And historically inaccurate.
- The "Black Tom Island" attack was not terrorism. It was sabotage to prevent the shipment of arms from America to the forces already fighting Germany in Europe.
- The Black Tom Island explosion occurred in 1916. The Richter Scale was developed in 1935.
- The closing of the Statue of Liberty's arm in 1917 had nothing to do with the Black Tom explosion.
Thanks for looking this up. We might be splitting hairs over the use of terrorism vs. sabotage. Over at Word IQ they say things like, "There is no universally accepted definition of terrorism. According to expert Walter Laqueur, "the only general characteristic generally agreed upon is that terrorism involves violence" Four dead and hundreds wounded sounds like violence. Word IQ also states, "One 1988 study by the US Army discovered that over 100 definitions have been used."
Regarding sabotage, the West Encyclopedia states:
- Destruction of property or obstruction of normal operations, as by civilians or enemy agents in time of war.
- Treacherous action to defeat or hinder a cause or an endeavor; deliberate subversion.
As for the Statue of Liberty and attack in general, Wikipedia says the following about it:
"At 2:08 a.m. (6:08
GMT), the first and largest of the explosions took place. Fragments from the explosion traveled long distances, some lodging in the
Statue of Liberty and some in the clock tower of the
Jersey Journal building in
Journal Square, over a mile away, stopping the clock at 2:12 a.m. The explosion was the equivalent of an earthquake measuring between 5.0 and 5.5 on the
Richter Scale[3] and was felt as far away as
Philadelphia. Windows broke as far as 25 miles (40 km) away, including thousands in lower
Manhattan. Some window panes in
Times Square were completely shattered. The outer wall of Jersey City's City Hall was cracked and the Brooklyn Bridge was shaken. People as far away as
Maryland were awakened by what they thought was an earthquake.
Property damage from the attack was estimated at $20 million (US$ 402 million in 2011). The damage to the Statue of Liberty was valued at $100,000 (US$ 2,012,000 in 2011) and included the skirt and the torch.
[4]
Immigrants being processed at
Ellis Island had to be evacuated to lower Manhattan. Reports vary, but as many as seven people may have been killed, including:
- a Jersey City policeman [5][6]
- a Lehigh Valley Railroad Chief Of Police [5]
- a ten week old infant [6]
- the barge captain [6]
Injuries numbered in the hundreds. Smaller explosions continued to occur for hours after the initial blast."
Sounds like some did hit the Statue of Liberty. Glenn even had the object. He may be right on this. Anyhow, appreciate your comments. Thank you.
