Italian Immigration In The Late 1800s

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Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s, the United States experienced many new changes as a result of the Industrial Revolution. One of these changes was the major wave of immigrants from several countries. These “New Immigrants”, as they were called, were primarily Jewish, Italian, or slaves. “Between around 1880 and 1924, more than four million Italians immigrated to the United States, half of them between 1900 and 1910 alone.” (“When Did They”). One of those Italians was Delaney’s great great grandfather, Michelo or Michael, who came from Italy to America in 1909. Before he arrived in the U.S. from Italy, Michael worked on a farm. 2/3 of the Italian immigrant population were farm laborers or contadini. The laborers were mostly agricultural” Michael …show more content…

Michael spoke little English but learned quickly while living in an area full of Italian immigrants. There were many reasons to immigrate to the U.S. from Italy during this time period. “The reasons for the Italian Immigration to America were to escape from the wars and the natural disasters that had led to disease, unemployment, and poverty. Italy was governed by political corruption, a legacy of violence and social chaos.” (“Italian Immigration”). He worked in the factory for part of his life, having come to America during the Second Industrial Revolution. “Due to the large numbers of Italian immigrants, Italians became a vital component of the organized labor supply in America. They comprised a large segment of the following three labor forces: mining, textiles, and clothing manufacturing. In fact, Italians were the largest immigrant population to work in the mines. In 1910, 20,000 Italians were employed in mills in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.” (Molnar). Michael went on to have children and live the remainder of his life in the United States, unlike many Italian immigrants at the

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