Hi! my name is Maddox. I am a 17 year old Italian orphan trying to escape poverty back home. I am from a city called Bari, it is located in southern Italy and poverty, crime, and illness is a huge issue there. I have been working for almost a year to save up enough money to get a ticket over to America. I am so excited to get over to the USA and live my new life.

Finally! I have made it to the US after what felt like months was only three weeks. This place is so amazing and the Statue of Liberty looks better than I could have ever imagined. I can't wait to get to Ellis Island and get off of this ship. 

 Customs were a hassle but I got through with all of my stuff and no trouble from any of the officers. As I am walking down the sidewalk from the building I can hear the sounds of a packed city full of opportunity and a new life ahead of me.

With the little bit of money that I had when I came here I was able to get myself into a tenement with four other people. These guys also happen to be from Italy near Florence. This tenement is dirty and crowded but it is better than sleeping outside on the streets. But I need to get a job so that I can afford to pay my rent and to get some food for the week. My roommates are recommending I go to a factory.

After taking a walk to the factory I get the job and start working almost immedeatly. It is super hot in here and there are so many people, but the work is manageable and I really need the money. The worst part is how long I have to work, I work for almost 18 hours a day and I only make about three dollars a week if I am perfect at my job.

After working all week plus some extra hours I made $4.50 which is just enough to pay my rent and go to the market to get some food to take back to my tenement. I feel like I'm not getting paid the amount that I should. I work all day in these rough conditions for just enough money to get by in an unsanitary home and food coming from who knows where.

After another day in the factory I am really starting to think about moving to another job if I can find one but being an immigrant it is hard to find jobs because of discrimination by American bosses. Today I saw a little kid get really hurt because of something that the factory boss had him do. He had to climb into a machine to try to fix it but it turned on at the wrong time and he got hurt. He survived the accident but I don't think he will be working again for a long time.

After I got my paycheck this week I was able to save a little bit of money after buying groceries and I don't trust my tenement mates around my money. So I went to the bank to set up a savings account. I can put my money that I save here so that I can open a store and maybe make enough  money to bring a family member over here from Italy.

As I was walking home from the bank I walked across what seemed like a protest but was just a man yelling to some people about this thing called a union. I have no clue what that means but I went over to check it out and found out that it may be just what I was looking for. This union is pushing for better working conditions and better pay in the factories which I completely support.

I joined the union and they invited me to go on strike and they offered to pay my weeks salary if I went so I agreed right away. We stood outside of a factory for hours protesting and threatening not to work if no changes were made not only to our saftey and hours but for our pay as well. we deserve to be paid for our work

July 14th, 1901 I married my wife and we now have two kids together. Work is still a struggle and money is always tight but at least now I have my family to come home to. I spend pretty much all day out between being in the factory and going out to get food and other necessities for my family.

On a high note, there have been many laws that have been passed to limit the work day and make my job safer. I only have to work for eight hours per day now for the same pay. There are less people in such a tight space and now I feel like I can actually breathe while I work. I also saw some construction workers come in and install three more fire escapes on each floor. I think this is because of the fire that hurt so many people at the triangle shirt waste factory.