The Most Controversial Cases of the Early 20th Century: The Murder of Stanford White, Sacco & Vanzetti, Leopold & Loeb, and the Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping

There are few cases in American history as well known as Sacco and Vanzetti, and perhaps none of them were as controversial or socially charged as the trials against the two Italian immigrants in the early 20th century. The two avowed anarchists were ultimately tried and executed for murder and armed robbery, but the case said as much about the society trying them as it did about their guilt or innocence. Over 90 years later, there is still a heated debate over whether the two men, who arduously asserted their innocence, were actually guilty.

There has been no shortage of shocking crimes and trials that generated frenzied coverage across America, but few can lay claim to “crime of the century” like the murder carried out by Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb in 1924. While studying as young adults at the prestigious University of Chicago, Leopold and Loeb devised a meticulous plot to kidnap and murder a child while managing to get away with ransom money, thereby perpetrating what they considered a “perfect crime.” The crime was horrific enough, but the trial brought even more attention to the case, and it touched on several crucial issues. Both young men cited the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche as a motivation for attempting to commit the crime and prove they were better than the common man.

On March 1, 1932, 20 month old Charles Lindbergh, Jr. was kidnapped right out of his crib from the family’s home in rural East Amwell, New Jersey, and for 10 long weeks, the nation hoped and prayed in chorus with the distraught parents for his safe return. Both Charles and his pregnant wife Anne made frequent, public pleas for their son’s safe return, while ransom negotiations took place between a self-identified kidnapper and Dr. John F. Condon, a volunteer intermediary. On April 2, the Lindbergh family paid a ransom of $50,000 in exchange for information about the child's whereabouts, but the information was false.

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