Explore the causes, viewpoints, and historical significance of Italian immigrant laborers' struggles during the Gilded Age, based on a primary excerpt.
One cause of the situation in the excerpt is that laws favored contractors over laborers, allowing contractors to exploit workers without fair protection. One point of view expressed is that the Italian laborers are treated unfairly and trapped in a cycle of debt and poor working conditions because contractors control wages and work terms. The significance of this situation is that it highlights how immigrant workers during the Gilded Age faced exploitation and harsh labor environments, which is an important argument about the challenges of immigration and labor rights during that time. This example shows the struggles many immigrants endured while helping to build America’s economy.