Italian Politics

Politics in Little Italy

      Taylor street, or "Little Italy", was not only home to countless incoming Italian immigrants in the later 1800's and early 1900's, but also a complex blend of political participation from this newly created community of Italians.


      Despite their numbers though, they weren't very successful in actually gaining office; no Italian has ever became a mayor of Chicago, for example. This is mostly because of how a lot of Italians were unskilled workers, and were unfit for politicians. Additionally, because racial profiling, a lot of Italians were viewed as "mobsters," and were looked down upon, ruining their chances of gaining public office. However, this connection did have at least some merit to it.


      The main problem of the Italians in gaining office was the lack of unity in politics, despite being a large population. The Italian immigrants had no clear favor in political party or stance at the time period, and was split apart by radical groups such as socialists and anarchists. 


      While they saw little success in politics themselves, Italians nonetheless provided a staggering impact on the political machine of Chicago through what was known as the "Italian vote" which fluctuated year to year. This refers to how the Italian voters were capable of shifting a vote in their favor because of their massive population. Several sources impacted this, such as the practice of trading votes to employers in exchange for job opportunities or services, and the fact that Italians generally voted for policies that favored workers.



      Most of this is because the Italians never came to America for political reasons anyway; they mostly immigrated for work, most notably on the railroads. Because of this, a vast majority of Italian immigrants favored politicians who supported labor, and they were able to sway votes in their favor that way. Despite not being well versed in politics, their sheer numbers more than made up for this when it came to the polls.




      Outside of voting, the Italian mob is notable for a major way Italians impacted Chicago politics with major organized crime syndicates such as the Chicago Outfit, started by James Colosimo, which was heavily linked to the Italians. Their ability to bribe government officials put them in a stance of power by providing immunity to the law by taking advantage of widespread corruption in the local government. This was only magnified by the prohibition in the 1920's, which was when the mob was most active in bootlegging.





      Below is a video about one of the mob's most famous members, Al Capone, and his extraordinary impact on the city around him.

     


      

      
      

Italian Immigration

     Many factors led to the new wave of Italian immigration in the mid 19th century to the early 20th century. In the early 20th century, natural disasters struck the poor southern part of Italy such as the Messina earthquake. The earthquake, followed by a tidal wave caused destruction and widespread poverty across the south, making life difficult for the lower class.
     Another reason to leave Italy would be the time period after Italian unification. Following the unification of Italian states into the Kingdom of Italy, many of the people felt dissatisfied as it mainly benefited those living in the North.. Although united, many of the population of the new kingdom felt divided from the other former states due to difference in language, culture, etc. The agricultural, rural south paled in comparison to the wealthier northern part of Italy. Those living in the south faced horrible living conditions. Many of those living in poverty found themselves living in one room houses and were isolated from the rest of the country due to the lack of roads in Italy.

     Specifically, farmers struggled since the tools they had were practically useless as they did not have the modern technology to get the work done efficiently. On top of that, Italy faced an agricultural disaster as grain prices fell and disease destroyed many of their crops. With these crop failures, much of the population was led to starvation. The country also had to deal with the problem of overpopulation. After unification, Italy experienced a large growth in population. This made it harder for those in the lower class to find job opportunities and to move up the social ladder.
     Not only that, but following the long war leading up to unification, the need to raise taxes ensued to pay off the debts. This angered many people, mainly the contadini, or peasants. They were unable to pay the ridiculously high taxes, thus resulting in the government raising the taxes for people who could afford it.
     Politically, Italians wanted to flee the country once war was declared on Austria and after Mussolini came to power. As a result of this political chaos, crime rates shot up and drove away Italians.
     To escape this, Italians (mainly farmers, sharecroppers, and artisans) began to flee to America in search of a better life. The nation appealed to them due to its higher wages for the workers compared to Italy's workers, lower taxes, and many job opportunities. The idea of having a stable job with better pay and working conditions than those in Italy tempted the people to make the move to America. For farmers, they were attracted to the rich, fertile soil America had to offer.

     For the rest of the immigrants, many jobs opened up as a result from the Industrial Revolution that was happening in America at the time. With the multitude of factories and shops opening all across the nation, the need for unskilled workers or cheap labor skyrocketed. Many Italians felt drawn to Chicago as it was in need of many workers in factories and on the railroad. Since Chicago was the center of most railroads, it became the fastest growing city, which increased its need for more workers.
     Although the majority of the Italian immigrants were lower class, illiterate males, women were able to take advantage of the new opportunities in America. Women began to emigrate in the early 20th century as they were pulled by the idea of reuniting with families as well as having more opportunities in America as women. They worked in textile factories or sweatshops to support themselves and give them a new found sense of independence and freedom despite the somewhat low wages.
     The immigrants were drawn to the political safety and the time of peace America was in. Compared to Italy, America was a much safer place to live in with it's lower crime rates and lack of political corruption.
     However, many immigrants did not stay in America for too long. Many only wanted to earn enough money and move back to Italy to improve their lives there, such as buying their own land. They became known as ritornati, or returnees. About 30-50% of Italian immigrants ended up moving back to their homeland with enough money to start over and improve their lives.