----------------------------------- Dec 12, 2005 Impact of Italian Immigration to US ----------------------------------- The Impact of Italian Immigration on the U.S. The United States has long been known as the melting pot of the world. Many nationalities have influenced what the United States is today. The Italian Americans have made a significant impact on the United States of America. The Italians came to America to work hard with humble beginnings, to organized crime, to successful members of American society. In the early 1800’s, there were not very many Italians immigrating to the United States, but at the same time Italy was becoming very overcrowded. Not only was it becoming overcrowded, but also according to John Simkin, most Italians were from rural communities with very little education. From 1890 to 1900, 655,888 Italians arrived in the United States, of whom two-thirds were men. America was probably a target because many other countries hyped it up as “the land of opportunity”. America had plenty of jobs and the Italians were looking for work. A survey carried out that most of these immigrants planned to return once they had built up some capital. In fact, from 1900 to 1910 over 2,100,000 Italians moved to America. Forty percent of those immigrants returned to their homeland. (Simkin) Those Italians that were immigrating to the United States were entering through Ellis Island, New York. They were settling mostly in New York City, Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. New York was the largest colony of Italians. Italian Harlem was located next to the East River and had a population of 150,000 living in an area of one square mile. (Medina) The majority of the Italian immigrants were taking heavy manual labor jobs in steel mills, clothing factories, shoe factories, and construction. Because the Italians could not initially speak English, they were contracted out by professional labor brokers, known as the pardones, to help them find work. During this time, the Italians were making about $5 - $10 a month working 90 hours a week. Unfortunately, the padrones were not very much help because they were cheating them out of their money.(Magnussan) (Minty) (Lee) The Italians had a difficult time adjusting to American life like any of the other immigrants, because of their language barriers and culture. The Italians learned English quickly, but found safety in their culture. 75 % of all Italian immigrants to the United States came from regions south of Rome where they had been farmers. Usually they would set up a distinctive ethnic neighborhood, called a Little Italy. By 1920 almost one-fourth of all Italian immigrants lived in New York City, while more than half lived in the Middle Atlantic States and New England. Usually the man of the family would make the trip to America before the rest of the family. The man would work a seasonal and unskilled job building railroads, streets, skyscrapers, and public transportation systems; mining coal; or working in steel, shoe, and auto plants. Shortly after the women would follow the men to the United States and find work in the urban garment trades, canneries, and textile mills. The children of the family would often leave school before getting their diploma to help their families make money. Life in Italian immigrants revolved around family, church, and small self-help insurance societies formed by villagers from a single Italian town. Key community businesses included banks, boardinghouses, groceries, and saloons. Later on, the Catholic Church, labor unions, and political parties would foot the bill for social clubs and sports. (Greco) An example of one of these Little Italy’s would be Italian Harlem, located in East Harlem. Throughout Italian Harlem, there was extremely poor housing and overcrowding. This Italian Harlem was one of the original settlements for Italian immigrants. This housing was specifically designed for immigrants. As late as 1939, 84 percent of these homes lacked central heating, 67 percent did not have a shower or bathtub, and 55 percent did not even have a private toilet. Only 7.5 percent of these apartments contained five or more rooms. The only park was constructed at the turn of the century. The city demolished six blocks of homes to create open space for this park. In the mid-1920s the district was known as the most populated block in the city. (Magnussan) The Italian immigrants, like anyone would, were beginning to grow tired of these lives they were leading. They were getting frustrated with working long hours for low wages, then returning home to their awful living conditions. Many of these people resorted to a life of crime. The Irish and the Jews mainly controlled organized crime, in the early 1900s. The Italians saw how these “gangsters” were living and making easy, quick money and wanted a piece of the action. Soon enough, Italian gangsters started to emerge in the world of organized crime. Charles "Lucky" Luciano, born Salvatore Lucania, was born on November 24, 1897 on the island of Sicily. His family immigrated to New York City in 1906, when he was just six years old. Lucky joined the Five Points Gang, run by John Torrio, and eventually became a member of the Mafia. He rose to one of the top men of the Masseria Family. His expertise in prostitution and extortion quickly made him millions of dollars, with friends Meyer Lansky and "Bugsy" Siegel by his side. He was almost killed in 1929 when his throat was slit from ear to ear. He survived the incident, giving him the nickname “Lucky”. (Bardsley) Shortly after the incident, Luciano began formulating a plan to kill his boss, Masseria. It was around 3:30 pm when Luciano was out to eat with Masseria. Lucky asked the owner for a deck of cards, so that he and his boss could play a couple hands. After only one hand, Lucky excused himself to the restroom. An instant later, four men (Bugsy Siegel, Albert Anastasia, Vito Genovese and Joe Adonis) entered the restaurant and shot six bullets into Joe “The Boss” Masseria. Masseria’s death left all the power of the “Mafia” to Maranzano, now called The Boss of Bosses. However Maranzano was not aware that everybody on his payroll had already pledged their loyalty to Lucky Luciano. Luciano was informed that he and Vito Genovese were to be killed by Maranzano. The next day, Luciano and Genovese got a call from Maranzano to come to his office for a meeting, where they were to be killed. But Luciano had already devised a plan to kill Maranzano. Luciano and Genovese never showed up for the meeting. Maranzano was dead and Luciano now controlled everything. Gabriele Capone was one of 43,000 Italians who arrived in the U.S. in 1894. He arrived with his already pregnant wife Teresina his young sons Vincenzo and Raffaele. Gabriele worked in a grocery store until he had saved up enough money to open up his own barbershop. Teresina gave birth to Alphonsus Capone on January 17, 1899 in Brooklyn, New York. (Bardsley) Al Capone started his career as a thug and as a bouncer. He had three scars on his face, which led to the nickname of Al “Scarface” Capone. In 1919, he moved to Chicago. He was recruited into the Five Points Gang, just as Luciano had been. He quickly moved up in the ranks of the gang. He was quickly becoming known for his brutality and street smarts. By 1925, Al Capone was in charge of one of Chicago’s largest organized crime syndicates. Al Capone made millions of dollars in the midst of a depression off of illegal gambling, bootlegging and prostitution. In 1929, Capone’s crew shot up seven rival gang members on the day now called the “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre”. Al Capone was arrested over and over, but a jury could never convict him. However, FBI agent Elliot Ness was famously pursuing Capone. Agent Ness finally caught Capone on charges of tax evasion, saying that his illegal money was still taxable. “Scarface” served eight years in prison. Capone had been suffering from syphilis and was released on good behavior, because he was no longer a “threat” to society. Al Capone died of heart failure in 1947 in his Florida estate. Capone made such an impact on American society that he has even been portrayed in the movies “Al Capone” and “ The Untouchables”. (Holznagel) John Joseph Gotti, Jr. was born October 27, 1940. He was the fifth of eleven children. He was raised in a dirty, poverty-ridden section of the South Bronx. When Gotti was ten his family moved to a neighborhood near Brooklyn, and a year later moved again to East New York. John Gotti had always aspired to be a gangster. He committed his first robbery when he was just fourteen years old. (May) Over the years John Gotti became a mob boss. Gotti was not your typical Mafia boss. He was well known for going into a dead-end trial and coming out acquitted of all charges, earning him the nickname “The Teflon Don.” Gotti liked the public eye and was a celebrity like a sports star or an actor. He was a flamboyant man who mocked the judicial system. When he would be arrested, huge crowds of rioters would be outside the courthouses chanting “Free John Gotti.” His arrogant attitude eventually caught up to him and he was arrested and found guilty on all related charges except for one gambling charge. John Gotti was destined to die behind bars. James M. Fox, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York office, uttered his famous line, "The Don is covered with Velcro, and every charge stuck." Gotti replied with the comment “the 1919 White Sox,” indicating that the prosecutors had fixed the case. (May) In late September 1998, The Dapper Don was operated on. Doctors removed a cancerous tumor in his throat and were optimistic that a full recovery would take place. He soon after died of cancer in the neck and head. (May) Now his daughter Victoria, and her three teenage sons star in their own reality television show entitled “Growing Up Gotti.” One of the three sons have aspirations of different career choices than their grandfather, he is going to Harvard to become a criminal attorney. (May) Italians were starting to be thought of as criminals, and for just reasons. But some of these Italians were not going to sit back and take the easy way to success, while jeopardizing their family names and culture. Arturo Giovanitti was born in Italy in 1882. He had numerous jobs, such as a coal miner, a bookkeeper and even a teacher. Giovanitti was active in the trade union. He was also a member of the Industrial Workers of the World. Also, he was the leader of the Italian Socialist Federation of North America and began editing the Il Proletario, a radical Italian-language newspaper. In 1912, The American Woolen Company gave all of its workers a pay cut. Giovannitti went to Massachusetts to help organize a strike of 7,000 Italian workers. While in Massachusetts, Giovannitti set up soup kitchens and helped distribute food to the striking families. During one of the demonstrations, a woman was shot and killed by a state militia officer. Giovannitti was three miles away at the time speaking at a meeting. Giovannitti was arrested and charged with “accessory to murder.” On 12th March, 1912, the American Woolen Company agreed to all the strikers' demands. At the end of the month, all of the other textile companies in Lawrence, Massachusetts agreed to pay the higher wages. However, Giovannitti was kept in prison for five months without trial. Between the 1920s and 1930s, Giovannitti was considered to be one of the greatest orators in the labor movement. He also continued his campaigning for Socialism until the end of the World War II. Eventually he began to get sick and Arturo Giovannitti died in his 47th year. (Simkin) In 1904, Carlo Tresca moved from Italy to the United States to escape a prison term. He moved to Philadelphia. He quickly got a job as editor of the II Proletario, which was the official Newspaper for the Italian Socialist Federation. Tresca left his job at the II Proletario. He began publishing his own newspaper called La Plebe. He later transferred La Plebe to Pittsburgh. He began preaching his revolutionary anarchist ideas to Italians who worked as mill workers and coal miners in Western Pennsylvania. (Wikipedia) In 1912, Carlo Tresca was invited by the union to help mobilize Italian workers in a strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The task of this campaign was to free strike leaders Joseph Ettor and Arturo Giovannitti who were both falsely accused of murder. He was successful. In the next four years, Carlo Tresca was active in strikes that fought for the rights of textile workers, New York City hotel workers, silk workers, and miners. (Wikipedia) Tresca played an important role for Italian-Americans in trying to halt Benito Mussolini’s attempts to organize Italian immigrants into facist support groups. Tresca started editing an anti-fascist newspaper named II Martello, translated into English as the Hammer. Carlo hurled insults at Mussolini, calling Mussolini a class enemy and traitor. Tresca did not realize that his anti-fascist activities were being monitored in Rome. Also in the United States, he was under heavy surveillance from the American government. In 1926, fascists tried to kill Tresca with by detonating a bomb during a rally. (Wikipedia) In the 1930s, Joseph Stalin had wiped out the anarchist movement Catalonia and Aragon during the Spanish Revolution. Carlo then became very outspoken against communism and Stalinism. Eventually, Carlo Tresca was assassinated in 1943. His murder is still unsolved. Suspects include fascists, communists and underworld mafia figures. (Wikipedia) Not only were the Italians political activists and trade unionists, but some were very educated and became scientists. Enrico Fermi was born on the 29th of September in 1901, in the city of Rome. His father Alberto Fermi, was a Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Communications. Enrico was enrolled in a grammar school. His early aptitude for mathematics and physics was recognized and encouraged by his father's colleagues. He went to the University of Pisa for four years and attained a doctor's degree in physics in 1922. (www.nobelprize.org) In 1938, Fermi, in many people’s eyes, was the greatest neutron expert in the world when he arrived in the United States. He was soon appointed Professor of Physics at Columbia University, N.Y. for three years. Fermi received the Nobel Prize for Physics for his work on the artificial radioactivity. He died in Chicago on 28th November, 1954. (www.nobelprize.org) Renalto Dulbecco was born in Catanzaro, Italy. His parents consisted of a Calabrese mother and a Ligurian father. Renalto graduated from high school at the age of 16. Dulbecco attended the University of Torino. He very much enjoyed physics and mathematics but ultimately decided to study medicine. This decision was also reinforced by the fact that his uncle was an outstanding surgeon. He was an excellent student in Torino, but soon realized that he was interested in biology more than medicine. So he went to work with Giuseppe Levi, the professor of Anatomy, where he learned Histology and the rudiments of cell culture. (Dulbecco) After receiving his MD degree in 1936, Dulbecco was called up for military service as a medical officer. He was discharged and returned to pathology in 1938. However, he was called up again because of the Second World War, just a year later. He was sent briefly to the French front, then to Russia a year later. In 1947, he embarked for the United States. (Dulbecco) According to John Simkin, Dulbecco discovered the molecular basis of the cancer-causing properties of a group of viruses. In 1975 he won the Nobel Prize for Medicine with David Baltimore and Howard Temin for their work on the cancer-causing properties of the genes of papo-viruses. (Simkin) In the early 1900s, Italians came to the United States to escape poverty and provide a better life for their familes. Sure, some came just to build up some capital before returning to their native “Italia”, but a lot stayed. The ones that stayed are the ones who affected our culture in the United States of America. Many of these people did become criminals, such as Lucky Luciano, Alphonse Capone, and John Gotti. This did have a very negative affect on the United States. It contributed greatly to the crime rate. Lucky Luciano and Al Capone, while bootlegging, took away from Prohibition. This also brought upon racism towards these immigrants. Many Americans then had a negative opinion on all of these Italian Americans, viewing them as criminals and a hindrance to the law. Others however, such as Arturo Giovanitti and Carlo Tresca helped hard-working people obtain their well-deserved rights. They helped the working force of not only Italian- Americans, but all Americans with their protests and strikes. Also, immigrants like Enrico Fermi and Renalto Dulbecco used science to help people around the world and further the United States in science. Without Enrico Fermi, there would be no radiation treatment for cancer patients, and without Renalto Dulbecco, we would not know as much about where cancer stems from, as we do today. They even went on to receive Nobel Prizes for their work, here in America. There are two sided to every story. A glass can be half empty, or a glass can be half full. No matter how you look at it, negatively or positively, there is no doubting that the United States of America was greatly affected by Italian immigration. Simkin, John. Italian Immigration. 9/1997. 10/2005. National Grid for Learning Medina, Miriam. Immigration In the State of New York. 03/31/2005. 10/2005. The History Box. Minty, S. Italian Immigration. 10/2005 Lee, Jonathan. Places Where They Settled. 1995. 10/2005.. Magnussan, Linda. Italians in America. 08/15/1999. 10/18/2005. Greco. Italian Americans. Publication Date Unknown. 10/2005 Bardsley, Marilyn. Al Capone – Made In America. 2002. 10/20/05. Courtroom Television Network Holznagel, R. & Hehn P. Al Capone – Gangster. 2002. 10/05. Who2 May, Allan. John Gotti – The Last Mafia Icon. 2002.10/05 Courtroom Television Network Simkin, John. Italian Immigration. 9/1997. 10/2005. National Grid for Learning Wikipedia, The. Carlo Tresca. 9/2000. 10/16/05. GFDL Author Unknown 3/14/2005. 10/2005. The Nobel Foundation Dulbecco, Renalto. Autobiography of Renalto Dulbecco. 8/16/2005. 10/2005. The Nobel Foundation. Simkin, John. Renalto Dulbecco. 9/1997. 10/2005. National Grid for Learning