The assimilation of Italians into American culture led to the loss of the Italian language, and an oral tradition of Italian peasants in which Italian feminist philosophy was grounded. The legends, parables, and proverbs told by these Italian women challenged the teachings of Catholicism, perpetuating an underground religious tradition which worshipped female deities. Some of the activist activities of these women are the following: (1) socialist demonstrations in the late 19th century; (2) anarchist, Marxist, and feminist confrontations which led to social changes; (3) opposition to troop trains to Libya; (4) protests of World War I; (5) strikes; (6) resistance to fascism; and (7) the practice of birth control in defiance of church and state. The political impact of the women's oral tradition was a self-determined libertarian socialism. The study of this movement was documented in volumes of folklore in the 19th century. Today in Italy the study of this oral tradition is considered an enterprise of the political left. (VM)