The Macaroni Riots were a series of civil disturbances that took place in the Federal Hill neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island, in 1914. The first riot occurred on the night of August 29 and was followed by additional nights of rioting on August 30 and September 7.
The food riot stemmed from an increase in the price of food, particularly pasta products such as macaroni, that affected the predominately Italian American population of Federal Hill in 1914. On August 22, socialist activists held a peaceful rally to protest the price increases, and on August 29, another rally turned violent as a mob of about 1,000 people marched down Atwells Avenue and looted the store of Frank P. Ventrone, a local food wholesaler who had been accused of profiteering. The angry mob caused thousands of dollars in damages and threw pasta products into the streets before police officers restored order. Additional rioting broke out the following night. Following this, socialist activists negotiated with Ventrone's associates and were able to broker a deal where he would sell his product at a reduced cost. Following a peaceful week, another riot occurred on the night of September 7 following a Labor Day rally that caused more property damage than the previous two riots combined. While additional rallies and protests occurred after this, the price protests slowly died down.
The rioting, which resulted in several thousand dollars in property damage, was the most severe civil disturbance in Providence since the Dorr Rebellion of 1841. In the end, 50 people were arrested and several dozen were injured, including at least 14 by gunshot wounds. Most of the arrested were charged with reveling and given light fines, while two people were found guilty of more severe charges and sentenced to several months in jail. In addition to the price increases, historians point to anti-Italian discrimination, especially among the police, and organization by radical groups such as the Industrial Workers of the World as contributing to the violence.
Background
Italian Americans in Federal Hill
Federal Hill is a neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island, situated directly west of the city's Downtown district. While populated mostly by working class Irish immigrants in the 1840s, Italian Americans began to settle in Federal Hill in the 1870s, eventually comprising about half of its population by 1895. Federal Hill became known as Providence's Little Italy. Its Italian population doubled from 18,000 to over 40,000 between 1905 and 1916. In addition to Federal Hill, other neighborhoods with sizeable Italian populations included Charles and Silver Lake.
These immigrants and their descendants faced anti-Italian discrimination from Providence's non-Italian White Americans. For example, the city's streetcar operator referred to its many Italian American workers by number rather than surname, and immigrant groups resisted settlement movement efforts to Americanize the community. Additionally, a 1911 shootout between police officers and an Italian American murder suspect in Federal Hill damaged the relationship between the police and the community. In some cases, Italian immigrants sought to resist discrimination by forming mutual benefit associations and joining activist groups, such as anarchist and socialist organizations and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), a militant labor union. In Federal Hill, the socialist movement included the weekly Labor Advocate newspaper and the Italian Socialist Club. On September 16, 1912, local socialist activists held a 2,000-person parade in support of labor organizers who had been arrested during the recent Lawrence textile strike, including Italian IWW organizers Joseph James Ettor and Arturo Giovannitti. During the parade, activists unfurled a red flag, leading to a violent confrontation between marchers and police that further soured relations.
Price increases during World War I The 1913 U.S. economic downturn coincided with nationwide increases in foodstuff costs, some severe enough to result in starvation. Early in the year, an increase in the price of ice led to a 10 percent milk price increase in the neighboring state of Connecticut as well as Rhode Island, prompting the Providence city government to launch an investigation into the cause of the increases. A year later, Mayor John Purroy Mitchel of New York City ordered a broader investigation that blamed rising prices on a combination of the outbreak of World War I in Europe and increased hoarding. This investigation also noted that some instances of seller collusion may have contributed.
In Providence, much of the concern focused on the marked increase in wholesale prices for macaroni, as well as other pasta and Italian cuisine food products. Some in the Italian American community accused wholesalers of falsely labelling American-made pasta products as Italian-made and charging a greater price. Particular criticism was leveled against Frank P. Ventrone, a wholesaler of imported food products nicknamed the "Macaroni King". The Labor Advocate accused him of profiteering. In late July 1914, studies into the increased cost of living were launched by both Providence Mayor Joseph H. Gainer and Rhode Island Governor Aram J. Pothier. By the following month, Federal Hill foodstuff prices had increased 66 percent.
Protests and riots
August 22 The Italian Socialist Club took an active role in organizing opposition to the price increases, which they contended constituted price gouging, and in mid-August 1914, they began to circulate flyers for a rally at the corner of Atwells Avenue and Dean Street in Federal Hill on August 22, a Saturday. The rally attracted about 2,000 protestors, in addition to a detachment of over 70 law enforcement officers, including 7 mounted police officers on horseback. Starting at 7:15 p.m., over a dozen members of the socialist club gave speeches denouncing the price increases and, in particular, Ventrone, who was accused of intentionally mislabeling American-made pasta as Italian-made and charging a higher price. One speaker denounced the police in his speech, but because it was in Italian, the police, consisting largely of Irish and other non-Italian White Americans, did not interfere. Following the rally, the crowd dispersed peacefully.
After the demonstration, the two members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives who represented Federal Hill, both members of the Democratic Party, reached out to Governor Pothier to take action on the issue of profiteering. About a week after the rally, at 10:30 a.m. on August 24, Mayor Gainer called a private conference to address the results of his study, which he said revealed no evidence of price fixing or profiteering, a conclusion also yielded by Governor Pothier's investigation. These results were criticized by activists and the writers in the Labor Advocate, who accused the mayor of engaging in a "whitewash". Following this, activists began to circulate flyers for another rally to be held on August 29. Ventrone believed that the flyers implied that his store would be attacked and he requested police protection.
August 29 Another rally was held in the early evening of August 29 at the same location as the first one a week prior, with a crowd of about 1,000 people. According to contemporary non-socialist media outlets, "agitators" from Boston and New York City had traveled to Providence to participate. Again, members of the Socialist Club gave speeches urging the attendees to take action against the price increases, and following the conclusion of the speeches, a large group of protestors began to move down Atwells Avenue towards Ventrone's store, which was located a few blocks away. Upon reaching Ventrone's business at 240-244 Atwells Avenue, the crowd began to break the windows and looted the building, stealing pasta and throwing foodstuffs onto the street. Several other businesses located on the same city block, including a barber shop, a dry goods store, and a pharmacy, were also looted. During the looting, one 20-year old rioter who had made it into Ventrone's store was struck by a projectile thrown by another rioter, sustaining a severe head injury.
During the rioting, streetcar services in the area were suspended, and many street vendors' pushcarts were seized by the mob. Additionally, firefighters arrived at the scene in response to a false alarm. Possibly due to the peaceful nature of the previous week's rally, the number of police officers present at this second rally proved ineffective at preventing the ensuing rioting. However, as additional officers arrived at the scene, the mob's violence began to redirect from the stores to the police. Rioters yelled insults at the officers and threw projectiles, such as rocks and bottles, causing some injuries. Eventually, a shootout commenced between the rioters and the police, resulting in at least three rioters and one police officer getting shot. The mob eventually scattered, fleeing from Atwells Avenue and attempting to regroup in smaller gatherings along the smaller side roads. By 6 p.m., the disturbances had mostly ceased, with 100 police officers, including several on horseback, patrolling Federal Hill. In total, only seven arrests were made, while the damage to Ventrone's property amounted to roughly $2,000 ().
August 30 Through most of the early hours of the following day, August 30, Federal Hill was mostly peaceful. However, this changed around 3 p.m. with the arrival a process server who had a writ of capias for a Federal Hill resident. While the warrant specified that the individual was wanted for nonsupport, a crowd of Federal Hill residents believed that the arrest had something to do with the individuals involvement in the previous night's rioting, leading to a physical confrontation. Shortly afterwards, a group of boys began marching down Acorn Street, waving a red flag that they had made out of a flannel shirt and proclaiming in Italian, "Viva la rivolta!" (). This group of boys was eventually joined by several men who began throwing projectiles at the police. Police responded by opening fire into the crowd. During this confrontation, one police officer was knocked unconscious by a rock that had struck his head, while one fifteen-year-old protestor was shot in the chest, with many in the crowd believing the injury to be fatal. Much of this fighting took place around the intersection of Atwells and Arthur Avenues.
Following the shooting, the police officer who was accused of shooting the fifteen-year-old was beaten and chased by the crowd, and he eventually fled to a fire station at the corner of Atwells and America Street. Members of the crowd followed and engaged in fighting with the firefighters there. One of the firefighters was shot in the face, with a bullet striking his ear. Eventually, Providence's Chief of Police John A. Murray sent every available officer to Federal Hill to quell the rioting, many equipped with nightsticks and on horseback. On Atwells Avenue, the mob, numbering about 2,500 in total, clashed with about 300 police officers, exchanging gunfire, throwing projectiles, and assaulting each other for about 20 minutes before the police, with a volley of gunfire that struck about a dozen rioters, were able to disperse the large crowd. During the fighting, the police fired so many bullets that an addition 1,200 rounds of ammunition were brought in from the city's Central Police Station. Sporadic violence continued until about 7 p.m., when the police had effectively cleared Federal Hill of any crowds.