Two Diasporas: Irish and Italian

(4 Credits)

Just as the United States received more immigrants than any other country, Ireland and Italy are among the classic nations of emigrants. Why did so many people leave Ireland and Italy? What were the economic, political, religious, and personal motivations? How were people able to leave in such large numbers, given their poverty? Where did they go? How did they travel? And what effect did they have on the societies where they settled, especially the United States, which attracted more than five million Irish immigrants and more than five million Italian immigrants?