The Italian-American Vote in Providence, Rhode Island, 1916-1948Stefano Luconi
Book Review
Luconi focuses on Italian Americans and carefully traces their voting patterns through an analysis of election returns. [He] depicts a political structure that was more restrictive than that of Boston or most other American cities. In a nation that boasted of government by the people and in a region that had long embraced the direct democracy of the town meeting, Rhode Island distinguished itself as an example of political atavism, clinging to an archaic system that muted the public voice of many citizens. State property qualifications denied the vote to poor and working-class immigrants in all elections until 1888 and in city council contests until 1930. Immigrants to the state were not, however, quiescent drones, devoting their lives wholly to digging ditches or tending looms. […] Luconi focuses on ethnic […] loyalties, demonstrating that Italian American voters were sensitive to the willingness of the two major parties to nominate Italian candidates and appoint Italians to political positions. The voters also maintained a strong devotion to their homeland, as Democrats discovered in 1920 when Italian Americans sided overwhelmingly with the GOP, expressing their contempt for Woodrow Wilson’s refusal to accede to Italy’s demands at the Versailles Conference. Though most commentators have viewed Rhode Island’s Italians as predominantly Republican before the 1930s, Luconi found that from 1916-1930 the majority of Italian voters probably supported the Democratic ticket. Neither party could take the Italians for granted, however, as the ethnic group paid close attention to what each party was doing for it in terms of jobs and policies. Luconi[‘s] […] book is both valuable for anyone seeking to understand the city’s complex ethno-religious culture and its effect on governance. The New England Quarterly To see a full description of this book, search our online database
--Joel Myerson, Carolina Distinguished Professor of American Literature, Eritus, at the University of South Carolina
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