were puzzled by the number of innocent people killed and the lack of a specific target, other than buildings that suffered relatively superficial, non-structural damage. Exploring the possibility of an accident, police contacted businesses that sold and transported explosives. By 3:30 p.m., the board of governors
Board of governors
Board of governors is a term sometimes applied to the board of directors of a public entity or non-profit organization.Many public institutions, such as public universities, are government-owned corporations. The British Broadcasting Corporation was managed by a board of governors, though this role...
of the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
had met and decided to open for business the next day. Crews cleaned up the area overnight to allow for normal business operations the next day, but in doing so they destroyed physical evidence that might have helped police investigators solve the crime. The New York assistant district attorney noted that the timing, location, and method of delivery all pointed to Wall Street and J.P. Morgan as the targets of the bomb, suggesting in turn that it was planted by radical opponents of capitalism such as Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s, anarchists, communists, or militant socialists. Investigators soon focused on radical groups opposed to U.S. financial and governmental institutions and known to use bombs as a means of violent reprisal. They observed that the Wall Street bomb was packed with heavy sash weights designed to act as shrapnel
Shrapnel
Shrapnel shells were anti-personnel artillery munitions which carried a large number of individual bullets close to the target and then ejected them to allow them to continue along the shell's trajectory and strike the target individually. They relied almost entirely on the shell's velocity for...
, then detonated on the street in order to increase casualties among financial workers and institutions during the busy lunch hour. Officials eventually blamed anarchists and communists. The Washington Post called the bombing an "act of war." The Sons of the American Revolution
Sons of the American Revolution
The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution is a Louisville, Kentucky-based fraternal organization in the United States...
had previously scheduled a patriotic rally for the day after (September 17) to celebrate Constitution Day
Constitution Day (United States)
Constitution Day is an American federal observance that recognizes the adoption of the United States Constitution and those who have become U.S. citizens. It is observed on September 17, the day the U.S...
at exactly the same intersection. On September 17, thousands of people attended the Constitution Day rally in defiance of the previous day's attack.
The bombing stimulated renewed efforts by police and federal investigators to track the activities and movements of foreign radicals. Public demands to track down the perpetrators led to an expanded role for the U.S. Justice Department's Bureau of Investigation (BOI) (the forerunner of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
), including the General Intelligence Division of the BOI headed by J. Edgar Hoover
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
.
On September 17, the BOI released the contents of flyers found in a post office box in the Wall Street area just before the explosion. Printed in red ink on white paper, they said: "Remember, we will not tolerate any longer. Free the political prisoners, or it will be sure death for all of you." At the bottom was: "American Anarchist Fighters." The BOI quickly decided that the flyer eliminated the possibility of an accidental explosion. William J. Flynn
William J. Flynn
William J. Flynn was the director of the Bureau of Investigation from July 1, 1919 to August 21, 1921.Born in New York City Flynn began his government career in 1897 after receiving a public school education. His first assignment was as an Agent in the United States Secret Service...
, Director of the BOI, suggested the flyers were similar to those found at the June 1919 anarchist bombings.
Investigations
The investigation conducted by the Bureau of Investigation stalled when none of the victims turned out to be the driver of the wagon. Though the horse was newly shod, investigators could not locate the stable responsible for the work. When the blacksmith was located in October, he could offer the police little information.The Bureau of Investigation and local police investigated the case for over three years without success. Occasional arrests garnered headlines but each time they failed to support indictments. Most of the investigation initially focused on anarchists and communists, including the Galleanist group, who authorities believed were involved in the 1919 bombings. During President Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...
's administration, officials evaluated the Soviets as possible masterminds of the Wall Street bombing and then the Communist Party USA
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
. In 1944, the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
, successor to the BOI, investigated again. It concluded that its agents had explored many radical groups, "such as the Union of Russian Workers, the I.W.W., Communist, etc....and from the result of the investigations to date it would appear that none of the aforementioned organizations had any hand in the matter and that the explosion was the work of either Italian anarchists or Italian terrorists."
One Galleanist in particular, Mario Buda (1884–1963), an associate of Sacco and Vanzetti
Sacco and Vanzetti
Ferdinando Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were anarchists who were convicted of murdering two men during a 1920 armed robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts, United States...
, and the owner of a car which led to the arrest of the latter for a separate robbery and murder, is alleged by some historians, including Paul Avrich
Paul Avrich
Paul Avrich was a professor and historian. He taught at Queens College, City University of New York, for most of his life and was vital in preserving the history of the anarchist movement in Russia and the United States....
, to be the man most likely to have planted the bomb. Avrich and other historians theorize that Buda acted in revenge for the arrest and indictment of his fellow Galleanists, Sacco and Vanzetti. Buda's involvement as the Wall Street bombmaker was confirmed by statements made by his nephew Frank Maffi and fellow anarchist Charles Poggi, who interviewed Buda in Savignano, Italy, in 1955. Buda (at that time known by the alias of Mike Boda) had eluded authorities at the time of the arrests of Sacco and Vanzetti, was experienced in the use of dynamite and other explosives, was known to use sash weights as shrapnel in his time bombs, and is believed to have constructed several of the largest package bombs for the Galleanists. These included a large black powder bomb that killed nine policemen in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1917. Buda was in New York City at the time of the bombing, but he was neither arrested nor questioned by police.
After leaving New York, Buda resumed the use of his real name in order to secure a passport from the Italian vice-consul, then promptly sailed for Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
. By November he was back in his native Italy, never to return to the United States. Other Galleanists still in the U.S. continued the bombing and assassination campaign for another twelve years, culminating in a 1932 bomb attack targeting Webster Thayer
Webster Thayer
Webster Thayer was a judge of the Superior Court of Massachusetts, best known as the trial judge in the Sacco and Vanzetti case.-Background:...
, the presiding judge in the Sacco and Vanzetti trial. Thayer, who survived the ensuing blast that destroyed his house and injured his wife and housekeeper, moved his residence to his club for the remainder of his life, where he was guarded 24 hours a day.
Later mentions
Jed Rubenfeld's mystery-thriller The Death Instinct uses the bombing as a key plot element.See also
- Domestic terrorism in the United StatesDomestic terrorism in the United StatesDomestic terrorism in the United States between 1980 and 2000 consisted of 250 of the 335 incidents confirmed as or suspected to be terrorist acts by the FBI. These 250 attacks are considered domestic by the FBI because they were carried out by U.S...
- Animal borne bomb attacks