Unification of ItalyUntil 1871, the boot-shaped peninsula of the Mediterranean was divided into a number of city-states home to a variety of cultures (Cannato). People had different ways of life and spoke different languages, each identifying with a variety of ethnicities. A sense of nationalism slowly arose in the 19th century as people desired to unite. The long process of unifying the city-states finally concluded with the formation of Italy as a country.
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Citizens of the newly formed Italy saw the unification as a chance for economic reform, especially in the poverty-stricken south. However, land in the south was inadequate for farming, and the area wasn't as industrialized as the relatively wealthy north. The anticipated benefits of the new nation did not come.
Looking for a better life, Italians turned to America. The so called "Second Industrial Revolution" and the explosive growth of industry demanded unskilled laborers. Additionally, America represented the idea of a better life, a place where commitment and hard work could lead to success.
Italian immigration began to increase in the 1870s and continued at a heightened pace into the early 1900s. Immigrants came through harbors in New York, Boston, and Baltimore, setting out to find work in urban areas. The majority of Italians were known as "Birds of Passage"; they planned to work in America for a few years to earn money before returning home to their family (Cannato).
Looking for a better life, Italians turned to America. The so called "Second Industrial Revolution" and the explosive growth of industry demanded unskilled laborers. Additionally, America represented the idea of a better life, a place where commitment and hard work could lead to success.
Italian immigration began to increase in the 1870s and continued at a heightened pace into the early 1900s. Immigrants came through harbors in New York, Boston, and Baltimore, setting out to find work in urban areas. The majority of Italians were known as "Birds of Passage"; they planned to work in America for a few years to earn money before returning home to their family (Cannato).
Culture ClashIn the diverse neighborhoods such as the North End, tensions quickly rose between the ethnic groups that called it home. The Irish of Boston were primarily Catholic and had established churches long before Italians had moved into the area. When the Italian presence became strong enough, a new church was desired to due to the discrimination by the Irish. St. Leonard's church was built in 1873, as requested by Boston's current archbishop, to cater to the increasing Italian population (Scrima). Today, St. Leonard's remains a Catholic church headed by Franciscan friars.
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Boston's North endItalians settled in Boston's North End, a site of shipbuilding and port business. They quickly pushed the previously dominant Irish-Catholics out of the area as they established churches and communities of their own. Often times, immigrants wouldn't only settle with those from the same country, or even the same region, but with those from their same neighborhood (Campochiaro). These communities would live with the same people they had in Italy, and continued to read the newspapers from their hometowns. In this way, the Italians maintained a strong bond with their culture and community in America.
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