We barely know the world today. How much did the New Yorkers in the past know about the world? Probably much less than they desired.
I’d imagine that the arrival of the Italians would cause terror throughout the city, but for some reason, the impression I received from the presentation was that New York was much more tolerant of the Italians than I expected. I am not saying that the Italians did not go through hardship; I am saying that I was surprised that the New York’s attitude towards immigrants seemed to be changing. We talk about the 23 Jews on the boat, about “No Irish Need Apply,” and many other immigration conflicts, yet ironically, we have trouble talking about New York City history without talking about the immigrants.
We really don’t know much about the world, and I say this because so many people like to believe that these immigrants “assimilated” into American society. However, I doubt that assimilation is a simple topic which goes one direction. As can be seen from the anecdote above, much of what is viewed as American from an outsider’s view is in fact a collection of fragments brought by immigration.
