Beginning around the year 1890, a multitude of races came to America in search of freedom. They were as diverse as the nations from which they arrived. On the whole, a greater majority of men emigrated before the rest of their families. They would come by boat and land in America. After they were settled, the men would send word for the rest of the family to leave home and meet with them in their new homeland. One specific group of immigrants arrived from Italy. Italians came in a quest for golden opportunities because of previous economic difficulties in their own country. Most immigrants wanted to leave these hardships in order to begin a better life in a New World, a world far from their own. However, this decision to emigrate was not an easy one to come by. They realized there were many difficulties that would have to be endured to get to America. The Italians also knew that they would have to prepare themselves for changes from their old way of life to the new one, even though they really had no idea of what to expect when they got to America. . The native Italians had to weigh the reasons why they wanted to leave their home and immigrate, to the dangers of this huge risk they would soon undergo.
There were a variety of reasons why Italians had decided to leave Italy for America. The main reason being to better oneself in the land of opportunity. The Italian immigrants basically wanted to increase their standard of living. They were also looking to better the lives of their children as well. However these reasons ranged from wars dealing with differences in agreement involving trade among foreign nations, to poverty in their own country. "In the 1880's and 1890's, conditions in southern Italy deteriorated as natural disasters, such as phylloxera(a disease attacking grape vines), spread, and the population suffered from the trade wars with European nations that cut off foreign markets for agricultural produce "(Scarpaci 25) In southern Italy especially, many Italians were farmers who made a living from their crops. This disease put a lot of pressure on farmers because agriculture was their only source of income. Farmers, like any other employees, must go where there is a steady flow of work. These changes in agriculture, forced these inhabitants to think about other alternatives, one's they were unfamiliar with. Also, if foreign markets were cut off, there were fewer nations to sell their agricultural products to. So, not only did the Italian farmers have to worry about diseases eating up their crops; they also had to be concerned with who they would sell their products to if they survived these diseases. These Italian farmers (contadini) were plagued with a very big obstacle. "Economic setbacks, combined with a serious cholera epidemic that claimed 55,000 lives by 1887, left the southern Italian peasants barely able to survive. As severe crop failure in 1897 led to riots in Sicily, Puglia and Calabria, raids on bakeries and grain elevators followed in Naples. The Contadini had had enough. They were ready to leave the villages where they had spent their entire lives"(DiFranco 14). These circumstances upset the families of these farmers a great deal. It made them very nervous because they did not have the answers to how they were going to survive. However it left them with only one choice which they didn't even want to think about. Italy was their homeland and the Italians did not want to leave, but due to the buildup of these obstacles that stood in their way; their only solution was to leave their beloved home.
After many Italians had decided it was time to immigrate to America, they realized that they would face a multitude of difficulties in order to get there. First the Italians would have to have enough money for the boat and to get settled. This was very difficult since work had been scarce. The traveling conditions were another obstacle to be endured. The boats that held these immigrants were very overcrowded with people, which led to uncomfortable circumstances. Immigrants from many foreign lands were allowed on the boat. Furthermore, there were many diseases present on the boat due to the variety of immigrants that were dwelling in the boat. So not all the passengers, who set out, made it to America. The travelers on the boat also had to survive hunger because the variety and amount of food was very scarce. As a result, some immigrants starved in the long journey to America. The Italian immigrants had strong wills and much determination in order to survive this exhausting trip to the New World. In most families, the men were the first to travel, and then they sent for the rest of their family.
Once the men of the houses arrived in America, they knew that they had made it to the land of opportunity. They also knew that just because there was a lot of opportunity, didn't mean that it would be an easy road ahead from here on out. When I interviewed my grandmother, she said that her father left Italy and stayed with some family members that had been living in New York for a short period of time. He immediately obtained a job in the construction business because he was good with his hands, and he was a very hard worker. Work was tough but he never regretted coming to America. Whatever money he made at the time, my great grandfather saved a big portion of it. He would always send some money home to his family, even if it was only a few dollars. My great grandfather met my great grandmother in America where they got married after a couple of years. After they were married, money was basically saved in hopes of buying an apartment for themselves. But in general, the father of the house usually met with a relative who had immigrated at an earlier time. He would live in his house for as long as it took to save enough money where he could acquire his own little house. For those without relatives, they simply stayed with people from the old neighborhood in Italy There were many fears for these immigrants once they arrived. Most of them came through Ellis Island. Once there, they underwent some physical examinations. If they passed, they were allowed all across the continent. After they gained admission, it was time for these immigrants to work. Most of the immigrants from Italy did not have much of an education, if any and the skills that they did have were limited. So, the Italians were forced to do what they knew how to do. "Many had been farmers in Italy, and some of these who could afford to buy or rent land became farmers in the United States, making major contributions to American culture"(DiFranco 15). Most of the immigrants coming over were illiterate and could not maintain high paying jobs, so they immediately came to the realization that there was a limited number of opportunities. But they saw that there was room for improvement, and room to move up in status, so that kept them motivated. The Italians took any job that they could find and they worked very hard to earn money. They also learned how to save their money by minimizing their costs, and buying only bare essentials needed to survive. "These immigrants, overwhelmingly male, fanned out across America, taking jobs on railroad construction gangs, as street cleaners, rag picker, miners, ditch draggers, brick makers, stone makers. Peddlers, street musicians and as workers in shops and factories. Many lived in boarding houses or in bachelor quarters where expenses were kept at a minimum"(Humbert 28).
The Italians were willing to do whatever was necessary in order for themselves and their families to survive. When asking my grandmother about what jobs her parents had in America, she told me some very interesting pieces of information. My great grandparents worked very hard to get their first apartment which had but two rooms. They were very poor but more importantly they were very happy. My great-grandfather made shoes for everyone in the house. He was the person that fixed all the things that went wrong. My great-grandmother would make her own bread at home, along with her own pizza. She also worked at a clothes store making garments. She did all the chores around the house. She too was a very hard-worker. My great-grandmother had eleven children, however four died before they reached two years of age. The second apartment my great-grandparents moved into had four rooms for a house of nine people dwelling inside it. They lived in very uncomfortable conditions and worked almost any job thrown at them as long as they were getting paid. As time went on, the Italians saved their money and soon after, they sent for the rest of the family members.
When the Italian immigrants arrived, hopefully passing the examinations, they too realized life would be different here in America. For those who did not pass certain tests, they would be held for hours or sometimes days to undergo more tests. This was extremely traumatic for the families because they did not know when that particular family member who failed would be able to come home with them. On the most part, the immigrants made it through safely. When the women finally arrived, they knew that life in America would he harder, and a little more demanding than it was back in Italy. Now being here in America, the role of Italian women would change from the traditional roles of their homeland. " In the old country, women's roles revolved entirely around their home and children. The fathers were the undisputed heads of the family, and no one made a decision without his approval. In America, Italian women, out of necessity, flooded the labor market. Giving up the traditional roles, these women entered the workplace, where they were encouraged to think independently and to Americanize quickly"(DiFranco 15). The women now had to adjust to a different lifestyle from never working before, to now having to worry about putting food on the table. This was a huge step for Italian women, one, which took a lot of will power and determination. Even more so, it was simply for the need of pure survival. The women knew that this is what had to be done to keep their family going, and they did it without hesitation.
Even the children of these families had to work. Back in Italy, the children would stay home all day, or if their parents had the money, they would go to school. Here in America, they would soon learn a different way of life. " At the turn of the century, many industries operated in homes. Immigrant families, including young children, worked long hours for low pay. Italian Americans worked in the small, crowded rooms where they lived- transforming their kitchens into workshops"(Scarpaci 5). They would turn their houses into workplaces so that they could work all day at home. They rarely had time for themselves, for leisure activities, or hobbies that people had taken for granted. They struggled day in and day out to survive. Their only time to relax or take a break was during family meals and sleep hours. My grandmother told me that when she was growing up, her family was very happy. They were always laughing at the dinner table, and when her mother would be ironing clothes. Their family was always cheerful through the good times and the bad. My grandmother started to work at a very early age where she learned the value of the dollar. She would work for about forty hours a week for approximately five dollars. She would give her mother four dollars. Fifty cents was for transportation for the week, and the other fifty cents was for food for the week.
Even though these times were rough, the Italian immigrants were thankful that they had been giving this opportunity to come to America. For they realized that if not giving this opportunity, they might be dead from poverty stricken conditions, hunger, diseases, etc. Also, the Italians were happy because they kept close ties with their life long friends from Italy. My great-grandmother was sent to Buffalo after she went through Ellis Island because that is where her family was. My great-grandfather however, stayed in New York because that is where his family members were located at the time. At this point in time they did not know each other. They met later on in New York. But the majority of Italian immigration was sent to the same location in America, which allowed for people to keep in touch one another. This is one reason why the Italians kept moving in their struggle for opportunity and ability to survive. The simple pleasure and assurance that they weren't going through this alone; that others were striving towards the same goal as they were, made them feel a little more at ease. "The little Italies of America recreated the paese or town atmosphere of the Old World"(Scarpaci 5).
Ninety five percent of the Italian immigrants who migrated were living in the Lower East Side of New York. In reality, it was like they were living in Italy all over again. They had basically preserved their whole town with them in this New World, which provided a tremendous amount of support and confidence in this move for a better life. Whether it was from Northern, or Southern Italy, newcomers settled along the same streets and in the same tenements. They sought jobs where others from their town or province of origin came from. This allowed for close knit neighborhoods to be established. This made the Italian immigrants feel very much at home, and allowed the effect of the drastic change to be subdued a little.
When my grandmother told me about how it used to be in the old neighborhood, I was inspired. My grandmother grew up in Harlem on one hundred and Seventh Street and First Avenue. She told me that it was a completely different time than it is today. Back then, racism was nonexistent because everyone got along with each other. The neighborhood my grandmother grew up in was mostly Italian, but there were also Irish immigrants, and Jewish people as well. Nobody knew about black or white because everyone was friends. She said that people in the neighborhood looked out for one another. If children were playing outside, there was always someone outside that was watching them, even if it was not there children. If someone was carrying groceries, you would give them a hand. There were feasts all the time, and people were always sitting out in front of their house. You were allowed to leave your doors open without worrying about anything. Also, you could ride any train, and come home at any time during the night, without the worry of someone robbing you. And that was a different feeling unto itself. It was a type of Utopia that will probably never be seen again.
During the late eighteen hundreds to the early nineteen hundreds, was
the period in which the bulk of Italian immigration had taken place. There
were many reasons behind why the Italians had left their homeland for a
foreign one. These factors ranged from famines, which led to hunger, diseases,
poverty and wars. The Italians had no other choice but to start their lives
somewhere elsewhere they could survive and live happily. These immigrants
had no idea of what to expect in this New World, but it was the only chance
of survival they would have. The immigration of the Italians was not an
easy task to overcome. It would probably be the hardest struggle they would
ever face. By moving to America, the Italians would be subjected to many
obstacles and many new difficulties that they had never encountered such
as prejudice new cultures, and language. The struggle that this group of
people undertook, was a true definition of the determination, and strength
that this group had when being faced with diversity and overwhelming hurdles.