Representative Vito Anthony Marcantonio

Vito Anthony Marcantonio served as a Representative from New York in the United States Congress from 1935 to 1951. A member of the American Labor Party, Vito Anthony Marcantonio contributed to the legislative process during 7 terms in office.

Vito Anthony Marcantonio’s service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history. As a member of the House of Representatives, Vito Anthony Marcantonio participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of constituents.

Vito Anthony Marcantonio (December 10, 1902 – August 9, 1954) was an American lawyer and politician who represented East Harlem in New York City for seven terms in the United States House of Representatives. For most of his political career, he was a member of the American Labor Party, believing that neither major American political party supported the interests of the working class. For two years prior to his party switching to Labor, he had been a New Deal coalition member of the progressive branch of the Republican Party, like his mentor and ally Fiorello La Guardia. Marcantonio was ideologically a socialist, and a supporter of political causes and positions which he deemed in the interests of the working class, poor, immigrants, labor unions, and civil rights. Marcantonio’s constituency in Congress included the smaller neighborhoods of Italian Harlem and Spanish Harlem and was home to many ethnic Italians, Jews, African Americans, and Puerto Ricans. He spoke Spanish, Italian, and English. Marcantonio advocated fiercely for the rights of African Americans, Italian American immigrants, and Puerto Rican immigrants in Harlem, as well as for unions and workers in general.