Stereotype
Immigrating to the United States during the nineteenth century was not the magical solution for the majority of immigrants. Many ethnic groups ran into prejudice when they came to America. The Irish especially faced this problem in America; with stereotyping being a major problem. The Irish faced the problem if being depicted as hot-headed, old-fashioned, and drunkards. During the nineteenth century political cartoons were widely used to express the negativity toward the Irish.
The Irish were stereotyped as uncivilized, unskilled, and impoverished and were forced to work at the least desired occupations and lived in crowded ethnic ghettos. Irish often felt they were not liked in America. Many job adds also added "NO IRISH NEED APPLY." As more and more Irish came several anti- immigrant groups started to form. Nativists reacted to rising Irish numbers through violent riots and an increase demand on limit on immigrants' rights. They considered the Irish as a threat and regarded the Catholicism as an alien or a rebellious religion.
The Irish were stereotyped as uncivilized, unskilled, and impoverished and were forced to work at the least desired occupations and lived in crowded ethnic ghettos. Irish often felt they were not liked in America. Many job adds also added "NO IRISH NEED APPLY." As more and more Irish came several anti- immigrant groups started to form. Nativists reacted to rising Irish numbers through violent riots and an increase demand on limit on immigrants' rights. They considered the Irish as a threat and regarded the Catholicism as an alien or a rebellious religion.
Between 1880 and 1920 almost 24 million immigrants arrived in the United States. When immigrants came they built schools, churches, homes, restaurants, and stores. But these communities could not protect immigrants from discrimination inflicted by native born Americans. Immigrants filled the factories and they took the poorly paying jobs. Most immigrants often arrived with little money and were forced into substandard housing in the worst sections fo the cities. With their populations rising, the infrastructure of the cities could not handle the effects of overcrowding. Many cities had problems with sanitation, sewers were overflowing, uncollected garbage, impure water, and there was a general stench to the air. Combined with soaring populations and overcrowding, crime rates soared. Many Native Born Americans blamed the New Immigrants for the unsettling situation in the cities and for taking over "their" nation.
When the Italians came they were stereotyped as very violent people. In the 1920's Americans used the Sacco and Vanzetti case as a way to denounce Italians as being anarchists. In fact the Italians were considered so violent that in 1891, twelve Italians were lynched in New Orleans because of the suspicion that they were involved with the Mafia. This lynching was the largest mass lynching in the history of the United States. Even to this day Italians are frequently associated with crime and the Mafia largely because of the gangster movies that relate the Italians to the Mafia such asThe Godfather and Goodfellas.
Ingredients of the Melting Pot
America has always been known as a giant mixing pot of cultures, this is about as accurate as it gets. If you take a look at the groups of people that were here before Christopher Columbus, you don't really see a huge influence of their culture on us. Of course there are instances where the immigrants have become intermixed with the Native Americans who originally inhabited the Americas, but a very large majority of the people who are living in this country have come from countries that are thousands of miles away. During and after the Revolutionary War, Benjamin Franklin was worried about the huge influx of people of German descent swamping our British heritage. However, we have had the same fears for over 200 years, and nothing too bad has ever happened. Immigration doesn't take away from what we already have here, it actually adds and sustains a vital part of who we are. Most of us are a mix of several different cultures and without those peoples coming to the United States, then you and I may not be here today.
Germans immigrating to America in the late 1800's and early 1900's gave us a variety of different practices and references that we continue to use now. Things such as farming practices were brought over, as well as religion. "German Americans" brought over Evangelical Lutheran Churches, this was what the majority of the immigrants observed through the lord. The largest Lutheran denominations in the United States today are the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. All of these places of worship have a strong German background.
Poles coming between the early 1700's and mid 1900's brought a good selection of homeland holidays, architecture, and added a small amount of our language. The architecture aspect of their culture brought a new kind of roof, the high-pitched roof. This kind of roof is necessary in countries that have a large amount of snowfall, perfect for some places here in the United States. Another architectural influence that the Poles had on us was the creation of the veranda, a "porch with a view". Not that something like this had not already been done, but the Poles really put a patent on it.
Poles coming between the early 1700's and mid 1900's brought a good selection of homeland holidays, architecture, and added a small amount of our language. The architecture aspect of their culture brought a new kind of roof, the high-pitched roof. This kind of roof is necessary in countries that have a large amount of snowfall, perfect for some places here in the United States. Another architectural influence that the Poles had on us was the creation of the veranda, a "porch with a view". Not that something like this had not already been done, but the Poles really put a patent on it.
If you look directly at the mid-1800's then you will see a large sum of Irish countrymen and women arriving here by boat. If you were by the docks when these people arrived, you would be shocked at the things that were said to them. The Irish were seen by early Americans as drunks and low-lives, these are just stereotypes among the people who didn't like their culture. They ay have been heavy drinkers, but they greatly influenced the industrial ways of America. They really helped develop unions and occupations throughout the country. They influenced the steel and railroad companies and really gave monopolies their names. A great deal of Italian authors have published their works here in America. Mostly writing about the passage to America and the Italian American experience, really put perspective on what they go through and what they had to do to get to where they are now. In fact, the writers who have Italian descent are actually professors in some prestigious schools for their magnificent works.
Stories from the Travellers
Gina Barreca's Story
We’re filing in and the ladies and gentleman are looking at everybody. They’re asking us if these are our own shoes, and where we came from, and if we were brought up in a religion and who our people were. They’re checking our teeth, they’re looking at our skin to see if we have diseases. They’re looking at us like we’re geese going up the ramp to have our necks cut off, but they’re also trying to look at us in a way that makes us seem like people. It’s a cross between the two. They’re making me feel important by asking me these questions, but they’re also making me feel inhuman because I don’t know why and nobody will really explain it to me.In front of me, there’s a girl who looks like she couldn’t be more than 15 and her teeth are all broken and one eye looks like it’s shut. She’s a poor thing. She’s skinny, but she still has color in her face. This is someone else that they can throw in the water, but she’ll bob up again. When they start to ask her lots of questions, I can see that she’s about to cry out of her one good eye, and I tell them that they don’t need to ask her questions. I mean, I say in my own tongue, they can see that she’s no more than 4 feet and no more than 80 pounds and they can see that her one good eye is blue. Why do they need to ask her anything else? Can’t they look for themselves? What the hell do they want?
One of the guards tells me not to swear at the doctor and I tell him to go —- himself—and when he hears me say this, I see he understands my language and he throws his head back and laughs. One of the things I’ve learned, you never know when you say something like that to a man, if he’s going to laugh or punch you in the jaw. It’s turning up a card in a game of chance: You don’t know what’s going to come up next. We come out of the belly of the boat and they give us each a number. The air smells good because the boat smelled so bad. The dock here smells salty, like the water—maybe, too, it smells like blood. I am happy to be outside. I don’t like confined spaces. Very little good has ever happened to me in a confined space.
The two other women who come in after me are very loud and very big. The small girl and I seem silent next to these two booming healthy creatures who look like they’ve been raised out in the fields next to oxen.
They have round cheeks, and big breasts, and white skin, and forearms like a man’s, and they look like they’ve been hauling pots of milk around. Yet the guard still smiles at me even when their voices sail above everything.
The little girl, who still hasn’t told us her name is looking up at these women as if she’d never seen people like this before. Everyone is sizing everyone up, down here. We were kept under close watch on the boat, with our one tin cup to drink out of and one tin bowl to eat out of. Some people cried because we would never see our homeland again in our lifetime except in our dreams. But I looked back and spit. I spit into the wind even though I’d been told that was not a wise thing to do. I didn’t care.
The little girl is standing next to me, I don’t know if it’s the wind, but she starts to shiver and she starts to shake, like she’s having a fit, but she isn’t. I put my arm around her bony shoulder and I run my hand up and down her arm. She stands still and trembles, not moving towards me or away, either. I feel the coarse wool of her sleeve and her little bird-bones through the wool. I think about how either this will kill her outright or make her into the toughest creature the world could create.
But she has to be still so they don’t think she’s sick. We have to be well in this new country. All must be well.
http://chronicle.com/blogs/brainstorm/ellis-island-one-immigrants-story/26100
The two other women who come in after me are very loud and very big. The small girl and I seem silent next to these two booming healthy creatures who look like they’ve been raised out in the fields next to oxen.
They have round cheeks, and big breasts, and white skin, and forearms like a man’s, and they look like they’ve been hauling pots of milk around. Yet the guard still smiles at me even when their voices sail above everything.
The little girl, who still hasn’t told us her name is looking up at these women as if she’d never seen people like this before. Everyone is sizing everyone up, down here. We were kept under close watch on the boat, with our one tin cup to drink out of and one tin bowl to eat out of. Some people cried because we would never see our homeland again in our lifetime except in our dreams. But I looked back and spit. I spit into the wind even though I’d been told that was not a wise thing to do. I didn’t care.
The little girl is standing next to me, I don’t know if it’s the wind, but she starts to shiver and she starts to shake, like she’s having a fit, but she isn’t. I put my arm around her bony shoulder and I run my hand up and down her arm. She stands still and trembles, not moving towards me or away, either. I feel the coarse wool of her sleeve and her little bird-bones through the wool. I think about how either this will kill her outright or make her into the toughest creature the world could create.
But she has to be still so they don’t think she’s sick. We have to be well in this new country. All must be well.
http://chronicle.com/blogs/brainstorm/ellis-island-one-immigrants-story/26100
Annie Moore's Story
It was December in 1891. Annie Moore stood in line with her two younger brothers, Philip and Anthony. They were waiting to board the SS Nevada, a ship that would take them from Ireland to New York. Annie's red hair blew in the breeze and tears fell from her green eyes. She could not believe they were leaving their Irish homeland.
Annie wondered if she would ever return to the "Emerald Isle." She cried thinking that she might never see the beautiful green valleys again. Would she be able to eat Irish stew in America? Would they continue to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? There were many questions going through her head.
Yet, she knew she had to get on the ship. Even though she was sad, she was also excited about seeing her parents again. They had gone to America two years earlier with her older brother. It would be wonderful to have the whole family together. Her parents had jobs in New York. They did not like the big city, but they had an apartment and enough money for food and clothing. Life was better than it had been in Ireland, and they could go to the Catholic Church.
Annie and her brothers were on the ship for 12 days. They were in steerage class, which meant they were in a large room with many other people. The ship was crowded, and the food was poor. Annie watched her brothers very closely to make sure they were safe. The people in steerage class did not get to go on the deck very much. It was very cold on the ship. Many people got seasick.
On January 1st, 1892, the ship reached New York. The Statue of Liberty welcomed them as they sailed into the harbor. It was a beautiful sight and everyone cheered and cried. Annie was very happy that the trip was almost over. Then the captain announced that the ship would dock at Ellis Island. Everyone who was in good health would fill out forms to stay in America.
Annie was the first one off the ship. She was very surprised when an official gave her a $10 gold piece. At first she didn't understand. She had never seen so much money, and did not know why he gave it to her. He explained that Ellis Island was new, and the $10 was a gift to the first person off the ship. As an extra bonus, Annie realized it was her 15th birthday!
And so it happened that Annie became the first immigrant to land on the newly-opened Ellis Island. Now, over 100 years later, a statue of Annie and her brothers stands on Ellis Island (which is now a museum). A similar statue can be found in Cobh, Ireland, where they began their voyage. Since then, over 17 million people have entered the United States through Ellis Island.
http://www.coedu.usf.edu/culture/Story/Story_Ireland.htm
Annie wondered if she would ever return to the "Emerald Isle." She cried thinking that she might never see the beautiful green valleys again. Would she be able to eat Irish stew in America? Would they continue to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? There were many questions going through her head.
Yet, she knew she had to get on the ship. Even though she was sad, she was also excited about seeing her parents again. They had gone to America two years earlier with her older brother. It would be wonderful to have the whole family together. Her parents had jobs in New York. They did not like the big city, but they had an apartment and enough money for food and clothing. Life was better than it had been in Ireland, and they could go to the Catholic Church.
Annie and her brothers were on the ship for 12 days. They were in steerage class, which meant they were in a large room with many other people. The ship was crowded, and the food was poor. Annie watched her brothers very closely to make sure they were safe. The people in steerage class did not get to go on the deck very much. It was very cold on the ship. Many people got seasick.
On January 1st, 1892, the ship reached New York. The Statue of Liberty welcomed them as they sailed into the harbor. It was a beautiful sight and everyone cheered and cried. Annie was very happy that the trip was almost over. Then the captain announced that the ship would dock at Ellis Island. Everyone who was in good health would fill out forms to stay in America.
Annie was the first one off the ship. She was very surprised when an official gave her a $10 gold piece. At first she didn't understand. She had never seen so much money, and did not know why he gave it to her. He explained that Ellis Island was new, and the $10 was a gift to the first person off the ship. As an extra bonus, Annie realized it was her 15th birthday!
And so it happened that Annie became the first immigrant to land on the newly-opened Ellis Island. Now, over 100 years later, a statue of Annie and her brothers stands on Ellis Island (which is now a museum). A similar statue can be found in Cobh, Ireland, where they began their voyage. Since then, over 17 million people have entered the United States through Ellis Island.
http://www.coedu.usf.edu/culture/Story/Story_Ireland.htm
Francesco DiPinto's Story
Francesco DiPinto arrived on Ellis Island from Bisceglie, Italy in 1912 with a small bag and the clothes on his back. It was at the immigration depot where he married Lucia Capurso, his love from his hometown with whom the marriage was forbidden, in order for Lucia to come into the country. Francesco, a fisherman by trade, and his wife moved to Worcester, Massachusetts which they knew about through family connections. Neither could speak English, though they were both literate in their native dialect. According to their immigration papers, their reason for immigrating was "poverty."Francesco found work through a friend at the Norton Company, a factory owned by a Swedish family in Worcester that produced grinding wheels. Lucia was a housewife but later during World War II worked at a pants factory with her daughters.Worcester was an ethnically divided city: first the Irish settled, then the Italians. These neighborhoods were totally isolated centers and self-contained, each bustling with grocery stores, bakeries, butcher shops, ethnic churches, and even the mafia which helped hold the community together. Francesco and Lucia learned English through their children and by reading the newspapers; afterall, it was not the norm to socialize with people outside of your neighborhood.
My father recalls hearing stories from his grandparents of various vendors such as the Jewish rag man, Ben the Indian Medicine Man, the Italian Fish Guy, and an Arab peddler who sold cloth in the Italian neighborhood. The fish guy came around every day and sold all types of seafood including squid and eels which his grandparents bought and cooked. They maintained Italian cooking traditions which eventually evolved over time due to a new economic mobility. For example, in Southern Italy, legumes, beans, vegetables, and fish were staples of the diet. In America, Francesco and Lucia ate more meat, in part due to the higher purchasing power, and cooked a lot of beans, such as lentils, soups, pasta, and fish. They expanded their menu to include richer foods such as more nutritious sauces and meats. Everyone had their own garden where they grew grape and plum trees and even produced their own wine.
The Italian couple lived in a three-decker house which was an accomodation unique to Worcester. In 1921, their daughter, Mary, was born. She and her sisters attended public school in Worcester where they often faced mild discrimination. I recall my grandmother, Mary, once saying that her teacher, an American-born, called her a "gas bag" due to the amount of beans and garlic Italians ate.
Francesco sometimes visited his sister who had settled in Brooklyn, New York.
Francesco and Lucia eventually purchased their own home, yet remained living in the Italian neighborhood. Their children became educated and physically mobile, where they carried out their lives in various parts of the country and integrated into the American lifestyle.
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~molna22a/classweb/politics/italianpersonal.html
The Italian couple lived in a three-decker house which was an accomodation unique to Worcester. In 1921, their daughter, Mary, was born. She and her sisters attended public school in Worcester where they often faced mild discrimination. I recall my grandmother, Mary, once saying that her teacher, an American-born, called her a "gas bag" due to the amount of beans and garlic Italians ate.
Francesco sometimes visited his sister who had settled in Brooklyn, New York.
Francesco and Lucia eventually purchased their own home, yet remained living in the Italian neighborhood. Their children became educated and physically mobile, where they carried out their lives in various parts of the country and integrated into the American lifestyle.
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~molna22a/classweb/politics/italianpersonal.html
Created for your learning pleasure by:
MacKenzie Kuehn
Garrett Jacobs
Danielle Marvin
MacKenzie Kuehn
Garrett Jacobs
Danielle Marvin