The Eighth Hungarian Tribe, 1985 (12. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)

1985-05-01 / 5. szám

Paul Body HUNGARIAN COMMUNITY LIFE IN REVIEW American-Hungarians are increasingly becoming aware of the importance of the study and understanding of their com­munity life, that is, of their history, culture, values, traditions and their present life in America. I am not aware of any periodical publication that gives primary attention to this field, except this magazine. Therefore, when the Editor, Mr. Sándor Chomos, suggested that I provide brief reviews of Hungarian com­munity life, in the sense stated above, I accepted the offer with enthusiasm. Let me state my purpose very briefly. I plan to call the readers’ attention to factual information, significant reviews of research, studies recently published and current developments with impacts on American-Hungarian community life. I consider it important that we understand the facts of our history and current life, but also that we evaluate them on the basis of informed judgements and historical accuracy. We should listen to several points of view, consider them, and come to an understanding, that is based on factual assessments. It would be of great help to me if readers would respond to the topics discussed, whether in the form of opinions, provision of informa­tion, criticism or questions. In this man­ner, a genuine dialogue could develop and all of us would learn more about American-Hungarian traditions. One of the most important events of recent years that sheds light on the state of the American-Hungarian community is the US Census of 1980. Why? For several reasons. First, because the 1980 Census marked the first time that a general question on ancestry (ethnicity) was asked in a decennial census. Previous census questions related to the native language of respondents. Furthermore, the question was put in such a way that persons were given the choice to identify with a particular ancestry or ancestries. The census question defined ancestry as a person’s nationality group, lineage or the country in which the person or his-her ancestors were born. As a result of these important aspects of the question on ancestry, answers to it reflected the personal identification of individuals with particular ethnic groups, for the first time in the history of the US Census. What were some of the results of the 1980 Census? A total of 1,776,902 persons identified themselves as of Hungarian ancestry. It should be noted that this number indicates multiple Page 6 ancestry, that is, it includes all those of mixed parentage, who, nevertheless, considered their Hungarian heritage personally significant. Even with this qualification, the number of persons with Hungarian ancestry came as a distinct surprise to professional and other students of Hungarian immigrants. Previous to the 1980 Census, the general consensus was that Hungarians consti­tuted less than one million in the United States. The fact that so many more Americans of Hungarian origin were counted and especially the fact that such a high number was based on personal identification certainly enhance the role of American-Hungarians in American society. The geographical distribution of the Hungarian population is also of interest. The greatest number of Hungarians reside, according to numerical rank, in the states of New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, California, Michigan, Florida, Illinois, Connecticut and Indiana. A comparison of the 1980 Census with that of 1920, based on native language data, shows both similarities and dif­ferences. The ranking of the states by Hungarian population in the 1920 Census is the following: Ohio, New York, Penn­sylvania, New Jersey, Illinois, Michigan, Connecticut, Indiana, West Virginia, California. One of the major changes since 1920 has been the growth of Hungarian communities in California and Florida. But it is also well to remember that the original areas of settlement, the states of Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania, have retained their Hungarian populations. Tables showing these trends can be found elsewhere on this page. How can we interpret the statistical results of the 1980 Census? While Hungarians do not compare in size with Germans, Italians and Poles, they do represent one of the strongest ethnic groups from Eastern Europe. They are more numerous than Slovaks, Ruman­ians, Croatians and Ruthenians. But perhaps the most important conclusion to be derived from the Census is that the Hungarian community consists of a significant number of individuals who acknowledged their Hungarian heritage and are proud of their ancestry. All of this should tell us that there is indeed a living Hungarian heritage in the United States. There is also a great need to main­tain, strengthen and provide information on this heritage to future generations. Hungarian Population by State, 1980 Census Alabama........................................... ...........4,480 Alaska............................................... ...........1,534 Arizona.............................................. .........19,199 Arkansas......................................... .........2,444 California.......................................... .......164,903 Colorado........................................... .........15,792 Connecticut...................................... .........53,451 Delaware.......................................... ...........3,402 D.C...................................................... ...........2,500 Florida............................................... .........89,587 Georgia.............................................. ...........9,877 Hawaii............................................... ...........2,294 Idaho................................................. ...........1,874 Illinois............................................... .........84,642 Indiana............................................. .........44,312 Iowa................................................... ...........4,883 Kansas............................................... ...........5,122 Kentucky.......................................... ...........5,627 Louisiana.......................................... ...........6,630 Maine................................................. ...........2,387 Maryland,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, .........27,901 Massachusetts................................ .........20,122 Michigan.......................................... .......126,819 Minnesota........................................ .........15,663 Mississippi....................................... ...........1,794 Missouri................................ .........18,817 Montana........................................... ...........3,129 Nebraska.......................................... ...........4,452 Nevada.............................................. ...........5,926 New Hampshire.............................. ...........3,390 New Jersey...................................... .......168,500 New Mexico..................................... ...........3,495 New York......................................... .......244,672 North Carolina................................ ...........9,072 North Dakota................................. ...........4,291 Ohio................................................... .......243,232 Oklahoma......................................... ...........4,591 Oregon............................................... .........10,908 Pennsylvania.................................... .......203,285 Rhode Island................................... ...........2,566 South Carolina................................ ...........4,071 South Dakota................................. ...........1,818 Tennessee......................................... ...........5,983 Texas................................................. .........27,964 Utah................................................... ...........2,639 Vermont............................................. ...........2,574 Virginia............................................. .........22,306 Washington...................................... .........15,885 West Virginia................................... .........11,557 Wisconsin......................................... .........33,124 Wyoming.......................................... ...........1,416 States Ranked by Hungarian Population, 1980 US Census Rank Percentage New York 1 13.8 Ohio 2 13.7 Pennsylvania 3 11.4 New Yersey 4 9.5 California 5 9.3 Michigan 6 7.1 Florida 7 5.0 Illinois 8 4.8 Connecticut 9 3.0 Indiana 10 2.5 Eighth Hungarian Tribe

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