Contribution of Italians to American Society
When the Italians immigrated to the United States, they brought with them strong
family ties and many different qualities. The qualities range from specialty foods to
architectural concepts. These qualities made quick advances over the society in which
they touched. The Italians hard work ethics and their great pride made an impression
forever on the evolving US.
The Italians made contributions to the American culture and society by sharing
their techniques in religion, tradition, entertainment, foods, architecture, and holidays.
One man made his impression on the music world soon after he arrived to America. His
name was Gian-Carlo Minotti. This man was trained in the Italian Opera and he was
determined to adapt his techniques to American society. He did so with flying colors and
became the most successful American composer of his time.
Maybe the biggest and most important contribution of the Italian was made by
one Christopher Columbus. If it was not for him, we probably would not be the same
today, we might not even be here. Columbus discovered this new land in 1492, by
mistake. He was really looking for a shorter route to India and miscalculated his journey.
So you see, if Columbus never would have found America, I probably would not even be
writing this paper today.
The Italians were known for their hard work, pride, and frugality. These
traditions as well wedding traditions made a great impact on the ever diversifying
country. The Italians did not take help or aid from anyone for any reason. They brought
together different groups and dealt with their problems as a whole. These concentrations
of Italians were known forever as “Little Italies.” These settlements allowed the Italians
to reproduce and raise their children as true Americans. Groups like these sprouted up all
over the northeast part of the country.
Perhaps the greatest and most influential food culture ever introduce to America
came from the Italians. Their new flavor and pasta dishes won the country over and is
represented well in just about every city across the country. If it is Italian, there is a bet
you can find it somewhere near.
Life in Italy is much different than life in the United States. Italians live at a much slower pace, than American’s and they have a desire to enjoy life instead of rushing through it as many American lifestyles exhibit (Zimmermann, K. (2015). The extended family is very important in Italy, whereas in the United States, the focus tends to be on the nuclear family, which includes mom, dad, and children (Zimmermann, 2015). The differences in Italian culture and American culture are vast and varied, but with a few comparable components to demonstrate similarities.
He was a photographer who brought attention to the living conditions of immigrants in america. Immigrants were living upwards of 12 people in a room. Rooms without ventilation, or indoor plumbing, the unsanitary conditions made for an unhealthy cycle of disease. Cholera, and tuberculosis were very common in this time, because they lacked the knowledge we know today. The italians had never encountered such problems as this. In Italy, while they lived in close quarters, they also spent a large portion of their time outside. Not only were there homes unsafe, but also their work places.
Christopher Columbus was a cruel, delusional, and self-centered man who does not deserve high praises for the discovery of America.
In some respects, we can attribute the founding of America and all its subsequent impacts to Christopher Columbus. Columbus a hero in the United States, has his own holiday and we view as the one who paved the way for America to be colonized. However, people tend to forget the other side of Columbus, the side that lusted after gold and resources that often belonged to the native inhabitants he came across in his exploration. In his insatiable greed, he and his crew committed countless atrocities, such as torture and killing of defenseless natives. Columbus’s discovery of these new lands contributes profound and negative effects as future colonists arrived. “Zinn estimates that perhaps 3 million people perished in the Caribbean alone from raids, forced labor and disease” (Zinn, 1980). Columbus was seen as a cruel man, who saw the peaceful inhabitants as right for the conquering and lead to the devastation of the native population, yet is celebrated every October.
a united Italy, it was one which strode in a path towards it. A lack
Everyone has heard the story of how Christopher Columbus discovered America. Almost every child is taught to think this from kindergarten. There's even a day every year dedicated to him. The thing is, not everyone knows the whole story. Christopher Columbus isn't quite the hero people make him out to be. He is responsible for almost all of the deaths of the 1-3 million Taínos Indians. Columbus was the one to ask for the money to explore. He was the one to claim the land for Spain. It was him who gave to order to kill everyone. He's obviously completely guilty, right? Well, not exactly.
“Christopher Columbus did not “discover” the Americas, nor was he even the first European to visit the “New World.”. However, his journey kicked off centuries of exploration and exploitation on the American continents. The consequences of his explorations were severe for the native populations of the areas he and the conquistadores conquered” (History). “Disease and environmental changes resulted in the destruction of the majority of the native population over time, while Europeans continued to extract natural resources from these territories. Today, Columbus has a mixed legacy—he is remembered as a daring and path-breaking explorer who transformed the New World, yet his actions also unleashed changes that would eventually devastate the native populations he and his fellow explorers encountered” (History). “The second Monday of October is Columbus Day, celebrated as a federal holiday in the U.S. since 1971. This day marks the anniversary of Christopher Columbus 's 1492 landing in the Americas, his "discovery of the New World" for the benefit of the Spanish monarchy”
Christopher Columbus is honored as the man who opened the doors to an Age of Discovery and exploration. Although he may not have been the first European to set foot onto the Americas, he did begin a wave of exploration in a new hemisphere. The time period of the age of discovery follows the end of the Middle Ages, which Columbus himself is a product. If it were not Columbus that brought European settlement to the New World, then it would have been some other explorer who probably started out with the same goals and ideas.
Did Columbus "discover" America? Yes, in every important respect. This does not mean that no human eye had been cast on America before Columbus arrived. It does mean that Columbus brought America to the attention of the civilized world, i.e., the developing scientific civilizations of Western Europe. The result, ultimately, was the United States of America. It was Columbus's discovery for Western Europe that led to the influx of ideas and people on which this nation was founded and on which it still rests. The opening of America brought the ideas and achievements of Aristotle, Galileo, Newton, and the thousands of thinkers, writers, and inventors who followed. What they replaced was a way of life dominated by fatalism, passivity, superstition, and magic.
Cultural diversity is about people who identify with a particular group based on where they grew up, their ethnicity, the language they speak, the values they hold and their beliefs. This doesn’t mean everyone will be the same or think the same. The differences of the Italian culture compared to European American culture is hard to see. Italy is filled more with culturally diverse people and respects more of the ethnic groups of the world. The Italian culture show this in their celebrations, food, music, and traditions. Their greetings and life style are known more to the European side of the world than the western side. Respecting diversity encourages people to accept the differences between groups
Italians are loud boisterous people they are expressive and animated when they speak. “Interruptions are to be expected when carrying on a conversation with an Italian, and there is rarely a moment of silence in fact they tend to become uncomfortable when their is silence”(Italy:communication style, n.d.). Appropriate conversation to talk about with Italians “in the workplace include Italian history, architecture, art and culture, sports, food and wine, and current events”(Italy:communication style, n.d.). They do not like to talk about “religion, politics or the Mafia these are considered to be a negative stereotype, but they are quite keen to speak about their families”(Italy:communication style, n.d.). Italy shares most of the popular holidays like christmas and new years, but they also have holidays that are particular to their Italian culture. Italian holidays include “The Epiphany which is one of Italy’s popular holidays it is celebrated on the sixth of January and it originally symbolizes the birth of christ. It is considered to be the end of the Christmas season: it is, literally the twelfth day of christmas”(Holidays in Italy, n.d.). “Epifania tutte le feste porta via is the saying, and it roughly translates to Epiphany takes all the holidays away”(Holidays in Italy, n.d.). Italy has many different holidays that they celebrate in their country such as: Liberation day, May Day, Festival of the Republic, Ferragosto, All Saints and all Souls’ day, The Immaculate Conception, Feast of St. Stephan, and many other feast days that are important to Italian culture. Italian traditions consist of going to festivals, and celebrating their culture, and
He had exposure to several different genres growing up in his St. Louis, MO hometown. He heard country from the whites, rhythm & blues (R&B) from mostly blacks, even Latin music. His family environment set him up well for future success while growing up in a middle class home in the middle of the Great Depression of the 1930s. His parents sun...
adults. In time he changed the style of the music by adopting a country and
within the image of his culture, to bring his music back into the arena of
As I grew up, other historical facts started to tarnish the pristine image of Columbus. Leif Erickson of the Vikings was actually the first known European to see the shores of the Americas. In the fifteen hundreds, educated persons and seafarers commonly knew the world was round, as the curvature of the Earth could be seen on the ocean horizon. The merchandise he traded was slaves from Africa. Furthermore, millions of indigenous peoples had been flourishing for tens of thousands of years on the new continent. I don't think that they would say Columbus discovered the shores that they walked on everyday. If fact, they probably would have a few very choice comments about Columbus and his `discoveries.'