Italian Settlement in North America in the 17 and 18th century

Italian Settlement in North America in the 17 and 18th century

1. What They Did,

Although most of the Italian immigration into the USA did not take place until the 18^th century, Italians played an imperative role in the development of American colonies and the overall creation for the USA. Most of the Italian immigrants settled in the Ellis Island where they engaged in agricultural and Craftsmen activities. Although most of the immigrants worked as laborers, only a small proportion of the immigrants worked as Craftsmen. The craftsmen accounted for less than 20% of the immigrants, and they were assigned higher status than the traditional contending status(Cetin 378). The small proportion who worked as Craftsmen were allocated manual activities such as carpentry brick layering, masonry, tailoring, and cutting hair. Since the immigrants arrived in large numbers, they formed an essential component of the organized American workforce. As they gained better skills and experience, the immigrants formed a significant portion of the mining textile and the clothing sectors. They became the most extensive race to work on the mines and manufacturing, where they reached up to 20,000 in population.

2. How They Maintained their Ethnic Heritage,

For s long time since the fall of the Roman empire, Italy did not exist as one unified entity. Instead it was a region with many principalities, each with its unique ruler. Although this heritage changed during the Italian unification, the transition was difficult and marked with numerous challenges. The weak leadership resulted in a new era in which the farmers could not rely on farming to make a living since the region was densely populated(Allievi 86). As a result, most of the residents decided to immigrate to America. However, life was even more difficult upon arrival because of language barriers, lack of education, and lack of skills. These factors relegated immigrants to manual laboring jobs.

To cope with the hardships of the new environment, the Italians formed the culture of living together. They formed groups of Italians referred to as little italies whereby they assisted with others and ate together. They were able to maintain their culture and religion by praying together and keeping up with the various customs and practice of this Homeland. The groups of little italies became more important culturally for the cities. They fostered the heritage by motivating immigrants to establish restaurants, which in turn propelled the introduction of Italian cuisine. The pope promoted the culture by sending missionaries to these areas to serve the immigrants. These unities enabled the immigrants to establish themselves which in turn allows the future generations to attend schools and to learn trades. Education and learning trades allowed the Italians to raise their income-generating abilities to skilled labor ultimately to professional jobs.

3. How They Helped Each Other,

The generation of Italians who migrated to the USA during the 17^th and 18^th centuries were categorically different in makeup than the immigrants who came before then. The first main distinction underlies the fact that the immigrant population was not made up of the artisans and shop keepers. Traditionally these occupations marked the Italian ethnic heritage. The new immigrants slightly adjusted the ethnic heritage to include farming and other forms of manual labor. Therefore the new immigrants created an Italian culture of farmers and manuals laborers who were in search of a steady source of income. Most of the population comprised of single men, most of whom only stayed in the region for a short time and returned to Italy after five years. The immigrants who remained maintained frequent contact with family and worked harder to get money to send home. Community living, therefore, played a leading role in assisting Italians to settle in America (Haller, and Repetti 184). Collaborating created unity and enabled future communities to access better educational and employment opportunities.
4. How They Adjusted or Assimilated into Anglo Based American Society.

Although the Italians immigrants had considerable respect for authority, including parent and elders they had many suspicions for the more significant figures of authority  including the hierarchy of the Catholic Church and politicians. This view towards power derived from the Italian distrusts of authority. The attitude made it increasingly difficult for the Italians to assimilate not the Anglo based American society. For instance, the cultural disparities were viable in the American system. Where the family was the bulwark for bigger and more robust institutions, therefore it was hard for Italian immigrants to continue their authority for family and suspicion for authority tradition(Isaac 21). Assimilation became even harder because the Italian often choose to become citizens by naturalization rather than assimilation which means that they did not have to assimilate into the politics and civilities of American Life.

Italians only became assimilated after the best which formed a solid foundation for assimilation. Nevertheless, immigrants faced perpetual prejudice and became victims of negative stereotypes. It also became difficult to assimilate because most Italians formed and joined the mafia and were, therefore, victims of organized crime. Although some learned and climbed the socioeconomic ladder, most immigrants the stereotypes associated with the reputation of organized crime.

Works Cited

Allievi, Stefano. “Immigration And Cultural Pluralism In Italy: Multiculturalism As A Missing Model.” Italian culture, vol 28, no. 2, 2016, pp. 85-103. Informa UK Limited, doi:10.1179/016146210×12790095563020.

Cetin, Elif. “The Italian Left And Italy’s (Evolving) Foreign Policy Of Immigration Controls”. Journal Of Modern Italian Studies, vol 20, no. 3, 2015, pp. 377-397. Informa UK Limited, doi:10.1080/1354571x.2015.1026149.

Haller, Hermann W, and Lori Repetti. “Linguistic Identities Of Italian In Italy And North America”. Forum Italicum: A Journal Of Italian Studies, vol 48, no. 2, 2014, pp. 183-187. SAGE Publications, doi:10.1177/0014585814529708.

Isaac, Erin. ““Our Enemy, Who For Our Religion… Abhorred Us”: The Establishment And Maintenance Of 18Th-Century Anti-Catholicism In North America”. USURJ: University Of Saskatchewan Undergraduate Research Journal, vol 4, no. 2, 2018. University Of Saskatchewan Library, doi:10.32396/usurj.v4i2.327.