Vito Marcantonio

Vito Marcantonio, 1949

Vito Anthony Marcantonio (born October 10, 1902 in New York City , †  August 9, 1954 ) was an American politician . Between 1935 and 1937 and again from 1939 to 1951 he represented New York State in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Vito Marcantonio attended the public schools in his home country. After a subsequent law degree at New York University and his admission to the bar in 1925, he began to work in this profession in New York City in 1926. He was assistant district attorney in 1930 and 1931. Politically, he first became a member of the Republican Party . In the 1934 congressional elections , Marcantonio was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the 20th  constituency of New York , where he succeeded Democrat James J. Lanzetta on January 3, 1935 . Since he was not confirmed in 1936, he could initially only complete one legislative period in Congress until January 3, 1937 . During this time, other New Deal laws were passed by the Roosevelt government.

After the temporary end of his time in the US House of Representatives, Marcantonio practiced again as a lawyer. At that time he switched to the American Labor Party . In the elections of 1938 he was re-elected as their candidate in the 20th district of his state in Congress, where he replaced Lanzetta on January 3, 1939, who had succeeded him two years earlier. After five re-elections, he was able to spend six more terms in the US House of Representatives until January 3, 1951. Since 1941, the work of the Congress was also shaped by the events of World War II . Since 1945 Marcantonio represented the 18th electoral district. He was close to communism and was therefore monitored by the FBI . In 1940 he spoke out against the United States entering World War II . It was only after the Germans attacked what was then the Soviet Union that he changed his mind. The entry into the war did not take place until a few months later after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor .

By American standards, Marcantonio was considered an extremely left-wing politician. Later he was also against the entry of the United States into the Korean War because, in his opinion, North Korea was the victim of aggression by South Korea . Domestically, he was an early advocate of the civil rights movement in the 1930s and 1940s ; Even though this term was coined later, it was already committed to their goals. Marcantonio's resistance to the Korean War cost him his re-election in 1950. A year earlier he had run unsuccessfully for the office of mayor of New York.

After his final resignation from the Congress, Vito Marcantonio worked again as a lawyer. He died on August 9, 1954 in New York City, where he was also buried.

Web links

• Vito Marcantonio in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Vito Marcantonio in the database of Find a Grave (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
James J. Lanzetta	United States House of Representatives for New York (20th constituency) January 3, 1935 - January 3, 1937	James J. Lanzetta
James J. Lanzetta	United States House Representative for New York (20th constituency) January 3, 1939 - January 3, 1945	Sol Bloom
Martin J. Kennedy	United States House Representative for New York (18th constituency) January 3, 1945 - January 3, 1951	James G. Donovan