Essay --

From the years 1880 to the early 1900’s immigrants from Italy began to find their way to the new land in America. But why did they choose to move and why did they choose here? Opposition to the fascist rule of Benito Mussolini was one major cause of the great number of Italians leaving Italy. Other reasons were that poverty, overpopulation, and natural disaster all spurred in Italy in the late 1800’s. Also the illiteracy rate in southern Italy was nearly 70 percent, about 10 times as high as Germany, France and England in the late 1800’s. There was a lack of cultivatable land and of industrial resources such as coal and iron. Also they had a lack of modern agricultural technology, therefor the 80% of Italians who relied on farming for their income fell to poverty when there farms became insufficient. There was also a disease, Phylloxera, which spread and killed many vineyards. Natural disasters destroyed many families’ lives in Italy including volcanic eru ptions, earthquakes and massive tidal waves. In Italy, a worker could make between $2 and $8 for 6 days of work, while in other countries such as the United States they could make around $20 or more a week. Italians came to America for a new start and with the visions of achieving the American Dream. In the late 1800’s and through history, people saw America as the â€Å"land of opportunity†, â€Å"the land of milk and honey† or â€Å"The Promised Land†. They believed that America was the place that they could turn their life around and get a job to support their family better than they could in their native country. The jobs that they found were not always easy. The first Italians to America often became fruit merchants in New York and wine growers in California. Many agricultural states atte... ...rs, and women were paid even less. Following WWII the G.I. Bill was passed which provided servicemen with the opportunity to attend college, buy a home, or receive other types of training. The bill enabled a significant amount of Italians to move out of blue collar jobs and begin working in places of higher class. Some of these people even began opening their own businesses. Although following generations maintained certain pieces of their Italian culture, they incorporated American values into their lives by marrying other types from outside of their communities and moving out of the Little Italy communities that they had settled in. Today, direct descendants of the early Italian immigrants are believed to be around 16 million. Stereotypes and bad jokes aside, today, Italians are appreciated for their contributions to the American society, both past and present.