and
WHEREAS, A feudal society, high unemployment and oppressive
taxes coupled with natural disasters, disease, poverty and
famine, gave many reasons for Italians to look for freedom and
opportunities abroad; and
WHEREAS, While educated Italian professionals also emigrated,
many Italian immigrants arrived relatively unskilled, but soon
helped fuel a booming industrial economy by providing labor for
American factories and mines and helping to build roads, dams,
tunnels and other infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, As Italian Americans began settling in the country's
major cities, they faced religious and ethnic discrimination
which occasionally led to brutal violence; and
WHEREAS, For this reason, Italian Americans started
celebrating the life and accomplishments of Christopher Columbus
as a way for residents of Italian descent to be accepted by
their new homeland; and
WHEREAS, In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed
Columbus Day as a national holiday; and
WHEREAS, We credit Christopher Columbus with Italian
immigration to the New World and what is now Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, Currently, there are more than 16 million Americans
of Italian heritage in the United States and more than 1.4
million Americans of Italian heritage residing in Pennsylvania;
and
WHEREAS, In 1905, the Order Sons of Italy in America was
formed, with the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania to follow in 1913;
and
WHEREAS, Their successors, the State Lodge of Pennsylvania,
Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America and the Grand Lodge
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