Introduction: History of Italian-American Culture
In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, a surge of immigrants came from around the world. One of the countries of origin of immigrants was Italy. For a long period of time after arriving in the United States of America, these Italian immigrants faced prejudice and discrimination as they were seen as a threat to the “cultural purity” of the white America that already existed (Cavallero, 2016). The politicians and media of the time painted Italian-American immigrants as dangerous to society and dangerous to the economy as it was said that they would steal jobs away from the pure Americans through cheap labor costs (Cavallero, 2016). The European immigrants that came long before and now considered themselves to be pure Americans were worried that the Italian Americans who were portrayed as violent and unstable would attack their families and attack their livelihoods by taking over the job market. While there was some prejudice against Italian-Americans, and some even questioned whether they were actually white, Italian-Americans were still able to take part in different privileges such as different coverages by the law and being able to live and work in certain areas (Guglielmo, 2003). While they were relatively accepted as white, they were undesirable by other whites due to their Italian heritage (Guglielmo, 2003). After their involvement in World War II, however, the popular perception of Italian-Americans began to change (Cavallero, 2016). The Italian-Americans began to contribute more to the political and economic atmosphere of America. They had a hand in the installation of organizations such as the press and mutual aid societies (Barkan, 1999). Certain groups within the Italian-American community evolved into what is known as the Italian mob or the Italian mafia which was known for organized crime and illegal affairs (Guglielmo, 2003). This image of them is still carried throughout film portrayals today. Throughout the industrialism and the World Wars, however, Italian-Americans were a great aid to the American society and the American cause (Guglielmo, 2003). Food & Family Italian cuisine is an example of how Italian-American’s forged their own culture as at the time there was no specific cuisine that was central to their nationality (Cinotto, 2013). …show more content…
According to Cinotto (2013), they created their own values and cultural traditions while only selectively keeping traditions they had known before. This can be seen through cuisine as it has been noted that foods that are seen as culturally Italian now, such as spaghetti and meatballs, may not have been ethnically based but instead ethnically created as women, the caretakers of the family, used what they had available to them (Cinotto, 2013). Cinotto (2013) also notes that this new creativity in cuisine rose from the parent’s disgust due to what their children were being fed in public schools. Cuisine was somewhat intertwined with family values. The parents of the family saw meal time as a chance for bonding but also discipline as everyone ate their meals together (Cinotto, 2013). Cuisine was also connected …show more content…
Most families stayed together, even beyond immediate family (Cinotto, 2013). Even different families within the culture would stay near each other and create little communities, such as the city Little Italy (Barkan, 1999). Italian families were encouraged to stay around other Italian families, even to the point of only marrying within the Italian culture for a period of time after the mass immigration (Barkan, 1999). The men maintained the traditional role as head of household while the women maintained their traditional role of taking care of the home (Barkan, 1999). The women would also sometimes work outside of the home or the family would run their own business (Barkan, 1999). Overall, families stayed