Lenka Křížová
Motivations of Czech Emigrants to Leave for the USA before 1918
Emigration from the Czech lands to the USA was one of the significant demographic phenomena of the second half of the 19th century. Although the main motivation of emigrants was economic, there were also other motives that led to the outflow of people from Bohemia, Moravia and Austrian Silesia. Members of lower-status social groups left primarily because of a lack of land, the obsolescence of production methods in the (textile) industry, and, above all, to improve their standard of living overseas. In doing so, a social network was important, as it could help immigrants in America to integrate socially and sometimes financially. Other motives for leaving for the USA included political grounds (the failed revolution of 1848, the period of the Bach absolutism, or the persecution of certain political groups in Austria or Austria-Hungary), less often religious reasons, the desire to avoid military or prison service, or escape for other reasons. The situation was completely different for intellectuals, who were in demand in America, whether they were priests, teachers, editors, or social actors, and partly also members of the artistic professions, who on the one hand were motivated by better earnings, and on the other hand they represented a certain link to home for Czech-Americans and received considerable recognition for it. Quite different was the motivation of adventurers, for whom crossing the Atlantic Ocean was above all the fulfilment of their desire for adventure.
Keywords: emigration from Czech lands to USA - emigrants´ motivations - 1848-1918 - social emigration - political emigration
design by Bedřich Vémola
