[Fig. 1: Airplane View of Alexandria, VA, ca. 1919 Creator(s): Harris & Ewing, photographers. Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, http://www.loc.gov/pictures/]
As a group, we wanted to focus on individuals that migrated to the United states and how the Italians we focused on were unique from immigrants in the past. Our thesis is as follows, early to mid twentieth century Italian immigrants living in the United States transformed the previous model of the Italian male immigrants by establishing family networks in Alexandria, Virginia. In the past, Italian immigrants migrated to other parts of Europe and eventually returned home after studying or exploring new lands. Instead, the immigrants our group focused on immigrated to the United States and more specifically, to the city of Alexandria permanently. These Italian men moved to the United States in search of a better life. These men worked on the railroads, owned businesses, and started families in Alexandria. It was not always an easy life for these immigrants, as they moved to Alexandria during the Jim Crow Era and faced racial problems (this link is to the work of Kayla Toussant, Austin Clay, and Jessica Scatchard in Italian Immigrants in Alexandria, VA, Part I). Their history and personal lives have been studied in this research project and through our interactive pages, we hope you gain new information on these immigrants and we hope to bring their stories to life.
