The sudden population shift upset some Americans, who feared change and harbored bias. Unlike previous waves of immigrants from Northern and Western Europe, the customs, languages, and religions of Southern and Eastern Europeans were considered too foreign by many white, Protestant Americans. Some believed that these new immigrants would not blend into the nation. Discrimination led to intolerance in many communities, especially towards Italian immigrants from Sicily and southern Italy. They were vilified in the American media, newspaper articles and cartoons, and were often described as ‘dark’, unintelligent and criminal.

One tragic event caught the attention of both the American and Italian governments. On October 16, 1890, New Orleans Police Chief David Hennessey was assassinated. As he was dying, he reportedly described his attackers using a slur called Italians. In response, numerous Italian immigrants were arrested and 19 men, including one only 14 years old, were charged with the crime. However, they were acquitted in court.

Enraged by the lack of a guilty verdict and encouraged by the local newspaper, a mob stormed the prison to avenge Hennessey’s death on March 14, 1891. They brutally murdered eleven of the Italian men in a lynching. In response to the tragedy, Italy severed diplomatic ties with the United States, and American leaders sought to push back on the negative portrayals of Italian immigrants that led to the violence.

Creating an ‘Italian’ hero

A year later, the US began a very public, national celebration called “Discoverer’s Day,” commemorating the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s landing. Newspapers published his full-page accounts across the country, churches and synagogues held services, and public school students participated in patriotic marches. There were American symbols at the demonstrations: flags, Uncle Sam and red, white and blue flags.

Political leaders reinforced the image of Columbus as a role model. As US Congressman Benjamin Franklin Meyers said The Patriot News: “If Christopher Columbus had been an American, born and born, his career could not have more singularly illustrated the character of a self-made man who rose to greatness and honor…his whole life is a lesson to be studied taking advantage of our country’s youth.” For the first time, Columbus was recognized as an immigrant and Catholic, and possibly as an American.