receiving, fearing that it facilitated the breakdown of the family unit and promoted immoral attitudes in their children. These families also believed that American education was not in accordance with traditional Italian culture and that it provoked disrespect and disobedience towards parents. In addition to jobs held in factories, Italian men were critical in the physical expansion of New York at this time, as they provided strenuous manual labor in the beautification of New York’s streets. Italian immigrant men “worked in subway construction, street-grading, and rock and cement work as well as street cleaning, and they were crucial in building the modern infrastructure of the city, including Grand Central Station, the Bronx Aqueduct, and Jerome Park Reservoir.” (American Identity Explorer, CD-ROM)As with Jewish immigrants, various agencies were created in order to aid Italian immigrants in the transition to America. Among these were the Italian Chamber of Commerce, the Columbus Hospital, and the Society for the Protection of Italian Immigrants, the Italian Benevolent Institute, and a great number of Italian banks. (Margano, 1904) In addition to these agencies, the Italian immigrants enjoyed Italian-language newspapers such as Il Progresso. This paper helped to maintain ties to home as well as serving as “an agency helping immigrants adjust to American society and culture, publishing information about jobs and also providing advice on social and cultural incorporation.The most prominent display of Italian immigrants’ attempts to create new identities that included both Italian and American ways of living was the celebration of Columbus Day. This largely American holiday became an expression of Italian-American culture. On October 12, 1938 millions of people congregated at Columbus Circle at West 59th Street in Manhattan honoring Italian Christopher Columbus. This celebration marked a fusion of...
