What was the significance of the Lindbergh Kidnapping?

Question

A major case of the 1930s era was when pilot Charles Lindbergh's 20-month-old so was kidnapped and later...well, I didn't like how I was just flat out told how the situation turned out, so I don't want to write it out for those of you who actually want to look into it!

Anyway, it's an interesting story and for those of you who know about it, I want to know: what's the significance of the whole case? I told my teacher that I wanted to write about it, focusing on the law aspect, and he didn't seem to like that focus. What would be a better thesis to strive toward/ for?

Thanks for the help if you can; I appreciate it!

Answer 1

The kidnapping was a tragic event, in which the child was accidentally killed as the kidnapper took him from the Lindbergh home. But the true significance of the event is that the 'Lindbergh Law' was enacted, which set in place stiff penalties for kidnapping and for crimes against children. Perhaps the positive aspect of it - the protection the Lindbergh law afforded to other children - would be a better focus.

Answer 2

Lindbergh Kidnapping Trial

Answer 3

The Lindbergh Law

Answer 4

watch the move along came a spider. the hole movie gives every aspect of the lindbergh case. you'll be done with your paper before the nights outs.

Answer 5

The Lindbergh kidnapping was the abduction and murder of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Junior, the toddler son of world famous aviator Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, in 1932.

The kidnapping and subsequent trial might be described as a media circus: every development was followed by millions of people; newspaper writer H.L. Mencken called the affair "the biggest story since the Resurrection."

Bruno Hauptmann was convicted and executed for the crime, though he proclaimed his innocence. In the subsequent decades, many have argued that Hauptmann was innocent: the victim of a miscarriage of justice by authorities eager to resolve a highly public case. He undoubtedly possessed some of the ransom money, but beyond that, the questions of further involvement in the crime may remain open.

There is ample evidence that, at the very least, the investigation was badly bungled. As Michael Kurland writes, "From the very beginning, the investigation of the case was fragmented and mishandled, and it suffered from the triple liabilities of Lindbergh's fame, ego, and tendency to manage everything. Everyone that dealt with him was conscious that they were dealing with Colonel Lindbergh, and deferred to his opinions. Lindbergh, too, had a very high opinion of himself. He tended to give orders when it would have been more profitable to listen." In fairness, kidnappings of prominent persons were still fairly rare crimes at the time, and police forces had little experience with them.

Lindbergh authorized two separate intermediaries to contact the supposed kidnappers: one was a bombastic school teacher with cloak and dagger delusions, the other a convicted con artist. Ransom was paid to two different groups – and nearly paid to a third – but the child was never seen alive after the kidnapping. Even the identification of the corpse said to be the Lindbergh baby has been called into question. As of 2007, the body of the child has never been positively identified by forensic means–and, thus, the child may be classified as missing.

The crime inspired the "Lindbergh Law", which made kidnapping a federal crime, and also inspired the Agatha Christie novel Murder On The Orient Express.








Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr. (June 22, 1930–March 1932) was dubbed "The Eaglet" by the media. His father's exploits in flying airplanes had earlier earned him immense popularity and acclaim, as well as the nickname "The Lone Eagle".

Lindbergh, Jr. (called "Little It" by his parents) was, beyond a slight deformity of some toes on his right foot, a healthy child. Later, the child became known as the "Lindbergh baby".

To escape the media, the Lindberghs were building a 390 acre (1.6 km²) estate near Hopewell, New Jersey, where the family was spending weekends since the work was not complete. Though Hopewell was the nearest town, the estate was actually located in East Amwell Township (Hunterdon County), just north of Hopewell.


[edit] The abduction
Normally, the Lindberghs would have returned to Englewood, New Jersey, where the young family had been staying with Anne Morrow Lindbergh's parents, for the week, but Charles, Jr. was recovering from a bad cold. His parents decided to remain at the house in East Amwell.

On the evening of March 1, 1932 at about 8:00 p.m., the baby had been put to bed by his mother and nanny Betty Gow. Gow stayed with the baby a few minutes longer until she was sure he was asleep. Mrs. Lindbergh looked in on the child at about 9:00 p.m. and found him sleeping quietly.

Gow checked on the baby a little before 10.00 p.m., and discovered he was not in his bed. She told Mrs. Lindbergh, and the two women initially suspected it was another joke by Mr. Lindbergh. He occasionally pulled pranks, and not long before, had secreted the child in a closet, claiming no awareness of his location while they searched the house. When quizzed as to the baby's whereabouts, however, Lindbergh grew alarmed and insisted it was no joke. He told a butler, Ollie Whately, to telephone police (a call was placed at 10:25 p.m.) and then, carrying a rifle, Lindbergh searched the house and the grounds.

Outside, he found a shoddy, homemade wooden ladder on the ground below the second floor nursery window. Its top rung was broken.

A letter was discovered on the nursery windowsill — presumably left there by the kidnapper(s) — but Lindbergh allowed no one to touch it until police arrived.

The first on the scene was Chief Harry Wolf of the Hopewell, New Jersey City police. Soon thereafter, however — and before Wolf could begin much of an investigation — many New Jersey State Police officers arrived, claiming control over the case. The State Police wandered around the Lindbergh home and grounds essentially at will, making no organized search and with no ranking officer clearly directing their actions. It is likely that the crime scene was contaminated by the New Jersey State police and that valuable physical evidence was compromised or destroyed. For example, there were reports of two sets of footprints on the ground near where the ladder had been leaned against the house. But the area was not secured, and many police walked in and out of the area before the footprints could be photographed or cast in plaster.

The police searched the home and reported that they had scoured the surrounding grounds for miles without finding any evidence.

After midnight, a fingerprint expert arrived at the home to examine the note left on the windowsill and the ladder used. He found nothing of value. The ladder had 500 partial fingerprints, most unusable. The note was opened and read. The handwritten ransom note was riddled with spelling errors and grammatical irregularities:

Dear Sir! Have $50,000 redy $25,000 in $20 bills 15,000 in $10 bills and $10,000 in $5 bills. After 2-4 days we will inform you were to deliver the Money. We warn you for making anyding public or for notify the Police. The child is in gut care. Indication for all letters are singnature and three holes. [sic]
There were two interconnected circles (colored red and blue) below the message, punched through with three holes.

Answer 6

The really interesting aspect of it is the role of the expert witness.

Answer 7

I think the significance was mostly that of a social one. That something so heinous could happen to someone so beloved in America at that time.