White on Arrival: Italians, Race, Color, and Power in Chicago, 1890-1945

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


Author: Thomas A. Guglielmo
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 09/30/2004
Pages: 296
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.92lbs
Size: 9.16h x 6.16w x 0.78d
ISBN: 9780195178029

About the Author

Thomas A. Guglielmo is an Assistant Professor of American Studies at the University of Notre Dame.

This title is not returnable