“La Religione, La Patria, e la Famiglia” : Comparison of the Reactions of Italian Americans in Philadelphia and New York City to Fascism, 1910s-1930s

In the period between 1880 and 1920, Italy experienced the mass migration of 17 million of its inhabitants, which brought millions of these Italians to settle in the United States. This influx of Italian immigration to the United States reached its tail end just as Benito Mussolini was beginning to introduce his fascist doctrine to Italy, rapidly rising to power shortly after. This research involves and analysis and comparison of the responses of the Italian Americans in both Philadelphia and New York City to the rise of Mussolini’s fascism during the early 1910s to the early 1930s. To understand how each city’s Italian-American communities responded, this thesis focuses on the way their reactions to fascism are reflected in their Italian-American press organizations, religious organizations, labor organizations and social organizations. The differences found between the reactions of those Italian Americans in New York City and in Philadelphia are then placed in the context of each city's unique challenges and conditions in order to provide an explanation of why such variance in their reactions occurred.Arts and Sciences, Irving K. Barber School of (Okanagan)UnreviewedUndergraduat