L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 2017 www.italoamericano.org 24 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D ear Readers, is coming soon our patriotic cele- bration of Independence Day, the Fourth of July. S ince w e little Italian A merican kids did not learn much about Italian American contributions to the founding of our nation in school, I thought I would share some with you now: Did you know that an Italian American signed the Declaration of Independence or that an Italian American contributed many ideas to Thomas Jefferson upon which he based the concept that "all men are created equal?" As many of you know, the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. What many of us do not know however, is that in 1776 there were already Italians and Italian Americans living in the thirteen colonies. One of the most famous Italian Americans at the time of the Revolution was William Paca. The Paca family had emigrated from Italy to England and then to Maryland. In 1651, the P aca family received a large estate of land and eventually became wealthy planters by the end of the 17th century. William Paca distin- guished himself by serving in the Maryland Legislature and the Continental Congress. He was also a famous jurist in Maryland. William Paca, along with other revolutionaries and founding fathers, renounced his allegiance to the British Crown and King George III, and was one of the original s ign ers of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Following his signing of the Declaration of Independence, William Paca became the third Governor of Maryland and the very first governor of Italian her- itage in the United States. So as early as the 1700's, we had an Italian American as governor in the United States. P hilip M azzei w as a w ell educated Italian who lived in London for eighteen years before he w as introduced to Benjamin Franklin, and also to a friend of Franklin, a Virginia businessman named Thomas Adams. Mazzei was invited by Ben F ranklin and Thomas Adams to come to the United S tates to try an agricultural experiment in Virginia. Thus, Mazzei came to the colonies in November 1773, on a ship which he chartered hims elf. U pon arriving in America, he was wel- comed by the leading citizens of V irginia, including Thomas J effers on and G eorge Washington. Soon after arrival Mazzei became very involved in America's revolution and strug- gle for freedom, and devoted much of his time explaining to the new Americans why they should declare their indepen- dence from the British Crown. Thomas J effers on s oon became good friend w ith Mazzei, and decided that Mazzei should write a series of articles based on his own experiences in London. These articles were written in Italian and were trans- lated into English by Jefferson. It is clear in looking at Mazzei's writing that he had a great influ- ence on Thomas Jefferson, par- ticularly concerning the topic of all men being created equal. In his memoirs, Mazzei wrote the following: "In order to obtain our end it is necessary, my dear fellow citizens, to consider the natural rights of men as well as the bias of free government. Such a discussion will show clearly that the British govern- ment has never been a free gov- ernment at any time, and that ours was only a bad copy of the British, with so many other dis- advantages that it was hardly above slavery." Mazzei wrote, "All men are by nature equally free and inde- pendent. Each individual must be equal to another in natural law. Class distinction has always been, as it will always be, an effective obstacle, and the reason for it is very clear. When in a nation you have several classes of men each one must have its share in the government; other- wise one class would tyrannize over the others. But the parts cannot be perfectly equal; even if it were possible, human events show that they could not be kept in balance and no matter how lit- tle one exceeds the others, the whole must not crumble." It is important to note that Mazzei's memoirs were written before the D eclaration of Independence. Thus, the concept that all men are created free and independent (equal) was clearly a concept taken from Phillip Mazzei. We Italian Americans can be proud, not only of our role in building and settling the United States over the last 200 plus years, but also of the fact that from the very beginning of our N ation' s birth, w e have played a prominent part in our nation's obtaining its freedom and movement toward democra- cy. God Bless America... *** During the patriotic month of July, if you have a little spare change here are three groups helping America's military fami- lies. I am listing them because some military groups we help, spend more money on salaries and solicitations than on serving our soldiers and their families. OPERATING SHOWER Expecting a child can be incredibly lonely for women whose spouses are serving over- sea. This organization throws baby showers for military moms- to-be. In its ten years existence, the group has hosted events for more than 1000 women. *** OUR MILITARY KIDS To ease the burden for mili- tary families who often can't afford extras, the group raises money to provide grants for sports, arts, and tutoring pro- grams for the kids of National Guard and Reserve members, as well as wounded soldiers. *** SNOWBALL EXPRESS Founded in 2006, this organi- zation coordinates an annual hol- iday celebration for the children of troops who've died while serv- ing our country. Last December, 1,400 kids and the surviving s pous es attended S now ball Express. *** I think that people want peace so much that one of these days government had better get out of their way and let them have it. - Dwight D. Eisenhower. *** We have the power to make this the bes t generation of mankind in the history of our world - or to make it the last. - John F. Kennedy *** There never was a time when, in my opinion, someway could not be found to prevent the draw- ing of the sword. - U lys s es S . G rant (1822- 18885) *** Every nation sincerely desires peace; and all nations pursue courses which if persisted in, make peace impossible. - Sir Norman Angell Mazzei was a man of wide interests and talents, and his influence was felt both in America and across Europe

• Cover