ABSTRACT
It has been the unhappy lot of virtually every immigrant group in the United States to encounter discrimination and to be treated in a prejudiced manner based on perceived affiliation with a particular cohort. For newcomers whose background and culture approximated the prevailing Anglo-Saxon model, victimization of discriminatory practices was minor. For those who adhered to different and contrasting value systems regarding religion, language, cuisine, customs and philosophy, however, the bias and prejudice experienced could not only be severe but also of a duration that extended into second and third generations. Much depended on particular historical circumstances as, for example, the altered political status of the nations from which immigrants originated or the relations of those nations with the United States. Such circumstances were highly relevant when it came to the massive Italian immigration that accounted for one of the largest influxes of newcomers into this country and continues to represent a major identifiable ethnic bloc.
