History of Italian Immigrants in Ohio

Numerous Ohioans are descended from Italian ancestors. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, millions of immigrants migrated to the United States of America, hoping to live the American Dream. Before the American Civil War, most immigrants arrived in the United States from Great Britain, Germany, and Ireland. By the 1880s, the home countries of immigrants began to change. Many of the new immigrants to arrive in the United States came from Eastern European countries, like Poland, and Hungary, or from Southern European countries, like Italy.

In 1900, just over eleven thousand Italian immigrants resided in Ohio. By 1920, their numbers had soared to 60,658 people. Most of these Italians settled along Lake Erie, especially in Cleveland. In 1870, only thirty-five Italian immigrants resided in Cleveland. By 1920, their numbers had surged to more than twenty thousand people. Most of these immigrants found low-paying jobs in factories, as day laborers, or as waiters, waitresses, and cooks in restaurants. Immigrants who were more successful established businesses that supplied their fellow migrants with traditional Italian products or began their own clothing or construction companies. In Cleveland, the Italian immigrants tended to settle in their own communities, preferring to live among people who shared similar cultural beliefs and spoke the same language as they did. By the late 1800s, most Italian immigrants in Cleveland had settled in two neighborhoods nicknamed Big Italy and Little Italy. Most of these immigrants were followers of the Roman Catholic Church.

Italian immigrants congregated together partly out of camaraderie but also out of fear. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many native-born Americans feared outsiders. Some of these people objected to the immigrants' religious and cultural beliefs, while others believed that the foreigners would corrupt the morals of United States citizens. These people also contended that the quality of life within the United States would decline, as there were not enough jobs to employ the millions of people migrating to America. Many native-born Americans hoped either to limit immigration or to force foreigners to convert to American customs and beliefs. During World War I and World War II, Italian Ohioans faced even greater persecution, since Italy was one of the United States' enemies in each of these wars. During World War II, Ohio Italians rallied behind the United States, forsaking their homeland. Many Italian social groups dropped their Italian names and adopted patriotic ones, like "Abraham Lincoln" and "Betsy Ross," instead. However, it would still take several generations before Italian immigrants became truly accepted by the vast majority of Ohioans.

Of all the immigrant groups to settle in Ohio, Italians remained the most determined to maintain their traditional heritage and beliefs. Many Ohio Italians established social organizations. Unlike the organizations of other nationalities, Italian ones usually did not welcome all Italians. Rather, they usually only admitted people from their former villages in Italy. As other Ohioans became more tolerant of the Italians, many Italian communities began to disintegrate. Many Italians moved into other communities, while non-Italians began to infiltrate the traditionally Italian neighborhoods. This does not mean that Ohio's Italian population has lost its ties to its traditional cultural beliefs. Italian Ohioans continue to participate in various social and cultural groups that serve to promote Italian beliefs and customs.

Excerpted from http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org.