The Italian Mainly Immigrated to America Between 1876 and 1976

Italian Immigration - Did they assimilate and living conditions.

The Italian mainly immigrated to America between 1876 and 1976.

When the Italians entered America, what met them was that the earlier immigrants thought that they were up to no good. Their customs and Catholic faith resulted in fear among the settlers who came earlier. They thought that the Italians were lazy and lacked intelligence, which was not the case; the difference between the old and new immigrants was very little. Just as the old immigrants, the Italians brought with them their own culture and language. The Italians didn't trust the Americans either, and they had absolutely no trust in the American insurance companies what so ever, so they formed their own system to aid Italian families in need.

Therefore, it was very hard for them to assimilate, but after a while, it was necessary. They faced English and other cultures every day, the Italians slowly became Americanized.

Most Italians settled in the big cities and worked in the worst kind of professions. In the cities, they lived in the worst apartments, or even in the slums, crowded together in construction camps, or railroad wagons. Many were garbage collectors. Others dug sewers or built railroads. Though many of these workers had lived under hard conditions in Italy, very often their life in America was much worse. Italians lived in the worst of slums, crowded together in construction camps, or railroad wagons.

The living conditions for the Italians tended to be overcrowded and filthy. Italian labourers also tended to eat less food in a desperate attempt to save money. However, after time and new generations of Italians, the dirtiness of their homes disappeared along with the Italians who suffered from malnutrition.

For a long time, the children were looked upon as a major source of income for the Italian families (they made them work at early age).

Later on, the American government decided to force the children into schools where they legally had to attend until the age of 16. The Italians felt betrayed by the American government. The Italian children wanted to be accepted by their classmates, that's why they distanced themselves from the Italian culture, that resulted in a huge gap between two generations, and even more Americanized Italians.