d explained southern Italy’s backwardness with racist claims of its people’s inferiority. Southern politicians clamored for tax relief and government aid, but were often met with indifference. Even the nominal attempts at tax relief that were made were rendered ineffectual by the beginning of World War I. This atmosphere led to a vast emigration from southern Italy to the United States, from which many Italians returned within a few years with new experiences and new values. The increase in wealth and middle class power led to the defeat of Giolitti and his coalition in the elections of 1914, and conservatives assumed power. World War I was just over the horizon, waiting to change everything yet again. ...
