In the 1860s, there was a civil war between the North and South. Of Italy. The famous General Giuseppe Garibaldi led his troops through Southern Italy to liberate the people. However, revisionist history is showing that they didn’t necessarily want to be liberated. Many felt their homeland was under attack, and they fought to remain part of what was known as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. However, they lost, and the Northwestern region of Piedmont gained dominance and created a united Italy.

In subsequent years, conditions in Southern Italy deteriorated so drastically that the people sought refuge elsewhere—in countries like Argentina and the United States. While some were from central and northern Italy, most of the immigrants to the United States were from the Southern Italian regions of Campania (Naples) and Sicily.