Vito Anthony Marcantonio (December 10, 1902 – August 9, 1954) was an American lawyer and politician. Though originally a member of the Republican Party, he later switched to the American Labor Party. He is well-known for defending the rights of Italian Americans, as well as other ethnic groups in New York City, such as Puerto Ricans and African Americans. December 10 is the 344th day (345th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, 21 days before the next year. ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... is the 221st day of the year (222nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party) [1], is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... In politics, party switching is any change in party affiliation of a partisan public figure, usually one who is currently holding elected office. ... The American Labor Party was a socialist political party in the United States active almost exclusively in the state of New York. ...

Early life

An Italian-American, Marcantonio was born in New York City and attended the public schools there. He graduated from New York University with a law degree, and began practicing law. He was an assistant United States attorney from 1930 until 1931. An Italian American is an American of Italian descent. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... New York University (NYU) is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational research university in New York City. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Congressional career

Marcantonio was first elected to the United States House of Representatives from New York in 1934 as a Republican. He served in the House from 1935 until 1937 and was defeated for reelection in 1936. In either 1937 or 1938 he became a member of the American Labor Party. He was elected to the House again from New York in 1938, and served this time for six terms, from 1939 to 1951 being reelected in the elections of 1940, 1942, 1944, 1946, and 1948. In 1949 he ran for mayor of New York City on the American Labor Party ticket, but was defeated. In 1950 he was defeated by Democrat James Donovan, after a particularly vociferous campaign against him because of his refusal to vote for American participation in the Korean War. Donovan had the support of the Democratic, Republican, and Liberal Parties in that election. The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning larger, greater) is the modern title of the highest ranking municipal officer. ... Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... James George Donovan (December 15, 1898 - April 6, 1987) was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. ... Combatants United Nations:  Republic of Korea,  Australia,  Belgium,  Luxembourg,  Canada,  Colombia,  Ethiopia,  France,  Greece,  Luxembourg,  Netherlands,  New Zealand,  Philippines,  South Africa,  Thailand,  Turkey,  United Kingdom,  United States Medical staff:  Denmark,  Australia,  Italy,  Norway,  Sweden Communist states:  Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,  Peoples Republic of China,  Soviet Union Commanders...

Political ideology and relationship with other political parties and movements

Marcantonio, who was arguably one of the furthest left wing Members of Congress in history, believed that party loyalty was less important than voting his conscience. He was sympathetic to Socialist and Communist parties, as well as labor unions and was investigated by the FBI as many were suspicious of him because of his sympathy with communism and ties to the Communist Party. In 1940, he helped form the American Peace Mobilization to keep the U.S. from participating in World War II, and served as its vice-chair. In politics, left-wing, political left, leftism, or simply the left, are terms that refer (with no particular precision) to the segment of the political spectrum typically associated with any of several strains of socialism, social democracy, or liberalism (especially but not exclusively in the American sense of the word... The Socialist Party of America (SPA) is a socialist political party in the United States. ... The Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) is one of several Marxist-Leninist groups in the United States. ... A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers... Protest at the White House. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Marcantonio's district was centered in East Harlem, New York City, which had many residents of Italian and Puerto Rican origin. He was considered an ally of the Puerto Rican community and an advocate for the rights of the workers and the poor. Spanish Harlem, also known as East Harlem or El Barrio, is a neighborhood in northeastern part of the borough of Manhattan, one of the largest predominantly Hispanic communities in New York City. ...

He was so popular in that district that he sometimes won the Democratic and Republican primaries, as well as the American Labor Party endorsement.One of his favored election maneuvers was to bring in plane loads of Puerto Ricans before election time. All arrivals were provided apartments in East Harlem, often as many as 10-12 to an apartment and were put on welfare. They all voted to secure Marcantonio’s re-elections. The airfare of $80 per person was later collected from the Puerto Ricans’ s welfare payments. Aside from Marcantonio, the only American Laborite congressman was Leo Isacson, who served in Congress from 1948 to 1949, after winning a special election but being defeated in a general election. 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, the party soon fell apart. At the time of his death in 1954, he was running for Congress as the candidate of a newly formed third party. Leo Isacson (April 20, 1910 - September 28, 1996) was an American Labor member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. ...

Though he initially opposed efforts in World War II, he supported entry in the war after the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union, consistent with the Communist line. He later campaigned in 1942 to expand the U.S. military commitment to a second front in Europe. He opposed American involvement in the Korean War. 22:42, 16 August 2007 (UTC)65.116.14.88WESTON65.116.14.88 22:42, 16 August 2007 (UTC)W Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Combatants Germany, Romania, Finland, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia  Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb Fedor von Bock Gerd von Rundstedt C.G.E. Mannerheim Giovanni Messe, CSIR Italo Gariboldi, ARMIR Joseph Stalin Kliment Voroshilov Semyon Timoshenko Fyodor Kuznetsov Dmitry Pavlov Ivan Tyulenev Ivan Konev Semyon Budyonny Georgy Zhukov... The Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) is one of several Marxist-Leninist groups in the United States. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Combatants United States United Kingdom Free French Forces Vichy France Commanders Dwight Eisenhower Andrew Cunningham François Darlan Strength 73,500 60,000 Casualties 479+ dead 720 wounded 1,346+ dead 1,997 wounded Operation Torch (initially called Operation Gymnast) was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in...

Later life

After his defeat in mayoral and congressional elections, Marcantonio continued to practice law. It was his law practice, maintained while in Congress, that gave him the money to substantially self-finance his political campaigns. At first he practiced in Washington, D.C. but he soon returned to New York City, where he died from a heart attack after coming up the subway stairs, on Broadway by City Hall Park, August 9, 1954. Nickname: Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location of Washington, D.C., in relation to the states Maryland and Virginia Coordinates: , Country United States Federal District District of Columbia Government  - Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D)  - D.C. Council Chairperson: Vincent C. Gray (D) Ward 1: Jim Graham (D) Ward 2... Acute myocardial infarction (AMI or MI), more commonly known as a heart attack, is a disease state that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted. ...

Marcantonio's collection of speeches, "I Vote my Conscience" edited by Annette Rubenstein had a profound effect on a generation of younger readers. His defense of workers rights, his mastery of parliamentary procedure, his ability to relate to the workers in his district while also engaging in world-wide issues, made him an underground hero.^{[citation needed]}

James Joseph Lanzetta (December 21, 1894 — October 27, 1956) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. ... These are tables of congressional delegations from New York to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives. ... The 20th Congressional District of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in eastern New York. ... James Joseph Lanzetta (December 21, 1894 — October 27, 1956) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. ... James Joseph Lanzetta (December 21, 1894 — October 27, 1956) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. ... These are tables of congressional delegations from New York to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives. ... The 20th Congressional District of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in eastern New York. ... Sol Bloom political button. ... Martin John Kennedy (1892-1955) of Manhattan, New York was a U.S. Representative from New York from 1930 to 1945. ... These are tables of congressional delegations from New York to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives. ... The 18th Congressional District of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in the northern suburbs of New York City. ... James George Donovan (December 15, 1898 - April 6, 1987) was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. ...

External links

• Works by Vito Marcantonio at Project Gutenberg
• Vito Marcantonio's Gravesite

• Vito Marcantonio Library http://njind.org/njia/library.htm