paper Research "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door." These are the words Lady Liberty welcomes to all Immigrants at Ellis Island, New York pursuing a new life in the states. America is known as the land of opportunity and from 1900 to 1914 over nine million Europeans immigrated to America to seek life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (out of one many 622). Some important immigrants that left their countries to come to America such as German scientist Albert Einstein, Czechoslovakian Madeleine Albright who became the first woman secretary of state and also Hungarian Joseph Pulitzer which the Pulitzer prizes are named after to name a few. The trip the brave Immigrants made was a long and arduous one, with their new life in America being completely unknown. One of the many groups of people that made this trip was the Italians. Italians were an important part in shaping a piece of America because of their culture, religion and contributions to America. Large amount of Italian emigration started in the 1870's when people started to leave the country due to natural disasters, poverty and over population. Mount Vesuvius a volcano once considered sacred by the Greeks and Romans erupted in 1872 and destroyed a city near Naples. Mount Etna the largest volcano in Italy located near Sicily has also been active making living conditions near the area very dangerous. In 1908 a hundred thousand Italians were killed by an earth quake and tidal wave that devastated the area of the Italian mainland (Digital history). With all this destruction it created large amounts of poverty and difficult living conditions for the Italian people. This is when
many Italians decided to Immigrate. Many moved to the states to find work and send money back home where they planned to return. Most that moved to the states settled down in big cities such as New York, Chicago, and California. In New York many found jobs as fruit merchants, and in California they were excellent wine growers. However most of the Italian men that moved to the states became construction workers in big cities so they could make an honest living (Digital history). About 30 percent of the Italian Immigrants would return to Italy but that still left many in the states to influence American Culture. Italian Culture is based on the strength of the family (la famiglia), culinary, and also dancing and music. When coming to America many Italians had trouble adjusting to their new lives so they brought along their music, dances and food to the new country. When Italian families settled down in America they would move to large cities and create their own "Little Italy's." These were communities and neighborhoods of Italian families living in America and bringing their Italian culture with them. These Little Italy's still exist and are almost tourist attractions where none Italians can visit and experience the Italian culture, by eating at authentic Italian restaurants, Shopping, and dancing to Italian music (Italian Immigration). Music is also an important part of Italian culture that they brought along with them to the states. One of the most recognized Italian dances is the "Tarentella" which means tarantula. This dance is frequently seen at most Italian parties and is also then theme song to many Italian restaurants. Italians are known for their delicious food, but to them it is more then just food it is a part of their culture. An Italian meal is almost like a small party when everyone involved not only enjoys their food but also the social interactions that come along with it. Italian food is prepared very
carefully, everything from seafood, chicken veil, coffees, wines and those world famous pastas (Paulla Estes). Italian culture is the most important thing when it comes to an
Italian family in America, for it was all they had when arriving here and has now also become a part of American culture and history. Like the Irish, the Italians brought with them into the United States a strong faith in the Catholic religion. However when arriving in America the Italians only found Irish ran catholic churches that did not speak Italian or practice the same customs. Determined to pass their faith and customs on, Americans Italian started to build their own churches. This only angered the Irish Americans who didn't agree with the Italian customs and thought them to be ignorant. Italian Catholicism strongly believes in the worshiping of saints. The churches have holidays and parties in the honor of the saints, and believe it is their right by god to worship the saints (the Italian Americans). One of these holidays in St. Josephs Day where Italian churches pass out blessed bread and pastries, and families have huge feasts at their houses to celebrate. However, the most popular feast days are Christmas and Easter where the Italians celebrate by giving their thanks to god. The Italians hold religion and god just as close as family and it is a very important part of their culture that they brought along with them to America which now has the highest percentage of Catholics then any other religion (Italian Americans). Since the immigration boom of the nine-teen hundreds there have been many Italian Americans that have contributed to American society in the arts, entertainment, sports, and politics. One famous Italian American artist was Giorgio Cavallon who died in 1989 but has been accepted in the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. There have also been many famous Italian Americans that have made great
contributions to entertainment in the states such as Frank Sinatra, Frances Ford Coppola, and Sylvester Stallone. Frank Sinatra is best known for his award winning work in movies television and music but was also a very charitable man who raised millions of dollars for the less fortunate. Frances Ford Coppola is a renowned movie director who is best known for his work with the Godfather Trilogy which won many academy awards. Sylvester Stallone is one of the most famous Italian actors and won the academy award for best picture in the movie Rocky which he wrote and directed. Some of the most famous Italian Americans in the sporting world are Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Vince Lombardi. Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra are two hall of fame baseball players the played for the New York Yankees. Joe DiMaggio is considered to be one of the greatest players to play the game and Yogi Berra is considered one of the greatest catchers and won ten World Series. Italian Americans have also been contributed to government in the United States. Some important figures are Alfred E. Smith, Geraldine Ferraro, and Rudolph W. Giuliani. Alfred Smith was the first Italian to run for presidency and also became the First Italian American to serve as the governor of New York. Geraldine Ferraro was a democrat from New York who served on the House of Representatives and was also the first woman to run for national office. Rudolph Giuliani was governor of New York from 1993 to 2001, while governor the crime rate in New York dropped to its lowest since the 1960's and he also did a fantastic job aiding the city in its time of need after 9/11 (Italian American Contributions). This is only a handful of the many Italian Americans that have contributed to American society, but without the Italian people and all other Immigrants that came to the states America would be a completely different place.
In the 1990 census there were 15 million people who classified themselves Italian, with about one tenth of all Americans having Italian blood in them, this brings the total number of Americans with Italian decent to 26 million (Italian American Contributions). Since their trip to America, Italians have been very beneficial to the growth of America. There have been many Italians that have contributed to American society, culture and also religion. Without the immigration of Italians to America this country wouldn't be quite the same.
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Paulla Estes. Life in Italy. 2005 http://www.lifeinitaly.com/culture/
The Italian Americans. Italian Immigration. 2005 http://ancestryalbum.com/isoa/id12.html Italian American Contributions. The National Italian American Foundation. 2007 http://www.niaf.org/research/contribution.asp#pop