Unlike the Germans, Italians migrated in mass numbers to the United States in the early 1900s. At the time when the immigration of other nationalities began to slow down, there was an influx in the amount of Italians entering the country.
By 1920, when immigration began to taper off, more than 4 million Italians had come to the United States, and represented more than 10 percent of the nation’s foreign-born population. (1)
Italians, like other immigrant groups settled predominantly in urban areas, but in contrast tended to interject themselves among other immigrant groups rather than clustering together.
As in many other places in the world, Italians in America clustered into groups related to their place of origin. For example, the Neapolitans and Sicilians settled in different parts of New York, and even people from different parts of Sicily settled on different streets. However, what seldom occurred in U.S. were Italians enclaves, or all-Italians neighborhoods. The Italians would disperse themselves in other immigrant groups, such as, the Irish, the Jews, the Germans, and the Poles, while remaining in their clusters. (2)
Italian immigrants living conditions were harsh and tended to be overcrowded. This made them easily susceptible to disease. In order to save money Italian immigrants often forwent food.
The living conditions for the Italians tended to be over crowded and filthy all over the U.S.. Italian laborers also tended to skimp on food in a desperate attempt to save money. However, after time and new generations of Italians, the dirtiness of their homes disappeared along with the complaint of weak Italians from lack of nutrition. (3)
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