The Eighth Tribe, 1976 (3. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1976-01-01 / 1. szám
Page 6 THE EIGHTH TRIBE January, 1976 OUR HERITAGE IN AMERICA Column editor: Joseph Széplaki We will reprint here articles, essays and poems as they appeared in the early American press regarding our heritage in America. We also welcome articles reflecting the history and accomplishments of Hungarians on the American continent. HUNGARIANS IN AMERICA Reprinted from: The Hungarians In America 1583-1974; by Joseph Széplaki. The book can be ordered from: Oceana Publications, Inc., Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. 10522. $6.00. FIRST WAVE: REFUGEES OF THE HUNGARIAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE OF 1848-49 American Reaction and the First Arrivals 1848 March 15. The Hungarians revolted against Austria. tured people of middle or upper class origin. Because of their humanistic education, they lacked technical skills which were then in greatest demand in this country and were forced to work as laborers and farmhands. Their leader, László Újházi, was Kossuth’s representative in the United States before his visit. Újházi was the first among the four thousand refugees to become a naturalized citizen. Twelve years later he was posted as consul in Italy by President Lincoln. 1850 Congress granted Újházi and his group land in Iowa, where they started a Hungarian community named New Buda in Decatur County. Újházi sought to organize the political life of the settlement after the American pattern and at the same time to preserve the Hungarian characteristics of social and domestic life. There were several other centers where Hungarians congregated in large numbers during the 1850s and 1860s. About thirty Hungarians made their home at New Orleans, Louisiana. A dozen or so chose St. Louis, Missouri, for their place of destiny. A few dozen Hungarians settled down at Davenport, Iowa. KOSSUTH’S ARRIVAL 1851 1849 May 28. Beginning this day, the New York Tribune published several articles dealing with a series of “Hungarian meetings” in New York. The first meeting was held in the Hotel Shakespeare on May 24, to celebrate the Hungarian victories in the Hungarian War of Independence. It was suggested at the meeting of May 31, that a confidential agent should be dispatched by the president to Hungary. Still later, after the defeat of Hungary, a demonstration against Austria and Russia was organized. June 18. Ambrose Dudley Mann was appointed by President Taylor to be a special and confidential agent of the United States to Hungary and authorized to recognize the revolutionary government of Hungary, but Austrian interference prevented him from reaching his destination. September. The Central Hungarian Society was formed in New York under the presidency of Gábor Naphegyi for the purpose of obtaining good will for Hungary in her struggle. It was the first Hungarian society in America. December 16. The first group of Hungarian refugees arrived in America. Most of them were culPresident Fillmore was authorized by both the Senate and the House to send an American warship to Turkey to bring Louis Kossuth, the exiled Governor of Hungary, and his followers to the United States. Accordingly, Secretary of State Daniel Webster instructed the American Embassy in Turkey io embark Kossuth and his retinue, who then boarded the U.S.S. Mississippi. September 7. On his way to America, Kossuth stopped over in England, while most of his followers went ahead aboard the Mississippi. December 4. Following his men, Louis Kossuth arrived at Staten Island. He was invited to the White House and both Houses of Congress. On January 7, 1852, he spoke at the Legislative Banquet in Washington, D. C. Kossuth did not cross the ocean as an immigrant, but as a European statesman who bad been invited to the United States. He was desirous of expressing his ideas, particularly about the “principle of intervention for non-intervention.” His liberal political philosophy seemed to be far ahead of his time. His goal was to raise funds for an army so that be could resume the fight against Austria and to obtain the official support of the United States for this enterprise. He spoke to hundreds of American
