Vito Marcantonio

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Vito Marcantonio
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York
In office
January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1951
Preceded byJames J. Lanzetta
Succeeded byJames G. Donovan
Constituency20th district (1939–1945)
18th district (1945–1951)
In office
January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1937
Preceded byJames J. Lanzetta
Succeeded byJames J. Lanzetta
Constituency20th district
Personal details
Born
Vito Anthony Marcantonio

December 10, 1902
New York City, U.S.
DiedAugust 9, 1954(1954-08-09) (aged 51)
New York City, U.S.
Political partyAmerican Labor (1937–1954)
Republican (1935–1937)
Spouse
Miriam A. Sanders
​
(m. 1925)​
Alma materNew York University School of Law

Vito Anthony Marcantonio (December 10, 1902 – August 9, 1954) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the

socialist leader of East Harlem for seven terms in the United States House of Representatives.[1]

For most of his political career, he was a member of the

African-American civil rights.[2]

Marcantonio represented the neighborhood of

Puerto Ricans
. He spoke Spanish, Italian, and English. Marcantonio advocated fiercely for the rights of African-Americans, Italian-American immigrants, and Puerto Rican immigrants in Harlem, as well as for unions and workers in general.

Early life and education

Marcantonio was the son of an American-born father and Italian-born mother, both with origins in

LL.B. from the New York University School of Law
in 1925.

Career

In the

Farmer-Labor Party.[1] In 1924, he became campaign manager for the congressional campaign of Fiorello La Guardia, then a Progressive–Socialist.[1] Together, LaGuardia and Marcantonio also campaigned for U.S. Senator Robert M. La Follette for President.[1][4] Marcantonio also became secretary of the Tenants League, which fought high rents and evictions.[1]

After passing the New York

politically radical individuals and organizations. There, he worked with labor lawyer Joseph R. Brodsky, who "significantly contributed to his left orientation" toward Marxism.[4]

From 1926 to 1932, Marcantonio ran La Guardia's campaigns every two years.

United States attorney.[1]

Political career

U.S. Congress

From 1949's Pictorial Directory of the 81st Congress

Marcantonio was first elected to the

Italian and Puerto Rican origin. Fluent in Spanish as well as Italian, he was considered an ally of the Puerto Rican and Italian-American communities, and an advocate for the rights of the workers, immigrants, and the poor.[5]

In 1939, Marcantonio criticized the 1936 prosecution and conviction of

electoral fusion.[7]

Aside from Marcantonio, the only other ALP congressman was Leo Isacson, who served in Congress from 1948 to 1949, after winning a special election; he was defeated in the next general election. On election day in 1946, a Republican election captain named Joseph Scottoriggio, who was supporting Marcantonio's opponent, was severely beaten and died days later.[8] New York City mobster Mike Coppola is believed to have been responsible.[9][10]

On November 25, 1947, the day after the House voted for indictment of the

Liberal Party."[11]

Henry Wallace and Paul Robeson flank Marcantonio just before an American Labor Party rally at Madison Square Garden, 1949

In 1948, Marcantonio was an avid supporter of former Vice President

Progressive Party ticket.[12] A campaign film by Carl Marzani shows Marcantonio's district and his efforts on its behalf.[13][14] Marcantonio was reelected. In 1949, Marcantonio ran for Mayor of New York City on the ALP ticket but was defeated.[7]

Marcantonio was able to win reelection in 1948 due to the Democrats and Republicans splitting the vote. Republican

Jonathan Brewster Bingham, John Ellis, James J. Lanzetta, Thomas Francis Murphy, and Wendell Willkie's wife Edith Willkie were considered. James G. Donovan was selected.[15]

Marcantonio attacked Donovan as a "Sutton Place

Wilson Pakula Act in 1947 also played some part in Marcantonio's defeat.[17] The law prevented candidates from running in the primaries of parties with which they were not affiliated. It was widely perceived as being directed against Marcantonio.[17] As the sole representative of his party for most of his years in Congress, Marcantonio never held a committee chairmanship. After his defeat in 1950 and the withdrawal of the Communist Party support for the ALP, the party soon fell apart.[18]

Political ideology

Marcantonio was inspired politically by his

Roman Catholic faith. He had always identified himself as a Catholic. In 1939, while speaking at the National Conference of the ILD, he described himself as "a Roman Catholic who has not deserted the faith of his fathers."[19]

Marcantonio, who was arguably one of the most left-wing members of Congress, said that party loyalty was less important than voting with his conscience. He was sympathetic to the

FBI in the 1940s and 1950s because of his extensive affiliation with members of the Communist Party and known Communist front groups.[20][21]

Civil rights

In 2010, historian

disenfranchise poor voters, and to make lynching a federal crime.[22]

Foreign policy

In 1940, Marcantonio helped form the

Communist parties throughout the world to promote the idea to help it defeat Nazism. Marcantonio was also a vice president of the International Workers Order, a fraternal benefit society unofficially affiliated with the Communist Party.[23]

In 1947, when the U.S. Congress passed legislation to provide financial aid to fight communism in Turkey and Greece, such as during the Greek Civil War, Marcantonio was the only congressman to not applaud the action, symbolizing his disagreement with the Truman Doctrine.[24] In 1950, Marcantonio opposed American involvement in the Korean War. He argued that North Korea had been the victim of an unprovoked attack by South Korea. He cited articles by I. F. Stone, a radical journalist.[citation needed]

Freedom of expression

In 1941, Marcantonio represented Dale Zysman, a high school coach and board member of the New York City

Board of Education hearing. Marcantonio asked for a ten-day stay because the Board had failed to present "an itemized bill of particulars", which stay the Board denied. Zysman walked out.[25]

Spanish in Puerto Rico's schools

In 1946, Marcantonio introduced legislation to restore Spanish as the language of instruction in Puerto Rico's schools asking President Harry S. Truman to sign the bill "in the name of the children of Puerto Rico who are being tortured by the prevailing system…to fight cultural chauvinism and to correct past errors." President Truman signed the bill.[5] In 1948, schools were able to return to teaching in the Spanish language, but English was required in schools as a second language.[citation needed]

Later life and death

After his defeat in mayoral and congressional elections, Marcantonio continued to practice law. It was his law practice, maintained while in Congress, that had generated the money by which he substantially self-financed his political campaigns. At first, he practiced in Washington, D.C., but he soon returned to New York City. At the time of his death in 1954, Marcantonio was running for Congress as the candidate of a newly formed third party, the Good Neighbor Party.

extreme unction, the last sacrament of the Church.[26][27]

Legacy

workers rights, his mastery of parliamentary procedure, his ability to relate to the workers in his district while also engaging in worldwide issues, made him a hero to a certain section of the left. Rubinstein's book was reprinted in a new edition in 2002.[28]

Works

Pamphlets written by Marcantonio include:

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Minton, Bruce (November 1936). "That Man Marcantonio" (PDF). New Masses: 3–5. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 17, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  2. Jacobin. Archived
    from the original on July 6, 2022.
  3. ISBN 978-0791400838
    .
  4. ^ a b Murtagh, Matthew (May 18, 2010). "Politician, Social Worker, and Lawyer. Vito Marcantonio and Constituent Legal Services". VitoMarcantonio.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  5. ^ a b Simon, John J. (March 1, 2006). "Rebel in the House: The Life and Times of Vito Marcantonio". Monthly Review. Archived from the original on August 15, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  6. ^ "Representative Vito Marcantonio of New York". US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. September 11, 2001. Archived from the original on December 6, 2020. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Sammin, Kyle (August 13, 2019). "A Socialist Predecessor of Ocasio-Cortez in Congress". National Review.
  8. ^ Pegler, Westbrook (November 21, 1946). "Fair Enough (column)". The Montana Standard. Butte, Montana. p. 4. Retrieved July 3, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Maeder, Jay (October 1, 2000). "The Witness: Doris Coppola, March 1948". Daily News. New York City. p. 27. Retrieved July 3, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Gage, Nicholas (November 18, 1971). "Mafia Is Male Chauvinist Stronghold". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. B-5. Retrieved July 3, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Congressional Record. US GPO. November 25, 1947. p. 11762. Archived from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  12. ^ "Marcantonio, Vito (Anthony)". Credo. The Columbia Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on December 14, 2014. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  13. ^ People’s Congressman on Vimeo
  14. ^ Musser, Charles (2009). "Carl Marzani and Union Films: Making Left-Wing Documentaries during the Cold War, 1946–53" (PDF). The Moving Image. 9 (1): 135–143. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  15. ^ Soyer 2021, p. 120-121.
  16. ^ Soyer 2021, p. 121-122.
  17. ^
    ISBN 978-1558851016. Archived
    from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
  18. ^ a b Vito Marcantonio, Radical Congressman from New York Archived August 17, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, PoliticalAffairs. Retrieved 8-11-09
  19. ^ "Vito Marcantonio Online". Vito Marcantonio Organization. August 14, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2022. he had always identified himself as a Catholic. For example, in 1939, while speaking before the National Conference of the ILD, ... with a description of himself 'As a Roman Catholic who has not deserted the faith of his fathers.'-->
  20. ^ "Vito Marcantonio, Ethnic Populist". State University of New York Press. Retrieved March 26, 2022. further to the left with a domestic political agenda roughly parallel to that the Communist Party (CP).
  21. ^ "Vito Marcantonio". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Archived from the original on October 15, 2004. Retrieved March 8, 2022. Congressman Marcantonio was the subject of an FBI security matter investigation during the 1940's and 1950's in view of his extensive affiliation with members of the Communist Party and known communist front groups.-->{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  22. ^ a b Thaddeus Russell, A Renegade History of the United States, 2010, p. 188 (section – "Italian Americans: Out of Africa"
  23. ^ Sabin, Arthur J. (1993). Red Scare in Court: New York Versus The International Workers Order. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania. pp. 310–311.
  24. ^ Trussel, C.P. Congress is Soleman: Prepares to Consider Bills After Hearing the President Gravely Soviet Called Issue Some Hold Truman Plan Is Blow to U.N. – All but Marcantonio Applaud. New York Times (1923–Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y.] March 13, 1947: 1
  25. ^ "Zysman Identified as Red: Teachers Union Leader Tried in Absence After He Walks Out on Hearing" (PDF). New York Sun. September 17, 1941. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  26. ^ "Vito Marcantonio Online". Vito Marcantonio Organization. August 14, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2022. a priest who administered the last rites of the Catholic Church.-->
  27. ^ "Remembering Vito Marcantonio". Center For Puerto Rican Studies. August 14, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2022. Marcantonio had been a devout Catholic.-->
  28. ^ a b "I Vote My Conscience, 2002 edition, hosted at Vito Marcantonio official website". Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  29. ^ Marcantonio, Vito (1937). "Labor's Martyrs': Haymarket 1887 Sacco and Vanzetti 1927". Prism: Political & Rights Issues & Social Movements. Introduction by William Z. Foster. Workers Library Publishers: 16. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  30. ^ Marcantonio, Vito (1941). Should America Go to War?. American People's Mobilization. p. 11. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  31. ^ Marcantonio, Vito (1941). Marcantonio Answers F.D.R.!: Congressman Vito Marcantonio's Complete Radio Address Exposing the President's Drive to War. American People's Mobilization. p. 8. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  32. ^ Marcantonio, Vito (1944). Security with FDR. National Fraternal Committee for the Re-election of President Roosevelt. p. 34. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2021.

Works cited

Further reading

External links
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 20th congressional district
1935–1937 		Succeeded by
James J. Lanzetta
Preceded by
James J. Lanzetta
 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 20th congressional district
1939–1945 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 18th congressional district
1945–1951 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by
None
 American Labor Nominee for Mayor of New York City
1949 		Succeeded by
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