Story Lines and Myths in 20th Century Immigration Historiography

Opening Comments – Where are the immigrants?

• Scholarship and autobiography

• John Higham, STRANGERS IN THE LAND

• Mark I Choate, EMIGRANT NATION; THE MAKING OF ITALY ABROAD

• African Americans

Pre 1790|1790|1820|1880|19

Colonial Period

Early National Period

Middle 19th Century

Immigration High Tide The “New Immigrants”

Mid 20th Century

Late 20th Century

The General Theory – Push/PullPush

Pull

The Mudsill Myth – “La Miseria”

• Difficulties in discerning differences between those who left and those who stayed behind

• Emigration is a positively selective process• Motives for emigrating– Advancing the family economy– Avoiding conscription or jail

• Social strata of repatriates – Benestante, Americani, and new Americani

Social Stratification in Franza – 1900 & 1960

Joseph Lopreato, Peasants No More: Social Class and Social Change in an Underdeveloped Society (1967)

The fallacy of using schooling as a measure of an immigrant’s worth

• Schooling in 19th and early 20th century Italy and America– The significance of this for assessing the character

and resources of emigrants?– In the U.S. the Common School provided 6 to 8

years of instruction to students– In Italy village schools offered 3 years [at best]

American Responses to Immigration

• Open Door– Motivations• Humanitarian• Economic

• Restriction – Motivations• Economic• Nativist

History of Nativism

A Case Study of Pull Immigration The Tirocchi of Providence, RI

A Classic Chain Migration

Origins - Guarcino

Madame Tirocchi{Anna}

Madame Tirocchi her Butler Exchange Shop – “A & L Tirocchi” ca 1911

M. Tirocchi with Shop Girls

The new home of “Tirocchi Gowns”514 Broadway - 1915

Laura Tirocchi-Cella and Dr. Cella

Eugenia Tirocchi – Grocerier and Landlord

The Tirocchi Men

Frank Tirocchi – padrone, pharmacy clerk, trucker

Tirocchi Cousins – sand and gravel merchants, concrete block

manufactures, construction contractors, tire recapping plant, auto service stations, dairy plant

and home delivery service, commercial laundry, etc.

Federico – missionary, parish priest

Ellis Island – The symbol

• 1982 – 1924 – 20+ Million immigrants pass through

Ellis Island– Peak year – 1907 – 1,004,756 pass

through the station– 560, 971 enter in 1921– 1921 Quota Law set nationality limits

for each nationality to 3% of their number in the 1910 U. S. population and total annual limit of 358,000

– 1924 Quota Law moved the “reference date” to 1890 and reduced annual quota to 164,000

The Ellis Island Myth – “our name was changed by officials at Ellis Island”

• Time spent and nature of the processing of immigrants at Ellis Island– Ship

passenger lists– Eligibility

screening– The “six

second physical”

– Utility of the Myth

Americanization/Assimilation - Theories

• Racial implications of the “new immigrant” concept

• Red Scare and the intensity of Americanization efforts

Melting Pot or Salad bowl

The Melting Pot at Ford

Immigrants’ responses to assimilation

• Family economic strategies –Old or new world locus •Schooling for children•Economic choices •Language and citizenship decisions – “language loyalty”

The Myth of the Marginal Man

Americanization – Institutions

• Schools• Settlement Houses• Industry• Public Libraries• Religion• Ethnic Press

George F. Johnson and the Square Deal• New employees at Endicott Johnson

were given a copy of a pamphlet called "An EJ Worker's First Lesson in the Square Deal."

• It read, in part:• "To the new EJ worker: You have

now joined the happy family in the square deal. If you are faithful, loyal, and reliable, you will earn a good living under fair conditions. You are indeed a part of the company. Remember that you are cared for when sick, medical and hospital services are yours, privileges of many kinds are yours. Your friend, George F. Johnson."

Religion

• The American “Irish” Church and Immigrants• “National Parishes”– Protestant evangelicals – Italians– Trusteeism – Other Roman Catholic groups – “The Polish National

Catholic Church -1897”• Ownership of Church property• Parish government in secular matters by parishioners• Parishioner authority in assignment of Priests• Appointment of Polish Bishops in the U.S. – participation of

clergy and Laity

Schools – Public and Parochial

Chazy Central Rural School

Home Economics

Physical Education

Industrial Education

Adult Education