History of Italian immigration

     The immigration of the Italians to the United States had various reasons. Some of the most important reasons the Italians immigrated to the United States were because of their poor economy, over population, deadly diseases, little or no education and starvation. Jobs were very hard to find, if you did not have a family business or some kind of connection. This issue mainly focused in the Southern regions of Italy. Most of the immigrants were men searching for jobs. They saw migration as an opportunity of liberty and hope for a better life.
     Italians, like many others had to go through a lot to get the United States. Italians crossed the Atlantic Ocean in steam powered vessels. The trip to reach the United States was about 40 days later in 1900's it took about a week. Their journey  was rough they were crowded, they had to sleep in the same clothe, they had to wash themselves with salt water, which could cause skin irritation and other complications. They first arrived in Ellis Island, their luggage was checked and they had to make single file lines to the registry. They would also be checked for any handicap or deformations. Finally after all that process suspectors would make the decision to admit you as a United States citizen or send you back.
     Then finally Italians arrived in the United States to "fulfill their dreams". Italians were not very welcomed in the U.S. They had jobs as shoe shinning, rag picking, sewer cleaning, and hard jobs no one else wanted. They were rarely known for taking charity money or doing prostitution for money. Most Italians clustered into groups relating to their place of origin. They would disperse into other immigrant groups, while they still remained part of theirs. They lived in filthy condition. Eventually that changed.
     This has taught me that immigration was very hard back then, not only to Italians but to a lot of people that immigrated to the U.S. This has has helped me understand why they came to the United States. Why they were willing to leave it all behind and risk losing everything, even though maybe it was not a lot. I know now what they had to go through just to get their and how they began from having nothing and built themselves up.