The Italian Americans

A brief history of the Italian Risorgimento provides the context for the great flight from the mezzogiorno region. By the late 19th century, Italians begin to put down roots and Little Italys spring up in urban areas throughout the U.S.

At the turn of the 20th century, more than four million Italians immigrate to America.

A second generation of Italian Americans begins to enter the labor movement, politics, sports and entertainment, and the war proves to be a turning point for Italian Americans as they begin to break out of their enclaves.

In postwar America, Italian Americans move to the suburbs, attend college and enter the middle-class. Can Italian Americans ever fit into 1950s America, or will the specter of organized crime always bring them down?