Description
ABC-CLIO Twentieth-Century Cause Celebre Sacco Vanzetti and the Press 1920-1927 by John F Neville
The trial and imprisonment of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti and the resulting press coverage catapulted the two immigrant anarchists from the margins of obscurity to international celebrity in 1926 and 1927. This study examines this press coverage and the political movement that set the tone for one of the 20th century's most debated and least understood political causes. Neville argues that, while casting about for a case to champion in 1926, the Comintern of the USSR discovered in Sacco-Vanzetti the perfect vehicle to discredit and shame the United States. As an international cause celebre, this event did not occur spontaneously but, rather, was managed behind the scenes in Europe to discredit the reputation of the United States through a carefully orchestrated propaganda campaign.