Book

Family and community: Italian immigrants in Buffalo, 1880-1930

Cornell University PressIthaca • Published In 1977 • Pages:

By: Yans-McLaughlin, Virginia.

Abstract
This study examines the role of the family in the transition of Italian immigrants from peasants to industrial workers in Buffalo, New York. Yans-McLaughlin shows how the family adapted to immigration, urbanization, and industrialization by maintaining some traditions. She shows how the family influenced the choices members made with regard to work, income, and production. For example although opportunities for women to work outside the family were ample, the patriarchal culture of the family discouraged any such employment. Also, the chief goal of the family and key to its continuity, was property ownership, a decision made over and above children's educational goals. Yans-McLaughlin also discusses how social workers failed to understand and accommodate immigrant family values and instead imposed on them their own middle-class values.
Subjects
External migration
Occupational specialization
Labor supply and employment
Gender status
Household
Family relationships
Political movements
Private welfare agencies
culture
Italian Americans
HRAF PubDate
2000
Region
North America
Sub Region
Regional, Ethnic and Diaspora Cultures
Document Type
Book
Evaluation
Creator Type
Historian
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Ian Skoggard ; 1999
Field Date
1973
Coverage Date
1880-1930
Coverage Place
Buffalo, New York, United States
Notes
Virginia Yans-McLaughlin
LCCN
77003254
LCSH
Italian Americans