The Eighth Tribe, 1977 (4. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1977-12-01 / 12. szám
Page 10 THE EIGHTH TRIBE December, 1977 began to call himself a “king” already years before the official establishment of the Christian kingship by his son. And this is also substantiated by the charter of the Greek Convent of Veszprémvölgye — probably founded by Géza for his daughter Judith, the ex-wife of Gabriel Radomir of Bulgaria — which refers to him as “Stephanus Krales” (King Stephen). These references to Géza’s “kingship” are indications both of his ascending power, as well as of his commitment to make Hungary into one of the Christian states of Europe — even though the choice between Latin (Roman) and Byzantine (Orthodox) Christianity was still far from having been resolved. Géza died in 997, after having set his nation upon the course that his son was destined to complete (László: Régészeti tanulmányok, 342-347; Dümmerth: Árpádok, 139-147). When inheriting his father’s throne, Stephen (Vajk) started with many advantages. The course of the new Hungarian domestic and foreign policy had already been set. At home the policy of centralization and the rise of princely (“royal”) power was well on its way, and abroad contacts and dynastic ties had been established even with the Holy Roman Emperors. Moreover, Hungary was gradually becoming part of Christian Europe. Thu9, all King Stephen had to do was to continue and to strengthen the policies outlined by his father. While starting out with considerable advantages, Stephen was also burdened with a number of liabilities. The most significant of these was his tenuous right of succession to the throne, and the consequent challenge on the part of a number of his rivals. King Stephen’s problems of succession were connected with the growing conflict between the traditional principles of “seniority” and “primogeniture” (“first born”). According to the first of these principles, which had been practiced for many millennia, the heir to the throne was not the deceased ruler’s oldest son, but rather the oldest male member of his wider family (dynasty) — such as a brother or a cousin. While understandable in a nomadic and even semi-nomadic society, where the leader had to be a grown and able male, the persistence of the seniority rule was burdensome in a sedentary society, where it worked against centralization and internal consolidation, and almost always led to intra-family feuds and wars at the time of succession. Although with the emergence of Prince Géza and the introduction of Christianity to Hungary, the principle of the “first born” was bound to triumph — as it did in a number of contemporary Western states —, 72 newspapers in America, and sending ministers to serve their congregations. At the outbreak of World War I, most immigrants abandoned the idea of returning home. They had settled mostly near the mines and steel furnaces of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. However, large groups had also settled in Illinois, Indiana, and West Virginia. It is difficult to estimate the number of Hungarian immigrants during this period. The Ninth Census of the United States in 1870 distinguishes Hungarians from Austrians, but it classifies as Hunminorities (e.g., Czechs, Slovaks, garians the members of ethnic Ruthenians, Rumanians, Serbians, and Croatians) who were born within the boundaries of Hungary as a self-governing kingdom within the frame-work of the dual monarchy from 1867 to 1918. The American census has traditionally designated the nationality of immigrants according to whatever independent country they happen to have been born in. Many of the immigrants, however, have understandably designated their nationality according to what they consider their native tongue. (It might also be noted that, following 1918, many native Hungarians bom in newly created and expanded states neighboring Hungary were classified by the American census and Western history books as non- Hungarians.) This explains the difference between the immigration figures and the figures of Americans of Hungarian origin. Between 1870 and 1920 the approximate number of immigrants from Hungary was 1,999,199. About 54.5 percent declared Hungarians as their native tongue. The rest belonged to other nationalities. That makes the approximate number of self-professed Hungarians somewhat over one million. In 1920, Hungarians constituted about 1 percent of the total U.S. population. 1871 Michael Heilprin was chosen editor and put in charge of the second edition of the American Encyclopedia for five years. 1874 March. Dr. Árpád Gerster, the famous surgeon, arrived in America. He was elected president of the New York Medical Society in 1891 and in the same year given membership in the Budapest Medical Association in recognition for his work. Gerster became professor of surgery at Columbia University in 1910, and in the following year he was elected president of the American Medical Association. 1881 The Hungarian government tried to regulate emigration and forbade agencies to operate without a license. Emigrants were permitted to leave Hungary only on ac-
