Immigration has always been a part of how our country has become what it is today. The melting pot we live in is all thanks to the different immigrants who came to the United States throughout the course of our country’s history. We have had every ethnicity live here coming from China, Europe, and even African. But one ethnicity that is close to my heart is my heritage of being Italian. I am one half Italian on my dad’s side and it has always brought me pride to be able to call myself Italian.
My Italian heritage goes very far back to my great-great-great grandparents who were my first known relatives to come to the United States during their life in the 1900s. My paternal great-great-great grandfather Giuseppe Sunseri was born in Trabia, …show more content…
America was known as the land of opportunity and second chances and that drew people here. Everyone wanted to strike it rich and this was something that lots of second born sons loved, because they could now own land and not have to worry about their family’s wealth decreasing. This idea of an open frontier was enticing to many people where you could escape the crowded area you lived in before or get away from economic, or social problems in your home. Everyone, including my relatives, wanted to get away from the harsh lives they were living before and saw America and ultimately California as the perfect place to start anew. California had what Italy did not, steady and year round work abundant enough for many people to become …show more content…
Once a few people came over here and saw this magnificent and beautiful place they would write to their family and then once word spread the population would continue to increase. People of the same nationality tended to group together within their city and these eventually led to the formation of Little Italys. The formation of different businesses were appearing in these towns and the Italians who lived there would mostly just support those businesses, because they all would look out for each other in these neighborhoods. My family owned one of these businesses in San Jose and it is still around today. My great-grandfather opened a local deli in downtown San Jose where he sold sausages and various cheeses. His business was considered as being a part of the Italian community in San Jose and my family lived in a small house a few doors down from the deli and everyone in the family would help work in the business. In Italian families everyone in the family was expected to help out in the business and they looked out for one another and the community was just an extension of the
My Italian heritage goes very far back to my great-great-great grandparents who were my first known relatives to come to the United States during their life in the 1900s. My paternal great-great-great grandfather Giuseppe Sunseri was born in Trabia, …show more content…
America was known as the land of opportunity and second chances and that drew people here. Everyone wanted to strike it rich and this was something that lots of second born sons loved, because they could now own land and not have to worry about their family’s wealth decreasing. This idea of an open frontier was enticing to many people where you could escape the crowded area you lived in before or get away from economic, or social problems in your home. Everyone, including my relatives, wanted to get away from the harsh lives they were living before and saw America and ultimately California as the perfect place to start anew. California had what Italy did not, steady and year round work abundant enough for many people to become …show more content…
Once a few people came over here and saw this magnificent and beautiful place they would write to their family and then once word spread the population would continue to increase. People of the same nationality tended to group together within their city and these eventually led to the formation of Little Italys. The formation of different businesses were appearing in these towns and the Italians who lived there would mostly just support those businesses, because they all would look out for each other in these neighborhoods. My family owned one of these businesses in San Jose and it is still around today. My great-grandfather opened a local deli in downtown San Jose where he sold sausages and various cheeses. His business was considered as being a part of the Italian community in San Jose and my family lived in a small house a few doors down from the deli and everyone in the family would help work in the business. In Italian families everyone in the family was expected to help out in the business and they looked out for one another and the community was just an extension of the