For every American, there is an endless array of different factors, often spanning over decades and centuries, which have each uniquely contributed to how he or she has ended up living in America. The stories that account for how each American has ended up in America are filled with a vast diversity of different events and people, but nearly all of these stories involve the common aspect- the opportunity to start a new life in America.
Most people’s journeys to America begin long before they are born, originating in the lives of their predecessors, who voyaged across the sea to America, the country of new beginnings. During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, multitudes of foreigners in seek of escaping the troubles of their current lives decided to sail to America for a fresh start. The influx of overseas immigrants from various European countries turned the population into a medley of nationally diverse peoples that over time gently simmered into the cliche ‘melting pot’.
The final result is the tremendously diverse American populace present today, in which many people have extensively broad and complex family trees, with ancestors of many different nationalities. My journey to America began with my Italian ancestors from Naples, Italy on my Mother’s side, and my mostly Irish relatives from my Dad’s side. Both sides of the family came to America at around the advent of the twentieth century, a time in which both Italy and Ireland were going through their own political and social strife.
Italy during that time was in the wake of having different factions within the country against each other and the resulting Italian Unification. Tension was mounting, and in a number of years, Italy was to be ruled by the Fascist tyrant, Benito Mussolini. My great grandmother and grandfather living in Italy at the time, both humble shoemakers, were not economically well off and most likely were fraught with the tensions of their daily lives. They may have had scarce food, questionable safety, and an uncertain future.
Life was not easy for them, but America offered a purported escape from troubles and haven for freedom. In the end, the combined factors the political conflicts transpiring in the country and their dearth of wealth and opportunity made them want to move to the New World to reinvent themselves, which is part of the direct reason I have been born in America. My father’s side of the family came from sundry parts of Europe, and my great great grandmother and grandfather came separately to America. My great great grandmother lived in Austria, where at he time social and political trends were gradually fomenting the collapse of the Hapsburg monarchy. The onset of World War I finally triggered its collapse, which left Austria precariously idling without a form of government. First Austrian Republic was the first succession state that attempted to rebound the country against the current civil crises and smoldering civil war. Life in Austria was starved of carefree pleasures and filled with mounting anxiety. These factors, similar in manner to those of my father’s ancestors, became the impetus for my great great grandmother’s expedition to America.
