Vito Marcantonio papers

1935-1953

Vito Marcantonio (1902-1954), American radical congressman, New York City lawyer and politician, was a protege of Fiorello H. LaGuardia in whose law firm he became a law clerk. He made his political debut in 1924 when he managed LaGuardia's campaign for reelection to Congress. In 1934, after LaGuardia became Mayor of New York, Marcantonio ran successfully as a Republican for LaGuardia's East Harlem seat in Congress, a constituency he would represent for seven terms, six of them consecutively. Bulk of the papers reflects Marcantonio's activities as a lawyer and congressman and includes correspondence, 1935-1956, with relatives, friends, law associates, and congressional colleagues; correspondence and papers, 1935-1951, relating to constituency matters, congressional committees, and sponsorship of various bills; correspondence and papers relating to various subjects such as the American Labor Party, civil liberties, international relations, Puerto Rico, veterans' affairs, labor and labor unions, housing, and welfare projects; research files on subjects of interest to Marcantonio such as the Spanish Civil War, anti-fascism, etc.; papers relating to election campaigns; office card files; and photographs of Marcantonio, Dorothy Parker, Dashiell Hammett, East Harlem community activities, motion picture promoting Henry Wallace, and phonodiscs and audio tapes of speeches, campaign dinners, press conferences, etc.