E-Book Overview
Taking the mass Italian immigration of the late 19th century as his starting point and drawing on dozens of oral histories and a diverse array of primary sources in English and Italian, Guglielmo focuses on how perceptions of Italians' race and color were shaped in one of America's great centers of immigration and labor, Chicago. His account skillfully weaves together the major events of Chicago immigrant history--the "Chicago Color Riot" of 1919, the rise of Italian organized crime, and the rise of industrial unionism--with national and international events--such as the rise of fascism and the Italian-Ethiopian War of 1935-36--to present the story of how Italians approached, learned, and lived race. By tracking their evolving position in the city's racial hierarchy, Guglielmo reveals the impact of racial classification--both formal and informal--on immigrants' abilities to acquire homes and jobs, start families, and gain opportunities in America. White on Arrival was the winner of the 2004 Frederick Jackson Turner Award of the Organization of American Historians
E-Book Content
W H I T E ON A R R I V A L
This page intentionally left blank
WHITE ON ARRIVAL Italians, Race, Color, and Power in Chicago, 1890-1945
THOMAS A. GUGLIELMO
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dares Salaam Dehli Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Sao Paulo Shanghai Taipei Tokyo Toronto
Copyright © 2003 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com First issued as an Oxford University Press paperback, 2004 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Guglielmo, Thomas A. White on arrival: Italians, race, color, and power in Chicago, 1890-1945 / Thomas A. Guglielmo p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p.) and index. ISBN 0-19-515543-2; 0-19-517802-5 (pbk.) 1. Italian Americans—Illinois—Chicago—Ethnic identity. 2. Race awareness—Illinois—Chicago. 3. Chicago (Ill.)—Race relations. I. Title. F548.9.I8 G84 2003 3O5.85'1077311—dc21 2002025828
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
In memory of my mother, Mary Loretta, and my grandfather, Angelo.
For the Guglielmo and Smith families.
This page intentionally left blank
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book began as a dissertation and so thanks go first to my committee members, all of whom improved this manuscript in more ways than I could ever describe. Terry McDonald, my chair, was the ideal adviser— incredibly generous with his time, thoughtful and shrewd in his (continual) readings of my work, and tremendously supportive and friendly from the very start of this project. No other person had a more extensive and positive impact on the manuscript. Donna Gabaccia, for her part, willingly read early drafts of every chapter and gave me copious, incisive comments in record time. Earl Lewis and Tomas Almaguer also have supported my work from the beginning and have improved it at every turn. Many thanks go as well to different institutions that made this book possible. First, I am deeply indebted to Oxford University Press, especially Susan Ferber, Jennifer R. Kowing, and Marie Milton. Special thanks to Susan for reading the entire manuscript several times, providing countless invaluable insights, and tightening my writing on every page. I also want