ABSTRACT
Vito Marcantonio defied the truism of American politics that in the United States a radical politician has only two possible fates—defeat or co-optation. Marcantonio was the most electorally successful radical politician in modern American history: between 1934 and 1950 he served seven terms in Congress. And from his first term, when he proposed “reopening and operating … shut-down factories by and for the benefit of the unemployed … producing for use instead of profit,” until his last, when he cast the only vote against the Korean War, his commitment to radical politics never wavered. Unfortunately, to date, the remarkable story of this memorable man remains little known.
