Biographical Material

Born: March 9, 1879 in Sulmona Italy

Died: January 11, 1943 on a New York street. Murdered by an unknown assailant.

Brief Summary

Carlo Tresca was born in Italy and moved to the United States in 1904 to escape a jail sentence for libel associated with the paper he was editing at the time.

Though he started as a Socialist, Tresca died an Anarchist. He edited a number of papers which stood up for workers' rights and denounced the hypocrisy and corruption of those in power. One of his favorite targets was the clergy who he attacked relentlessly. Tresca was also a skilled labor agitator, leading strikes and urging workers to stand up for their rights.

Dorothy Gallagher's book All the Right Enemies--The Life and Murder of Carlo Tresca is an excellent history of Tresca's life, as is the more recent biography by Nunzio Pernicone, Carlo Tresca: Portrait of a Rebel. Gallagher says in her preface, "to thousands of Italian immigrants Tresca was a hero; to the FBI he was 'notorious'; to a number of American intellectuals and labor leaders he was a counsel; to American and Italian fascists, a serious adversary; to the Communist party of the 1930's a renegade and Trotskyite; to rival anarchists, a spy and traitor; to his friends a joy; to women, overpoweringly attractive; to the man who killed him, little more than a contract." Given this, there can be little doubt that Tresca was a man who was as respected as he was hated, and ultimately hated enough to be murdered.

Beginnings

Carlo Tresca was born on March 9, 1879 in Sulmona, Italy, the sixth of eight children. His parents were wealthy --- much better off than most of the peasants --- and owned both farmland and two family businesses, a carting firm and a stationer's shop^[1]. However, in the 1880s, there was an economic depression in Italy and the Trescas lost all of their money. Carlo, still of school age, was sent to seminary school as the family could not afford a university education, but he did not stay long. He became interested in socialism and was Sulmona's first member of the party.^[2] He began organizing the peasants in his region, writing for the socialist paper Il Germe, and became the secretary of the Railroad Workers Union. After several short prison terms for libel, Tresca moved to the United States in 1904.

Tresca did not integrate well into American life easily, and did not become immediately involved in the American labor movement. Even after he was in a relationship with labor agitator Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, she described that his heart was still in Italy, and his English still poor (he had been living in the United States for at least fifteen years by then). He quickly moved from New York to Philadelphia, where there were more Italians from his region and he felt more at home. He wrote: "though living in America, my thoughts, my talks, my habits of life, my friends and my enemies were all Italian."^[3]

Through journalism, as head of socialist newspaper Il Proletario, Tresca began to attack various businessmen and men in power for their oppression of workers, beginning with the consul general of Philadelphia, Count Geralamo Naselli. He went on to investigate the conditions in mines and mills, focusing mainly on Italian immigrant workers. His first strike participation in 1905 occurred when 500 Italian and 900 Jewish hatmakers walked out of the John B. Stetson Company in Philadelphia, demanding fair wages, working conditions, and job security.^[4]

His wife, Helga, at this point emigrated from Italy in time for Tresca to lose his position at Il Proletario because of his inflammatory work. She soon gave birth to a girl, Beatrice. Shortly after, Tresca ran into legal trouble when caught having sex with a sixteen year old in a hotel room, his supposed English tutor. Not only were the charges daunting, but his reputation was also tarnished. In this time, he began to win himself enemies --- not only this girl's father, but also among anti-leftists and gangs such as Mano Nera^[5]. Despite threats from his enemies, Tresca continued to write and agitate workers, leading up to the momentous strike in Lawrence, MA. It was both an important strike in the labor movement, and also the period when he met Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, fellow agitator and soon-to-be romantic partner. ^[6]

After his successful and well-known involvement in Lawrence, Tresca went to New York to organize hotel workers on strike, leaving Helga and Beatrice for good. In 1913, Helga filed for divorce, and won custody over Beatrice: At this point, Tresca had formed a relationship with Flynn, and was living with her family in the Bronx.

[1] Gallagher, p. 16.

[2] Gallager, p. 19.

[3] Nunzio, p. 22.

[4] Nunzio, p.28.

[5] Nunzio, p. 37.

[6] Gallagher, p. 37.

Time line of Important Events in the Life of Carlo Tresca

Events taken from Carlo Tresca: Portrait of a Rebel,
by Nunzio Pernicone
(Numbers in parentheses refer to the page in Pernicone).

March 9, 1897 Born to Filippo Tresca and Filomen Fasciani in Sulmona, Italy. (7)

1897 Tresca gets his first taste of activism organizing skirmishes against Catholic seminary students, who he saw as defenders of the status quo. (9)

May, 1898 Tresca joins the PSI, Partito Socialista Italiano, the Italian Socialist Party. (11)

April, 1802 Tresca begins organizing the peasants of Sulmona under the banner of the PSI. He concentrates his organizing efforts in taverns, earning him the trust and loyalty of the local peasantry. (12, 13)

May 1, 1902 Tresca gives his first speech at a May Day demonstration. His heartfelt, humorous, and impassioned speech earns him applause from the peasants. Tresca would always remember this speech as the time when he became a man. (13)

June 1, 1902 Tresca is arrested for the first time for shouting a "subversive" remark in a police captain's face. He is sentenced to 30 days in jail. (14)

October 4, 1902 Tresca is tried for "libelous" remarks made in print against the officer who arrested him. He is found guilty. (14)

March 2 - May 12, 1903 Tresca serves his 70 day prison sentence for libel. (14)

October, 1903 Tresca is made Secretary of the Firemen, Engineers, and Related Workers Union and Editor-in-chief of Il Germe newspaper. (15)

November, 1903 Attacks Sulmona's most prominent citizen, Baron Sardi De Letto, in print in Il Germe. Is sued for libel. (15)

1903 Sues the editors of La Democrazia for libel against him. They counter sue him. (16)

1904 Attacks the Italian military in Il Germe (16)

April 8, 1904 Marries Helga Guerra in a civil ceremony. He later marries her in an official Catholic ceremony to pacify his mother, though he does so under cover of darkness so as not to invite criticism against himself in his role as anti-Catholic revolutionary. (17)

April 18, 1904 Found guilty of libel against the editors of La Democrazia. He is sentenced to 2 years and 10 days in prison. (18)

April 25, 1904 Found guilty of libel against Sardi De Letto, and sentenced to 19 months and 1 day in prison. (18)

June 18, 1904 Settles with the editors of La Democrazia so as to avoid his prison term; but Tresca finds that Sardi De Letto is not amenable to any such agreement. Tresca thus decides to emigrate to America. (18)

June 22, 1904 Although Italian authorities are aware of Tresca's intent to emigrate so as to avoid his prison term, they allow Tresca to leave. (18)

July 1904 On his journey to America, meets Benito Mussolini in Lausanne, Switzerland. Neither is impressed with the other. (19)

August, 1904 Arrives in New York City aboard the SS Tourraine. (21)

October, 1904 Tresca becomes disenchanted with New York City; departs for Philadelphia to becomes Director of Il Proletario, the official organ of the Federazione Socialista Italiana del Nord America (FSI). (21)

1905 Tresca supports the I.W.W. at its founding because he believes it is the only labor union that understands the importance of united class struggle. He begins calling himself a revolutionary syndicalist. (29, 30)

1905 Focuses the nature of his opposition against a coalition of Italians he terms the Camorra Coloniale. This coalition - prominent Italian businessmen, Italian consular officials, and Italian Catholic priests --- he believed were responsible for exploiting Italian immigrants. (24)

February, 1905 Participates in his first strike action against hat maker John B. Stetson Company in Philadelphia. The strike is a failure. (27, 28)

May 1905 Helga joins him in America. (18)

May 1905 Tresca exposes Count Geralamo Naselli, Philadelphia's consul general, as being corrupt. Italy sends representatives to investigate the charges, but these representatives decide the attacks are not substantiated, and Italy begs the U.S. Secretary of State to intervene. (25)

1905 - 1906 Tresca organizes Propaganda Tours throughout the Eastern and Midwestern U.S. These tours are designed to organize the working class Italian immigrants. (26)

August 21, 1905 In the midst of one of his Propaganda Tours, Tresca is invited to Northfield, Vermont to assist in a strike by Italian ditch diggers. The strike goes on to seeming success. (28)

December 28, 1905 He is found guilty of libel in the Naselli libel case and sentenced to 3 months of imprisonment. This affair leads to tension between Tresca and the FSI Executive Committee. (30, 31)

March 1906 Tresca is made editor of La Voce del Popolo, a daily labor newspaper that was started by his friend Giovanni Di Silvestro. (33)

March 16, 1906 Helga gives birth to a daughter, Beatrice. (33)

June 7, 1906 He resigns as Director of Il Proletario (31).

1906 through 1907 Serves his 3 month prison sentence at Mayamensing Prison. (33)

Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 1906 In Prison, Tresca misses the FSI Congress; at the Congress, he is subjected to attacks and accusations by members of the Congress. Hearing of these attacks, Tresca vows to "tear up my membership card in your face." (33)

March 1907 He returns to his job at La Voce del Popolo, but soon discovers that his friend Di Silvestro does not intend to fight the Italian interests that he believes are exploiting Italian immigrants. Tresca thus ends his tenure at the magazine and discontinues his friendship with Di Silvestro. (33)

August 24, 1907 Starts his own syndicalist paper - La Plebe in Philadelphia. He vows that his paper will stay independent of any political parties. (33, 34)

February 16, 1908 Arrested for disorderly conduct with Marietta Di Antonio, a girl under 16 years of age who had been teaching him English. (34)

Aug 1908 Moves La Plebe to Pittsburgh to evade the Di Antonio scandal. (34)

Late 1908 Italian Ambassador informs the U.S. Postmaster General that Tresca has moved to Pittsburgh, and asks that the U.S. suppress La Plebe. Tresca somehow evades U.S.P.S. attempts to intervene and obtains third-class mailing privileges, allowing his paper to survive. (35)

December 18, 19, 1908 He is sued for libel by a priest whom he had accused of sexual misconduct. Although Tresca is able to defeat the priest in court by proving that the allegations against him were true, he is found guilty of libeling the priest's mistress. (37)

January 7, 1909 Tresca survives an assassination attempt. Sensing the attack from behind, he places his hand in the way and blocks the attempt to slit his throat. His face is cut instead, and he requires stitches. (37, 38)

January 20, 1909 Tresca learns during a visit of his brother that his father, Don Filippo, has died. (38)

January 21, 1909 Tresca is sentenced to 6 months in jail for libeling the priest's mistress, despite the fact that he had agreed to a plea bargain for only a $50 fine. He blames the Catholic Church for the vindictive verdict. Local Protestant groups evidently agree and pressure the judge to reconsider the harsh verdict, and Tresca's sentence is reduced to "time served." He thus serves only 15 days. (38)

April 14, 1909 In the Di Antonio sexual misconduct trial in Philadelphia, Tresca finds his charges reduced because the girl testifies that the relationship had been consensual. He pleaded guilty to the charge of adultery, and receives a 9 month prison sentence.

April 1909 - January 1910 Tresca serves his 9 month sentence for adultery. During this time, Helga tries to keep his paper going, but also has an affair with I.W.W. activist Joe Ettor. Ultimately, the paper encounters financial difficulties and cannot survive. (39)

July 24, 1909 With the help of a family friend, Helga acquires a newspaper called L'Avvenire. (40)

January 1910 Upon his release from prison, Tresca moves his family and L'Avvenire to New Kensington, a suburb of Pittsburgh. He would stay here for 3 years, with FSI agent Antonio Mariella sponsoring his paper. (40)

March 1910 - July 1911 Tresca participates in the Westmoreland strike. This strike was an attempt by unorganized coal miners to get the local coal industry to recognize their right to unionize. Tresca was the only real Italian leader to participate in the strike. Political maneuvering by other labor groups left Tresca largely alone in his fight. Tresca did not believe that the strike would succeed, and begged miners to relocate to other areas that would be more receptive; nonetheless, while the strike progressed, he continued to work for a favorable outcome despite his pessimistic outlook on their prospects of success. Ultimately, the strike did fail, and workers did not gain any concessions. (41-44)

October 13, 1909 Anarchist Francisco Ferrer, an educator who had been held responsible for a rebellion in Barcelona, was tried and executed in Spain. Tresca blamed the Catholic Church for this atrocity and stepped up his attacks on the Catholic Church in L'Avvenire. (44, 45)

July 1910 As part of his campaign against the Catholic Church, Tresca alleged that the unnamed "Priest of Butler, PA" had fathered a child and forced his mistress to murder it. Believing that he was the Priest indicated, the Priest Vincenzo Marinaro sued Tresca for Libel. (45)

October - November 1910 Tresca is tried and found guilty of libel against Marinaro in October, and in November is sentenced to 9 months in prison. This was the maximum sentence the judge could deliver. (45)

April 2-4, 1911 In a move of apparent reconciliation, the FSI elects Tresca to serve as the Pittsburgh representative at the federations congress at Utica. The Congress adopts a far more revolutionary and far less political stance, and Tresca views the congress as a success. (46, 47).

June 1911 - March 1912 Tresca loses his appeal of his conviction in the Marinaro libel case, and serves his 9 month prison sentence in Allegheny County Jail. (47)

January 29, 1912 Strike leaders Joe Ettor and Arturo Giovannitti, along with mill worker Joseph Caruso, were arrested and charged with murder as a result of deaths that had occurred during demonstrations of striking mill workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Although Ettor and Giovannitti had not caused the deaths, they were deemed indirectly responsible. (50)

March and April 1912 The Lawrence mill worker strike is deemed to be a success, but Ettor and Giovannitti are still imprisoned, and the FSI is determined to secure their release. Giovannitti invites a recently liberated Tresca to come to Lawrence and lead the effort to secure their release. (50, 51)

May 1912 Tresca works in Lawrence to secure the release of Ettor and Giovannitti. After a disappointing turnout to his May Day speech, Tresca decides that work is needed to rouse the immigrants and unite them in behalf of the two men. He decides that direct action will be the only way to secure their release, and advises a general strike. (51)

June - September 1912 Tresca goes on a tour of major cities in the eastern United States, in an effort to organize mass support for the general strike among the immigrant communities. Returning to Lawrence, he organizes a rally to demonstrate the strength of his movement and urges the crowds to march on the Common in support of the imprisoned. (52)

September 15, 1912 Tresca organizes a large rally in Boston from the surrounding communities. In all, between 20,000 to 35,000 workers show up for the demonstration, and Tresca urges them all to support the general strike scheduled to take place on September 27. (53)

September 25, 1912 A letter from Ettor and Giovannitti arrives wherein they unexpectedly ask that the general strike be postponed. Tresca reluctantly supports the request from his friends, despite the fact that he had worked so hard to organize the general strike. (53)

September 27, 1912 Disgruntled by the postponement of the general strike, Italian anarchists attempt to carry it out anyway. 10,000 to 12,000 workers go on strike. In an attempt to save face at having lost control of the situation, the I.W.W. calls for a 24 hour protest strike be held on September 30. (54)

September 30, 1912 During the 24 hour protest strike, Tresca urges the workers to return to work and wait for the trial to determine the outcome before acting. He promises that direct action will be carried out if Ettor and Giovannitti are found guilty. (55)

November 23, 1912 Ettor and Giovannitti are acquitted. (58) Tresca would look back on his activity in Lawrence and consider it a turning point in his career: prior to Lawrence he had primarily worked with Italian immigrants. After Lawrence, he saw the plight of Italian immigrants within the broader social context of all lower classes striving for equality. (59)

December 1912 Representing the I.W.W., Tresca goes to Little Falls, New York, where he supports a strike of textile workers. The strike is successful. (61)

December 31, 1912 Tresca travels to New York City to support a hotel worker strike. (61)

January 1913 Tresca reorients the hotel workers away from political action and towards direct action. Reinvigorated, the union plans a general strike for January 24. (62)

January 24, 1913 Tresca leads a crowd of 2000 workers in a march against the hotels. They commit acts of vandalism and there is conflict between strikers and strike breakers, including the police. Guards, who had been hired by the hotels, march on the union headquarters, determined to attack it. The strikers go out and engage them in fighting. Police begin arresting and beating the strikers at will. Tresca is arrested. During the tumult, the police are able to force a retreat by the strikers by putting a gun to Tresca's head and threatening to kill him if the strikers do not retreat. (62, 63)

January 25, 1913 In his scuffle with police on January 24, Tresca dropped a small book that Elizabeth Flynn had given him. In the book was evidence that Tresca had been having an affair with Flynn. The scandal is printed in New York papers. (63)

January 31, 1913 The New York hotel workers strike ends in failure. (63)

February 1913 As Italian immigrants are the largest ethnic group among the silk workers in Paterson, New Jersey, the I.W.W. dispatches Tresca to Paterson to support and plan a strike there. (66)

February 25, 1913 Around 5,000 (out of a total of between 6 and 7 thousand total weavers) walk out of the silk mills and gather to listen to Tresca urge a general strike. (66)

March 1913 In late February and early March, the 5,000 strikers are joined by 6,000 strikers from Paterson's dye houses and 6,000 English-speaking ribbon workers. By the end of the month, around 25,000 silk industry workers were on strike in Paterson. (66)

March, 1913 His affair with Flynn having been exposed by the New York press, Tresca has to choose between his wife and his mistress: he decides to leave Helga and moves in with Flynn. (74)

April, 1914 Tresca moves his newspaper, L'Avvenire, from the Pittsburgh suburbs to Harlem. (74)

March - August 1, 1913 The Paterson strike goes on, but experiences many setbacks in the form of heavy police intervention, American attitudes against immigrant workers, and financial mistakes. These failures made it impossible for the strikers to continue due to financial hardship, and resulted in the failure of the Paterson strike on August 1, 1913. (66-68) Throughout the strike Tresca had been arrested between 5 and 11 times. (69)

December 15, 1913 Tresca trial begins in Paterson; he is charged with "inciting riot" and "advocating personal injury" during the Paterson strike. (75)

February and March, 1913 Acting on Tresca's suggestion, New York radicals begin a campaign to march the unemployed on Christian churches and demand charity. The churches did not always respond charitably, and the police were sometimes invoked to disperse the gatherers. After one such altercation had resulted in mass arrests, the New York City police department began a campaign of violence against anarchists, an incident of which found Tresca the victim of a police detective sticking a pistol in his back and ordering him not to come to the aid of another anarchist who was being beaten. (76, 77)

September 1913 Under the influence of Mother Jones, a strike begins in Ludlow, Colorado by coal workers against John D. Rockefeller's Colorado Fuel & Iron Company. Company officials expel the strikers from their housing, and thereafter the strikers set up tent cities just outside the company's property to continue the strike. (78)

Sometime in 1914 Tresca announces his conversion to anarcho-syndicalism. (78)

March and April 1914 Tresca and other New York anarchists begin holding mass rallies, wherein protesters march peacefully, though engaging in verbal hostilities. Reacting against this, the New York press demands the police intervene. On April 4, 1914, the police attack protesters, beating many brutally, including several of Tresca's friends. (78)

April 20, 1914 Police and state militia begin shooting at the tent city in Ludlow, Colorado. In all, 32 people are confirmed dead by the shootings. The event is dubbed "The Ludlow Massacre." (79)

After April 20, 1914 Enraged by the Ludlow Massacre, Tresca begins a personal campaign against John D. Rockefeller. He organizes demonstrations against Rockefeller which sometimes turn violent, with the police attacking the demonstrators. Rockefeller begins to fear for his life and flees to an estate in the outskirts of New York City. (79)

June 30, 1914 Tresca's original trial in Paterson had ended in a deadlocked jury. Thus, on June 30, 1914 his second trial for inciting a riot begins. Tresca is found "not guilty" by the jury. (76)

July 11, 1914 A memorial service is held in Union Square in New York City in behalf of several anarchists who had been killed by a bomb. The bomb was intended for John D. Rockefeller, but had failed to ignite, It later went off in the quarters of the men who had constructed it, killing several of them and their associates. The memorial service had initially not had the support of the I.W.W., but at Tresca's insistence, the I.W.W. agreed to support it, (an agreement which Haywood subsequently broke.) (80-82)

August 1914 World War I begins. Tresca opposes the war in his paper. (87)

March 3, 1915 Tresca organizes the legal defense of several young anarchists who had been caught in a police entrapment scheme to bomb St. Patrick's Cathedral. They are ultimately convicted and sentenced to 6 to 12 years. (85, 86)

March to May, 1916 Tresca goes on a propaganda tour in California, lecturing against the war. (87)

May 1916 On the way home from his California propaganda tour, Tresca is persuaded to join and help lead an iron miner strike in Minnesota. (88)

June 2, 1916 The iron miner strike in Minnesota begins. (89)

June 22, 1916 Company violence kills a Croation iron miner. (89)

July 3, 1916 During a raid on a private home, conflict occurs between the Montenegrin strikers and guards, resulting in the death of a guard and an innocent bystander. Five of the Montenegrin strikers are arrested and charged with first degree murder.

July 3, 1916 Company officials organize armed guards to intimidate Tresca, in a move that his fellow organizers interpret as a "lynching party" for Tresca. However, Tresca diffuses the conflict by courageously leaving his vehicle and walking confidently among the guards. No one has the courage to initiate the fight with him. (90)

July 3, 1916 Having heard of the violence between the Montenegrin strikers and the guards, Tresca travels to Virginia to seek the advice of the strike committee. (90)

July 4, 1916 Early in the morning, Tresca is arrested in Virginia and charged as an accessory to murder in Minnesota, despite the fact that he had been over 100 miles away during the time of the incident. (90)

July to December, 1916 Tresca remains incarcerated in Duluth, Minnesota, awaiting trial. (91, 93)

September 17, 1916 The Minnesota iron workers strike ends with partial success; severe repression from the company and lack of funds from the union forced the strikers to end the strike, but the prospect of another strike the following spring induced the company to raise wages. (91)

December, 1916 As a result of a plea bargain deal between the prosecution and the Montenegrin strikers who had been involved in the murder, charges against Tresca are dropped. (93)

January, 1917 Federal authorities begin trying to establish a case for deporting Carlo Tresca. (96)

April 6, 1917 The United States declares war against Germany. (96)

September 5, 1917 Federal authorities raid I.W.W. headquarters, looking for damaging information that can be used against anarchists. (97)

September 15, 1917 Tresca is indicted, along with 165 other I.W.W. members of conspiracy to "impede the war effort." (97)

September 29, 1917 Tresca is arrested by federal agents as a result of the criminal indictment. (97)

October 31, 1917 Tresca posts bail and is freed. (98)

December 14, 1917 Tresca begins publishing a new paper, called Il Martello. The Postal regulations had financially devastated L'Avvenire, so he purchases Il Martello, which already has mailing privileges, for only a few hundred dollars. As a result of government repression, and Tresca's desire neither to incriminate himself personally nor to lose mailing privileges, the content of Il Martello is somewhat less radical than its predecessor. The content is still recognizably anarchist, however; it is just a little more subtle. (100, 101, 103, 104)

February 15, 1918 Ignoring the I.W.W.'s strategy of combining all the arrests and fighting them all at once in Chicago, the New York anarchists, including Tresca and Flynn, decide to pursue their own strategy, which is to delay as long as possible until the war hysteria subsides. Believing that the New York defendants have circumstances which might impede his case, the Chicago prosecutor agrees to allow the New York anarchists to be prosecuted separately. (98)

August 31, 1918 The more than 100 members of the I.W.W. who had been implicated in the Chicago trial are convicted, and the judge metes out extremely heavy sentences. (98)

1919 - 1922 Tresca uses less incendiary rhetoric as a result of the Red Scare; facing deportation, he elects to avoid incriminating himself. This will frustrate the immigration authorities and earn him the contempt of some ultra radical colleagues. (98-102)

February 1919 Receiving word that the Paterson silk workers are striking again, Tresca travels to Passaic, NJ to see how he might be of assistance. He is informed that union leaders no longer want Tresca involved because he is "too radical". (106)

February 25, 1919 Two Italian anarchists are arrested in a bombing conspiracy plot. Police will eventually suspect that a payroll robbery that resulted in a murder is linked to the anarchist conspiracy, and the investigation related to that robbery/murder will result in the conviction of Sacco and Vanzetti. (115)

March 1919 The Justice Department drops conspiracy charges against Tresca and the other New York anarchists. (98)

March 1919 Originally a monthly magazine, Tresca begins publishing Il Martello every three weeks. (104)

April 1919 Despite their initial misgivings, Paterson strike leaders invite Tresca to participate in the silk worker strike as a result of his popularity with the strikers. Tresca accepts, and begins planning his return to Paterson. (107)

May 1, 1919 Believing that he is being spied upon and that his original plan to enter Paterson would result in his arrest, Tresca changes his plans to enter Paterson on May 2, and arrives the night before. As he expected, police were waiting for him the next day, but due to his decision to change plans he evades arrest. (108)

May 2, 1919 Tresca delivers a rousing speech to striker workers which boosts morale. He then leaves Paterson. (108)

May - June 1919 The Paterson strike ends in success. (108)

Aug. 1919 – Feb. 1920 Tresca uses his influence and the clout of his paper to aid in the defense of I.W.W. workers who had been accused of attempting to assassinate Woodrow Wilson. (109)

December 1919 Tresca begins a propaganda tour of mining towns in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan. During a stop in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, police raid a dinner party where Tresca is speaking. In the altercation, one of Tresca's friends is shot in the stomach. He later dies in the hospital. The Police capture Tresca and send him out on the next train away from Beaver Falls. (111, 112)

February 1920 Il Martello goes into production semi-monthly. (104)

May 1, 1920 Tresca uses his writing in the May Day issue of La Guardia Rossa to discussing the many instances of repression against political activism in the United States. In a move that demonstrates that he had enlarged his focus away from Italian immigrant concerns to a broader perspective, he also focused on lynchings of African Americans. (113)

April 16, 1920 Police begin to suspect Tresca as the eventual recipient of the funds gained from the robbery at the Slater and Morrill shoe factory. However, they abandon their interest in Tresca when investigations prove that his bank account has no money in it. (118)

April 26, 1920 Bartolomeo Vanzetti travels to New York to meet Tresca and seek his advice regarding a bombing conspiracy trial that had implicated several of Vanzetti's friends. Tresca's advice is that the anarchists destroy all evidence. (116)

May 1, 1920 In a brilliant exposé in Il Martello, Tresca documents enough evidence to out a prominent "anarchist", Eugenio Vico Ravarini, as a government spy. (115)

May 5, 1920 Having decided to return to Italy, Sacco and Vanzetti linger in America so as to destroy all of their anarchist evidence. They are arrested; their goal being to distance themselves from anarchism, and assuming that their arrest was connected with anarchism, they lie to police about their anarchist connections. This leads police to conclude that they are liars with something to hide and they become chief suspects in the Slater and Morrill payroll robbery/murder case. (117)

June, early July 1920 Vanzetti is convicted in a lesser robbery at the L.Q. White robbery, that had not resulted in a murder. Prosecutors planned to secure his conviction in this lower case and then use his felony status to bolster their otherwise weak case in the Slater and Morrill murder case. (118)

July 1, 1920 Angered by what he considered to be incompetent counsel in Vanzetti's conviction, Tresca travels to Boston to urge Sacco and Vanzetti's legal defense committee to secure better legal counsel. (118)

July, 1920 Tresca gathers a legal team for Sacco and Vanzetti, and begins devoting extensive space in Il Martello to defending them. (119)

August 1920 In Il Martello, Tresca begins opposing Bolshevism. He alleges that there is no true dictatorship of the Proletariat in Russia, and that Russia had merely gone from dictatorship of the Czar to dictatorship of a political party. He is reluctant, however, to abandon the Russian experiment, continuing to hold out hope that the Russian proletariat will reorient itself to genuine revolution. (123, 124)

September 11, 1920 Sacco and Vanzetti are indicted on murder charges in the Slater and Morrill case. (118)

January 1921 Il Martello goes into production weekly. (104)

March 1921 His appeals having been exhausted, I.W.W. leader Haywood flees to the Soviet Union rather than serve his 21 year prison sentence. (98)

May 31, 1921 Tresca attends opening day of the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti, and Il Martello publishes a chronicle of all courtroom proceedings. (120)

August, 1921 Seeing nothing but continued repression, Tresca abandons all hope in the Bolsheviks and determines that the success of the revolution will depend on other than the Bolsheviks. (124)

August to October 1921 Giuseppe Bottai, a prominent Italian Fascist who boasted of personally murdering communists, travels to the United States to bolster American support of the Fascist regime. Leftists of all political persuasions, including Tresca, choose to rally in protest against him. On several occasions he is forced to flee the stage after only a few brief minutes in fear of his life. He appears to believe that Tresca is the main force organizing this hostility to him. (139)

Nov. 1921 to Oct. Federal government infiltrators manage to infiltrate Il Martello; Giuseppe Sposa, a federal agent, managed to obtain a job as a shipping clerk at Tresca's paper. (148, 154)

1922 Tresca begins a new strategy of holding open-air rallies to reach ordinary working Italian immigrants who had previously not been familiar with his ideas. (142)

February 1922 to July 1923 Tresca undertakes propaganda tours at a frenzied pace, speaking largely against Fascism. His goal is to keep as many Italian immigrants as possible from sympathizing with Mussolini. In all, he is on the road for a total of 5 of these 17 months, traveling to various cities throughout the East and Midwest United States. (142, 143)

August, 1922 Tresca concludes that the Russian proletariat will not overthrow the Bolsheviks, and concludes that the Russian revolution was a failure. However, Tresca is less opposed to Marxism itself than most other anarchists of the time. (124)

October 1922 Irritated at Tresca's condemnation of him, Mussolini threatens Tresca, warning him that Fascist power extends beyond Italy's borders, even to New York City. Tresca responds by telling Mussolini that he is going to continue to speak the truth about Fascism and that Mussolini's threat against him is a bluff because Mussolini and his followers are cowards. (147)

October 1922 Mussolini's rise to power in Italy provokes Tresca to focus his efforts at defeating Fascism. (121)

1923 Il Martello reaches international distribution, being mailed throughout Italy. Tresca mails his paper to subscribers in Italy without charging any money. The Italian government responds by banning the importation of Il Martello. (136)

1923 Fascism held sway over many Italians in large part because of its promise of economic prosperity. In an effort to undermine Fascism, Tresca begins organizing a boycott of all aspects of the Italian economy; he also urges supporters to stop sending money back home to Italy. Further, he asks supporters to boycott any American business whose proprietor is known to be a Fascist. (136, 137).

February, 1923 Tresca forms the Comitato Generale di Difesa Contro Il Fascismo, an organization whose purpose is to unite the various leftist groups against Fascism. Although the various leftist groups often fought against each other more than their enemies on the right, the group did have some success uniting the various factions against their common enemy. (145)

February 23, 1923 The Italian government alleges that in a speech on this date, Tresca had advocated assassination of the Italian king; they begin pressuring the U.S. to deport Tresca back to Italy. (149)

May 5, 1923 In an article in Il Martello, Tresca concludes an article about the abuses of the Italian monarchy with the words, "Down with the Monarchy!" The Italian government alleges that this is further incitement towards violence against the monarch, and informs the U.S. government that Tresca is operating as a Russian agent. (150)

May 17, 1923 The U.S. State Department Solicitor determines that the obscenity statute does not apply to Tresca's article against the monarchy, because he merely was expressing his disgust with a monarchical form of government and alleging immorality, and that these are protected forms of speech. (151)

July, 1923 In a move that was intended to show defiance toward the Fascists, Tresca moves the offices of Il Martello in the immediate neighborhood of the headquarters of a New York City Fascist organization. (139)

July, early August 1923 The Italian Ambassador calls for suppression of Il Martello. (151)

August 14, 1923 Tresca is arrested by U.S. marshal under charges of violating anti- obscenity laws in connection with his "Down with the Monarchy!" article in Il Martello. Tresca posts a $1000 bond and is released. This happens in spite of the State Department Solicitor's opinion that Tresca cannot be prosecuted on the basis of the obscenity statute. (151)

September, 1923 The U.S. government steps up its attack on Il Martello, refusing to mail it under various pretexts which cost Tresca large sums of money to correct. Still, he manages to "correct" the issues and they are delivered. (151)

Sept. to Nov. 1923 U.S. agents at the Bureau of Investigation, in cooperation with agents at the U.S. Postal Service, initiate a plan to entrap Tresca and charge him with violating obscenity laws. Posing as fellow anarchists, they request books from Tresca that are considered obscene. Tresca falls for the ruse, and sends the books. (152)

October 28, 1923 Against his better judgment, Tresca had joined the OSIA (the Order of the Sons of Italy in America.) Although he considered the organization to be far too conservative, he considered it necessary to join by 1923 in order to be a counterweight against the organization's increasing Fascist proclivities. He journeys to their national convention on October 28, 1923, but is refused entry. He promptly challenges his erstwhile friend and now bitter enemy, Di Silvestro, to a debate. Di Silvestro declines, and instead travels to Providence, Rhode Island to meet the Italian Ambassador. (143, 144)

October 30, 1923 The OSIA convention reconvenes, and takes a strong Fascist stance; leftist members Giovannitti and Antonini are suspended as members, and the New York delegation walks out of the convention in protest. (144)

November 26, 1923 Tresca is brought to trial on eight counts of violating obscenity laws in connection with the books which he sent. These books, on birth control, were the only charges against Tresca; despite the fact that his arrest on August 14, 1923 had been for obscenity charges relating to his anti- monarchy article in Il Martello, those charges were not brought to trial. (152)

November 27, 1923 The jury is deadlocked on most of the charges, but returns a guilty verdict on one count of obscenity. (154, 155)

December 8, 1923 At the sentencing for his obscenity conviction, Tresca is sentenced to one year and one day in prison. That was the longest sentence ever meted out for conviction on sending birth control materials through the mails. (155, 156)

June 10, 1924 In Italy, Giacomo Matteotti, the leader of the Unitary Socialist Party, is murdered by Fascists. In America, Italian anti-Fascists, under the leadership of Tresca, immediately claim that Mussolini is directly responsible for the murder. (163, 164)

June 22, 1924 Tresca and others organize an anti-Mussolini rally, and pay their respects to Matteotti. Two or three thousand attend the rally. (164)

June 29, 1924 A 5,000 strong rally in Boston is preceded by a parade of 1,000 anti- Fascists who are also incensed at Matteotti's murder. Tresca speaks at the occasion. (164)

August or September 1924 Tresca organizes 3,000 anti-fascists to attack visiting Fascist Antonio Locatelli as he leaves a New York opera. Fistfights ensue. (165)

November 9, 1924 The Court of Appeals upholds Tresca's conviction and sentence on obscenity charges. (156)

January 7, 1925 Tresca begins serving his prison sentence in an Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. (156)

January to February, 1925 Allies of Tresca, including the A.C.L.U., Margaret Sanger, and H.L. Mencken defend him in the press and through organized letter writing campaigns seeking to inform the public about the lack of justice in Tresca's obscenity case. Many newspapers and magazines opine that Tresca's situation is a clear case of a foreign government exerting improper influence over the U.S. justice system. (157, 158)

February 10, 1925 Having failed in their efforts to deport him, immigration authorities interrogate Tresca at the prison, looking for additional evidence against him. They do not find anything incriminating, but continue their investigation. (156)

February 16, 1925 Bowing to public pressure, President Calvin Coolidge commutes Tresca's sentence to a four month prison term. (158)

March, 1925 Margaret Sanger visits Tresca in prison. (159)

April 21, 1925 Immigration makes the final determination that there is insufficient evidence for Tresca's deportation. (158)

May 7, 1925 Tresca is released from the Federal penitentiary. (159)

May 8, 1925 Tresca visits the White House, joins a group of students, and meets Calvin Coolidge. Tresca shakes the President's hand briefly, then leaves. (159)

May 1925 Tresca ends his relationship with Flynn. (121)

July 4, 1925 Violence erupts between Fascists and anti-Fascists at the Garibaldi Memorial. Police club many, and 7 anti-Fascists are arrested. Fascists lie in wait for Tresca at the offices of Il Martello, but he never arrives because he is bailing out the 7 arrested anti-Fascists. Instead the Fascists beat up an 82 year old man. (166)

October 28, 1925 Tresca leads 400 anti-Fascists in an attempt to crash a Fascist organization's banquet. Police hold them back. (166, 167)

September 1925 Tresca revives another organization, the Alleanza Anti-Fascista del Nord America (AFANA) in another attempt to unite the various leftist factions to provide concerted opposition against the Fascists. Tresca serves on the executive committee and lends the services of Il Martello as an official newspaper. The organization unites the communist, social democrat, anarchist, and republican factions against the Fascists. (175)

November 4, 1925 Tresca write a play that satirizes an actual assassination attempt against Benito Mussolini. (167)

December 13, 1925 The FBI prevents Tresca's play from being shown at the Central Opera House in New York City at the request of the Italian ambassador. (168)

December 13, 1925 The New York City Press criticizes the FBI for interfering in the performance of Tresca's play, deeming the incident politically motivated. (169)

by 1926 Tresca is named by Mussolini as among the top three Italians he wishes to have deported back to Italy. (135)

January 23, 1926 Tresca's play is finally performed to a capacity crowd. (169)

January 31, 1926 Italy strips Tresca of his Italian citizenship and warns the U.S. that should they extend citizenship to him it would be considered an "unfriendly act." (169)

Spring 1926 to Sept. 1926 Tresca attempts to unite quarreling leftist factions, especially the social democrats and the communists, whose quarrels threaten to divide the strength of the anti-Fascist movement. (175-178)

Mid 1926 Tresca and other anarchists resume the open air rallies that he had previously utilized to reach citizens who otherwise would not know about his ideas. (170)

July 1926 Fascists warn Tresca that he will be killed if he enters the Bronx. (171)

July 1926 In response to Fascists threats on his life, Tresca makes several brazen, open visits to communities in the Bronx that the Fascists consider their turf. (171)

July 31, 1926 A 2,500 strong anti-Fascist crowd led by Tresca rallies against Bronx headquarters of a Fascist group, taunting the Fascists to come out. Police prevent the anti-Fascists from storming the building. (171)

September 4-6, 1926 Tresca attends at the anti-Fascist Congress of AFANA; he devotes his speech on Sept. 5 to criticizing Mussolini and resolving that Fascism will make no more inroads in America. He speaks to thunderous applause. He addresses the Congress again on Sept. 6, once again urging an economic boycott of Italy and fascist sympathizers in America. Tresca is once again elected to the executive committee; the Congress had given an appearance of unity, and Tresca left it cautiously optimistic about the hopes for unity among anti-Fascists. (178-180)

September 11, 1926 Fascists make an assassination attempt against Tresca, hoping to kill him with a bomb while he gives a speech. But the plan is foiled when the bomb goes off prematurely, killing the Fascists instead. (172)

October 26, 1926 An anarchist youth named Anteo Zamboni attempts to assassinate Benito Mussolini in Bologna, Italy. He is stabbed to death by the Fascists at the scene. (174)

October 27, 1926 Vittorio Vidali and Carlo Tresca address a crowd of 2,000 anti-Fascists at Tammany Hall. Vidali was arrested, and Tresca secured him legal counsel in the person of Clarence Darrow, a famous attorney of the period. (173)

November 2, 1926 In retaliation for the Zamboni assassination attempt on Mussolini, the Fascists in New York City vandalize the offices of Il Martello and another anti-Fascist paper in the early morning hours. Tresca is not bothered by the attack, and says that his only regret is that he was not present when they came. (174)

1926 early 1927 Increasing hostility between social democrats and communists cause the social democrats and other moderates to secede from AFANA. (180, 181)

February 12, 1927 Moderate anti-Fascist groups organize their own organization, in competition with AFANA. (181)

March 20, 1927 At one of Tresca's speeches, the Fascists disrupt en masse. Tresca steps forward in the middle of the invading Fascists. While a fight seems inevitable, the Fascists propose that both groups retreat. Tresca responds by shoving the Fascist leader into a seat and telling him that the anti- Fascists know how to deal with Fascists. (183)

April 9, 1927 Judge Webster Thayer schedules Sacco and Vanzetti's execution for August 23, 1927. Thereafter, Tresca begins working to organize a general strike on their behalf. (187)

April, 1927 The Italian consul general in New York provides information to the U.S. State Department that Vittorio Vidali is a communist. Vidali is arrested while he and Tresca are planning a protest demonstration against a visiting Italian Fascist. (174)

May 6, 1927 Convinced that a particular Fascist leader, Thaon di Revel, had been responsible for an escalation in violence on the part of the Fascists, Tresca had been devoting himself to finding incriminating evidence against di Revel. Unfortunately, this project leads him into a trap. Professing a personal vendetta against di Revel, another Fascist leader, Giacomo Caldora, lured Tresca to his office by telling him he had documents. Once there, he locks Tresca in the office and summons the police. Police are led to believe that Tresca was attempting to steal documents with a weapon. Tresca escapes for the moment. (184)

May 8, 1927 Tresca is arrested in connection with the incident on May 6, and charged with felonious assault. (184)

May 30, 1927 Two Fascists, who were planning to take part in a parade at the invitation of the American legion, are murdered. Fascists take full advantage of the incident for propaganda purposes, and attempt to implicate Tresca as morally responsible for the crime. Tresca's own suspicions were that the communists were responsible. (185, 186)

June 1927 Charges against Tresca in connection with the May 6 incident are dropped when a grand jury finds insufficient evidence to try him. (184)

June 11, 1927 Vidali is deported away from the United States, and chooses the Soviet Union as his destination. He is released on $2,500 bail. (174)

July 11, 1927 New York City Police raid Il Martello looking for evidence that Tresca was implicated in the murders of the two Fascists on May 30. Tresca is not present, but at least eight members of his staff are arrested. Three other of his associates are arrested the same day. Tresca's secretary, Buzzi, is beaten and police demand that he provide evidence against Tresca. He does not do so. (186)

July 26, 1927 Two of Tresca's associates, Calogero Greco and Donato Carillo, who had been arrested on July 11 are charged with murder. (187)

August 1927 Governor Alvan T. Fuller denies Sacco and Vanzetti clemency, and the U.S. Supreme Court declines to intervene to stop the executions. (187)

August 20, 1927 Tresca publishes his final appeal on behalf of Sacco and Vanzetti, organizing a general strike set for the date of August 22, begging workers to abandon their work on that day. (188)

August 22, 1927 The general strike that Tresca had attempted to organize on Sacco and Vanzetti's behalf is a dismal failure. (188)

August 23, 1927 Sacco and Vanzetti are executed. (121)

August 23, 1927 Tresca resolves that Greco and Carillo will not suffer the same fate as Sacco and Vanzetti. He organizes a powerful defense team for them including powerful lawyers from the ACLU and Clarence Darrow, who had represented Tresca's causes previously. Tresca also organized a strategy to aggressively control public opinion by depicting the arrest of the two men as politically motivated and influenced by Mussolini. (190)

Fall of 1927 to early 1931 Tresca becomes involved in a three year long ménage à trios with a bohemian woman Minna Harkavy and a Stalinist man Moissaye Olgin. Tresca delighted in needling Olgin with his commentary on communism. (245)

November 2, 1927 Tresca alleges in the New York Times that the prosecution of Greco and Carillo had been prepared by the Fascists. To the chagrin of the Fascists, Tresca's case was bolstered by their own propaganda organs, which claimed responsibility for having orchestrated the prosecution. (190)

December 9, 1927 The trial of Greco and Carillo commences; at this date, they are only tried in connection with the death of one of the two men. Darrow skillfully argues that this trial is politically motivated, and that collusion between the Bronx police and the Fascist League had implicated two innocent men simply because they happened to be anti-Fascist. (190 - 192)

December 23, 1927 Greco and Carillo are found not guilty. (192)

December, 1927 The Nation honors Tresca with recognition for his work in saving Greco and Carillo from the electric chair, electing him to its 1927 "Honor Roll". Perhaps an even more important outcome of the publicity surrounding the trial, (to which the lion's share of credit belongs to Tresca,) was that for the first time the American public and particularly the American government began to see Fascist activity in America as a threat. (193)

May 13, 1928 Increasing tension between Tresca and other Italian anarchists, a result of the anarchists opinion that a pure anarchist should not work with communists and social democrats as Tresca did, results in an anarchist named Emelio Coda organizing a "Jury of Honor" by which Italian anarchists put Tresca on trial in absentia, for him supposed crimes against the anarchist movement. Tresca is found "guilty" by this self-selected council. The Italian anarchists proclaim that Tresca is a Soviet spy; no prominent Italian anarchist defends Tresca against these charges, although he does find much support among the broader anarchist community, particularly with such figures as Emma Goldman, who calls the insinuation that Tresca is a spy "absurd." In response, Malatesta, writing from Italy, begs anarchists in the United States to cease their infighting and concentrate on opposing the real enemy. (200)

December 1928 Italo Balbo, probably the second most prominent Fascist after Mussolini, visits the United States from Italy to attend an aviation Congress in Ohio. Tresca fiercely denounces him in Il Martello because he had been a prime suspect in the murder of an anti-Fascist priest in Italy. (202)

January 3, 1929 Balbo arrives in New York City during his visit to the United States. Tresca organizes a protest rally; anarchists meet him at his arrival, fly planes above him signing the words "Balbo Murderer" while he banquets at lunch, and also protest him at his hotel. (202)

October 24, 1929 "Black Thursday," the ominous stock market crash, begins a period of intense economic trial. This is one factor among several that precipitates the Great Depression.

Nov. to Dec. 1929 The faltering U.S. economy begins to cause severe economic hardship for Tresca and Il Martello. (212)

1929 Miners in Pennsylvania go on a strike that has not been approved by the Union. (211)

December 31, 1929 Concerned about recent unfavorable public opinion in America and increasing government scrutiny, Mussolini disbands the Fascist League in America and orders all of their records sent to Italy. (194)

1930 Tresca begins to broaden his focus; while still consistently anti-Fascist, he also begins to take a staunchly anti-communist stance, and begins speaking and writing strongly against Stalin and the Russian communists. (198)

January 26, 1930 Tresca joins the Pennsylvania mine workers strike; he urges the workers to demand that their Union, the UMWA, support them. (211)

January 26, 1930 Thomas Kelly, President of the UMWA arrives. After initially refusing to help because of Tresca's presence, he finally relents and promises support. (211)

Jan. 30, 1930 to July 1931 Increasing financial hardship cause Tresca to take no salary for his work at Il Martello. (212)

February 9, 1930 Thinking that his work with the mine workers is complete, Tresca returns to New York, but is promptly drawn back to Pennsylvania because the mine workers' strike is not going well. (211)

February 9, 1930 Kelly attempts to exclude Tresca from speaking, but the mine workers demand that Tresca be allowed to speak. Kelly retaliates by trying to leave, but the miners try to prevent him from leaving. He escapes and summons the police, who arrest Tresca for inciting a riot. (211, 212)

1931 Financial difficulties at Il Martello cause the paper to go out of production for a total of 13 weeks during this year. (213)

1931 Tresca meets another woman, Margaret De Silver, a rotund woman. He would move in with her shortly after meeting her, and he would stay with her until his death. De Silver was a rather wealthy woman, and Tresca would face accusations that he used her for her money, but all the evidence seems to indicate that he really did love her and treated her very well. One of the benefits of his relationship with De Silver is that she was not bothered by his womanizing, so his promiscuity did not harm their relationship. (246)

May 24, 1931 Tresca's friends hold a banquet in his honor in an attempt to raise funds for Il Martello. However, not much money is raised. (212, 213)

November 20, 1931 Preparing for the impending arrival of Mussolini's Foreign Minister, Tresca begins trying to arrange a temporary truce between the hostile anti-Fascist factions. This does not materialize, however, as the communists initiate violence against the other leftist factions, and are excluded from the preparations. The communists themselves declare that they were excluded by Fascists, and thus equate other leftist anti-Fascists as Fascists. (202, 203)

November 20, 1931 Tresca renews his strategy of open-air rallies to expose the Foreign Minister prior to his arrival. More radical anti-Fascists begin a campaign of vandalism against stores which display Fascist symbols and pictures. (203)

November 20, 1931 The protest at the Foreign Minister's arrival is rather anti-climactic. Supporters of Mussolini and anti-Fascists throng together, shouting opposing slogans. But the Foreign Minister, spared any direct contact with the crowds by heavy police presence, largely stays behind closed doors. (203)

November 22, 1931 Tresca participates in a mock trial of the Italian Foreign Minister. Tresca serves as the defense attorney. When the time comes to defend the Minister, Tresca merely says that he "is a good public servant" because he always obeys Mussolini. The Minister is, not surprisingly, found guilty. Although scenes such as this happened, Tresca is not pleased with the level of protest which the anti-Fascists offered to the Minister during his visit. (204)

December 30, 1931 In a post office in Easton, Pennsylvania, a bomb explodes. The intended recipients of the bomb were prominent Fascists. Tresca is a suspect of the FBI, and is investigated, though no evidence against him is found. (204, 205)

January 1932 Having become, in practice, nothing more than an arm of the communist party after other leftist groups abandoned it, Carlo Tresca finally gives up on AFANA. (198)

May 7, 1932 The bleak financial situation of Il Martello causes Tresca to take his paper out of production indefinitely. (213)

May 1932 Tresca once again tries his hand at play writing in order to occupy himself after the demise of Il Martello.

July 4, 1932 Tresca leads a crowd of anti-Fascists which eventually totaled 500 in a march on the Garibaldi Memorial. The purpose is to disrupt a gathering of Fascists. Police beat the anti-Fascists back, but they successfully prevent prominent Fascists from speaking. On a train after the incident, a Fascist is shot and killed. Anti-Fascist Clemente Lista is arrested for the crime. (205)

July 4, 1932 Tresca begins organizing for Lista's defense. However, charges against Lista are quickly dropped after a prominent Fascist, Giacomo Caldora, testifies that Domenico Trombetta actually shot the other Fascist in a quarrel. Police are suspicious of this testimony and suspect Tresca has been involved in witness tampering. The case is never solved because Trombetta is acquitted. (206)

March 4, 1933 Franklin Delano Roosevelt is inaugurated as President, promising to enact the New Deal platform on which he had campaigned. Unlike many leftists at the time, Tresca was not impressed by the New Deal. Rather than seeing the New Deal as revolutionary, Tresca views it as Capitalism's attempt to save itself by disarming the agitation of workers. Tresca would maintain a large amount of hostility towards the President until 1940. (214)

July 14, 1933 An American flavor of Fascism arises in the form of the Khaki Shirts, led by Arthur Smith. Devoted to a campaign of populism, Smith begins planning a coup of the U.S. Government involving several million armed civilians. It seems that this coup has little chance of success, and was likely just a chance for Smith to use political activism to enrich himself. (206, 207)

July 14, 1933 Tresca disrupts a rally of the Khaki Shirts. One of his followers, Antonio Fierro, is shot and killed. The testimony of the Fascists leads police to arrest another anti-Fascist, Athos Terzani, as the killer. (207)

July 14, 1933 Tresca begins a staunch defense campaign of Terzani. Because the prosecutor will not investigate anyone other than Terzani, Tresca begins his own investigation. Tresca does not find anything, but eventually the case against Terzani unravels as a result of infighting among the Fascists, one of whom testifies that he only testified against Terzani because Arthur Smith threatened to have him killed if he did not. (207)

December 13, 1933 Terzani is acquitted on murder charges. (207)

1934 Seeing war as an inevitable manifestation of capitalism, Tresca begins predicting another war between the European and Asian powers. (249)

January 27, 1934 One of Tresca's mistresses provides a sum of money, permitting Tresca to revive Il Martello. (213)

January, 1934 Tresca's favorite target in Il Martello becomes Generoso Pope, an Italian who was a Fascist more for opportunism than out of any sense of ideology. Pope owned a prominent chain of Italian newspapers, and was a political agent for both Mussolini and Franklin D. Roosevelt. (218)

April 3, 1934 Tresca's play, Il Vendicatore premiers in New York City. Although the play receives a few showings in cities in the Eastern United States, the play is not considered to be that good, and never achieves much popularity. (217)

July 17 - 19, 1934 150,000 workers strike in San Francisco, nearly crippling the economy of the city. Unfortunately, the strike is defeated by retaliation on the part of police, and a 4,500 member strong contingent of the National Guard which had been deployed to end the strike. The strike thus ends in defeat, but Tresca assesses the situation as proof that the government, rather than aid the people, only serves to aid the forces of capitalism. Tresca sees in the outcome of this strike strong parallels between Italian Fascism in the 20's and American government actions in the 30's. On the basis of these similarities, he predicts that the U.S. government will work to assimilate the labor unions, reduce the standard of living, and increase repression. (214, 215)

October, 1934 Tresca comes out with a scathing indictment of Pope, accusing him of using organized crime syndicates to intimidate and silence his opposition, of attempting to create Fascist enclaves within the Italian immigrant communities, and even of killing opponents. (218)

November, 1934 Through his henchman, Frank Garofalo, Pope threatens Tresca with death. Tresca responds by telling Garofalo that if Pope wants to threaten him, he needs to come and threaten him in person like a man rather than sending henchmen. Tresca also responds with more bravado in Il Martello, practically begging Pope to make some move against him and telling Pope that he will not relent in his criticisms until "the tyrants of Italy are hanging from the highest lampposts of Rome". (219)

March - September, 1935 In a series of articles in Il Martello, Tresca predicts that Italy will go to war, because war is inherent to Fascism, and that Mussolini needed war in order to distract the Italian people away from the failure of his economic program. (219)

May 1935 Seeing as he did the Roosevelt presidency as a manifestation of American Fascism, and a serious threat to the labor movement, Tresca is horrified when the AFL endorses Roosevelt. (215)

October 3, 1935 Mussolini's forces invade Ethiopia. Tresca is obviously critical, believing that such a move will cause international crisis. (220)

October 3, 1935 The Italian immigrant community in America is largely supportive of Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia. Tresca uses his paper and his speaking engagements to try to undermine Italian propaganda and expose the lies, but his efforts are not successful in stemming the pro-Mussolini tide of public opinion. (221)

November 1935 The CIO breaks away from the AFL. Although many radicals of the time supported the CIO, and its efforts to revive the labor movement along the principles of federation, Tresca was not duped. Knowing the leaders who were at the helm of the CIO, Tresca preached that the CIO's formation was merely another tactic by the capitalists to disarm the anarchist tendencies of labor. In Tresca's mind, anarchism was the only proper pursuit of the labor unions. (215)

1936 and 1937 The CIO organizes a massive series of sit-down strikes in the American Midwest. Unlike a regular strike, which involves abandoning the work, the sit-down strike was more militant because by so doing the workers actually occupied their factories. Tresca's response was mixed. Although he liked the direction of the new strategy, he felt that the tactics were superficial in that they were strategic rather than representing a fundamental shift in workers attitudes toward worker solidarity against the capital class. He also feared that the inevitable repression would stifle the movement. His fears were realized: the government responded with much violence to the sit-down strikes, and CIO leadership eventually prohibited the sit-down strike. (216)

January 14, 1936 In Il Martello, Tresca exposes the Italian Red Cross as a fund-raising scam designed to launder money on behalf of the Italian military. Although this expose scares the Fascists, the American government does nothing in response. (223)

May 9, 1936 Mussolini declares victory over Ethiopia. (224)

May 9, 1936 Mussolini begins supplying Francisco Franco with weapons and supplies during the Spanish Civil War. This act would draw all of the major Western powers, either directly or indirectly, into the Spanish Civil War. (224)

May 14, 1936 In this issue of Il Martello, Tresca denounces Mussolini's heavy use of mustard gas to force the Ethiopian people into submission. Tresca blames both Mussolini and the Italian Monarch. (223)

July 1936 to April 1939 Throughout the Spanish Civil War, Tresca tries to counter the propaganda of both right and left, and does everything in his power to raise money for the anarchists who are fighting Franco. (225)

October 14, 1936 In Il Martello, Tresca observes that, by their complacency in accepting the legitimacy of the Spanish Republic, all of the major Western powers by default had aided and abetted Hitler and Mussolini's defense of the rebels in Spain. (224)

October 28, 1936 In Il Martello on this date, Tresca begins a campaign against the Stalinists. Tresca's eyes are opened wide to the problem that the communists present when the Soviet Union intervenes in the Spanish Civil War. Tresca believes that Soviet policy will ultimately doom the revolution of the proletariat to failure, even if the Republic is successful in the war. He wants to see anarchists and socialists unite against the Fascists and resist communist efforts to steer the movement towards Stalinism. (228)

1937 Tresca joins the American Committee for the Defense of Leon Trotsky. Although he has no natural love for Trotsky or his politics, Tresca believes that strengthening Trotsky's defense will be an effective means of undermining Stalinism. (231)

June 5, 1937 Soviet leader turned anti-Stalinist Juliet Stuart Poyntz disappears. She was Tresca's friend. (232)

May, 1937 Tresca desperately wished to go to Spain and fight for the Republic; however, the U.S. State Department refuses to issue a passport. Since he will not be able to return to the U.S. if he departs, Tresca chooses to cancel his trip to Spain. (226)

February 7, 1938 In a New York Times interview, Tresca claims to have knowledge of the only person who could have possibly been responsible for Poyntz's disappearance. He identifies Sachno Epstein as the culprit, and warns that Soviet presence in the United States is now strong enough that the Soviet Union has the ability to kidnap individuals in America and transport them to Russia, and that anti-Stalinist radicals ought to insure their defense. (232, 233)

February 10 – 14, 1938 Carlo Tresca comes under intense criticism in print from communists in America, including some men who previously had been his friends, such as Pietro Allegra. (233)

February 21, 1938 In response to a subpeona, Tresca appears before a federal grand jury and gives testimony regarding Poyntz's disappearance. (233)

February 28, 1938 The Italian National Commission makes implied threats against Tresca's life, claiming that he is a police informer who ought not to be "tolerated." Tresca notes that these words are strongly similar to the words Mussolini used in urging that Matteotti be eliminated. (234)

March 31, 1938 Trotsky writes Tresca's mistress to inform her that he believes that the Kremlin has targeted Tresca for elimination. (235)

May, 1938 In a May day speech, Tresca predicts that the wars which had begun in China and Spain would soon spread throughout the world. (249)

July, 1938 Enamored with the Nazi's, Mussolini's party begins taking a strong anti-semitic stance. Tresca responds by denouncing anti-semitism, claiming that it represented civilization's "regression" and was barbaric. (250)

October 1938 His former friend, Pietro Allegra, continues to write against him, claiming that Tresca had betrayed the anti-Fascist movement and given aid and comfort to the Fascists. He also claimed that "it is a duty to put a STOP to his deleterious, disgusting work as an enemy of antifascism." (235)

October 22, 1938 Italian anarchists join the fray in condemning Tresca for his actions in giving testimony to the police regarding Poyntz's disappearance. The general consensus among the anarchists was that turning to the capitalists to defeat the communists was a very communist thing to do. Some anarchists such as Emma Goldman defend Tresca in his actions; Goldman writes that, while she did not approve of him turning to the police, she admired the courage that he showed by publicly exposing the communists. (236)

February 1938 In Il Martello, Tresca predicts that Roosevelt will find a pretext to enter the World War. (254)

July 1938 Deeply in debt, Tresca files for bankruptcy. (257)

1938 Tresca repeatedly seeks opportunity to debate his anarchist opponents, seeking to salvage his reputation, and explain why he gave information on the Poyntz incident. However, most anarchists feel that he had crossed a line in the dispute, and the incident would tarnish his reputation for the rest of his life. (236)

April 1, 2, 1939 An Anarchist Conference is held in New York City. Tresca is bitterly denounced and some anarchists try to have him removed as Director of Il Martello. (259)

April 14, 1939 To celebrate Tresca's fortieth birthday and raise money for Il Martello, Tresca's friends hold a banquet in his honor. Many American notables attend, and other prominent individuals send him their best wishes. (257, 258)

May 1939 to Feb. 1940 Tresca is forced to suspend production of Il Martello for nine months. (251)

May 1939 Although Tresca is denied the opportunity to print his opinions, he still voices them to others: He is, in principle, opposed to all wars and the "bourgeois regime" that gives birth to war. However, Tresca took a nuanced view toward the state, believing that some states were worse than others. Because he viewed Hitler as the worst evil, Tresca hoped that the Allied powers would win the second world war. (251)

September 24, 1939 Prominent anti-Fascists create a new anti-Fascist organization, "the Mazzini Society"; with Fascism in America in decline as a result of increasing American hostility to Mussolini, this time the anti-Fascists have an impressive list of academics at the fore. Although Tresca supported the effort, he would not officially join for several years so as not to compromise his independence. (260, 261)

Dec. 1939 to March 1940 Russia invades Finland, ostensibly in "self-defense;" Tresca denounces the Soviets fiercely and cannot understand why communists cannot see Stalin's betrayal for what it is. (252)

1940 to 1942 In his service against Fascism, Tresca began serving as an FBI informer against the Fascists. The fact that this was against his anarchist principles seems to have escaped his notice. (261, 262)

February 1940 After Il Martello is revived, it comments readily on the war, but Tresca's own contribution continues to focus on the crimes of Stalin and the Soviet communists. (252)

May 1940 Tresca becomes very suspicious of Winston Churchill, seeing in one of Churchill's speeches an intent to save Fascism by blaming all of the problems in Italy on Mussolini personally rather than the Fascist program. Tresca begins warning anti-Fascists to avoid British and American schemes to restructure Italy after the war. (253)

June 10, 1940 Mussolini invades France. Although Germany would have success in France, Mussolini's troops were embarrassed by a much smaller French battalion. Never one to miss an opportunity, Tresca ridiculed Mussolini and said that the Fascists had been cowards, waiting until France was already defeated before daring to initiate any military action. Tresca also blamed the Italian people, whose cowardice Tresca blamed for the fact that Mussolini was still in power. (252)

June 28, 1940 Tresca begins a campaign in Il Martello to expose Generoso Pope as a Fascist and to prevent his efforts to repair his reputation and pose as a democrat. (262, 263)

July, 1940 Tresca begins predicting conflict between the United States and Japan. (256)

November 1940 Tresca begins supporting Roosevelt for reelection. Although he is no fan of the President, he believes that the Republican Candidate, Willkie, has supporters who are thinly disguised Fascists, and that if Willkie wins, the U.S. will come under German influence. Tresca admits that this position is not, exactly, an orthodox anarchist position, but he finds his struggle against Fascism to be deeply emotional for him; he thus honestly admits that his support of Roosevelt is an emotional rather than a reasoned position. (255)

November 1940 Tresca softens his stance against the Italian people as a result of Mussolini's defeat in Greece. Tresca believes that Mussolini failed as a result of very low Italian morale, an indication, in Tresca's opinion, that the Italian's no longer supported Mussolini in their hearts. This would continue to be Tresca's position on the Italian soldiers as Mussolini suffered even more defeats. (253)

November 23, 1940 At Antonini's invitation, Tresca speaks for the only time on the radio. (258)

1941 Tresca suffers a severe bout of influenza, and eventually requires hospitalization and a period of recuperation that would last several months. Tresca returns to Il Martello in April, 1941. (259)

June 14, 1941 Writing in English, Tresca denounces Congressman Samuel Dickstein for spreading lies to hide Generoso Pope's Fascist connections. "There are several asses in Congress," Tresca writes to Dickstein, "but you are the most ridiculous one." (265)

June 21, 1941 Germany invades Russia. Although most other anarchists of the period would choose to mute their criticism of Stalin during this time period, Tresca kept up his fierce anti-Stalinist writing. (254)

January 1942 Tresca's brother Ettore dies of cancer. After this event, Tresca, normally jovial, would become sullen and depressed. (271)

May 14, 1942 In Il Martello, Tresca accuses Vittorio Vidali, his former friend, of killing Trotsky in Mexico on behalf of Stalin. (265)

May 14, 1942 Vittorio Vidali begins signaling his intention to "unite" all anti-Fascists groups, a move Tresca takes as indication that communists intend to infiltrate the anti-Fascist movement. Tresca warns Vidali that he will not let him succeed in infiltrating the anti-Fascist movement. (266)

May, 1942 Tresca finally joins the Mazzini Society, hoping to prevent communists from joining. (265)

September 10, 1942 Assured that Generoso Pope will not be attending, Tresca attends a banquet at the Manhattan Club. Informed that Pope and his henchman Garofalo are present, Tresca shouts in a loud voice, "Not only the Fascist Pope, but even his gangster is here!" then Tresca storms out. Garofalo is heard to remark, "Within a week I'll show Carlo Tresca who I am." (267)

September 11, 1942 Assistant U.S. Attorney Dolores C. Faconti visits Tresca's office and pleads with him not to disclose what had happened the previous night at the Manhattan Club. Faconti was Garofalo's mistress, but did not want to have her affair with Garofalo exposed. Tresca agreed, but told her that Garofalo was bad news. She disagreed; Garofalo later beat her up for visiting Tresca. (268, 269)

October, 1942 Tresca's brother Mario dies of cancer. (271)

December 31, 1942 Tresca indicates, in a perplexing phone conversation with his daughter, Beatrice, that he had just eluded death. She believed that, after the death of his two brothers, he had developed a superstitious belief that he would not survive the year, and attributed his remarks to that belief. (270)

January 9, 1943 At a fundraiser for Il Martello, Tresca's exploits are recounted. But this does not raise Tresca's spirit, though he does express happiness that young people are continuing his work. (271)

January 11, 1943 Tresca is assassinated at 8:40 p.m., killed by two bullets, one to his head and one to his back. The assassin was Carmine Galante. (274-280)