Slovenian Americans
Encyclopedia
Slovene Americans or Slovenian Americans are citizens of the United States
of Slovene descent.
priest
s. Two of the earliest such missionaries were Fr. Anton Kappus and Fr. Frederick Baraga
(Gobetz, 2009). In the 1730s some Slovenes settled in small farming communities in Georgia
. There were a few Slovene soldiers who fought in the American Revolution
. Slovene priests built some of the first churches and schools in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and neighboring parts of Canada
. Many of these early immigrants were bilingual Slovene-German
speakers (Shipman, 1912). Until the 1880s there was a small number of Slovene immigrants to the United States. The largest numbers of Slovenes immigrated to America between 1880 and World War I
. Most of these came between 1905 and 1913, although the exact number is impossible to determine because Slovenes were often classified as Austrians
, Croats
, or under other, broader labels, such as Slavonic
or Slavic
. These later arrivals migrated to the industrial cities or to mining towns in the Upper Midwest
, Ohio
and Pennsylvania
. Two later periods of increased immigration to the United States were the years immediately after World War I (1919–1923) and World War II (1949–1956) (Susel, 1980). Most Slovene immigrants to the United States were of the Catholic
faith; however, a minority practiced the Lutheran
faith (Susel, 1980).
According to the 2000 census, the five states with the largest Slovene populations were:
These five states are followed, in descending order, by Colorado
, Michigan
, Florida
, New York
, Texas
, Indiana
, Washington, Kansas
, Maryland
, West Virginia
and Utah
, again according to the 2000 census. The state with the smallest Slovene American population is North Dakota
(107). There is no American state without Slovene descendants among its population.
). The number of reported Americans of Slovene descent undoubtedly is an underestimate. Some Slovenes coming from the Austro-Hungarian Empire avoided anti-Slavic prejudice by identifying themselves as Austrians. Many others were recorded as Slav, Slavic, Slavish, or Slavonian (see above). The true number of Americans of Slovene descent is probably between 200,000 and 300,000; if persons with only one-quarter or one-eighth Slovene ancestry are counted, the number could be as high as 500,000.
against illness and death. This was especially important because other insurance companies at the time discriminated against immigrants or in some cases defrauded them. A number of mergers and name changes took place during the 20th Century, so the history of Slovene fraternalism in the United States is difficult to trace. The major extant Slovene fraternals in the United States are:
For a longer discussion of the history of Slovene fraternalism in the United States, see the following article: Fraternal Benefit Societies and Slovene Immigrants in the USA.
The Slovenian Genealogy Society, International helps members to trace their Slovene roots.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
of Slovene descent.
History
The first Slovenes in the United States were missionaryMissionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
s. Two of the earliest such missionaries were Fr. Anton Kappus and Fr. Frederick Baraga
Frederic Baraga
Frederic Baraga, Servant of God was a Slovene American Roman Catholic missionary, bishop, and grammarian.-Early life:Frederic Baraga was born as Friderik Irenej Baraga in the manor house at Mala Vas no...
(Gobetz, 2009). In the 1730s some Slovenes settled in small farming communities in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. There were a few Slovene soldiers who fought in the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. Slovene priests built some of the first churches and schools in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and neighboring parts of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Many of these early immigrants were bilingual Slovene-German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
speakers (Shipman, 1912). Until the 1880s there was a small number of Slovene immigrants to the United States. The largest numbers of Slovenes immigrated to America between 1880 and World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Most of these came between 1905 and 1913, although the exact number is impossible to determine because Slovenes were often classified as Austrians
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
, Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
, or under other, broader labels, such as Slavonic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
or Slavic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
. These later arrivals migrated to the industrial cities or to mining towns in the Upper Midwest
Upper Midwest
The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the midwest. Although there are no uniformly agreed-upon boundaries, the region is most commonly used to refer to the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. Two later periods of increased immigration to the United States were the years immediately after World War I (1919–1923) and World War II (1949–1956) (Susel, 1980). Most Slovene immigrants to the United States were of the Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
faith; however, a minority practiced the Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
faith (Susel, 1980).
Concentrations
- Cleveland, OhioOhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
- Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
- JohnstownJohnstown, PennsylvaniaJohnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, west-southwest of Altoona, Pennsylvania and east of Pittsburgh. The population was 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Cambria County...
, PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to... - ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,... - JolietJoliet, IllinoisJoliet is a city in Will and Kendall Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. As of the 2010 census, the city was the fourth-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 147,433. It continues to be Illinois' fastest growing...
, IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,... - Milwaukee, WisconsinWisconsinWisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
- Eveleth, MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
According to the 2000 census, the five states with the largest Slovene populations were:
- Ohio – 58,402
- Pennsylvania – 19,006
- Illinois – 15,519
- MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
– 10,420 - CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
– 9,489
These five states are followed, in descending order, by Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, Washington, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
and Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, again according to the 2000 census. The state with the smallest Slovene American population is North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
(107). There is no American state without Slovene descendants among its population.
Numbers
The 1910 census reported 183,431 persons of Slovene mother tongue, 123,631 "foreign-born" and 59,800 born in America. These numbers are clearly an underestimate of the actual Slovene population since descendants of earlier settlers often no longer knew Slovene. In the 2000 US Census, 176,691 Americans declared that they were of Slovene origin (of those, 738 have attained the Ph.D.Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
). The number of reported Americans of Slovene descent undoubtedly is an underestimate. Some Slovenes coming from the Austro-Hungarian Empire avoided anti-Slavic prejudice by identifying themselves as Austrians. Many others were recorded as Slav, Slavic, Slavish, or Slavonian (see above). The true number of Americans of Slovene descent is probably between 200,000 and 300,000; if persons with only one-quarter or one-eighth Slovene ancestry are counted, the number could be as high as 500,000.
Fraternal organizations
A number of fraternal organizations were founded by Slovene immigrants to the United States. These organizations allowed members to preserve old traditions as well as to provide insuranceInsurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
against illness and death. This was especially important because other insurance companies at the time discriminated against immigrants or in some cases defrauded them. A number of mergers and name changes took place during the 20th Century, so the history of Slovene fraternalism in the United States is difficult to trace. The major extant Slovene fraternals in the United States are:
- Jugoslovenska katoliška jednota (South Slavic Catholic Union), founded 1898, became American Fraternal Union (AFU) in 1941.
- Slovenska dobrodelna zveza (Slovenian Mutual Benefit Association), founded 1910, became American Mutual Life AssociationAmerican Mutual Life AssociationThe American Mutual Life Association is an ethnic fraternal benefit and social organization for Slovene immigrants and their descendants in the United States. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, it serves a membership located primarily in Ohio. Founded in 1910, as the Slovenska dobrodelna zveza , the...
(AMLA) in 1966. - Kranjsko-slovenska katoliška jednota, founded in 1894, became Ameriško-slovenska katoliška jednota or American Slovenian Catholic Union (KSKJ).
- Napredne Slovenke Amerike (Progressive Slovene Women of AmericaProgressive Slovene Women of AmericaProgressive Slovene Women of America , or Napredne Slovenke Amerike, is an ethnic fraternal benefit and social organization for Slovene immigrant women and their descendants in the United States. Founded in 1934, it is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. The membership is drawn primarily from the...
) (PSWA), founded in 1934. - Slovenska ženska zveza Amerike, founded in 1926, became Slovenian Women's Union of AmericaSlovenian Women's Union of AmericaSlovenian Women's Union of America is an ethnic fraternal benefit and social organization for Slovene immigrant women and their descendants in the United States. Founded in 1926 as Slovenska ženska zveza Amerike, its original purpose was to advocate for the rights of Slovenian women in the United...
(SWUA). - Slovenska narodna podporna jednota, founded in 1904, became Slovene National Benefit SocietySlovene National Benefit SocietySlovenska narodna podporna jednota, the Slovene National Benefit Society, is an ethnic fraternal benefit and social organization for Slovene immigrants and their descendants in the United States. Founded in 1904, it is headquartered in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA near Imperial...
(SNPJ). - Zahodna slovanska veza, founded in 1908, became Western Slavonic AssociationWestern Slavonic AssociationWestern Slavonic Association , founded 1908 as Zahodna slovanska veza, is an ethnic fraternal benefit and social organization for Slovene immigrants and their descendants in the United States. Membership currently is open to people of all nationalities and ancestries. The headquarters of the WSA...
(WSA).
For a longer discussion of the history of Slovene fraternalism in the United States, see the following article: Fraternal Benefit Societies and Slovene Immigrants in the USA.
The Slovenian Genealogy Society, International helps members to trace their Slovene roots.