Drew Ferrara
History Test Letter


Dear Marie,

October of 1893:

You are too young to understand, but I am leaving Italy. I am traveling to New York in order to start a new life with better opportunities. I wish I could have seen you grow up and gotten to know you better, but traveling to America is the best for the both of us. From what I have heard, from people who have returned from America, I believe i have a very good chance of getting a well paid job and beginning a prosperous life. I am dreading the trip across the Atlantic on the steam boat because of the lack of sanitation and privacy. However, it will be worth it because when I arrive, our uncle Ricardo has room for me to stay with him, in his Italian community, until i can afford to buy my own apartment. Since I have already had a lot of practice at wood-working, I believe that I have a good chance of getting a job in construction and that I will be paid more than when i was working at home. This is all I have to say at the moment and I will write to you when I arrive,

November of 1893:

I have been in America for several days now and realize that it is not as easy as I predicted. Every day I get criticized by arrogant white men who judge me based only on the color of my skin. I have a job as a basic construction worker and I got it relatively quick because I knew how to speak English and could communicate with the locals. My boss encourages assimilation by forcing us to speak English because not everyone in the business speaks the same language. I do not get paid as much as I thought I would, but it is more than I received when working back at home. I still do not have enough money to buy my own place so I am staying in an apartment with Ricardo and his whole family, which is annoying a lot of the time. Also, there is this cool thing called Football which is a really confusing sport. However, me and some other workers bet each other money on which team will win. I usually lose these bets because I do not know who is the better team. I have to return to work and I will write you later.

Sincerely Your Big Brother,
Drew