About thirty-five million people, mainly from southern and eastern Europe, arrived on U.S. shores between 1880 and 1920, changing forever the nature of American civilization. In southern Europe, the rise of the modern world made life difficult for some, particularly for the struggling farmers and workers. Two southern European countries responsible for a significant portion of the mass migration were Italy and Greece.

Between 1880 and 1920, an estimated four million people left Italy for the United States, making Italians the single largest European national group to move to America in the era when people throughout eastern and central Europe were making a similar voyage. The Italians were not simply pursuing dreams of economic prosperity; they were also bringing with them a culture and traditions that became a central part of American culture and tradition. Establishing outposts called Little Italy in cities like New...