1. Chased Out of Italy, Mafiosi Flocked to America
For over a century, Italian mafiosi had intimidated civilians, strutting as scary tough guys. The fascists showed them that soldiers were scarier and tougher. Fortunately for the American mafia, Mussolini’s crackdown in Italy forced many Italian Mafiosi to flee the Old Country. The push factor at home coincided with a pull factor in the US, where Italian crime families were experiencing an unprecedented business boom, thanks to Prohibition.
So the Mafiosi fleeing Italy swelled the ranks of Mafiosi in America just when their services were most needed. It was not until WWII and the Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy that the Camorra and Sicilian mafia were reborn, when the US Army made use of their remnants to help administer the occupation. It was war, and its exigencies called for using whatever was at hand to help win and save American lives. Considering what Mussolini and the fascists had done to them, the Mafiosi were certainly committed anti-fascists.
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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading
Ad Week, September 19th, 2016 – The Mythical Safe That Cost Jack Daniel’s Founder His Life
Argus Leader, November 17th, 2016 – Beer Played an Important Part in Pilgrim Life
Arlington National Cemetery – Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Business Insider, December 13th, 2013 – This is the Safe That Killed Whiskey Distiller Jack Daniel
Business Insider, November 21st, 2018 – The Pilgrims Landed on Plymouth Rock For More Beer
Daily Beast – How A Sexist Prank Elected America’s First Female Mayor
Flexner, James Thomas – The Traitor and the Spy: Benedict Arnold and John Andre (1953)
Kansaspedia – Women’s Suffrage
Martin, James Kirby – Benedict Arnold, Revolutionary Hero: An American Warrior Reconsidered (1997)
Smithsonian Magazine, November, 2009 – How Arlington National Cemetery Came to Be
Straight Dope – Did The Pilgrims Land on Plymouth Rock Because They Ran Out of Beer?
Tank Encyclopedia – Medium Tank M4 Sherman
