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The Wall Street bombing was a deadly terrorist incident that occurred on September 16, 1920 in New
York. It became the deadliest bomb attack on US soil, and would remain so for 75 years.
The Attack
At noon time, an old wagon, pulled by a horse, passed by lunchtime crowds on Wall Street, in New York City. The cart then stopped in
front of the offices of the J.P. Morgan Company, on the financial
district’s busiest corner. Inside, 100 pounds (45 kg) of dynamite with 500 pounds (230 kg) of fragmented steel exploded,
perhaps by remote control, sending the shrapnel tearing through crowds. An automobile was hurled into the air, and glass was
shattered for blocks (the damage can still be seen on the buildings today). The wounded piled on the streets.
Casualties
30 people were killed initially, and 40 were dead by the end of the month. 300 others were injured. People began to panic as
word spread that another bomb would go off. Police were called, and they began to investigate the crime, the likes of which had
not been seen on this scale in the country’s history.
Reaction
The American public was not used to acts like this. People bent on terror had killed 8 Chicago police officers in 1886, killed President William McKinley in 1901, bombed the
Los Angeles Times offices in 1910 and killed 20, and mailed bombs to government leaders. But this attack was aimed at the public, and intended to
kill large numbers of people.
Wall Street reopened the next day, with evidence of the bombing being covered up by cloths. The public was jittery, just like
it was after the September 11 attacks—headlines
warned that other buildings might be bombed, and that bridges on the West Coast would also be targeted by terrorists. But these
acts never materialized. Also like 9/11, it became the national spirit to do things patriotic—though no one was sure who to
stand up to. The Washington Post called the bombing an “act of
war,” though it was not known who to blame.
Perpetrators
No charges were ever filed in the bombing. Anarchists were suspected,
especially followers of Luigi
Galleani, and persecution of Eastern European and Sicilian immigrants increased after the attack. Investigators searched
hundred of stables to find who sent the horse, but nothing was uncovered. Despite vows that the police would catch the
perpetrators, the crime remains unsolved to this day.
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