The Importance Of Italian Immigration To America

As an Italian-American, I was and am still told by my mother, grandparents, and great-grandparents how proud I should be of my heritage. I was taught to respect my great-grandmother who, after arriving in America along side her husband, fully committed herself to raising her four sons and eight nieces and nephews in a two-bedroom house in Pennsylvania. She was motivated by the drive of a better life in a new, strong country for the young-ones she loved. I was taught to treasure both food and family, praying each night through the Blessed Mother. I was handed Pizzelles and Almond cookies as snacks throughout the day, and listened to Dean Martin through the stereo almost every night. My grandmother’s family came from Mezzogiorno, while my grandfather’s family hailed from the North Country. Though I had never been to Italy, as a child, I still knew the significance of being Italian and was thankful. It was not until I entered public school that I began to understand the teasing that my own ethnic group was subject to on a near daily basis.

It is important for me to maintain my cultural roots because I come from long line of hard-working Italian immigrants who faced discrimination and who sacrificed to make things better for future generations. I maintain my Italian heritage my maintaining close ties with my family and my parish. I am extremely close with my family and making time for each other is a priority. We attend mass together as a family and have Sunday dinner at my grandmother’s house. Nearly every Sunday for the last twenty-two years of my life, we have had homemade sauce, meatballs, and lasagna. Food is a huge part of my Italian-American heritage. At Christmas, we have the traditional Christmas Eve Feast of the seven fishes and attend midnight mass as a family. During Easter, we make Easter bread and tarallies. My grandmother and mother have passed many recipes down to me over the years. Another aspect of our Italian-American culture which has been passed down to me was to respect and care for my elders. We have cared for my great-grandmother and grandfather at home until they passed. God-willing I plan on carrying on this tradition of caring for loved ones with my grandmother

Southern- Italian was the largest group to migrate to the US during the late 19th century and early 20th century follow by the Portuguese and Spanish. More than 5 million Italians from Sicily and poor southern Italian province settle on the east coast in the US. They created their own little town called little Italies due to hostility in America. More than one- quarter people migrated from Spain since 1820 and settle in California, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona Florida and Louisiana. The other half migrated to the Us in the 19th century due to economic depression.

The Italians’ holiday culture helped to make America a more diverse nation. Their family-centered culture and regional affiliations resulted in highly concentrated settlements called, Little Italies. Entire villages in Italy would travel over to America to form these settlements. Many were heavily clustered in cities in the mid-atlantic and midwest states. The immigrants typically viewed themselves as residents of a particular region or village, not as “Italians.” Their daily habits and life reflected this, as they usually only associated with fellow kin or villagers called paesani. The Italians were working on becoming a member of American society while still trying to maintain their old customs. During holidays, Italian immigrants still utilized traditional customs such as folk songs, folklore, and dances for special events. However, like so many of the Italian aspects of life, they were so regionally specific that they defied easy characterization.

Throughout the years America has been chosen as a destination point for immigrants. In the colonial era majority of migrants came from the Northern European countries. In 1770 during the Revolutionary War immigrant numbers decreased, but rapidly increased in the 1840s-1850s. New immigrants mostly came from Ireland and Germany than the European countries. Many immigrants settled in New York City. By the 1860s New York became the home to over 1 million residents, but half were immigrants with American-born children. When the civil war ended there were many jobs that needed to be filled so European immigrants filled those positions. Approximately there were 25 million immigrants that arrived in America from the Northern countries between 1866-1915.

In the late 18th century, European migrants such as Germans, Polish, and Italians came to America to start a better life, little did they know that coming to a new country such as America wouldn't be the easiest. Many Germans, Polish, and Italian immigrants began searching for a new life in America in the late 1800’s. As easy as they thought is was going to be, many immigrants had a tenacious time being part of America. They needed to leave the country that they knew and their loved ones, hoping their lives would improve after arriving in the United States. German immigrants moved to America because of poverty, conversely being so indigent that they couldn't provide for themselves. They also came to America to provide for their families whom they brought along. Polish immigrants came to earn more money then the earned in Poland. Italian immigrants came to America to escape the wars that were happening as well as pursuing a better economic opportunity. Immigration to America was a time where European immigrants wanted to start a new life with their families.

Chapter 3 discusses the background of the Italians who came to the United States. Italy had free elections in the South, but the corruption from criminal organizations and nobles influenced politics. Southern Italy had a large part of the population until the late twentieth century and peasants worked in agriculture. The central government was weak and ineffective. Italians had strong family bonds and children started working in fields at very young ages. Family is one of the key defining aspects of the Italians with household that usually had a father or husband. When they came to the United States they migrated largely within New York and a large percentage were men. Typically residing in Little Italy neighborhoods, and having low

As the first day of man began, there has been immigration of man throughout this great country of America. Many immigrants came for a better way of life for themselves as well as their family. Some stayed where others went back to their nation of origin, yet they all made an impact on us today as Americans.

In its 63 years of existence (1892 to 1954), the Federal Immigration Station on Ellis Island processed over 12 million immigrants from many different countries. Out of all the different countries Ireland, Italy, and Germany were the three countries most represented at Ellis Island. Out of these 12 million immigrants 4.5 million were Italians who came through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1900. Then in the years 1900 to 1914, the number increased to 5 million. Currently, about 25 million Americans trace their ancestry to Italy and in todays culture are very accomplished in many ways. This wasn’t always the case however, Italians faced many issues in both Italy as well as in the United States. Some of these issues are highlighted in both

Immigration has been a difficult and rigorous process beginning in the early 1500’s when Europeans began to settle in the United States. After this, German and Irish immigrants came to America during the first wave. Most Germans moved Midwest and settled in areas like St. Louis and Cincinnati because they owned enough money to do so but Irish immigrants tended to stay on the east coast because they were poor. Later, the Homestead Act was created allowing anyone who came to the United States free land if they lived in the country for a minimum time of five years. Building the Transcontinental Railroad also influenced many immigrants to come to the United States. During the second wave of immigration, most people came from Eastern and Southern Europe.

The things that drove Italians out of Italy and to the United States was the poverty in Italy, the new and unstable government, and their struggling economy. Northern Italy had a history of wealth. While the South was very poor. Seventy-five percent of all the Italian immigrants came from

Immigrating to America, no matter where you are coming from, has its fair share of trials and tribulations. Immigrants have to go through weeks of traveling to finally get to America and then completely rebuild their lives in this new country. While most immigrants went through similar experiences when migrating to America, , such as, traveling by sea, fighting illness, and enduring medical checkups upon arrival in Ellis Island, their ultimate reasons for leaving their home country varied, by economics, politics, or warfare.

Since it declared independence from Great Britain in 1776, the United States has been called a land of opportunity for immigrants. Predating the founding of the nation itself, Italians have been drawn to the new world. Starting in 1492 with Christopher Columbus, and even leading up to the American Civil War, Italians have come to this country in search of a new life. However, it was not until the 20th century that Italians, similar to other Europeans and Asians, began to arrive in the United States in waves, and social impact the nation. After the Italians had left economically unstable and famine-ridden Italy, they arrived in America hoping to find a prosperous land. Yet, their idea of life in America got derailed by the way people socially

In the beginning of the 1900’s is when a majority of the Italians came over. The reason was because of how they were being treated, disasters and much more. When they were welcome here they were starting fresh and did not know what they were getting into. Although the boat was not as exciting as it would seem. It was very unhealthy

Italians have been an intragyral part of American history since the founding of the country and its exploration of the New World. Italian immigration surged from the 1870’s to the 1930’s due to few economic opportunities and political suppression in Italy. Italy officially became a country in 1861 but before unification Italy consisted of small city states that were governed by small clans. Nationalization created a disproportion of wealth from the industrialized north to the rural overcrowded agricultural areas in the south. Over taxation by the Italian government made it hard for rural southern Italians to own land or get ahead. Since the Civil war in the United States left a need for cheap labor, this was a perfect opportunity to many southern