A Great Conspiracy against Our Race: Italian Immigrant Newspapers and the Construction of Whiteness in the Early 20th Century

Immigration is currently a hot topic, but for those who know their history, immigration has always been a hot topic in the United States, even back in the late 1800s, when a large number of Asian, Eastern Europeans, and Italians started to enter into the country. The concept of “Whiteness” became a concern–who was considered “White” and who was not became paramount. This book tells how Italian immigrant newspapers helped construct the identity of “Whiteness” for Italian immigrants, and that they should be considered “White” by the Anglo-Protestant Americans. Using examples, newspaper articles, and comparisons with other so called non-White races, this book traces the current of how Italian immigrants became to be an accepted part of American society, and “White”.

This is an excellent book that will appeal to students of early 20th Century American history and especially those that want to research debates on immigration. Teachers, and academics, will want to use this book for their classrooms, as it is well written, easy to follow, and not that thick. Thankfully, the author does not get to complicated and keeps things simple by using New York as his example, because it was the largest city.