nn's tre

"nevarca" italian laborers are coming to this city from their sunny native land in shoals.every steamer that arrived in new york during the past three months brought large numbers of these swarthy men.newark has received a large percentage of these semi-nomads.few of the italians in this city beg from door to door.like the chinese they live upon food upon which others would starve...river street is the headquarters of the italian population and there are branch colonies on adams,boyden,and drift street and also seventh,eighth,and fourteenth avenue, but they never live where the germans reside in large numbers.they are clannish because they cannot speak english,and also because they do not know to conform to american customs. the sunday call 5/30/1885 the italian is here to stay.he is learning our language and our ways and it would be well for the police to discourage the habit that some boys have...of calling the italian by any pet names and annoying him generally...the italian by birth has a more impetuous nature or emotional turn of mind than a chinaman,for instance,and his patience is liable to give out sooner. mayor joseph e.haynes,mayors annual message 1892 i am an italian american.my roots are deep in an ancient soil drenched by the mediterranean sun,and watered by pure streams from snow capped mountains. I am enriched by thousands of years of culture. my hands are those of the mason, the artist ,the man of the soil. my thoughts have been recorded in the annals of rome,the poetry of virgil,the creations of dante,and the philosophy of benedetto croce. i am an italian american and from my ancient world,i first spanned the seas to the new world.i am cristoforo columbo.i am giovanni caboto known in american history as john cabot,discoverer of the mainland north america. i am amerigo vspucci,who gave my name to the new world ,america. first to sail on the great lakes in 1679,founder of the territory that became the state of illinois,colonizer of louisiana and arkansas,i am enrico tonti.i am filippo mazzei,friend of thomas jefferson and it was my thesis on the equality of man that was written into the bill of rights.i am william paca,signer of the declaration of independence. i am an italian american,i financed the northwest expedition of george rogers clark ans accompanied him through the lands that would become ohio,indiana,illinois,wisconsin,and michigan. i am colonel francesco vigo.i mapped the pacific from mexico to alaska and to the phillippines. i am alessandro malaspina. i am giacomo beltrami, discoverer of the source of the mississppi river in 1823. i created the dome of the united states capitol.they called me the michelangelo of america.i am constantino brumidi.in 1904 ,i founded in san francisco, the bank of italy, you now know it as the bank of america, the largest financial institution in the world. i am a.p.giannini. i am enrico fermi,father of nuclear science in america.first enlisted man to win the medal of honor in world war II ,i am john basilone of new jersey.i am an italian american .i am the million strong who served in america's armies and the tens of thousands whose names are enshrined in military cemeteries from guadalcanal to the rhine. i am the steel maker in pittsburgh, the grower in the imperial valley of california,the txtile designer in manhattan,the movie maker in hollywood ,and the breadwinner in 10,000 communities. i am an american without stint or reservation, loving this land as only one who understands history,its agonies and its triumphs can love it and serve it. i will not be told that my contribution is any less nor my role not as worthy as that of any other american. i will stand in support of this nation's freedom and promise against all foes.my heritage has dedicated me to this nation.i am proud of my full heritage,and i shall remain worthy of it. "i am an italian american."unknown author