Q:  And the Dead Shall Rise - Steve Oney - Intro 

A:

• Attended University of Georgia & Harvard 

• Interviews Alozno Mann, a witness at trial 

• Confessed  to perjury 

• Wrote an article for Esquire 

• Led to more research and the book 

Q: Atlanta, Georgia: Early 1900’s 

A: 

• Small / Big city 

• Accepted Northern victory in Civil War 

• Forward looking, industry, not agrarian 

• Leo Frank part of vanguard of elite 

• Jewish community, German Jews 

• 5 o’clock city, Jews & Gentiles 

Q:  Atlanta, Georgia: Race Relations 1910’s 

A:

• Boiling Cauldron  

• Trouble, tense  

• 1906 race riots 

• Atlanta, Capital of South 

• Capital of Jim Crow 

• Segregation everywhere 

• Black revival, universities 

Q:  Mary Phagan Murder: 

A:

• Mary Phagan, 13 year old worker 

• National Pencil Factory 

• Leo Frank, the supervisor 

• Male management with young girls 

• Saturday April 26,1913 

• Mary Phagan collects her earnings 

• Found dead in the factory basement 

Q: Why was Leo Frank Accused of the Murder? 

A:

• Wrong place, wrong time 

• Last person to see Mary Phagan 

• Circumstantial evidence 

• Nervous with police; inconsistencies 

• Jew in a gentile world 

• Class tension 

• Last minute testimony, Jim Conley 

Q: What was Leo Frank’s Defense? 

A:

• Defense team – best Atlanta lawyers 

• But arrogant; not in tune with extent of trouble 

• Challenged motive, pointed to Conley & money 

• Ill-advised strategy of entering Frank’s character 

• Young female workers testified against Frank 

Q: Was Leo Frank Trial like Dreyfus Affair? 

A:

• Parallels between Frank trial and Dreyfus 

• Tremendous anxiety; societal change 

• USA basically free of Anti-Semitism 

• Trial brought issue out into the open 

• Overt Anti-Semitism at trial – No 

• Implicit Anti-Semitism – Yes 

• All broke loose, ugly, after the trial 

Q: How was Leo Frank Lynched? 

A:

• Guilty verdict – 1913 

• National campaign on behalf of Frank 

• Adolph Ochs - NY Times 

• Lois Marshall - ADL 

• Appeals up to Supreme Court failed 

• Governor Slaton commutes death sentence 

• Thomas Watson – Jeffersonian, anti-Semitic 

• Mob storms prison & abducts Frank 

• Leo Frank lynched in Marietta - 1915 

Q: Leo Frank & Atlanta Jewish Community:

A:

• Leo Frank case shook up Jewish community 

• Some left Atlanta 

• Most viewed themselves as Southerners 

• Self-denial; let it go approach 

• Voted not to hire private detective 

• Reform deemphasize outward Jewish ritual  

Q: Leo Frank: Was the Lynch Mob convicted? 

A:

• Coroner’s report and grand jury 

• Members of lynch mob part of investigation 

• Powerful people involved 

• Total cover up; investigation staged 

Q: Leo Frank Case: American Jewish History

A:

• Leo Frank event a warning 

• Is it anomalous or indicative? 

• Frightening and potent 

• To be ignored at our own risk 

• Bedrock of Anti-Semitism 

Q: Leo Frank Case: Why does it still Reverberate? 

A:

• TV shows, documentaries

• Incredible drama, Confederate Day murder 

• Modernity versus the past 

• Deep divide and polarization 

• The unknown still exists 

• Mob rule; lack of civility; breakdown 

• Power of Press; mainstream & tabloid 

Q: Why should young people study the Leo Frank Case? 

A:

• Not a feel-good movie 

• But we can’t sleep walk through life 

• Situation got out of hand 

• Danger of Anti-Semitism 

• Importance of courts; being engaged 

• Mary Phagan represents Southern Flower 

• Leo Frank, portrayed as a rapacious machine