Italian immigration started off in smaller numbers in the late nineteenth century and into the turn of the twentieth. Although young women initiated the first wave of emigration to the United States, it was the young men and bachelors coming to America to provide a better financial status for their families back home, and eventually transplanting their entire families over to the States. By 1920, over 800,000 Italian Americans lived in New York City, placing second to the Jews in population size (136). Italian Americans were widespread throughout the communities of lower Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, and even Queens, with their settlement patterns influenced by the proximity of their homes to the locations of their jobs (137). The neighborhoods were primarily broken down into subsections of Italian communities, based on the part of Italy that they had originated from. As a result of their large urban populations, crime and poverty grew rampant in the impoverished districts of the city, with the Sicilian mafia and the “Black Hand” crime mob dominating business through ransom threats.
Due to their huge influx, Italian immigrants also occupied a variety of jobs, including but not limited to: sanitation, police, barbers, shoeshiners, masons, etc. The Italians were known for being diligent in their work, willing to accept lower wages, and spread commission between all workers (140-141). In terms of gender, Italian women very rarely immigrated to the United States by themselves, instead crossing over with their husbands and families, performing mainly domestic tasks such as caretaking, housekeeping, and maintaining the household. That being said, as the New York economy expanded, more and more Italian women chose to venture into the garment industry, often working as seamstresses and factory workers, although mostly in sweatshop conditions (141). Second-generation immigrants had better luck with their job prospects, as the end of World War I and their proficiency in English allowed for broader access to higher education and white-collar jobs (142). Due to their involvement in the American job industry, there was also an increase in unionizing between Italian immigrants as a means of preserving workers’ rights, as seen with the collective strike of 1909 against the garment industry (143). In addition, there was a formation of an Italian middle-class at the end of WWI as more and more immigrants became bankers, real estate promoters, and newspaper editors.
From the political side of things, Italians were mostly ostracized from the political background of New York. Since Irish-Americans dominated political offices, Italians were largely ignored by Tammany Hall due to their lack of interest in political affairs and their general interest in returning to Italy. For most Italian immigrants, moving to America only served as a means to an end: earning money to provide for families back in Europe. The major exception was Fiorello La Gaurdia, who earned a seat in the House of Representatives by a narrow margin (144). Italian immigrants felt both Republicans and Democrats did not meet their needs to combat poverty and the working class, thus moving towards the Socialist party as an alternative. Different social organizations sprouted to accommodate the needs of Italian communities, such as programs to help immigrants adjust to the newfound life of American as well as mutual aid societies that provide death benefits and health insurance (145).
Similar to Irish immigrants, religion was a major component of Italian-immigrant life, with a small community of Italian priests serving as spiritual aides to the impoverished population. However, because of the predominantly Irish-run church system, there was an established tension between Irish and Italian priests over discrepancies in worship. For example, Italian beliefs in the “evil eye” and magic were considered “paganistic” by Irish priests and were consequentially looked down upon (146). Moreover, Italian Catholics noted American Catholicism as a minority religion that was in constant competition with larger, more developed religious groups. The apparent difference in both religious practice and fervor instantiated a movement to include more Italian churches, Catholic schools, and nunneries within New York, though less successful with the latter two (147).
Nevertheless, the Italian immigrant community in New York City remained fairly secure within the late nineteenth-early twentieth centuries, as a respect to the ethnic connections that tied their roots together (148).
