There are stories from the 1880s in Italy about women doing all of the work in the community because the men left and immigrated to “Pittsbourgo.” These men came to Pennsylvania from the 1880s to the beginning of the First World War in order to find work. The Italian immigrants and descendants of those migrants became one of the most influential ethnic groups even though immigration quota laws enacted after World War I reduced the number of Italian immigrants to Pennsylvania. The vast majority of Italian immigrants of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century settled in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Consequently, these areas had populations that did not share their language, religion, or cultural traditions. The Italians adapted
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The steady growth of Italians in Pennsylvania turned to a steady decline during the time of World War I, but by then, there were several thousand kids born in the state. Italian laborers traveled to New York City and then used the railroad to arrive in Pittsburgh or Philadelphia where many were hired to lay track and others found work in coalmines and quarries. A significant percentage of the laborers traveled back to their native Italian village with money and return to Pennsylvania for more work. However, some laborers stayed in Pittsburgh, which set up the next phase of Italian immigration to Pennsylvania. By 1900, more Italian immigrants had little intentions of returning back to their native village because families were making the trip alongside the laborer. Italian immigrants found work as makers of apparel such as clothes, shoes, and hats and later as carpenters during this new generation of Italian immigration. In addition to making apparel, many laborers worked on municipal public work projects. Therefore, these jobs caused Italians to move to more skilled trades including masons, bricklayers, plumbers, and electricians. This type of employment offered the immigrant families a feeling of economic security that they never experienced in their native villages. Because of the employment and security in Philadelphia, the Italian immigrants formed hundreds of clubs and associations to aid their fellow countrymen in adjusting to the life in the United States and to preserving their own cultural heritage. Two social societies known as the Order of Brotherly Love and the Italian Federation of Societies aided impoverished children and widows and created member societies based out of neighboring regions in the state. In Thomas Bell’s Out of this Furnace Bell writes, at
The steady growth of Italians in Pennsylvania turned to a steady decline during the time of World War I, but by then, there were several thousand kids born in the state. Italian laborers traveled to New York City and then used the railroad to arrive in Pittsburgh or Philadelphia where many were hired to lay track and others found work in coalmines and quarries. A significant percentage of the laborers traveled back to their native Italian village with money and return to Pennsylvania for more work. However, some laborers stayed in Pittsburgh, which set up the next phase of Italian immigration to Pennsylvania. By 1900, more Italian immigrants had little intentions of returning back to their native village because families were making the trip alongside the laborer. Italian immigrants found work as makers of apparel such as clothes, shoes, and hats and later as carpenters during this new generation of Italian immigration. In addition to making apparel, many laborers worked on municipal public work projects. Therefore, these jobs caused Italians to move to more skilled trades including masons, bricklayers, plumbers, and electricians. This type of employment offered the immigrant families a feeling of economic security that they never experienced in their native villages. Because of the employment and security in Philadelphia, the Italian immigrants formed hundreds of clubs and associations to aid their fellow countrymen in adjusting to the life in the United States and to preserving their own cultural heritage. Two social societies known as the Order of Brotherly Love and the Italian Federation of Societies aided impoverished children and widows and created member societies based out of neighboring regions in the state. In Thomas Bell’s Out of this Furnace Bell writes, at