American Experience: Inequality, Violence, and Wall Street Bombing

This essay explores the social and political climate leading up to the Wall Street bombing of 1920, focusing on themes of inequality, violence, and the suppression of dissent in America. It discusses the economic disparities following World War I, the curtailment of free speech under the Espionage Act, and the Red Scare's impact on labor movements and immigrant communities. The essay examines the role of figures like Luigi Galleani and Attorney General Palmer, highlighting the government's response to perceived threats of communism and anarchism, including the Palmer Raids and mass deportations. Ultimately, the essay connects the Wall Street bombing to broader issues of social injustice and the struggle for equality, while also noting its long-term impact on law enforcement and civil liberties, relating these events to class readings that underscore the economic disparities and government repression of dissent during this period.

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Summary of American experience, the bombing of Wall Street
The documentary explores the existing cases of inequality before the bombing of Wall
Street on September 16th, 1920. According to experts, the USA was a huge beneficiary of the
First World War, the benefits however, had not trickled down to the common citizens.
Additionally, the espionage act which curtailed freedom of speech was considered by
many as a violation of basic human rights as those who spoke against the government were sent
to jail. Additionally, citizens were not allowed to acknowledge their duality. There was a wave of
patriotism that divided people on various lines such as race and ideology. For instance, those
who were opposed to government policies were considered to be anti-government. Immigrants
and labor activists were also considered to be unpatriotic. The red scare of 1919 pitted
government loyalists against trade unions.
There was a general labor strike in the Seattle Township as workers wanted more
remuneration so that they could be able to cope with the rise in the cost of living. The over
35,000 workers had taken a wage cut during the world war. The wage cuts had heavily benefitted
the employers and the workers felt that they had fallen behind. Although the strikes were largely
peaceful, the Seattle Mayor went on to enact the Marshall Law as he viewed the strikes as
unfounded. The mayor went on a campaign tour speaking against the strike calling it an attempt

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by communist sympathizers to cripple the American economy. He called on the American
citizens to show their Americanism and go back to work.
This however did not deter workers as evidenced by increased labor unrest as workers
agitated for nationalization of industries. The government grew concerned and consequently
opened debate on the threat posed by communist groups. Motivated by the fear of communist
groups the government involved the police in the labor disputes. The involvement of police only
led to violent altercations which resulted in numerous casualties.
The documentary goals on to take a look at the Role played by Galleani, an anarchist in
propagating violence as well as his efforts to overthrow the establishment. Although Luigi
Galleani was later deported, his followers pledged to continue with his course (Egan, Daniel
292). There were increased assassination attempts on the life of Palmer, the attorney general as
well as other top individuals in the government. Palmer grew terrified and consequently started a
massive campaign against people advocating for a revolution within America.
As a result, Palmer started targeting innocent people in the name of getting to the bottom
of the Wall Street bombing. He authorized the arrest of numerous people without following the
proper procedure. He even started deporting immigrants he considered anarchists. Palmer sought
emergency funding from congress to get as many radicals out of the United States. He even went
on to establish a radical division of the Justice Department. The radical unit built a huge data
base to help keep track of alleged radicals in the United States (Michael Newton 42).Many
people thus became a target of the radical division merely by expressing their opinion. Hundreds
of workers registered under the Russian Labor movement were arrested for their alleged
involvement in Radical activities. Those detained were consequently deported back to Russia.
There were further massive raids in 33 cities across the country arresting everyone in sight.

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Many American Citizens were arrested and deported despite not having any criminal records.
The detainees were kept in humane conditions before deportation. Palmer’s actions raised
concerns among the immigrant community in the US (Howard 83). He was later called upon by
the congress to account for his high rates of deportation. Palmer quickly became unpopular and
this dealt a quick blow to his presidential ambitions.
The documentary ends by highlighting the devastating effects the bomb had on the lives
of normal people. The stock exchange plummeted and the board of governors authorized the
opening of business the next day to avoid further economic losses (Campbell, Ballard
56).Solving the bombing proved difficult. There were numerous efforts to find the perpetrator of
the crime to no avail.
Major themes in the documentary
Violence and inequality are the major themes discussed in the documentary. According to
experts, the wall street bombing can be attributed to a radical group who had resulted to violent
methods as an avenue to convey their dissatisfaction with the capitalist regime in
America.Revolutionarists among them radicals as well as peace loving citizens wanted
capitalism to be done away with as it had only benefitted the rich at the expense of poor workers.
The ruling establishment, however only served to increase inequality by targeting immigrant
citizens in the name of ending anarchy in the American society (Strang, Dean A 110).
Interesting and significant observation
Although the wall street bombing is considered as one of the most fatal terror attacks in
American history, it can be can be credited for major positive changes in the society at the time.
For instance, Palmer’s criticism helped law enforcement agencies become more effective in the

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handling of terror attacks as well as labor unrests. Events after the bombing such as illegal
deportation of immigrants also helped raise debate on the prevalence of inequality in American
society. Consequently, steps were taken to foster equality and freedom of expression. It is also
important to note that although the law enforcement agencies did not succeed at bringing the
culprits to book, efforts by the police led to a decline in radical organizations within the country.
Conclusion
The documentary relates to class readings by highlighting the prevalence of inequality in
the early American society. There were economic disparities between the rich and the poor. The
high level of income inequality was occasioned by Capitalism which benefited the rich owners of
industries at the expense of the working labourers.Labour unions and workers thus rose up to
demand for high wages. Labor strikes by the labor unions were however not taken kindly by
beneficiaries of capitalism.Revolutuionarists who were demanding for a change in the status quo
thus became major targets of government arrest and deportation. It is quite captivating and
ironical how a government that boasts of inclusion can hunt down the same citizens it is tasked
to protect.

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Works cited
Campbell, Ballard Disasters, Accidents, and Crises in American History: A Reference Guide
to the Nation's Most Catastrophic Events. Facts On File, (2008). pp.56
Egan, Daniel. "Book Review: Buda's Wagon: A Brief History of the Car Bomb by Mike
Davis. New York: Verso 2007. pp 228. $22.95 (cloth). ISBN: 9781844671328."
Critical Sociology, vol. 34, no. 2, 2008, pp. 291-293.
Michael Newton "The encyclopedia of unsolved crimes." Choice Reviews Online, vol. 42,
no. 04, 2004, pp. 42-1968-42-1968.
Pearson, Chad "The day Wall Street exploded: a story of America in its first age of terror."
Business History, vol. 51, no. 5, 2009, pp. 795-797.
Howard. A People's History of the United States. (2003) pp.78-84
Strang, Dean A Worse Than the Devil: Anarchists: Strang. U of Wisconsin P, (2016)
pp.108-112