Between 1880 and 1920, four million Italian immigrants traversed the Atlantic to the United States. These Italians came in search of the "American Dream." They were seeking a life that they could never have within the borders of poverty stricken Italy.

For centuries in Italy, the Italian peninsula was divided into feuding states, with foreign powers often ruling one or several of the states. In this chaotic situation, the feudal system ruled the economic system. The feudal system allowed hereditary land possession to determine one s political power and social status, so many poor Italians had almost no opportunity to improve their lives. The Italians in southern Italy suffered more hardships than those in the North. Due to their higher level of industrialism, northern peasants experienced less poverty, discrimination and agricultural difficulties than those in the South. Yet, the Italian population was booming and overcrowding and was becoming more and more of a problem for everyone in Italy. Thus, in the late nineteenth century, some ambitious northerners emigrated to the U.S. By 1900, even the poorer, more conservative southerners were making the voyage. By the beginning of World War I, Italy was losing over 500,000 people per year to emigration.

Originally, almost all of the emigrants from the south were men between the ages of eighteen and forty five. These Birds of Passage planned to remain in the U.S. for a year or two, and then return to Italy with money. By 1900, more and more of the immigrants were women and children. Families came with the hope of settling down in the United States and creating a new life that would be continued for generations to come. The new immigrants usually settled into cities such as New York City and Chicago. Italians developed completely Italian neighborhoods which slowly grew as more Italian immigrants arrived. These "Little Italys" blossomedin most of America's large cities. Newly arriving immigrants were also known to seek out those who had emigrated earlier from their same town in Italy. In New York City, some tenement houses were inhabited almost entirely by immigrants from the same Italian Village. Boston North End, New York City s Mulberry Bend and Chicago Near West Side were all wellñknown Italian districts.

Of thepermanent Italian residents in the US, less than 10 percent made a living in agriculture, although 75 percent of them had been peasant farmers in Italy. Italian settlers did establish vineyards in California and the Finger Lake region of New York, producing the wine industries that remain in those states today. Some Italians went to work on the cotton and sugar cane plantations of the South. Italians were also prominent in the fishing industries of the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Coast states. The majority of Italians, however, remained in the cities as unskilled laborers. The Italian immigrants found work on the docks, on construction projects, or with the railroad gangs. An Italian immigrant often relied on the neighborhood "padrone" to help find work and negotiate wages and other working conditions with the employer. The padrone was usually another Italian, who had immigrated earlier and had developed contacts with employers of unskilled labor. The padrone could also act as his neighborhood's banker, loan office, travel agent, interpreter, and legal counselor. Often dishonest, the padrone and padrone system was viewed by "native" Americans as an indication of the Italian immigrant's lack of self-reliance and ambition. Unfortunately at the time there were no taxñsupported public agencies to help the Italian immigrants.

Italians soon mobilized to preserve their culture and help the continuously arriving immigrants. Italian-American newspapers were published in major cities . The largest one, " Il Progresso Italo-Americano ", was founded in 1880 Italians established their own immigrant-aid and fraternal societies. Early in the 20th century, The Sons of Italy made many of these local organizations into a national federation. Most of the societies stressed the importance of the conservation of their homeland's culture. With their immigration, many Italians had difficulty adjusting to the new life that America offered while keeping old traditions. To ease the adjustment to the U.S., they brought their music, dances and food to the new country. Most Italian children went to english schools instead of staying within their Italian community schools. Italian social organizations such as mutual benefit societies helped new immigrants to find employment, get housing, receive food and to reach out to their fellow Italians. Though they were adapting to American ways, most Italians continued to marry within their ethnic group and to speak only Italian. Manyimmigrants even Italianized english words to help them with prounciation. For example, lawyer became loya and whiskey became visci.

The Catholic faith was of primary significance in Italian culture. As a result, Italian immigrants sought to continue their faith and pass it on in the New World. However, the first Italian immigrants found only Irish churches where priests knew neither their Italian language nor their customs. Determined Italians began to build their own churches in which certain customs of their Catholicism could be preserved. Italian-American neighborhoodscelebrated their own patron saints with traditional feasts, street parades, and holidays.

Italian immigrants were as devoted to their families as they were to their faith. The Italian family had veryclose ties and included grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. At the head of the household was the father, and the mother was expected to be warm and affectionate while still being subordinate to the father. The children were well disciplined and respected their parents and elders with the utmost reverence. The closeness of the Italian family was reflected in the huge family gatherings on birthdays and holidays. Loyalty to one's family was an Italian-American's supreme obligation. The response to the masses of Italian immigrants was unfriendly and inhospitable. An occasional anti-Italian riot would occur as "native" workers in cities complained that the Italians were willing to work for low wages and thus stealing their jobs. In Italy, societies like the Mafia had formed to enforce justice in instances where the local police were ineffective. However, once brought to America, the Mafia came under control of criminals known for racketeering, blackmail, and extortion. The Mafia also used violence and even murder to retain control of the Italian underworld. Although most Italian-Americans condemned such organizations, their activities tended to cast an unfavorable light on the Italian-American population as a whole.

The Italians were only one group of many that emigrated from their homeland to the United States in search of a better life. Though they faced poverty, discrimination and the isolation of being in a strange land the Italian people stuck together. Italian food is a staple of the American diet. The flood of Italian immigrants in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century did not provide the immigrants with simply a better life, it provided the U.S. with another ingredient to add to its melting pot.

1. Hutchmacher, Joseph. A Nation of Newcomers . New York: Delacorte Press, 1967.

2. Rolle, Andrew. The Immigrant Upraised . Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1960.

3. Denver, Barbara. Interview.

4. Di Stasi, Lawrence. The Big Book of Italian Culture . New York: Penmen Inc., 1991.

5. Bailey, Thomas and Kennedy, David. The American Pageant. Massachusetts: D.C. Heath and Company, 1991.

6. Italians Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America . Boston: Gale Research, Inc., 1995.