Justice For All

The Far Middle episode 163 arrives on the eve of the Fourth of July, “which brings to mind all kinds of imagery for Americana, perhaps none bigger than baseball,” begins Nick. Fittingly, the episode’s sports dedication goes to a key figure in the national pastime’s history: Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis.

While Landis served as the first Commissioner of Major League Baseball, elected in 1921 and serving until his death in 1944, Landis also had a storied legal career. Nick recounts how Judge Landis was known for his unique and often controversial rulings, which were frequently overturned on appeal.

In one instance, “He charged Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany with murder after the sinking of the Lusitania, because the casualty list included residents of Illinois, which fell within the judge's district,” says Nick. “Unfortunately, Landis also trampled over individual rights. As a classic liberal, I don't like that at all.”

Nick then examines Judge Landis’ role as Commissioner, including banning eight White Sox players involved in the 1919 World Series “Black Sox” scandal, as well as his behind-the-scenes efforts to prohibit African American players from playing in the Major League. For more on the Black Sox scandal, listen to Nick’s dedication to Arnold “The Brain” Rothstein in Far Middle episode 149.

While Judge Landis was just assuming his role as Commissioner of Baseball, another much more significant incident would take place in the summer of 1921: “One of the saddest and most outrageous chapters in American jurisprudence, and it's one that had tragic consequences and led to a reputational black eye for the United States globally,” says Nick.

That incident would come on July 14, 1921, when Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were found guilty of murdering Alessandro Berardelli and Frederick Parmenter, a few miles south of Boston.

Sacco and Vanzetti, Italian immigrants, were arrested and charged with the crime despite lacking evidence and procedural flaws. Nick proceeds to describe how the trial highlighted the systemic prejudices against immigrants, particularly Italians, at the time.

Despite global protests and notable figures like Albert Einstein and Felix Frankfurter speaking out against the injustice, Sacco and Vanzetti were executed in August 1927. For further commentary on the Sacco and Vanzetti trial, conviction, and execution, see Nick’s recent essay, “The Trial of Sacco and Vanzetti: Tragic Failure of the American Ideal.”

As Sacco and Vanzetti were preparing for execution in August 1927, and Commissioner Landis was watching the Babe chase 60 homeruns, Nick closes with an interesting juxtaposition, the dedication of Mount Rushmore that took place on August 10, 1927.

While Mount Rushmore symbolizes the ideals of American democracy, its creation also symbolizes the flaws of government, such as funding delays extending the seven-year project out 14 years, and the inclusion of Teddy Roosevelt due to his friendship with the project's architect.

Looking ahead, mark your calendars for July 10 for the release of episode 164, when Nick delves into a great figure in American history, William Jennings Bryan.