ebooks Sword of the Lord: Military Chaplains from the First to the Twenty-First Century (Critical Problems in History) by From University of Notre Dame Press in History

Description

Philadelphia's first Italian immigrants arrived in the mid-eighteenth century. Artists and scholars; tradesmen and entrepreneurs; they established a new community--one of the first 'Little Italies' in America--that would provide not just a home but a sense of belonging for later arrivals. Richard Juliani tells the story of early Italians in the City of Brotherly Love: why they chose that city; what their lives were like; where they lived; and how they interacted. Examining Italian settlement from pre-Revolutionary times up to the eve of mass migration in the 1870s; he shows how these early pioneers created the basic structure of the community that would continue into the twentieth century. Juliani has devoted thirty years of research--combing through newspapers; public archives; religious records; business documents; and files of private organizations--to recapturing the creation of a community. He describes such factors as regional origins; methods of migration; and population growth; patterns of age; sex; income; and occupation; family structure and living arrangements; and the formation of communal institutions. But more than providing data; Juliani explores the private lives of many individuals in the Italian community--notably business leaders who spearheaded fraternal societies and political clubs--and tells how early immigrants made a significant contribution to the city's life. He also compares the Philadelphia community with other Italian colonies; particularly in New York; and shows how; after years of being looked upon in a favorable light; a more negative view toward Italians began to emerge. The early Philadelphia Italian community has never before been studied despite the existence of a large body of records from this period. Building Little Italy provides a rare opportunity to witness the origins of an ethnic community. By presenting a meticulously detailed profile of the Italian immigrant experience through its early stages of development; it captures a piece of local history that has been too long ignored.