Vito Marcantonio
Vito Marcantonio | |
|---|---|
Marcantonio in 1946 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York | |
| In office January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1951 | |
| Preceded by | James J. Lanzetta |
| Succeeded by | James G. Donovan |
| Constituency | 20th district (1939–1945) 18th district (1945–1951) |
| In office January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1937 | |
| Preceded by | James J. Lanzetta |
| Succeeded by | James J. Lanzetta |
| Constituency | 20th district |
| New York State Chairman of the American Labor Party | |
| In office January 8, 1948 – November 6, 1953 | |
| Preceded by | Hyman Blumberg |
| Succeeded by | Peter K. Hawley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Vito Anthony Marcantonio December 10, 1902 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | August 9, 1954 (aged 51) New York City, U.S. |
| Party | Republican (before 1937) American Labor (after 1937) |
| Other political affiliations | Farmer–Labor (1920) Progressive (1924) Progressive (1948–1954) |
| Spouse |
Miriam A. Sanders (m. 1925) |
| Alma mater | New York University School of Law |
Vito Anthony Marcantonio (December 10, 1902 – August 9, 1954) was an American lawyer and politician who represented East Harlem in New York City for seven terms in the United States House of Representatives.
For most of his political career, he was a member of the American Labor Party, believing that neither major American political party supported the interests of the working class. For two years prior to his party switching to Labor, he had been a New Deal coalition member of the progressive branch of the Republican Party, like his mentor and ally Fiorello La Guardia. Marcantonio was ideologically a socialist, and a supporter of political causes and positions which he deemed in the interests of the working class, poor, immigrants, labor unions, and civil rights.
Marcantonio's constituency in Congress included the smaller neighborhoods of Italian Harlem and Spanish Harlem and was home to many ethnic Italians, Jews, African Americans, and 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.