Help with understanding my grandfather's politics

In My Humble Opinion
1

I never met my grandfather as he died in 1975 and he has always been a source of interest to me. He was a flawed man, but one who my mother always idealized and put on a pedestal and so “knowing” him in any way would be cool. Also, I had a lack of positive male models growing up so yeah.

I came into possession of his earthly possessions a few years ago. As politics is a big thing to me I’ve often wondered where he would stand. Perhaps his possessions and some background information would help older members here help me?:

He:

-Was born (and spent his life in) in Brooklyn, NY in 1920, the son of upper middle class Italian immigrants. His father was a very hard worker who became very well off through sheer hard work.

-Served in the US Military between 1939 and 1946, reaching the rank of Staff Sgt and saw combat. He was shot in the leg and spent over a year in the Hospital

-After the war, was a blue collar worker who seemed to work odd jobs until the mid 1950s. His dominant career after that was as a mail carrier for the USPS and security guard for the Pinkertons and other agencies. He also worked as Taxi Driver (early 1950s) and Armed Chauffeur (Late 1950s) on the side.

-He seemed to adore the YMCA. He kept a pamphlet entitled “Why America Fights”, written by Sherwood Eddy, a Catholic missionary of sorts and published by the YMCA in 1942. This little book gave moral and Christian justification for our part in World War II and it touches upon issues of what would now be called social justice with regards to race. He kept this book for over 30 years, and it is still in almost new condition.

-Was a compulsive gambler who took to illegalities to try to cover his debts.

-He was a member of the VFW and American Legion as of 1958.

-He donated blood to the Red Cross in 1962 and 1967.

-He wasn’t fond of my aunt’s desire to become a Nun, and only allowed her to become so (she needed written parental permission) after he made a deal with her in which she would work and date boys for a year (Prior to this, love letters between her and a female had been found; she is a lesbian).

-He refused to sign off on my other aunt’s desire to join the Women’s Army Corps around 1969, stating to her that they “didn’t respect” women there. I’m paraphrasing, but basically he wouldn’t allow her to go into the military because women were mistreated.

-He seemed to believe in God, having a saying that went something like, “When the Man Upstairs calls you, you could have the world’s best doctors around you but when it’s your time to go it’s your time to go” and later in life wore a Christhead pendant. My mother (who was 21 when he died) doesn’t recall him being a Churchgoer though.

-He seemed to adapt in the early 1970s to several elements of the Counter-Culture. All his life prior to then, he had close clipped hair, often shaved close on the sides, and was cleanshaven. In the 1970s, he grew his hair in fuller (not long, just thicker) and wore middle ear length sideburns and a mustache. He retained both from at least 1972 until his death three years later. He is pictured in 1972 wearing a wide collared pink button down shirt and slightly flared slacks where prior he had worn mostly milder, more conservative clothing.

I know this isn’t a lot to go on, but this is all I have. Am curious if he would’ve been a Democrat or a Republican back then.

2

Socially conservative son of Italian immigrants in Brooklyn could go either way. The neighborhood he lived in could make a difference.

3

Formal education?

4

Bay Ridge.

As far as education, High School plus a little bit of Book-Binding school. His civilization occupation before he joined the Army (at age 19) was as a printer/pressman and I know my grandmother has said he went for a limited time to some sort of Book-Binding school.

5

I should also add that the only major friends of his I know were a Syrian-American, a Mexican-American, and an African-American. The latter two were work buddies.

6

As a Catholic he probably wouldn’t have voted for Adlai Stevenson, who was divorced, but might well have voted for JFK…? But where he would have been on later social issues, who knows?

7

His party affiliation probably developed in the 40s, perhaps as a Democrat. By the 70s he could easily have been voting Republican on social issues. How he felt about the war in Vietnam might tell you a lot. The 70s clothes and fashion styles doesn’t mean much, only the staunchest conservatives kept fighting that part of the culture war. In New York party divisions didn’t adhere closely to the growing divide in the national parties. In the suburbs conservative Italians were often Republican, and he was probably more aligned with their politics no matter which party he may have been registered with.

8

I recall Bay Ridge as a Catholic enclave, kind of suburban feel to it. I’m guessing a New York Republican, maybe a New York Conservative, cousins of the Republican Party often disenchanted with the traditional politic corruption of both major parties.

9

Funnily enough, the first floor of one of my great grandfather’s houses was, in the 1940s, a local Republican headquarters. Rented out by my great grandfather - this grandpa’s father - I guess to local GOP members. I doubt the old man cared much for politics himself being an Italian immigrant.

I have my grandpa’s voter registration card from 1963. Sadly it doesn’t list any political affiliation. There’s no space for it, either. It’s oddly something that wasn’t listed on voter registration cards back then.

10

Oh, he was also (as of 1960) licensed by the state to be able to hunt.

11

My father sounds similar in broad strokes at least to your grandfather. He was born in 1927 to middle class Italian immigrants in Philadelphia, served in the Navy for 2 years. Started as a blue collar worker for the city, but worked his way up to a white collar job as an engineer. He’s always been a staunch Democrat. Was your grandfather in a union? Back then that almost guaranteed you were a Democrat.

Ok, this made me laugh. FWIW, every male in their 40s & 50s dressed like this in the early 70s, from all the pictures I’ve seen of my Dad & his friends from that time period. Down to the sideburns & mustache, and polyester leisure suits.

12

Note that party affiliation was not a reliable indicator of one’s place on the political spectrum back then.

Also, he may not have had much interest in politics, and may not have identified consistently with any party or political point of view. Plenty of people do not.

13

That’s generally true for a lot of the country, and more so NYC because it’s so large and diverse. The party affiliations might break down along ethic or religious lines. So Italians Catholics might consistently be Republicans while Irish Catholics are Democrats as an example. The parties within the city are often at odds with their counterparts in the burbs and further upstate. They could easily support one party at the local level and consistently vote for the another party’s candidates at the state or national level.

14

He was at least for a brief time in the I think mid or late 1950s a member of the Painters, Decorators and Paper-Hangers Union. Why he was a member of them I have no clue. He has no cards from any job in that industry.

15

You can’t really tell from the name. The union could represent a lot of related trades, and he may have been in for a short time and kept paying dues for a while to maintain some benefits. And benefits were sometimes things like the trash collectors remembering to stop at your house.

Your grandfather sounds like a lot of guys I met in the New York metro area or their fathers. Somewhat to very socially conservative, somewhat to very economically liberal, could be registered with either party but flexible in their voting, more concerned with local issues than national. The melting pot wasn’t mixed consistently, pull a sample out of any part of it and you could get a different color.

16

I’ll guess he would have voted for JFK in 1960 and Nixon in 1968 and 72. Probably didn’t have a lot of interest in politics. Had he lived long enough very likely would have voted for Reagan.