The Immigrant Upraised

In The Immigrant Upraised, Andrew Rolle both confirms and supports the frontier thesis of Frederick Jackson Turner. However. Rolle's main purpose in this work is to expand upon Turner's original thesis through the consideration of the contributions and experiences of the ethnic groups (specifically Italians in this particular work) which Turner ignored.

Most American immigration histories deal solely with the immigrant as an urbanite, but Rolle concentrates his study towards the minority of immigrants who escaped the eastern seaboard and settled in the newer lands west of the Mississippi River.

Rolle's thesis states that immigrants who settled in the frontier environment were: more easily assimilated, less often the victims of discrimination, and completely unrestrained when competing with the native-born in the race to the top of the social ladder. Throughout the entire work, Rolle confirms Turner's view that the American West's low man-to-land ratio presented unique opportunities for individuals -- opportunities that did not exist for immigrants who remained in the thickly settled urban areas of the country. The West's flexible social order, with little emphasis on lineage and inherited wealth, allowed hard working immigrants easy, quick movement up the social ladder. Rather than being segregated into sections of cities where Old World customs and traditions remained unchanged for extended periods of time (the so-called "Little Italies"), the impact of the frontier allowed immigrants to assimilate themselves quickly and easily, making them uniquely "American" after only a short period of time.

Rolle supports his argument through extensive accounts of immigrant families situated throughout the entire frontier. His findings in each area are extremely consistent and homogenous. In each frontier region, Rolle cites individual immigrants who became prominent and prosperous in their communities after their initial cultural shock had subsided. Rolle also uses the content and style of regional ethnic newspapers to support his argument. In areas where Italian immigrants had recently become established, the newspapers were written entirely in Italian, and articles about the Italian homeland dominated their composition. However, as time passed on, these same papers began to write more articles in English, and news about the United States began to predominate as interest in the old homeland began to wane. ¹

While never denying Turner's belief that the American West consistently upgraded every individual who sought to better his lot among the opportunities which the frontier presented, Rolle does accuse Turner of showing "occasional ethnic prejudices,"² and not knowing "quite how to depict the immigrant story in.... [his] writings."³ Rolle somewhat attributes this narrow view to the beliefs and prejudices which were predominant during Turner's time. I believe that this is the reason why Andrew Rolle wrote The Immigrant Upraised. Rolle saw what he believed to be a basically sound, valid thesis; he proceeded to attempt to both prove this thesis and strengthen the areas he felt were weak.

Rolle attempts to define a frontier that both confirms Turner's theory and simultaneously recognizes the contributions of the ethnic groups which Turner ignored.

Rolle envisaged a more selective frontier process than Turner. He also saw the frontier as more of a synthesis between Old World and New World than did Turner. Rolle's frontier did not entirely strip immigrants of their ethnic customs and traditions. Indeed, the frontier may have actually encouraged the continued use of certain habits where conditions dictated these habits as useful. For Rolle, the frontier streamlined the immigrant, but it did not strip him.

Rolle uses California as an example of Old World customs giving Italian immigrants an actual advantage over native-born Americans. The Mediterranean climate of California closely resembled the conditions which Italian farmers from southern Italy worked in. Seeing the similarities in climate, these farmers began to grow the fruits and vegetables which they had successfully raised in their native lands. Their expertise in growing these crops gave the Italians an immense advantage over native farmers who were not so adept at maintaining vineyards and fruit orchards. After a short time, the Italian immigrants had a virtual monopoly of the country's fruit and vegetable market.⁴

Rolle never denies the fact that the frontier erased many Old World customs which served no purpose for survival in the new land; but he illustrates the fact that when certain Old World customs proved useful and advantageous, the frontier allowed for and encouraged their continued use. These "ethnic" customs then became part of the frontier itself. These customs -- like the immigrants who brought them -- mutated under the frontier's influence until they evolved into something uniquely American. Just as the frontier did not discriminate against men who proved their worth through toil and labor, the frontier also refused to discriminate against customs or habits which proved their worth through utility and success. Rolle's major amendment to Turner's frontier thesis is this belief in the importance of ethnic contributions.

I found Andrew Rolle's The Immigrant Upraised both enlightening and entertaining. However, certain sections of the book do, at times, bog down under the Rolle's extensive (sometimes inordinate) array of statistics. Because of this abundance of minute detail, I would recommend the book more for academic research than for leisure reading. Although all the information given is pertinent to the topic. I found several sections of the book repetitive and unnecessary. However, these sections were few in number, and Rolle's optimism and energetic style of writing prevent these sections from becoming boring.

The only aspect of The Immigrant Upraised which I found frustrating was the absence of English translations for many Italian journal titles or colloquial phrases. Although some of these phrases are translated, those that aren't lessen both comprehension and appreciation of the text. A little more consideration for those who do not speak Italian would have made the reading of the book a more fulfilling experience.

The Immigrant Upraised is an important work not only for it's contributions to the embellishment of Turner's thesis, but also for its attack on the myth that all immigrants were slum-dwelling industrial slaves who could not -- or would not -- assimilate themselves into American society successfully. Rolle's thesis obviously opened up a wide area previously neglected by American historians. "The import of [Rolle's] thesis for immigrant historiography is enormous. There is little risk in forecasting that one will see considerable re- vision in the concepts and methodology of historians of American immigration, including far more attention to non-urban immi- grants."⁵ "The statistics that justify this study are impressive....They reveal....that the entire image of the frontier West is out of focus because the history of immigration has been neglected there."⁶ Rolle's extensive bibliography is derived from a large number of both foreign and domestic sources, and it provides an excellent starting point from which any researcher may pursue paths uncovered by Rolle. I would recommend this book to any reader interested in Turnerian theory or immigration history. The Immigrant Upraised is thoughtfully written, extensively documented, and provocative; but most importantly, it sheds light on an important area previously neglected by American history.

¹Andrew Rolle, The Immigrant Upraised: Italian Adventurers and Colonists in an Expanding America (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1968), p.301.

² Ibid., p.100.

³ Ibid.

⁴ Ibid., p.270.

⁵ G.M. Gressley, review of The Immigrant Upraised, by Andrew Rolle, Library Journal 94 (March 1969) : 994.

⁶ R.A. Bartlett, review of The Immigrant Upraised, by Andrew Rolle, American Historical Review 75 (October 1969) : 220.

Bartlett, R.A. Review of The Immigrant Upraised, by Andrew Rolle. American Historical Review 75 (October 1969): 220.

Gressley, G.M. Review of The Immigrant Upraised, by Andrew Rolle. Library Journal 94 (March 1969): 994.

Review of The Immigrant Upraised, by Andrew Rolle. Choice 6 (June, 1969): 586.

Rolle, Andrew. The Immigrant Upraised: Italian Adventurers and Colonists in an Expanding America. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1968.