The Italian Americans La Famiglia Summary

The documentary that I watched was “The Italian Americans – La Famiglia”. In the late 1800s – early 1900s, what was not yet Southern Italy was very poor. Southern Italy in that era was controlled by a tyrannous Spanish government. Once freed from this tyranny, Northern Italy did nothing to help the South establish itself. The government of Northern Italy made Southern Italians pay taxes on everything, including food. It was said in the video that if a family owned a home garden plot, that too could be taxed by the government. If the government found out you owned any property large or small, you would be taxed. Because of this, families kept to themselves and felt they could not trust anyone of authority. Roughly four million Italians immigrated to America in the hopes of finding work and wealth. Unfortunately, the type of work that Italians took part of, was very dangerous and almost inhumane.

In an unfortunate event, the Chief of Police in New Orleans was murdered. No one ever knew who actually gunned down the Chief, but over 200 Italians were incarcerated and 19 were charged for his murder. After one trial that found an Italian innocent, the people of New Orleans took justice into their own hands, leading a mob into the jail and violently murdering the Italians who were “accountable” for the murder. The newspapers would exaggerate and dramatize stories involving Italian Americans, even giving them the name “The Mafia”, which was supposed to be a secret society. These Mafia men were a “danger” to society – ultimately making it hard for Italians to make a living in the American