Italian Americans
An Italian American is an American of Italian descent. The phrase may refer to someone born in the United States or to someone who has immigrated to the United States from Italy. Although Italians arrived early in the new world, Italian immigration to the United States effectively began in the 1880s, and peaked between 1900 and 1914, when the war made movement impossible. By 1978, 5.3 million Italians had immigrated to the United States; two million arrived between 1900 and 1914. About a third of these immigrants intended to stay only briefly, in order to make money and return to Italy. While one in four did go back, the rest either decided to stay, or were prevented from returning by World War I. Only Hispanics, Irish and Germans immigrated in larger numbers.
In the 2000 U.S. Census, Italian Americans constituted the seventh largest ancestry group in America with about 15.6 million people (5.6% of the total U.S. population).1
In the 1930s, Italian Americans voted heavily Democratic; since the 1960s they have split about evenly between the Democratic and the Republican parties. The U.S. Congress includes Italian Americans who are regarded as leaders in both the Republican and Democratic parties.
Religion
Most immigrants had been Catholics in Italy. Observers noted they usually became more devoutly Catholic in America. Their faith was a distinctive characteristic in America; devout Italian Americans often identified themselves as "Catholics" when talking to coworkers or neighbors.
In some Italian American communities, Saint Joseph's Day (March 19) is marked by celebrations and parades. Columbus Day is also widely celebrated, as are the feasts of some regional Italian patron saints, most notably San Gennaro (September 19) (especially by those claiming Neapolitan heritage), and Santa Rosalia (September 4) by immigrants from Sicily.
Common stereotypes, beginning in the 1880s and continuing to the present, link Italian Americans to the Mafia or organized crime. In 1891, eleven Italian Americans in New Orleans were lynched when they were suspected of being involved in the Mafia. This was the largest mass lynching in US history. [1]. These unflattering images remain staples of movies like The Godfather and in television shows like The Sopranos. The stereotypes have been perpetuated in works by leading Italian American artists such as writer Mario Puzo, director Francis Ford Coppola, and actors Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Al Pacino, James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco and Edie Falco. According to the National Italian American Foundation, two-thirds of Italian Americans held white collar jobs in 1990. This organization has also asserted that the Mafia in the US never numbered more than a few thousand individuals.
Italian Language in the United States
According to the Sons of Italy News Bureau from 1998 to 2002, the enrollment in college Italian language courses grew by 30%, faster than the enrollment rates for Spanish, French, and German. Italian is the fourth most commonly taught foreign language in U.S. colleges and universities behind Spanish, French, and German. According to the U. S. 2000 Census, Italian is the fifth (seventh overall) most spoken language in the United States (tied with Vietnamese) with over 1 million speakers.2
As a result of the large wave of Italian immigration to the United States of America in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Italian language was once widely spoken in much of the US, especially in northeastern and Great Lakes area cities as well as San Francisco and New Orleans. Italian-language newspapers existed in many American cities, especially New York City, into the 1990s, and Italian-language movie theatres existed in the US as late as the 1950s.
Author Lawrence Distasi argues that the loss of spoken Italian among the Italian American population can be tied to US government pressures during World War II. During World War II, in various parts of the country the US government displayed signs that read, Don't Speak the Enemy's Language. Such signs designated the languages of the Axis powers, German, Japanese, and Italian, as "enemy languages."
Shortly after the US declared war on the Axis powers, many Italian, Japanese and German citizens were interned. Among the Italian Americans, those who spoke Italian, who had never taken out citizenship papers, and who belonged to groups that praised Benito Mussolini, were most likely to become candidates for internment.
Distasi claims that many Italian language schools closed down in the California Bay Area within a week of the US declaration of war on the Axis powers. Such closures were inevitable since most of the teachers in Italian languages were interned.
Despite the pressures of the US government during World War II, now more than ever children of Italian heritage, especially paternal heritage, are given Italian names, and raised in traditional Italian ways. The Italian language is still spoken and studied by those of Italian American descent, and it can be heard in various American communities, especially among older Italian Americans. During the late 20th and early 21st centuries, interest in Italian language and culture has surged among Italian Americans. Today's Italian American youth no longer take for granted the impressive contributions Italians and Italian Americans have made to Western civilization, especially in the areas of fine art, music, science, literature, architecture, and cuisine.
There is however a dilemma for Italian Americans who consider re-learning the language of their ancestors. The formal "Italian" that is taught in colleges and universities is generally not the "Italian" with which Italian Americans are acquainted. Eighty percent of Italian Americans are of Southern Italian origin, therefore the languages spoken by their families who arrived between 1880-1920 were most likely variations of the Neapolitan and Sicilian languages with perhaps some degree of influence from the standardized Florentine dialect. Because the Italian of Italian Americans comes from a time just after the unification of the state, their language is in many ways anachronistic and demonstrates what the dialects of Southern Italy used to be, before the assimilating programs of the north. Because of this, Italian Americans studying "Italian" are often learning a language that does not include any of the words and phrases they know, and which their ancestors would not have recognized at all.
Italian American Internment During World War II
The internment of Italian Americans during World War II has often been overshadowed by the Japanese American internment. But recently, books such as Una Storia Segreta by Lawrence DiStasi and Uncivil Liberties by Stephen Fox have been published, and movies, such as Prisoners Among Ushave been made. These books and movies reveal that during World War II, roughly 600,000 Italians who were citizens of Italy but had not become American citizens were required to carry identity cards that labelled them as "resident aliens." Some 10,000 people in war zones on the West Coast were required to move inland. About 250 supporters of Fascism were held in military camps for up to two years. Lawrence DiStasi claims that these wartime restrictions and internments contributed more than anything else to the loss of spoken Italian in the United States. After Italy declared war on the US, many Italian language papers and schools were closed almost overnight because of their past support for an enemy government. Mr. DiStasi says that the internment of Italians in America chilled the Italian American community.
Italian American communities
People are often surprised to discover communities of Italian Americans in places like Omaha, Nebraska and New Orleans, Louisiana, which was the first site of immigration of Italians and Sicilians into America, before Italy was a unified nation-state. While the American South has traditionally had very few Italian immigrants, there are notable concentrations of Italian Americans in the industrial cities of Chattanooga, Tennessee and Birmingham, Alabama. In Kansas City, Missouri, the areas known as "North of the River" (and the former areas of "The North End" and "Northeast Kansas City") have flourished with Italian American families, mostly from Sicilian heritage, working on anywhere from 3rd to 5th generation. By far the state with the highest number of Italian American communities is New York State. New York has long been know for its immense Italian American population.
The following is a list of areas known for their concentrations of Italian Americans. It is not a full list.
California
- Los Angeles, California
- Long Beach, California
- Orange County
- Los Angeles County
- San Diego, California
- North Beach, San Francisco, California
- Little Italy in San Diego, California
- San Francisco, California
- San Jose, California
Colorado
Connecticut
- Greater New Haven, Connecticut
- Middletown, Connecticut
- Wethersfield, Connecticut
- Stamford, Connecticut
- Norwalk, Connecticut
- Waterbury, Connecticut
- Prospect, Connecticut
Florida
- Daytona Beach, Florida
- Tampa, Florida
- St. Petersburg, Florida
- Melbourne, Florida
- Vero Beach, Florida
- South Beach, Miami Beach, Florida
- Miami Beach, Florida
- Brevard County
- Miami, Florida
- Palm Beach County
- Orange County
- Clearwater, Florida
- Port St. Lucie, Florida
- Fort Myers, Florida
- Palm Beach, Florida
- West Palm Beach, Florida
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Miami-Dade County
- Pompano Beach, Florida
- Boca Raton, Florida
- Coral Gables, Florida
- Delray Beach, Florida
- Broward County
- Monroe County
- Florida Keys
- Key West, Florida
Illinois
- Little Italy in Chicago, Illinois
- Grand Avenue, Chicago, Illinois
- Taylor Street, Chicago, Illinois
- Harlem Avenue, Chicago Illinois
- Montclare, Chicago, Illinois
- Armour Square, Chicago, Illinois
- Elmwood Park, Illinois
- Cicero, Illinois
- Franklin Park, Illinois
- Chicago, Illinois
Iowa
Louisiana
Massachusetts
- the North End in Boston, Massachusetts
- Medford, Massachusetts
- Somerville, Massachusetts
- Newton (Nonantum), Massachusetts
- Revere, Massachusetts
- Watertown, Massachusetts
- Brockton, Massachusetts
- Springfield (South-End), Massachusetts
- East Boston in Boston, Massachusetts
- East Cambridge in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Gloucester, Massachusetts
- Boston, Massachusetts
Maryland
Michigan
Missouri
- The Hill (Saint Louis), Saint Louis, Missouri -- two famous baseball figures, Yogi Berra and Joe Garagiola grew up here.
- Columbus Park in Kansas City
New York
New York State has the largest population of Italian Americans with 2.7 million people. New York City and the New York Metropolitan Area also boasts the highest percentage of Italian-Americans of any large city or metro area in the United States
New York City
- Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York
- Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, New York
- Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, New York
- Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, New York
- Mulberry Street (Little Italy), Manhattan, New York
- Brooklyn, New York
- Middle Village, Queens, New York
- Arthur Avenue, Bronx, New York (aka Little Italy of the Bronx)
- Ozone Park, Queens, New York
- Whitestone, Queens, New York
- Queens, New York
- Morris Park, Bronx, New York
- Pelham Bay, Bronx, New York
- Manhattan, New York
- Throgs Neck, Bronx, New York
- Staten Island, New York : The borough is the most heavily Italian American county in the United States, with 44.55% of its residents claiming Italian ancestry in 2000.
- Howard Beach, Queens, New York
- Tottenville, Staten Island, New York
- Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York
- The Bronx, New York
- New York, New York
Long Island
- Long Island, New York Over 28% of Long Island residents claim Italian Ancestry.
- Selden, New York
- Suffolk County, New York
- Franklin Square, New York
- Valley Stream, New York
- Westbury, New York
- Glen Cove, New York
- Massapequa, New York
- Massapequa Park, New York
- North Massapequa, New York (Population is 50% Italian American)
- West Babylon, New York
- North Babylon, New York
- Amityville, New York
- Copiague, New York
- Ronkonkoma, New York
- South Farmingdale, New York
- Patchogue, New York
- Nassau County, New York
- Rockville Centre, New York
Upstate New York
- Rockland County, New York
- Schenectady, New York
- Mahopac, New York
- Niagara Falls, New York
- Yorktown, New York
- Little Italy in Syracuse, New York
- East Utica in Utica, NY
- Eastchester, New York
- Harrison, New York
- Yonkers, New York
- Syracuse, New York
- New City, New York
- Upstate New York
- Westchester County
- Putnam County
- New Rochelle, New York
- Buffalo, New York
- Rochester, New York
- [[Canandaigua, New York
- Rocky Point, New York
- Albany, New York, the South End neighborhood in Albany hosted a large amount of Italian Immigrants
- Troy, New York, Senator Hilary Clinton has proposed a Little Italy section in the city
New Jersey
- Hammonton, NJ - According to the 2000 US Census, Hammonton has the highest per-capita population of Italian Americans for a city over 10,000 residents.
- Silver Lake section, Belleville, New Jersey
- Nutley, New Jersey
- Seventh Avenue, Newark, formerly known to as "the First Ward."
- Bloomfield, NJ Brookdale and Brookside sections
- Caldwell, NJ, North Caldwell, NJ, Fairfield, NJ, Cedar Grove, NJ, Verona, NJ, Roseland, NJ, and West Caldwell, NJ-West Essex.
- Bayonne, NJ
- Cliffside Park, NJ
- Saddle Brook, NJ, Elmwood Park, NJ, Wood-Ridge, NJ, Garfield, NJ, Lodi, NJ, Moonachie, NJ, Little Ferry, NJ, Maywood, New Jersey, Lyndhurst, NJ, North Arlington, NJ-lower Bergen County.
- Raritan, New Jersey
- Lincoln Park, New Jersey
- Paterson, New Jersey
- West Paterson, New Jersey
- Trenton, NJ (the Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
- South Philadelphia in Philadelphia
- Ambler, Pennsylvania
- Bloomfield, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Uptown, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- South Hills, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Sharpsburg, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Morningside, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Coraopolis, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Erie, Pennsylvania
- New Castle, Pennsylvania
- Ellwood City, Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
19% of Rhode Island residents are Italian American, the greatest percentage of any state. 199,180 of Rhode Island's population of 1,048,319 claim Italian ancestry.
- Federal Hill, Providence, Rhode Island
- Cranston, Rhode Island (34.5% Italian American)
- Johnston, Rhode Island (53.6% Italian American)
- North Providence, Rhode Island (43% Italian American)
- Westerly, Rhode Island (34.2% Italian American)
Ohio
- Little Italy in Cleveland, Ohio
- Brier Hill in Youngstown, Ohio
- The Village of Lowellville (S.E. Youngstown Area), Lowellville, Ohio
- Italian Village in Columbus, Ohio
State Totals
Number of Italian Americans
1. New York 2,790,408
2. New Jersey 1,547,470
3. California 1,533,599
4. Pennsylvania 1,528,225
5. Florida 1,147,946
6. Massachusetts 918,838
7. Illinois 739,284
8. Ohio 720,847
9. Connecticut 652,016
10. Michigan 484,486
48. Alaska 17,173
49. South Dakota 8,437
50. North Dakota 5,437
Percentage of Italian Americans
1. Rhode Island 19.0%
2. New Jersey 17.8%
3. Connecticut 18.6%
4. Massachusetts 14.7%
5. New York 14.4%[2]
See also
- List of Italian Americans
- Italian American Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients
- Italian American cuisine
Notes
- Brittingham, Angela, and G. Patricia De La Cruz. Ancestry: 2000. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Census Bureau, 2004.
- Language Use and English-Speaking Ability: 2000
References
- Baily, Samuel L. Immigrants in the Lands of Promise : Italians in Buenos Aires and New York City, 1870-1914 (1999) Online in ACLA History E-book Project
- Bona, Mary Jo. Claiming a Tradition: Italian American Women Writers (1999)
- Diggins, John P. Mussolini and Fascism: The View from America (1972)
- D'Agostino, Peter R. Rome in America: Transnational Catholic Ideology from the Risorgimento to Fascism (2004).
- Gans, Herbert J. Urban Villagers (1982)
- Guglielmo, Thomas A. White on Arrival: Italians, Race, Color, and Power in Chicago, 1890-1945 (2003)
- Gardaphe, Fred L. Italian Signs, American Streets: The Evolution of Italian American Narrative (1996)
- Hobbie, Margaret. Italian American Material Culture: A Directory of Collections, Sites, and Festivals in the United States and Canada (1992)
- Lagumina, Salvatore J. et al eds. The Italian American Experience: An Encyclopedia (2000)
- Stefano Luconi. The Italian-American Vote in Providence, R.I., 1916-1948 2005
- Nelli, Humbert S. The Business of Crime: Italians and Syndicate Crime in the United States (1981)
- Nelli, Humbert S. Italians in Chicago, 1880-1930: A Study in Ethnic Mobility (2005).
- Prendergast, William B. The Catholic Voter in American Politics: The Passing of the Democratic Monolith (1999)
- Sterba, Christopher M. Good Americans: Italian and Jewish Immigrants During the First World (2003)
- Whyte, William Foote. Street Corner Society: The Social Structure of an Italian Slum (1993).
Useful links for Italians in USA
- Template:En icon Ministry for Foreign Affairs
- Template:It icon How to vote Abroad
- Template:It icon How to vote Abroad FAQs
External links
- Template:En icon H-ItAm daily discussion email group moderated by scholars
- Template:En icon National Italian American Foundation
- Template:En icon National Association of Italian American Women
- Template:En icon Sons of Italy in America
- Template:En icon ItalianAmericanShowcase.com
- Template:En icon Towards a New Italian American Identity
- Template:It iconTemplate:En icon L'IDEA MAGAZINEA Magazine for the Italians in USA
- Template:En icon ItalianAmericanTalk.com