Yo Kass answered
The mass immigration of Italians to the United States was, as with most immigration, mainly economically motivated.
Reasons for Italian Immigration To America
Before 1870, you would have been significantly less likely to come across an Italian on the streets of New York or any other American port.
However, by the late 19th century, the Italian peninsula was experiencing something of an 'overcrowding' phenomenon, with poverty and famine common problems facing many Italians. People often struggled to find jobs and, when employment was found, wages were poor and taxes were heavy.
Between the years 1890 to 1900, over 650,000 Italians set sail for America with the hope of better living conditions and economic circumstances. Of this number, two thirds were male, and they were often from a rural and impoverished background.
Life in America
The intent of many Italian immigrants arriving in America during this period was to find work, save money and then return to the homeland, and roughly 40% of them did in fact return to Italy eventually.
Those who arrived looking for work were often unskilled and uneducated, which meant that many Italians ended up doing industrial work, involving long hours and a relatively low wage. Italians also became involved in the garment industry, and had managed to establish it as their domain by the run-up to World War One.
Then, following the First World War, Italians began to get a reputation for being involved in criminality. This was mainly due to a number of high-profile criminal cases involving Italians - but statistics from the US department of justice actually show that 0.0025% of Italians were actually involved in crime.
By the 1920s there were appropriately 4,200,000 Italians living in the United States.
World War Two
In the 1930s, (the decade leading up to the Second World War), immigration was contributed to by people fleeing the government of Benito Mussolini in Italy, and the rise of fascism.
When America entered the war following the bombing of Pearl Harbour, the vast majority of Italian immigrants supported the American's role in the war. Indeed, many were actively involved in the war effort, such as the scientists Enrico Fermi and Emilio Segre who contributed to the development of the atomic bomb.
Reasons for Italian Immigration To America
Before 1870, you would have been significantly less likely to come across an Italian on the streets of New York or any other American port.
However, by the late 19th century, the Italian peninsula was experiencing something of an 'overcrowding' phenomenon, with poverty and famine common problems facing many Italians. People often struggled to find jobs and, when employment was found, wages were poor and taxes were heavy.
Between the years 1890 to 1900, over 650,000 Italians set sail for America with the hope of better living conditions and economic circumstances. Of this number, two thirds were male, and they were often from a rural and impoverished background.
Life in America
The intent of many Italian immigrants arriving in America during this period was to find work, save money and then return to the homeland, and roughly 40% of them did in fact return to Italy eventually.
Those who arrived looking for work were often unskilled and uneducated, which meant that many Italians ended up doing industrial work, involving long hours and a relatively low wage. Italians also became involved in the garment industry, and had managed to establish it as their domain by the run-up to World War One.
Then, following the First World War, Italians began to get a reputation for being involved in criminality. This was mainly due to a number of high-profile criminal cases involving Italians - but statistics from the US department of justice actually show that 0.0025% of Italians were actually involved in crime.
By the 1920s there were appropriately 4,200,000 Italians living in the United States.
World War Two
In the 1930s, (the decade leading up to the Second World War), immigration was contributed to by people fleeing the government of Benito Mussolini in Italy, and the rise of fascism.
When America entered the war following the bombing of Pearl Harbour, the vast majority of Italian immigrants supported the American's role in the war. Indeed, many were actively involved in the war effort, such as the scientists Enrico Fermi and Emilio Segre who contributed to the development of the atomic bomb.
