Italian Immigrants’ Political Adjustment in the Americas: The Case of the United States and Argentina

Abstract

This article offers a comparative analysis of Italian immigrants’ political adjustment in the United States and Argentina before World War II, focusing in particular on the timing and dynamics of their participation in the electoral process. It argues that apathy shaped the newcomers’ political experience at the beginning of their stay in both countries, but Italian Argentines eventually mobilized earlier than their fellow ethnics in the United States. Labor unions and the 1912 Sáenz Peña Law, providing for mandatory vote in 1912, stimulated turnout in Argentina in the early 20th century. Conversely, Italian Americans in the United States followed suit only in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The article also suggests that political adjustment was easier in Argentina than in the United States.

Keywords

• United States
• Italian immigrants
• electoral mobilization
• political experience
• Argentina
• 1861-1940