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Lot of two (2) 1915 newspapers LEO FRANK is ATTACKED in Georgia prison JUDAICA Antisemitism - inv # 1I-428
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SEE PHOTO(s) - Two (2) COMPLETE ORIGINAL NEWSPAPERs, the NY Sun dated July 19 and 20, 1915. These 2 original newspapers contain front page headings and news coverage of LEO FRANK being ATTACKED (and nearly killed) in a Georgia prison. This episode was part of the LEO FRANK episode that brought to public consciousness the rampant anti-semitism in the American South in the early 20th century.
Leo Max Frank (April 17, 1884 – August 17, 1915) was an American factory superintendent and lynching victim. He is primarily notable for his conviction in 1913 of the murder of a 13-year-old employee, Mary Phagan, in Atlanta, Georgia, although the general consensus among modern historians is that he was wrongfully convicted. Frank's trial, conviction, and appeals attracted national attention. His kidnapping from prison and lynching two years later, in response to the commutation of his death sentence, became the focus of social, regional, political, and racial concerns, particularly regarding antisemitism and racism. Modern researchers generally agree that Frank was wrongly convicted and Jim Conley was likely the actual murderer.
Born to a Jewish-American family in Texas, Frank was raised in New York and earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University before moving to Atlanta in 1908. Marrying in 1910, he involved himself with the city's Jewish community and was elected president of the Atlanta chapter of the B'nai B'rith, a Jewish fraternal organization, in 1912. At that time, there were growing concerns regarding child labor at factories. One of these children was Mary Phagan, who worked at the National Pencil Company where Frank was director. The girl was strangled on April 26, 1913, and found dead in the factory's cellar the next morning. Two notes, made to look as if she had written them, were found beside her body. Based on the mention of a "night witch", they implicated the night watchman, Newt Lee. Over the course of their investigations, the police arrested several men, including Lee, Frank, and Jim Conley, a janitor at the factory.
On May 24, 1913, Frank was indicted on a charge of murder and the case opened at Fulton County Superior Court, on July 28. The prosecution relied heavily on the testimony of Conley, who described himself as an accomplice in the aftermath of the murder, and who the defense at the trial argued was, in fact, the perpetrator of the murder. A guilty verdict was announced on August 25. Frank and his lawyers made a series of unsuccessful appeals; their final appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States failed in April 1915. Considering arguments from both sides as well as evidence not available at trial, Governor John M. Slaton commuted Frank's sentence from capital punishment to life imprisonment.
Frank was attacked in prison on July 18, 1915, by an inmate who slit his throat with a butcher knife. “If another prisoner, a surgeon convicted of murder, hadn’t stitched Frank’s wound, he would have died,” according to the Times.
The case attracted national press attention and many reporters deemed the conviction a travesty. Within Georgia, this outside criticism fueled antisemitism and hatred toward Frank. On August 16, 1915, he was kidnapped from prison by a group of armed men, and lynched at Marietta, Mary Phagan's hometown, the next morning. The new governor vowed to punish the lynchers, who included prominent Marietta citizens, but nobody was charged. In 1986, the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles issued a pardon in recognition of the state's failures—including to protect Frank and preserve his opportunity to appeal—but took no stance on Frank's guilt or innocence. The case has inspired books, movies, a play, a musical, and a TV miniseries.
The African American press condemned the lynching, but many African Americans also opposed Frank and his supporters over what historian Nancy MacLean described as a "virulently racist" characterization of Jim Conley, who was Black.
His case spurred the creation of the Anti-Defamation League and the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan.
Very good condition. This listing includes the 2 complete entire original newspapers, NOT just a clipping or a page of them. STEPHEN A. GOLDMAN HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS stands behind all of the items that we sell with a no questions asked, money back guarantee. Every item we sell is an original newspaper printed on the date indicated at the beginning of its description. U.S. buyers pay priority mail postage which includes waterproof plastic and a heavy cardboard flat to protect the purchased item from damage in the mail. Upon request by the buyer, we can ship by USPS Media Mail to reduce postage cost; however, please be aware that USPS Media Mail can be very slow in its time of transit to the buyer. International postage is quoted when we are informed as to where the package is to be sent. We do combine postage (to reduce postage costs) for multiple purchases sent in the same package. We list thousands of rare newspapers with dates from 1570 through 2004 on Ebay each week. This is truly SIX CENTURIES OF HISTORY that YOU CAN OWN!
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