|
|
The Story of Czech Immigrants in USA and their Legacy from the End of the 19th Century to Present: The Identity and Everyday Life of a Small Town in Minnesota
ZAVADILOVÁ, Eva
The aim of this thesis is to describe the fates, sorrows and joys of Czech peasants (and their descendants) who decided to emigrate to the USA between the second half of the 19th century and the First World War, where they left a legacy that persists to these days. The first part of the thesis is devoted to the general history and knowledge of the emigration of Czechs to the USA, its causes and course. Using collected letters, pamphlets and archival records, it then attempts to reconstruct the journeys of emigrants from Bohemia to their new home across the ocean. The work then describes the various problems that the compatriots had to deal with immediately after landing in the United States, on their way to find available land or to build their homes. The thesis also depicts the efforts to create expatriate communities and societies along with the traditions that Czech immigrants brought with them. The second part focuses on a specific town in Minnesota, but also mentions nearby settlements and towns whose names attest to the Czech origins of their founders. The work focuses on the history of New Prague and its surroundings, associations and traditions that are connected to Czech cultural heritage and still play an important role in maintaining the Czech-American identity of the local population. With the help of the informations from local residents, the thesis seeks to capture and then analyse their perception of their Czech origins and their efforts to maintain awareness of Czech culture and language. Finally, the thesis will focus on specific events and festivals in and around New Prague that serve as evidence of the continuing awareness of Czech culture among Americans.
|
|
|
Czech Immigrants in Minnesota; History and Critical Bibliography
Škopek, Jakub ; Robbins, David Lee (advisor) ; Veselá, Pavla (referee)
This thesis takes a look at the reasons for the emigration of Czechs from Bohemia to the United States and how this emigration began in earnest after the European revolutionary year of 1848. It also takes a look at the related steps and procedures emigrants took to make this journey possible. A primary focus of this report will be the Czech immigrants that settled in Minnesota; however, the initial part of this work applies generally to Czech immigration to America. The first part of the thesis examines some of the political and social circumstances in Bohemia (as well as in much of Europe generally) that were responsible for the waves of immigration that took place in the second half of the 19th century. The thesis takes a look at how the people learned about America and about the possibilities of traveling there. The thesis also examines how the journey was made from Bohemia to one of the German ports of embarkation, as well as the difficulties and risks awaiting emigrants in such cities. Finally, this section explains the tremendous impact the new changes in sea travel - from sail to steam - had on the rapid rise in the numbers of immigrants coming into the United States. In the following section, the thesis considers some of the general difficulties faced by all new immigrants once they had...
|
|
|
Labor Movement in Minnesota as a Means of Struggle for Equality of African Americans in Minnesota: Activism of Nellie Stone Johnson
Navrátilová, Barbora ; Sehnálková, Jana (advisor) ; Kýrová, Lucie (referee)
The diploma thesis Labor Movement as a Means of Struggle for Equality of African Americans in Minnesota: Activism of Nellie Stone Johnson analyzes the role of the Labor Movement in a struggle for equality of African Americans in a state that belongs on the periphery of academic research of African American population of the United States of America. In the first two chapters, the study uses the probe method, which analyzes the manifestations of the Labor Movement and the Civil Rights Movement of the African Americans in Minnesota within a historical context. In case of both movements, key influences and actors are primarily identified. The second chapter then analyzes in more detail the impact of racism and discrimination on the Labor Movement's development, and vice versa, the struggle of the Labor Movement to overcome racial segregation. In the third chapter, the case study relies on the biographical method and the oral history method. Using these methods, this chapter constructs a specific story of activist Nellie Stone Johnson, whose life demonstrates the importance of combining quality education with economic self-sufficiency for the success of the African American struggle for racial equality in Minnesota. Nellie Stone Johnson came from a farming background that was traditional for Minnesota...
|
|
|
Czech Immigrants in Minnesota; History and Critical Bibliography
Škopek, Jakub ; Robbins, David Lee (advisor) ; Veselá, Pavla (referee)
This thesis takes a look at the reasons for the emigration of Czechs from Bohemia to the United States and how this emigration began in earnest after the European revolutionary year of 1848. It also takes a look at the related steps and procedures emigrants took to make this journey possible. A primary focus of this report will be the Czech immigrants that settled in Minnesota; however, the initial part of this work applies generally to Czech immigration to America. The first part of the thesis examines some of the political and social circumstances in Bohemia (as well as in much of Europe generally) that were responsible for the waves of immigration that took place in the second half of the 19th century. The thesis takes a look at how the people learned about America and about the possibilities of traveling there. The thesis also examines how the journey was made from Bohemia to one of the German ports of embarkation, as well as the difficulties and risks awaiting emigrants in such cities. Finally, this section explains the tremendous impact the new changes in sea travel - from sail to steam - had on the rapid rise in the numbers of immigrants coming into the United States. In the following section, the thesis considers some of the general difficulties faced by all new immigrants once they had...
|
guest ::
