A Brief History
On September 16, 1920, years before the great stock market crashes of 1929 and 2008, some unknown, disaffected malcontents showed the fat cats of Wall Street some serious financial terrorism of their own by setting off a bomb in a horse-drawn wagon in front of J.P. Morgan Bank in New York’s financial district.
Digging Deeper
The perpetrators were never caught, and anarchists to members of various revolutionary and anti-capitalist groups were suspected of committing the crime. Investigation showed that the bomb consisted of 100 pounds of dynamite and 500 pounds of metal sash weights meant to act as projectiles. The bomb was set off with a timer, and, of course, the wagon’s driver was not around when it went off.
The massive explosion killed 38 people as well as the poor horse and seriously injured at least 143 more people. 200 to 300 more victims suffered lesser injuries but were still stunned and bleeding. The blast caused massive property damage as well, with estimated damages of $2 million (or at least $23 million in today’s dollars).
One quick-thinking 17-year-old messenger stole a car and shuttled 30 injured people to the hospital, while others tended likewise to the injured and dying. To avoid a panic, trading on the New York Stock Exchange was quickly shut down.
The Wall Street Bombing had been the worst terrorist act in the history of the United States to that point, and the Bureau of Investigation branch of the Justice Department, forerunner to the FBI, was baffled by the crime. The possibility of an accidental explosion was initially surmised, and the investigation was further foiled by the rapid and eager cleanup of the scene to allow business as usual the next day. Not only was no suspect ever tried for the crime, investigators were not even sure who the intended victim or victims were. Was the target merely random passersby? Or was the bomb meant to kill a particular person who usually walked down that street at noon?
One theory is that the bomb was retaliation for the miscarriage of justice when Sacco and Vanzetti had been arrested for robbery just a few months before. Another theory is that the bomb was left by Italian anarchists who were upset over the deportation of their leader, Luigi Galeani. President Harding’s administration even investigated the possibility of Soviet involvement. The leading theory, however, seems to center on the Italian anarchists who had been engaging in a bombing campaign throughout the U.S. for years before the Wall Street Bombing and would continue to do so for another 12 years after the Wall Street bombing. Still, if this group was truly responsible, it is not conclusively known.
Should people express their discontent with bombs? Apparently this form of expression has been going on for a long time, and is not just a recent development. Will it ever end? Let us know what you think.
Question for Students and subscribers: Who do you believe was responsible for the bombing? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Gage, Beverly and Pam Ward. The Day Wall Street Exploded: A Story of America in Its First Age of Terror. Tantor Audio, 2018.
The featured image in this article, a photograph of the aftermath of the explosion (Federal Hall National Memorial is at the right), is in the public domain in the United States. This applies to U.S. works where the copyright has expired, often because its first publication occurred prior to January 1, 1924, and if not then due to lack of notice or renewal. See this page for further explanation.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="4904 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=4904">97 Comments
Wow! There are many peculiar observations that I made from reading his article. I First noticed it said that this was the first “terrorist attack” in the United States. Then the article goes on to say that the Italian Anarchist had been on a bombing campaign in America for years over their leader being deported. The two statements seemed a juxtaposition, however,there is something much more strange about it all..This is classified as an attack by terrorist, yet no suspects named, no arrests were made, and no trials were held, so who is to say it was not just a random act? I have only brushed the surface in learning about rumors of the illuminate and their purpose, but this sounds like it could be a scandal by more then just a common citizen. It is pretty consistent in history, that this isolated incident would be considered minimal in comparison to other genocides.
Dear Michelle, Just for your clarification, the article doesn’t say it was the first terrorist attack but that it was the worst up to that point in American history.
How did a bomb that went off, and killed 8 people have no suspects? This is crazy to me bc in this day and age they would have been caught!!!!!
I stand corrected. I still feel as if America was lucky that up to this point there had not been a larger scale terrorist attack then this (not to discredit the lives lost). I was basing my statement more on the large scale casualties of the 911 attack and how 38 seemed minimal in comparison to some 3,000.
I did not know this incident. I felt the difference of the technology because these criminal would arrest in these days. I appreciate the technology and I’m protected by latest technologies compared to the past.
I did not know about this incident. It’s truly tragic that there were so many casualties and injuries and no one was ever convicted.
I can’t believe that the perpetrators were never caught. In this day in age we have so much police force etc. always on scene to be able to get the accusers.
This incident makes me glad that law enforcement has come so far since then. I would not have felt very safe in that time.
We all agree that developed countries that uses technology and advanced technique to protect the country from Terrorists and saboteurs.
I wonder if with the sudden and short-lived closing of the stock market on that day had any economic influence… A horrific act. I was not aware that such terrorists attacks occurred in the 1920’s.
I think it was a really misplaced way for these anarchists to express their anger. They hurt and killed innocent people because they didn’t have a clear target, or if they did, they did not isolate this target.
I did not know there were attacks like this in 1920’s. This surprises me. I have never heard about this attack.
I cant believe that no suspect ever tried for the crime and investigators were not sure who the intended victims were.
I was unaware that Wall Street was bombed around this time. I knew that this was a rough time in American history, but I had never heard of this attack.
This attack sounds very random. For how big and dangerous the bomb was, it surprises me that there is no set information gathered about who created it or the intended target.
I did not know Wall Street was bombed. I have never heard of this before.
I never knew that this even took place. This just shows that the things that happen today aspired from history. Now we have car bombings instead of wagon bombings!
I’ve never heard of this attack. It was very smart of the 17 year old to start shuddling people to the hospital. He helped a lot of people.
I never heard that Wall Street was bombed.
I did not know that Wall Street was bombed. It is terrible that people have to bomb innocent places.
I can’t believe I had never heard of this before!
Even back then we as humans are finding weird ways to bomb a place
mystery bomb.
i have never heard of this event. it is sad to know that even then people were still bombing places. It was also crazy how much the bomb destroyed that costed 23 million today
I had never heard of this before. It’s surprising to me that nobody was ever found responsible for the wall street bombing however I can understand why if the proper evidence was never recovered due to a rushed clean-up.
This sounds like the events that happen now a days. Like the shootings and random bombings with ISIS
I would have had trouble feeling safe during this time but it is all that those people knew. I am thankful for law enforcement and new advanced technology that can assist them.
This whole story is so mysterious considering the people who did the bombing were never caught. The young 17 year old was a true hero for shuttling the 30 people to the hospital! -ACL
Wow, who would’ve guessed that a single bomb could cause 23 million dollars in damage in todays dollars!
I goes to show that most people still feel the same way about wallstreet today as they did back then
A single bomb costed so much in damages, wow.
It’s crazy that a single bomb can cost so much in the long run.
It is mind-blowing that one single bomb is so dangerous considering it is relatively small compared to the damage it can cause.
I cannot remember ever hearing about this. But as I read this article, with all of the craziness going on its funny how they still managed to single out the one 17 year-old and his heroic actions.
I would have never imagined these acts of terrorism were taking place during this time frame. I had no previous knowledge of the bombing.
It is revolting that people come up with ideas such as this one. Got to give whoever some credit for not getting caught and to the 17 year old that nursed 30 strangers.
As we move through the ages, nothing ever changes. We still have crazy, cowardly radicals that use bombs and violence.
I wonder why I have never heard about this in school. This was a huge deal. Many people got hurt, and there was 23 million dollars worth of damage.
Just when we think we make strides in civilization, history shows us how much further we have to go. What a terrible story.
This goes to show you that some things never change! I cannot believe I never heard about this before.
Terrorist attacks since this time have greatly escalated and are more common to occur. Our country has taken great precautions after 9/11 to try and prevent these kinds of tragedies.
I have heard of this tragic story before in one of my American History class during high school. It really hits home. Terrorist attacks have been happening for a long long time. Since then they have scaled up massively though.
I am the most intrigued by the 17 year old that thought quickly and tried to save as many people as he could. I can’t imagine being so young and having to make that kind of quick decision.
I do not believe that expressing your feelings with bombs should ever be an option. The devastation of using bombs often hurts many innocent people, and I cannot imagine being a family member or a loved one of an innocent person who died or was injured in a bombing.
I have never heard of this bombing on wall street happen before. It is so sad to hear how many innocent people were affected by this bombing. I am so surprised on how the 17 year old shuttled over 30 injured people from the bombing over to the hospital. To be able to think that fast during such a shocking state as such a young age is an inspiration. That boy is definitely a hero.
This bombing on wall street was very sad and just goes to show that we never know what is going to happen throughout the day. One thing that struck out to me was that more people were injured by the bomb than killed. Overall, this bombing ruined the lives of many as well as led to tragedies in families.
Wow! Dirty bombs existed longer than I realized. Bombing especially of this caliber are always so tragic. It really is too bad we didn’t have some of the modern technology of today to catch the person or person who did this. We all hate to see evil preval.
It saddens me to see such tragedies as these happen in history and to unfortunately continue in today’s world. It is crazy to me that they are still not sure if that was the group responsible. The shuttling of people to the hospital is such a brave and amazing feat. What a strong young woman.
Terrorist acts isn’t a new thing in society. people need to understand that there has always been people who want to ruin what we have for their own personal gain
It is surprising to me that there are so many unknowns in this crime. There did not even seem to be much effort made to answer the questions about the bombing.
Unfortunately these type of acts still continue to day. Just because someone is not happen with something not going their way, they decide to do a horrible act that harms innocent people. The fact that the scene was cleaned up so quickly may have removed something that could have helped solve this mystery.
People should not live in a horrible environment under terrorism. Any reason cannot be supported to infringe others’ right to live. The only thing we need to do is holding the line to fight against terrorism.
I didn’t know bombings like this happened so long ago. Bombs have become such a serious problem recently and it’s scary to think that someone could do such a thing.
This is crazy! Bombs have been a problem for many years especially during wars.
Terrorism has always excised, i hope one day that will change.
I find it crazy how long ago bombs were actually used.
This event spurred more technology I bet so that bombers could be identified.
Wow. nearly $2 million dollars of damage ($23 million today), and all the injuries that happened from this bombing. I never knew much about this.
The affects that would happen today compared to back then would be even more catastrophic.
A lot of damage (2 million is crazy!) for no consequences to come from such an act of terrorism.
I cannot believe that this damage was done and lives were lost, and yet, nobody could be put to blame. This act of terrorism and not a soul to be held accountable, what a shame.
So many innocent people got hurt and died,sadly i don’t think things like this will ever stop.
It is worst pic i am sorry for the people died for no reason.
There are always going to be people or organizations that have an agenda against the government or big business. It is unfortunate that people become violent and kill in order to show who or what makes them upset.
I am confused, wasn’t Woodrow Wilson the President during this time? This was a horrific crime. Italian anarchists? I was not aware of this and will have to do a search about that.
I am not sure when the morals have gone out the window and violence and hate have become the way to solve things.
This was a sad thing to happen and a lot of lives were lost. Smart thinking of that 17 year old to steal a car and transport 30 injured people to the hospital. Yes he did steal a car but he might have saved several lives by his quick thinking.
Those that commit atrocities like this are not human. Bombings are the worst form of terrorism as they have no clue nor do they car who they kill. It is death just for the sake of death.
Terrorist were committing car bombings back then and still continue it today. There is no room in the world for people like this.
It is scary to think that attacks like this have continued to hapen even in recent years. Quite a violent world we live in.
What a horrible crime from these terrorists. I would have never thought things like this happened way back then. To bad they never caught who did this.
very scary reading this and comparing it to the issues we are facing in todays world
So many tings throughout history can be linked to events that have happened in our time. This article for me reminds me of the Boston marathon bombing, but luckily we caught the people involved in that.
Wow, what horrible people to perform such acts of terrorism. I feel horrible for the families of the 38 who died during this horrific event.
What a horrific event to happen in N.Y.C. It is sad to read about this story and I can’t even begin to imagine what it must have been like in N.Y.C. during 911.
It is sad hat those who created this terrifying act were never caught. So many people killed and even more injured is sad. What a brave messenger to jump in and help as much as possible!
They must have been part of these peace groups that cause so much violence at rallys and public spaces. These protesters do not make a change with threats, foul language, and burning/destroying property.
I can’t believe that no one was ever caught for this act. How can someone not be found with such a large bomb. These days someone would have been found guilty of this crime. Groups that claim to be peaceful can sometimes be the worst offenders of being the most violent people.
Bombing isn’t just modern day warfare tactics, it has been going on for decades. The difference is, now we will investigate thoroughly, back then they just chalked it up to someone being mad about something, now we take it was a threat.
I have to agree with Shannon that bombing have been around forever and similar techniques are still use today around the world. Two things are different now, the suspects always want to take credit for the attack and police do a lot better investigation and most of the time get there suspect.
I can’t believe nobody was caught for this act. I feel for the families who lost loved ones during this event.
Sad that till this day no one was caught for this horrific crime and they killed and injured so many people. Just a sad case for the families of the 38 that was actually killed during this horrible time.
It is crazy to think that the person(s) responsible for this bombing were never caught. I wonder if they would not have been so quick on the clean up if evidence would have been found to link someone to this travesty.
It’s very sad that this person got away with murder, it had to be awful for the families of the injured and killed. I am thankful that I truly cant understand how a person could be so horrible as to want to hurt others.
I hate J.P. Morgan (Chase) Bank as much as one possibly can… But setting off a bomb to kill innocent people is insane. There is no justification for killing innocent people.
Another story that I had not heard of until now. Who knew that public resentment of Wall Street has been around that long?
I was surprised that no one was ever caught and the authorities were baffled by the crime. What I don’t understand is how they could have thought the incident was an accidental explosion.
Do I think this will ever end? Absolutely not. This bomb was basically and IED. The same bombs used today against our troops and in terrorist attacks like the Boston Bombing. The world has not suddenly become a cuddlier place since the 1920’s. In fact, it has become more violent, with better technology. Terrorism and bombings will never stop.
Just another terrible tragedy over selfish greed. When will people realize some things just aren’t worth it??
What a very interesting article as another person got away with murder. How do they even get away with it it does not make scene to me as it is a crime!
Very interesting. Different time back then. Reminds me of the times when I go to Amish country, where horse/buggy and automobile are side to side.
It astounding how someone was able to hide this bomb and the horse drawn carriage and not one person witness the event. Now a days, anything or anyone suspicious is reported. Also, major props to the young, quick-thinking, seventeen year old boy who drove the injured to the hospital!
I can’t believe the person actually got away with this crime. Doing something like this knowing that there is a chance of killing your own people is insane to me, but I guess they don’t care.
This was a very interesting article. Its sad to think that we are still experiencing tragic events similar to this in society today.
It’s a wonder more people were not killed with that much dynamite.
The bomb was made a lot of innocent people to death. It is sad by knowing many people got hurt by the terrorist.
The wall street Bomb was famous by showing many people got hurt, and it was leading a lot of people to death as well.