Italian+Immigration+Early+1900's

Italian Immigration in the Late 1800's and Early 1900's
In the late 1800's and early 1900's many Italians immigrated to America they had came in search of the "American Dream". Between 1880 and 1920 almost 4 million people had come to America from Italy. During World War 1, Italy was losing 500,000 people per year. These people were coming to America. Many Italians would come over for a few years and then return to Italy. Some things that pulled people to the USA were hopes of a better life and more money. Therefore a life of happiness. Italian immigrants were lured by the American Dream. These people came seeking a better life then they could have gotten in the poverty stricken parts of Italy. People were also pushed out of Italy. They were normally found working in factories and after opened restaurants and started to work in business. When immigrants came the American public school system provided immigrant children with a new language, and a new set of patriotic symbols. The children of Italian immigrants could be found in all regions of America, in almost every career and nearly every walk of life. This is especially true in New York City. Many came over because of wars in WW1. There was no upward momentum in Italy. That meant that the eldest son would get the family farm and the rest had to find other places and other jobs. There was also not enough land in the south of Italy. People tended to come from Southern Italy because Northern Itlay had begun industrilization. Many people settled in the west near North Dakota. The Nepolitans and Calabrians (cities in Italy) mostly settled in the North such as Minnesota. They moved because of the railroad. it was easier for the men to find jobs with the railroad. Others moved to New York City and Chicago. Many Northern Italians settled in California. Many Italians settled together. You can still find 'Little Italy' in different towns across the US. for work Italians normally relied on the neighborhood 'padrone.' A padrone was a person that helped Italian immigrants to find work help with loans and other things. There was a problem with that because padrones often were not the most reliable people. The living for Italians was very hard and usually dirty and crowded. Italians would skimp on food to save money. The Italians were known for rarely accepting charity or resorting to drastic measures for money. The Italians did not play a major role socially in the U.S. Less then 10% of the people made a living off of agriculture, although 75% of the people who came over were farmers back in Italy. Some established vineyards in California and New York. Some went down to the Gulf of Mexico to work at fisheries. Many people worked as unskilled laborers. They helped on construction projects, the railroads and dock work. More well to do bussiness men establish companies that supplied fellow Iltalians with traditional Italian products.