The Immigrant Experience: Italian Americans of Cleveland
Background
Although this website looks at the immigration of one ethnic group to a specific location, the intent is to illustrate the immigration experience.
Early Arrivals
Italians have had a presence in America since Christopher Columbus in 1492. However, Italians did not journey to the "New World" in large numbers until the 1880s. In 1850 there were only 5000 identifiable Italians in the United States. Also, early Italian immigrants were typically skilled workers or professionals from Northern Italy. These characteristics of early Italian immigrants widely differs from those of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
The Italian peninsula remained divided until Italian Unification in 1870. Although Italy unified under one government, cultural differences, regionalism, and economic disparity plagued the new country creating violence, social chaos, and widespread poverty. Italians continued to identify themselves by region or village rather than by nation.
Great Migration
Between 1880s and 1920 over 4 million Italians emigrated to the United States. No other ethnic group in Amerian history has sent so many in such a short amount of time. Prior to the 1870s, Italians did emigrated outside Europe, however, a vast majority went to South America. Unlike earlier Italian immigrants, these late arrivals were largely from southern Italy and Sicily, approximately 80%. They were poor unskilled laborers or peasant farmers with little hope of improving their life in Italy.
Motives for Migrating
Italian motivations for emigration were varied. Overpopulation, lack of arable land, rising taxes, starvation all combined to produce a hopeless situation for most Italian farmers and urban centers were only worse (Italian Amerians and Their Communities of Cleveland). Natural disasters and diseases also swept through the nation. These negative conditions combined with postive reactions to America from friends and relatives who already made the journey made immigration attractive.
