“Chi la dura la vince.” This soft-spoken Italian proverb sums up the series of events that Italian immigrants endured on their journey in America. Between 1880 and 1920, more than four million Italian-Americans immigrated to the United States of America in hopes of temporarily escaping Southern Italy’s impoverished and overpopulated society. Once in America, these new Italian-American citizens started ‘Little Italys’ or ethnic enclaves of Italians. Some Little Italies were even large enough to support a full economic structure of their own, providing a plethora of job opportunities. These ‘small’ Italian communities shielded themselves from general stereotypes and provided a sense of belonging which helped Italians establish their roots. America’s attitude toward these new Italian-American citizens can be summed up in part by Congressman James McClintic, a Democrat Oklahoman: "I say the class of immigrants [Italians] coming to the shores of the United States at this time are not the kind of people we want as citizens in this country." Inplace of responding by aggressive human nature, America’s new Italian citizens viewed this as an opportunity to enrich family and community bonds. As for Italian traditions, they struggled to be accustomed between the two Italian generations as the already ‘Americanized’ Italian children clashed with their parents, which resulted in altered traditions. One major example is Italian-American food which chain restaurants have come to paint as a type of restaurant that specializes in spaghetti with meatballs, pizza, and has red checked tablecloths.
Once the Italian roots skimmed the ground, nothing makes for a better storyline than a disaster which struck the global economy, posthumously kno...
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...merica’s success in World War II.
Last but not least, the Italian-American’s contributed greatly to America’s past and left quite an imprint on our ‘melting pot’ culture. The Italian-Americans came to America following a dream; whether it be temporarily ‘escaping’ South Italy or a lifelong aspirations toward music. There perseverance and bravery left an impact stronger than words can express which assisted our future successes. Slowly yet steadily, Italians rose up the social ladder, opening up like a blossoming flower to their fellow Americans. Establishing their roots, then blossoming into a beautiful flower, revealing all beyond everyone’s expectations. Today, Italians have surpassed all the other ethnic groups in average job income and job prestigious, a true example of hard work paying off. As for, “Chi la dura la vince,”-He who perseveres wins at last...
Nicola Sacco and Barolmeo Vanzetti arrived in America as Italian immigrants in 1908. Sacco was seventeen working at a shoe...
Cultural diversity is about people who identify with a particular group based on where they grew up, their ethnicity, the language they speak, the values they hold and their beliefs. This doesn’t mean everyone will be the same or think the same. The differences of the Italian culture compared to European American culture is hard to see. Italy is filled more with culturally diverse people and respects more of the ethnic groups of the world. The Italian culture show this in their celebrations, food, music, and traditions. Their greetings and life style are known more to the European side of the world than the western side. Respecting diversity encourages people to accept the differences between groups
The first paragraph evokes the normal and typical structure of the Italian-American immigrant family in this era. In the Vitale family, everyone has their own role. The father, Giovanni Vitale, has the duty of working long hours to provide for his family. The mother, Lisa, has the role of a homemaker, making dinner for the family, and takin...
In the thirty-five years preceding World War I, the United States was flooded with seventeen million “new” immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe. Each group brought their own distinctive food habits from the “old” world. The Italians, a large portion of which came from Southern Italy, were part of th...
“Between 1880 and 1920 more than 4.1 million Italians were recorded as entering the United States” (Daniels, p. 188). The Italian immigrants of post-1880 were different from other immigrant groups by these topics of religion, labor, family orientation, politics, and education. The 1880s brought a change not only in the amount of Italian immigrants but also the characteristic of them as a group. This group of immigrants was incredibly male dominated, in comparison to the other immigrants of this time, most settling in New York and Chicago. The living conditions that these Italians encountered were not pleasant. It was common for them to live in very crowded four bedroom apartments. Compared to other immigrants, they had one of the worsts living conditions usually very close to industrial working sites. These apartments commonly did not have plumbing. As unskilled workers, they tended to work in manual labor, on the railroad and in steel companies with dangerous conditions. These work areas were so dangerous that over forty deaths were common for each year. Sometimes Italians in construction would live in boxcars while working on a long-term project. This can be seen in the third picture of the additional links, Italian Laborers, Padrones, and Pernicious Pasta. The boxcar is not very large space and is being shared by three workers. There is obviously no plumbing, very filthy, and most likely without furniture inside. The men look grimy and worn out in the photo. The workday would usually be over ten hours a day, more than five days a week so it is understandable why some would opt just to live on the worksite. Although they worked all these hours, many still picked through garbage for food and scrap resources. Many of these im...
Life in Italy is much different than life in the United States. Italians live at a much slower pace, than American’s and they have a desire to enjoy life instead of rushing through it as many American lifestyles exhibit (Zimmermann, K. (2015). The extended family is very important in Italy, whereas in the United States, the focus tends to be on the nuclear family, which includes mom, dad, and children (Zimmermann, 2015). The differences in Italian culture and American culture are vast and varied, but with a few comparable components to demonstrate similarities.
Unless you are a wealthy Italian, you live a much humbler lifestyle. A lot of Italians homes are meager, and the material goods Americans want and vie for, aren’t as important to them. I realized how fortunate I was for all the belongings I took for granted. Some Italians would view the home I grew up in as a mansion compared to their own. They seemed so much happier and it was humbling to see them content by having a lot
The peasants in the deprived, southern area of Italy and the island of Sicily had little hope of upgrading their lives. Many diseases and natural disasters spread through the area. On top of this, Italy's crumbling government was in no state to come to its people's aid. Word that life in America was soon spreading across the land, and more and more Italians found it difficult to resist the thought of a new and more prosperous life. Italian immigrants began piling in to Ellis Island in New York to take their first steps on U.S. soil in search for a new beginning (The Library of Congress, 2004).
A woman by the name of Nicola Sacco and man by the name of Bartolomeo Vanzetti were accused of robbing a factory in Massachusetts. Later in a letter, Vanzetti wrote, “I am suffering because I am a radical and indeed I am a radical; I have suffered because I was Italian, and indeed I am an Italian. These young Italians both knew that they were not in the wrong they were just in a time when other races were not accepted in America. The Sacco-Vanzetti case, proved that “the outcome symbolized the nativist prejudices and stereotypes are haunted in the communities.” This Fundamentalist Revolt wasn’t against a single race. It was against all races. These ant-modernist wanted an end to all immigration of all
The pursuit of happiness for some is a journey that can lead to new and great horizons. Sometimes it means to leave everything behind to start something from the bottom up. More and more people decide to leave their hometown, others their state, and others their country to go and find what their hearts desire. In most case that is the vision of an immigrant, to seek and find that better life. In one way or another we are all immigrants in this earth. Since the foundation of the U.S., immigrants from all over the world have marked its history, even though some oppose to this idea; immigration is a key point for this nation.
Throughout most of my childhood, I always gravitated towards my Italian heritage more than any other of my birthrights. My great grandparents came to Lawrence, Massachusetts from Naples, Italy in search of a better life. They found it here in America by working in the factories and mills. Sadly, I only knew my great grandparents for a brief period of time before they all passed away. I thank them and her generation for taking us here, to the United States of America.
...” (Myers 119). I have, for as long as I can remember, been aware of the cultural winds. With each Italian tradition that my family embraces, we are fighting the winds of a more mainstream tradition that seeks presence in our home. But I am glad that we have fought these winds. I am glad that I did not spend my Christmases in the same way that many other children did. I am glad that I believed that my Christmas presents were left by La Befana while all the other kids believed they had come only from Santa Clause. I believe that living in America is about embracing difference. My family forces me to embrace difference through our Italian traditions each Christmas, and it has taught me how beautiful and valuable difference can truly be. Buon Natale!
Right next to food, family is the most important thing in Italian culture. My mother was born and raised in Naples, Italy and lived with her mother and three siblings after her father passed away when she was only six years old. My mother and my grandmother had a very close bond, the same bond my mother and I share now. My grandmother was a very hands on type of mom my mother tells me. Like most mothers, her children were her pride and joy. My mother’s most vivid memories of her childhood involve my grandmother teaching her how to make tiramisu and lasagna. Practices my mother has now passed onto me. Aside from the cooking lessons, my mother also taught me what it means to be a women. Being independent, never giving up, and working for what
When Italian immigrants came to America, many were not welcomed in the communities of the Germans and Irish. The neighborhoods that the Itali...
A child reunites with his or her mother for the first time in forever, put yourself in their shoes and imagine what it would be like. How would you feel? Immigration has been an important and frequently debated topic in the U.S. because of many people migrate here legally and illegally and the effects it has in the country, but first what is immigration? According to the Oxford dictionary, Immigration is the action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country. In the last few years, a lot has changed with the Immigration policy in the United States. According to American Immigration Council (AIC), the body of law governing current immigration policy, provides for an annual worldwide limit of 675,000 permanent immigrants, with certain exceptions for close family members (AIC, 2014). Everyone has different opinions about the change, but I am more interested in the reason behind why people migrate to United