| Chapter 1: | Italian Americana 1920s–1930s |
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Domestic reaction that resolved to defend the American way with vigorous promotion of “one hundred percent Americanism” found the nation seething amidst an intensified unabashed nationalism intolerant of any “foreign” appearance in its core. To speak a non-English language, to participate in seemingly strange customs and devotions, to read foreign-language newspapers, and to refuse to shed ethnic backgrounds increasingly became unacceptable. In such a hostile atmosphere, it was manifestly assured that immigration would re-emerge as a controversial issue.
Nativists
Nativists who had long sought to preserve the demographic (Anglo Saxon) purity of the nation via legislation like the 1917 Literacy Test that had met with only limited success in curtailing immigration, now became apprehensive about the resumption of full scale immigration immediately following the war. The rate of Italian immigration in 1920–1921, for example, approximating alarming levels of previous peak years in 1907 and 1913, served to convince the restriction-minded to take essential radical steps at ending or curbing the influx. The fact that Italians were considered the prime targets of the 1917 law, and that the forthcoming National Origin Quota Act of 1924 would have the most deleterious impact on Italians rendered it evident that Italy’s immigrants faced a rather hostile environment. The Sacco-Vanzetti case may be adduced as the cause celebrè to illustrate how devastating the atmosphere could become. Beginning in 1920 and lasting until their execution in 1927 and even beyond, Italian American communities were roiled by the trial of two Italian immigrant anarchists, a shoemaker and a fish peddler. Convicted of murder during a payroll robbery on the basis of dubious testimony, including blatant disregard for the integrity of Italian immigrants as witnesses, this episode engendered turmoil both within and without Italian American communities. As anarchists, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were convinced that their conviction was based not only on their ideology but also on account of their Italian nationality. (Significantly Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis exonerated both of them posthumously 50 years later).