THE GREAT ARRIVAL [2]
The Italians great arrival.
Flavors and Knowledge
Oct 29
Italian Heritage Center Rhode Island
{Early Arrivals via Library of Congress}
This feature is a full-length portrait of my compatriots who may occasionally be witty, grave, cynical, compassionate, melancholy, glittering, scholarly, and stimulating. What is important is that we share these emotions. Italians discovered America for the Americans; taught poetry, statesmanship, and the ruses of trade to the English; military art to the Germans; cuisine to the French; acting and ballet dancing to the Russians; music to everybody. Suppose someday this world of ours should be turned into a cloud of radioactive dust in space. In that case, it will be by nuclear contrivances developed with the decisive aid of Italian scientists—{Luigi Barzini, in the Italians}.
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Between 1880 and 1920, over four million Italians entered the United States. No other ethnic group has sent so many immigrants in such a short time. Before 1870, only thousands of Italians had come to areas outside of Europe to either North or South America. Up to 1900, most Italians had emigrated to either Argentina or Brazil. Those entering the United States were primarily male, and many intended to return to Italy after making some money. However, many ended up staying in America for various reasons. {Oscar Handlin in The Uprooted].
Cari amici:
Most of this generation of Italian immigrants took their first steps on U.S. soil in a place that has become a legend—Ellis Island. In the 1880s, they numbered 300,000; in the 1890s, 600,000; in the decade after that, more than two million. By 1920, when immigration began to taper off, more than 4 million Italians had come to the United States, representing more than 10 percent of the nation’s foreign-born population.
What brought about this dramatic surge in immigration? The causes are complex, and each hopeful individual or family undoubtedly has a unique story. By the late 19th century, the peninsula of Italy had finally been brought under one flag. Still, the land and the people were not unified, and decades of internal strife had left a legacy of violence, social chaos, and widespread poverty. The peasants in the primarily poor, mostly rural south of Italy and on the island of Sicily had little hope of improving their lot. Diseases and natural disasters swept through the new nation, but its fledgling government was in no condition to bring aid to the people. As transatlantic transportation became more affordable, and as word of American prosperity came via returning immigrants and U.S. recruiters, Italians found it increasingly difficult to resist the call of “L’America.”
This new generation of Italian immigrants was distinctly different in makeup from those that had come before. The immigrant population no longer consisted primarily of Northern Italian artisans and shopkeepers seeking a new market to ply their trades. Instead, the vast majority were farmers and laborers looking for a steady source of work—any work. There were many single men among these immigrants, and many came only to stay a short time. Within five years, between 30 and 50 percent of this generation of immigrants would return home to Italy, where they were known as ritornati.
Those who stayed usually remained in close contact with their family in the old country and worked hard to have money to send back home. In 1896, a government commission on Italian immigration estimated that Italian immigrants sent or took home between $4 million and $30 million yearly and that “the marked increase in the wealth of certain sections of Italy can be traced directly to the money earned in the United States.”
America is also Italian Podcast
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