Wall Street Bombing, Press photograph, 1920

Wall Street Bombing, Press photograph, 1920.

At noon on September 16, 1920, a wagon loaded with 500 pounds of dynamite and heavy iron weights drew up in front of the JP Morgan building on Wall Street in New York City, across the street from both the stock exchange building and Federal Hall, the site of Washington's Presidential inauguration. At 12:01 the dynamite detonated, sending metal from the bomb and glass from the Morgan building's large windows shooting through the street. The explosion killed nearly 40 people and wounded almost 150; pockmarks on the Morgan building from the blast can be seen to this day. Though the criminals were never absolutely identified, it was thought to be the work of an Italian anarchist group. Anarchists were responsible for many bombings and assasinations from the late 19th century until the early 20th century, including the assassination of Czar Alexander II in 1881. Anarchism is usually seen to have grown from nihilism, which began as a defined political ideology in Russia. Crime and Punishment is often read as an anti-nihilist political statement that exemplifies the personal dangers of this radical philosophy.