Italian Immigration from Italy to America
The transition of integrated races is a topic that raises many issues in today’s society as well as centuries ago. Race is typically defined by ones’ ethnic background while discrimination is typically defined by age, skin color, educational and religious backgrounds as well as political, wealth and society interactions. I’d like to discuss predominately the Italian American Immigrants and how their transition from Europe to America has steadily increased within the modern day world. Prior to the twentieth century, Italian Americans were considered “inferior races by native-born Anglo-Protestant Americans.”
Fifty years after the early decades of the nineteenth century, Italian immigration began to increase rapidly. Once the Italian government had unified Rome as the nation’s capital, the Italian immigration would turn into one of the greatest migrations ever to take place within world history.
The vast majority of Italians were settling on the lower tip of Manhattan where they together formed comfort with familiarity and for security from the animosity given by the natives. By the early 1930s, a population of about 4.5 million immigrants have migrated to the United States where their ideas of a brighter future that would primarily consist of cheap labor. The Italian immigrants began settling in areas such as Mulberry, Second Avenue and the Bowery. In these places, also known as the “slums” were compacted so tightly of Italians due to abuse given by employers. “The Italians were brought into the district by contract labor agents who paid for their passage.” Most likely, these Italians would be doing heavy construction jobs, such as building railroads, digging tunnels and building the first skyscrapers. During these times, these contract labors would compact the basements to their businesses with Italians because they were in such need of food and shelter and overcharging that they would compensate and accept the abuse in exchange for the required needs in order to survive. Once these dwellings were overflowing, the Italians eventually began to leave the slums and searched for work and residences elsewhere, such as Greenwich Village and Northern New Jersey. Women were also a part of the new working world for Italian Immigrants. They were held accountable for bringing home an income just as much as the men, if not more; for they were the ones who had to keep domesticated and maintain households and care for children and elders. Italian women began to bring work home, such as repairing clothes, cooking and looking over other family’s children. They formed a close-knit network in order to keep a strong family unit within the Italian community. A phrase began to leak out stating “There are more Italians in New York City alone than in Rome, Milan, or Naples.”
Adults as well as Italian children remained only involved in non-American relationships. Schooling for Italian immigrant children were focused on to Americanize through the English Language. Involving the children in daily patriotic flag drills, assemblies with patriotic themes dedicated to patriotic ideas and speeches held by children on Holidays such as Washington’s Birthday was a way to make these children learn English as quickly as possible. The families at home keeping within their heritage had difficulty being accustomed to American culture; and although it was difficult for parents and grandparents, etc; the children attending schools learned English quickly for they could identify within the comfort level given and supported to them by relatives. The immigrants tried to grasp the English language from the their children that were learning through their schooling but it would only go as far as a broken dialect.
The identity and character changes that were taking place were being more noticeable when the relationships between the Native Americans and Italian immigrants were encountered that the Italian were overly eager to become Americanized. Many started changing their names, changing religions and moved into non-ethnic neighborhoods. Some parents even went to the extreme of forbidding their children to learn Italian.
Religion was a serious demand amongst Italian Americans. Sunday mass was mandatory and afterwards many would get photographs taken in their finest attire to commemorate their religious dedication to Catholicism. While every nationality had their own churches, every Sunday they were all filled. Every family contributed whatever they could afford that Sunday; whether it be 5 cents opposed to 5 dollars because support by attending families in Italian communities gave you pride and respect by others. Even though these Italian communities had their own churches, there were a number of Irish and Protestant priests leading these masses.
Due to the rise of status within the Italian American population, they were brought into the mainstream of American politics. The first Italian American to ever become involved in a political position was a man named Vito Marcantonio who was from East Harlem. He was elected into congress in 1934 and in defense of immigrants and abolishing poll tax, he soon realized that arguing for unpopular causes was in opposition towards the Democratic Party and therefore ran on the Republican ticket. Because Vito Marcantonio’s political career was rooted in Italian American radical tradition and Catholicism, the Italian American communities would therefore call themselves “Republicans.”
As the progression of Italian American culture dominated most of New York, Boston, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Detroit the acceptance of the first generation Italians became more transitional and acceptable towards the Native Americans. Their offspring could only strive to become what America wanted them to be. World War II Americanized the entire second generation because more than 5% of the Italians had served in the war to support the Americas Along with the Americanization of the second generation came a great pride and interest in entertainment and music changing the way media was surfacing. Their highly motivated interest in entertainment and music would bring many famous and celebrated entertainers of the twentieth century who would change the face of “personality” and media. Within the late 19th century into the early 20th century, the Italian Immigration that took place from Italy into the Americas would be classified and noted as one of the greatest migrations to take place within world history.
