Italian Immigrants In Italy In The Late 19th Century
Italians, particularly from the southern region of Italy, started immigrating to New York, in large amounts, in the late 1800s to early 1900s mostly because of the poor economic state Southern Italy was in because the Italian government didn’t cater to the needs of the working poor. “The economic crisis in the South [of Italy] was perceptibly the consequence of national policies hostile to the interests of the people from the [Southern Italy]” (Richards 98). The majority of the Italian immigrants were usually single unmarried males, of working age, were working or were actively seeking employment and were generally spoke no England and were illiterate. The Italian immigrants that were married with children generally didn’t bring their family
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In their motherland, “often the farmers lived in harsh conditions, residing in one-room houses with no plumbing or privacy. […] Landlords ruled the land—and charged high rents, low pay, and provided very unsteady employment (Molnar).” Farmers in Italy would make a measly thirty cents per day. Aside from Italian farmers already being poorly treated by their landlords, “a 19th century agricultural crisis in Italy led to falling grain prices and loss of markets for fruit and wine” (Molnar) due to the blights that destroyed the grape vines used for producing wine. Because of the poor conditions the Italians received in their homeland, immigrating to America was more appealing because of the better pay. They wanted to migrate to the US so they can “advance to a better life in a free society protected by a constitution in which the rights of the individual are supreme” (Cavaioli 213). Although it seemed appealing it first when the Italian immigrants saw the opportunity they could be having in America, the living conditions they were subjected to were quite sub-par. At the time the US wasn’t a very bureaucratic nation that slowed progress in regards to immigration hence why there were so many immigrants living in New York that were exposed to disease because of the overcrowding in tenant
In their motherland, “often the farmers lived in harsh conditions, residing in one-room houses with no plumbing or privacy. […] Landlords ruled the land—and charged high rents, low pay, and provided very unsteady employment (Molnar).” Farmers in Italy would make a measly thirty cents per day. Aside from Italian farmers already being poorly treated by their landlords, “a 19th century agricultural crisis in Italy led to falling grain prices and loss of markets for fruit and wine” (Molnar) due to the blights that destroyed the grape vines used for producing wine. Because of the poor conditions the Italians received in their homeland, immigrating to America was more appealing because of the better pay. They wanted to migrate to the US so they can “advance to a better life in a free society protected by a constitution in which the rights of the individual are supreme” (Cavaioli 213). Although it seemed appealing it first when the Italian immigrants saw the opportunity they could be having in America, the living conditions they were subjected to were quite sub-par. At the time the US wasn’t a very bureaucratic nation that slowed progress in regards to immigration hence why there were so many immigrants living in New York that were exposed to disease because of the overcrowding in tenant