Transnationalism in Czech Emigrant
Correspondence in the Second Half of the
19
th
Century
Klara Ollenderova
MA Thesis American Studies
Faculty of Humanities
University of Amsterdam, June 2014
10620036
klaraollenderova@gmail.com
Advisor: R. Janssens
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction 3
2. What makes a Czech 8
2.1. Czech people in 19th century 8
2.2. Reasons for the main immigration wave 9
2.3. The first Czechs in America and where they settled in the 19th century 11
2.4. Conclusion 13
3. The Journey to America 14
3.1. Transport 14
3.2. Experiences on the ship 15
3.3. First impressions, first experiences 17
3.4. Conclusion 18
4. Letters from Czech immigrants 19
4.1. Transnationalism in the letters 20
4.1.1. Economy and prices 21
4.1.1.1. Land 22
4.1.2. Assimilation 24
4.1.2.1. Language 24
4.1.2.2. Despair 26
4.1.3. Comparison and interest in Bohemia 28
4.1.4. Religion 30
4.1.5. The Native Americans 31
4.1.6. Money matters 33 5.Institutions in America 36 5.1. Minnesota 36 5.1.2. Institutions in Minnesota 37 5.2. Illinois-Chicago 39 5.2.1. Institutions in Chicago 40 5.3. Slovanska Lipa 42 5.4. Conclusion 43
6. Other Transnational ties 44
7. Conclusion 46
1. Introduction
Transnationalism has become an important term with many meanings and explanations. For my research we have to look at the term ‘transnational’ from a social and anthropological point of view, since this perspective is closely linked to the immigrant experience. The group of immigrants to be focused on are Czechs who moved to America in the 19th century. In 1992, a definition of ‘transnational’ appeared in Towards a Transnational Perspective on
Migration: Race, Class, Ethnicity, and Nationalism Reconsidered, a book written by
anthropologists Nina Glick-Schiller, Linda Basch and Szanton-Blanc. They focused on the connections immigrants created between their homes and the new country. They claimed that: “the emergence of transnational social fields linking particular sending and destination countries represented a break with the past.”1
Steven Vertovec, a professor of Transnational Anthropology at the University of Oxford, wrote in his study Conceiving and Researching Transnationalism (1999) that transnationalism “broadly refers to multiple ties and interactions linking people or institutions across the borders of nation-states.”2 However, Vertovec pushed it even more. He believed that there are several meanings of transnationalism depending on how they are grounded. At the end he came up with six different meanings of transnationalism. For my research, the most important meanings would be the social morphology and the type of consciousness. Vertovec explained
social morphology as “a kind of social formation spanning borders.”3 Basically, it means how
immigrants adapt in the new country and what social practices and institutions they create.
Type of consciousness is depicted as immigrants’ awareness of belonging to a certain country.
As Vertovec puts it, “being simultaneously ‘home away from home,’ ‘here and there’ or, for instance, British and something else.”4
In 2002, Thomas Bender, an American historian teaching at New York University, in his book Rethinking American History in a Global Age explained that ‘transnational’ refers to individuals or groups of people from various parts of world who stay in contact with one another, whether directly or not, and he suggests that the best way to name such activities would be “transnational affairs.”5 Bender also said that there is a difference between
1 Roger Waldinger and David Fitzgerald, Transnationalism in Question, 2004, p. 1180
2 Stephen, Vertovec, Conceiving and Researching Transnationalism, in Ethnic and Racial Studies, Vol. 22, No.
2, 1999, p.1
3 Ibid., p.3 4 Ibid., p. 5
transnationalism and internationalism.6 As he argued international is simply a relationship
among nations whereas transnational “suggests various types of interactions across national boundaries.”7 Bender claimed that the motion of people, money, commodities and even ideas
has more transnational than international character.
Peggy Levitt, a sociologist specializing in the immigrant experience and transnationalism, offered a similar explanation. In her view, to be transnational means to be strongly connected to your home country but also develop a firm relationship with your new home. Moreover, Levitt added that: “[m]igrants use a variety of transnational political, religious, and civic arenas to forge social relationships, earn their livelihoods, and exercise their rights across borders.”8 Levitt made her definition broader as it offers various possibilities how people
maintain transnational ties.
Historian Donna Gabaccia, author of the book Foreign Relations (2012), believed that the term transnationalism is not an invention of the late 20th century. In her view, transnationalism existed long ago with the first immigrants in America who maintained transnational ties or, as Gabaccia called it, foreign relations. When first immigrants arrived in America, Gabaccia believed that because they tried to be in contact with their families abroad to retain close ties to their culture and country – transnational ties. Gabaccia saw transnationalism as a “way of life that connects family, work, and consciousness in more than one national territory.”9
Historian Luis Guarnizo shared Gabaccia’s view that transnationalism is not an entirely new term; however, he thought that because of the technology boom in the 20th century
scholars became more interested in this phenomena.10 Guarnizo pointed out that:
Transnational practices have become easier in recent years, with the invention of new technologies such as the facsimile, desktop computer, Internet, and camcorder. These technologies are so widespread that they are virtually impossible to eliminate and thus to control.11
6 the term transnational is very often confused with the term international. International is based on a principle
that nations cooperate together in order to promote their own good and it usually involves more than one country (that might causes the confusion with the term transnational).International is involvement or interaction between states for instance international law is always used in more than one country.
7 Bender, Thomas, Rethinking American History in a Global Age, University of California Press, 2002, p.51 8 Peggy Levitt, Transnational Ties and Incorporation: The Cases of Dominicans in the United States, in The
Columbia History of Latinos in the United States since 1960, ed. David Gutierrez (New York: Columbia
University Press, 2003), p. 241.
9Sonia Cancian , Families, Lovers, and Their Letters, University of Manitoba Press, 2010, p. 159
10Luis Eduardo Guarnizo, Michael Peter Smith, Transnationalism from Below, New Brunswick, Transaction
Publishers, 1998, p.4
Gabaccia’s and Guarnizo’s theories showed that transnationalism is not an invention on the 21st century and even though transnational relations are much easier to maintain nowadays
that does not mean that they did not exist a long time ago.
For my research the most important theories are by the anthropologists Nina Glick-Schiller, Linda Basch, Szanton-Blanc and by sociologist Peggy Levitt. Both theories focus on the relationship between the home country and the new home. Because I am examining letters I will research how strong the relationships are, what shape them and what make them transnational. Vertovec’s theory will help me to find out whether Czech people tried to assimilate and whether they recognized themselves as Czech in the new country. Moreover, his theory focuses on social practises and institutions, thus, I will research if the institutions Czechs built were transnational or not.
To be clear, there are certain ways how to understand transnational ties. Some scholars believe that at one level, transnational ties are about emigrants staying in touch with the family and friends back home. Because my primary sources are letters that Czech people wrote to their families we can already state that Czechs were being transnational on one level. However, as Bender’s theory suggests people are being transnational if money, commodities and ideas move from one country to another. Thus, I will research whether Czech people simply wrote to each other about personal issues or whether they transferred certain ideas, money or items in those letters as well.
At another level, and very interesting in the case of the Czechs, it is about keeping Czech culture alive, in the United States, but maybe also in supporting Czech culture in the multicultural Habsburg Empire. For instance, some Czech immigrants live in Minnesota, but in the meantime they maintain strong attachments to their societies and places of origin.12 By
analyzing the letters I will try to find out if there was the other level of transnationalism - preserving Czech culture in the US and to what extent Czech people were interested in their home country.
I will try to prove that transnational ties have been present in the letters written by Czech people in the second half of the 19th century. I will analyze those letters and I will try to find any sign of transnationalism.
I realize that finding letters, memoirs and autobiographies from the 19th century is not an easy task. Some of the letters probably never arrived home, some memoirs were never
12 Helga Leitner, Local Lives, Transnational Ties and the Meaning of Citizenship : Somali Histories and Her
Stories from Small Town America, in Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies, Vol. 4, Article 7 ,
found and a majority of personal correspondence has been kept by families who do not want to reveal the content. Nevertheless, I found plenty of material to work with.
First, we have to understand who the Czech people were in the 19th century, since the
Czech Republic was only established in 1993. The first chapter will deal with the confusion between the Czech and Bohemian peoples. In the end, we will find that they are both the ethnic group. The first chapter will also describe what reasons Czech people had for leaving Bohemia in the period from 1848 to 1900 (considered as the first big Czech emigration wave). Some Czech people did not have any job or wanted religious freedom; therefore, leaving the country was the only option. My research will show that many Czechs went to the Midwest in the United States, mainly because of the promise of free land. Czech emigrants stayed in touch with their family and friends in Europe through letters, establishing and maintaining transnational ties.
The second chapter will explain how Czech people actually got to America and how challenging and frustrating it was. It is important to realize that there were no planes in the 19th century so the journey took a couple of weeks or sometimes even months to get to America. It is crucial to mention the journey as it shaped people’s lives and reminded them that this journey might be their last and they will never see their family and friends again. The very first impression when Czech people saw America itself will be included as well as it became a crucial part of Czech people’s experience. We will discover that the decision to leave Bohemia and find a new life in America might have transnational features as well.
The third chapter will deal with the letters sent from or to America, more specifically, I will focus on the Midwest area. First, I will explain the context of the letters I use. It is important to understand that the majority of the letters were written by farmers. Also, one of my primary sources is from Mr Prokalik from America, however, his wish was to not to use his real name (Prokalik is not his real name). The use of this source is explained in the footnote. Then, I will research transnational ties in the letters. I will focus on different fields Czech people were writing about, and I will decide whether the letters have transnational character or if it is only writing to the relatives about common things that happened in America (or in Bohemia). I will explore several different categories: the economy, to what extent did Czechs assimilate, are they interested in Bohemia, encounters with the Native Americans and what kinds of things they sent via letters and/or packages. Each category may or may not have transnational character and that is what I will try to find out.
Moreover, I will try to prove transnational ties via institutions. I have chosen two areas with a high density of Czech people - Minnesota and Chicago. Many Czech institutions were
built in Minnesota and Chicago during the second half of the 19th century including churches,
schools, clubs, societies etc. My aim is to explore whether Czech people maintained transnational ties via institutions they built in America or if the institutions were simply a substitution for what they may have missed in their home country.
2. What makes a Czech
Since the Czech Republic was established in 1993, we first have to understand who the Czechs were in the 19th century. The first section bellow will answer the question “Who were
the Czech people in the nineteenth century?” Also, we will look at the situations that shaped their lives and the reasons to leave Czech in the period from 1848-1900 – considered as the first big Czech immigration wave. The second section will explain the situation in the Czech Republic and the main reasons why Czechs left their mother land. Section three will describe the typical places where the Czech people headed in the second half of the 19th century.
2.1. Czech people in the 19th century
The assumption of many people is that because the Czech Republic was established in 1993 there were no Czechs before that. Nevertheless, Czech people have existed for a long time. As Chrislock Winston, specialist in Eastern European history who spent time studying in Czechoslovakia during the late 1960s13 points out: “the Czech heritage of political and cultural development reaches back more than a millennium.”14 Originally, the word Bohemian
comes from the Roman times when the land was inhabited by a Celtic tribe the ‘Boii’ so the land was called ‘Boiohaemum’. Then, Czech people settled the area in the 9th century and
became a part of the kingdom of Bohemia, thus, in that period Czechs started to be called Bohemians.15 However, the kingdom of Bohemia was under the rule of the Duke of Bohemia
Wenceslas I who was a chief leader of the Czech group and he was actually recognized as a founder of the Czech state.16 So, the Czech people already existed in the 9th century but they
did not have any territory called ‘Czech’ at that time. In the 9th century Czechs lived in
Bohemia. That is why many books refer to the Czech people as Bohemians17 and, therefore, it
could have caused the confusion for those who believed that Czechs did not exist before twentieth century.
Even though the Czech Republic did not exist in the second half of the 19th century, Czech people recognized themselves as Czechs as an ethnic group. Ethnicity is explained as: “being part of a group of people who shares a culture that consists of particular traditions and
13 Hennepin County Library, Minneapolis history, C.Winston Chrislock, <
http://hclib.tumblr.com/post/12523034248/c-winston-chrislock-roosevelt-high-school-class>
14 Winston C. Chrislock, The Czechs, in They Chose Minnesota, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society Press,
2003, p.335
15 Ibid., p.335
16 Efstathia Sioras, Michael Spilling, Czech Republic, Marshall Cavendish, 2010, p. 22 17 Also when you google translate the word „Bohemian“ it translates it as „Český“ (Czech)
beliefs.”18 And because Czech people shared their values and traditions they became a
community that referred to itself as Czechs.
Czechs belong to the Slavic group, more specifically the West Slavs, together with other nations - Poles, Slovaks and Weds. However, defining the Czech people in the 19th century is not an easy task.19 Since 1526 Czechs were under the rule of the Habsburgs, and later in 1867 they became a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Only in 1918 when Czechoslovakia was established did the word ‘Czech’ come into common use. Nowadays, because Czechoslovakia has existed for 75 years, from 1918-1993, some people still tend to refer to this group of people as Czechoslovaks. To avoid any confusion, in my thesis, I will refer to Czechs as to the nation and to Bohemia as to the land where they lived in the 19th century.
2.2.Reasons for the main immigration wave
During the Habsburgs reign, the Czech people had no political or religious freedom. Consequently, in 1848 revolutions against the system started. Even though the riots were finally suppressed and failed to acquire independence the government was eventually forced to abolish serfdom and allowed freedom of movement. Freedom of movement: “…allows people who are lawfully in a country to move freely throughout the country, to choose where to live within the country, and to leave the country.”20 And with the freedom of movement
many Czech people decided to find a new life in various parts of the world, including America.
Thus, an uneasy political situation and a tough reign for the Habsburgs were considered as the main reasons to leave Czech. However, there were other important changes and situations that led Czechs to leave their country.
A particular change happened during the second half of the 19th century – the industrial revolution. The industrial boom brought new machinery and new ways of transport, which boosted the economy in Czech in general; nevertheless, it also resulted in strong competition and lower demand for manual work. Mechanization and decreasing prices made it almost impossible for farmers to survive and hand over the craft to future generation. Moreover, the growth of medical knowledge lowered the mortality rate and led to an increase of population. According to Adam Walaszek, a professor of history at the Institute of American Studies, during the era of 1860-1910 the population growth in East Central Europe was over 75
18Jonathan Blundell, Janis Griffiths, Sociology AS: The Complete Companion OCR, Nelson Thornes, 2003, p.22 19 Dennis Wepman, Immigration, Infobase Publishing, 2008, p.172
20 Human Rights Articles/Definition, Right to Freedom of movement, UDHR 13, ICCPR 12, <
percent.21 Consequently, many new farmers were found without work and those who were
lucky and obtained a piece of land had not enough work for all the labourers in the family. Due to the industrial revolution the economy in Europe was growing, but the revolution made it more difficult for Czech farmers and villagers. Among all Czech people, the highest percentage of people who moved to America were farmers.
Convenient for Czech people was the fact that there was plenty of uncultivated land in America, therefore, there was a high demand for farmers who would have the courage to grab the opportunity. Thus, many Czech people settled in rural and agricultural areas trying to cultivate the land. Moreover, it was helpful that in the 1862 the Homestead Act was signed by President Lincoln, which stated that ”any adult citizen, or intended citizen, who had never borne arms against the U.S. government could claim 160 acres of surveyed government land.”22 Thus, many Czechs were lured by the fact that they could get the land for free.
An interesting fact is that according to Jo-Ann Krestan and Rita Gazarik, authors of the essay Czech and Slovak families, Czechs were the first Slavic group who reached America and became a big farming population in the U.S.; they worked hard until they owned their own lands. John Powell, author of the book Encyclopedia of North American Immigration, also writes that: “Czechs were among the earliest eastern European people to immigrate to North America, first coming in large numbers to the United States in the 1850s.”23
Another reason for the Czechs to leave was the compulsory military service introduced in 1867. The conscription law was replaced by the uneven system where older men were forced into the Austrian army to a new system where all men of age 20 had to enlist in the army. Young Czech men had to serve 2-3 years in the army and fight for the Empire in various different wars all over Europe and they barely understood the reason why they were fighting in the first place. 24 Thus, most of them decided to leave their homeland in order to avoid such military service and find a new life in America.
Also, Czechs were so attracted to America because the United States was a democratic country with freedom of movement, democratic ideals, unlimited possibilities and countless opportunities in the area of occupation. America was a symbol of constant changes where people could begin a completely new life. Also, one of the big impacts on Czech immigration were letters from families already living in the U.S. and newspapers. As Stavarova states in
21Adam Walaszek, Central Eastern Europeans in the Euro-Atlantic Migration System Before the First World
War, in Tales of Transit, Amsterdam University Press, 2014, p. 30
22 Homestead act (1862), <http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=31> 23 John Powel, Encyclopedia of North American Immigration, Infobase Publishing, 2009, p.71
her thesis, advertisements in newspapers posted by many businesses and land owners drew many Czechs to the country where nothing was impossible. Moreover, Stavarova highlights the importance of the correspondence (letters mainly), which was another source of information for many Czech people.25 Chrislock also emphasizes that letters written by Czechs who settled in America to their families and friends back home lured the majority of Czech people to come to the land of new opportunities and promises. Chrislock also claims that it went hand in hand with the immigration fever in the 1850s.26
Also, some other reasons occurred to leave Bohemia. For instance, the California Gold Rush, which started in the 1840s, brought some Czech people to America as well. The vision of getting rich very quickly and promises of easy fortune in a country with new opportunities lured many Czechs to California.27 Also, personal issues were one of the reasons to leave Czech and start a new life in America. According to Chrislock, “A series of Minnesota interviews...revealed that Czech reasons for departing had ranged from a desire to escape a hopelessly drunken wife to mounting debts which the emigrant could see no way of repaying.”28
Although the majority of immigrants from Czech were farmers, we cannot forget about merchants, entrepreneurs and craftsmen who also found their new home in America (mainly in big cities).
2.3.The first Czechs in America and where they settled in the 19th century
The very first people from Czech territories were present in America in early the 16th century.
The main reason to go to America for them was to find gold and the famous ‘El Dorado'. This was a case of circular migration. However, they were not successful and after a while they returned back to their land. That was a typical example of repatriation. Augustine Herman was the first Czech person who settled in America in 1633 and “one of the first naturalized citizens of Maryland.”29 He was a famous fur trader, mapmaker, and was one of the greatest tobacco exporters in North America. The last important group to mention were the Moravian Brethren, a Protestant religious group, who came to America to find religious freedom
25 Ivana Stavařová, The Czech-Americans, Brno, 2009, p.29
26 Winston C. Chrislock, The Czechs, in They Chose Minnesota, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society Press,
2003, p.337
27 Stavarova Ivana, The Czech-Americans, Brno, 2009, p. 29
28 Winston C. Chrislock, The Czechs, in They Chose Minnesota, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society Press,
2003, p.336
between 1741 and 1762. During those years they managed to establish schools, colleges and hospitals, which were important during the War of Independence.30
In the 19th century the typical places for Czech people to settle were divided into two
groups: rural and urban areas. Rural areas offered unlimited space and the promise of a free land. Thus, many Czechs moved to the Midwest area, for instance to places like Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska.
It is not quite clear why so many Czechs immigrated to Texas. However, according to Birozci it was caused by numerous articles in newspapers and letters written from families to come and join them in the country. Nevertheless, to begin a new life in Texas was not easy for Czech people due to such a different climate.
Another destination which was very popular among Czechs was Wisconsin. The main reason to go there was the fact that in the 19th century many German people settled in the same location, and because some Czechs could speak German it was easier for them to understand the locals and to start a new life.31
Czech people arrived in Minnesota in the early 1850s, and this trend continued until World War I. Similar to above, the main reason so many Czechs settled In Minnesota were letters from families and friends luring them to live a better and prosperous life.32
The first Czech people settled in Iowa in early the 1850’s. Iowa was a destination for Czech people already living in America for some time. Czechs experienced hard times in Iowa because farming difficult. Only later on in the 1970’s did farming start to prosper.33
Urban areas were for Czech people looking for any kind of a job. Frequently, they ended up working as blue-collar workers. They settled especially in cities like New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Milwaukee and Baltimore.34
New York was an entrance gate into America and many Czechs believed they would become wealthy and successful there. Nevertheless, to find a job in New York was not an easy task. Czechs had two options: either to open a store or restaurant, which was really complicated, or to work in the cigar-making industry.
Chicago was the city of greatest importance for Czech people. Not only could you find various Czech districts with Czech names but also Czech banks, cafes and museums. Even
30 David Biroczi, Czech Immigrants in America – the Maintenance of Czech Identity in Contemporary America,
LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, 2010
31 Ibid.,
32 Winston C. Chrislock, The Czechs, in They Chose Minnesota, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society Press,
2003, p. 337
33 David Biroczi, Czech Immigrants in America – the Maintenance of Czech Identity in Contemporary America,
LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, 2010
nowadays, Chicago is the city with the largest concentration of American people with Czech origins.
St. Louis became a cultural and social centre for Czechs. St. Louis was the place where the first Czech Catholic Church was built. The Czech newspaper Národní Noviny (National Newspapers) was published here, and the cultural and educational club Sokol was established. Many other Czech associations were based in St. Louis to help newcomers to cope with a new lifestyle and to assimilate.
2.4.Conclusion
In this section we clarified the confusion between Czechs and Bohemians as it became a confusing element in scholarly literature. We explained the main reasons why Czech people left Bohemia. If it was not for the economic crisis and religious oppression, Czech people would probably stayed back home. Also, we pointed out some typical places where Czech people settled when arriving in America. We have seen that the Midwest was one of the mostly populated areas by Czechs, thus, the research will concentrate on that area. Moreover, the majority of preserved letters come from Midwest, which is another reason to research that particular area. Furthermore, I will focus on institutions established in Minnesota and Chicago (Midwest area).
3. The Journey to America
In this section we will learn about the long journey Czech people had to take and how they felt when they were leaving their mother country. It is important to understand that the journey to America in the 19th century was extremely long, challenging and exhausting. At that time, Czech people were used to walking to the nearest market or to their neighbours. For example, travelling to Prague by train or a carriage was something unusual and very exciting.35 So, to those who decided to start a new life in America the journey seemed unbelievable and tremendous at the beginning. Also, I will explain what forms of transportation Czech people used and that there were not many travelling options Czech people had to get to America. Because the majority of Czech people moving to America were from villages or small towns they had to go to the big city first, like Prague, and then by carriage or train to the nearest harbour, most commonly Hamburg or Bremen.36 Then, I will depict how Czechs felt for the first time on a ship and how hard and unusual it was for them. At the end of the chapter we will see the very first experiences and impressions of Czech people when they finally arrived in America. It is important to see that the situation in Bohemia was really bad and that many Czech people were willing to undergo the difficult journey to find a new life. It is necessary to understand the hardships Czech people experienced because the extent of the journey would only further prove how difficult it would be to preserve transnational ties.
3.1.Transport
Because there were no planes or fast boats in the 19th century the most common transport was a steamship. However, poor Czech villagers did not always have the money to get the ticket for the steamship. The other, more dangerous and uncomfortable but cheaper means of transport was a sailing ship. Jan Holeček writes in his letter how he decided to go to America and what transport he used:
I was born to a poor family in a village called Robnice where I learnt how to weave. Afterwards I was taken into the army and when I returned home my mother was dead. After a few years my father died as well. My crafting business went really badly and in 1866 I got a letter from Michigan to come to America. So I started my journey. We went to Bremen on a sailing ship with approximately 500 other Czech people.37
35 Oldřich, Kašpar. Tam za Mořem je Amerika, Československý spisovatel, Praha, edice Slunovrat, 1986, p.25 36 Ibid., p.25
As we can see Holecek was not from a wealthy family, thus, he had to travel on the sailing ship. The same fate waited for many more Czech people. A letter from František Chadima, who started the journey in 1854, says: “...on the 23rd of June we went to the sailing
ship called Victoria that should bring us to the new land.”38 A similar story is from Čeněk
Paclta, 1846, “In September I boarded the sailing ship called Thomas Bennett in Antwerp. … The journey was not that long but our small shoddy boat experienced a lot.” 39
Some Czech people travelled by a steamship as well, but not many of them. The letter written by Josef Raiman depicts the jealousy he feels when he meets a fellow Czech countryman Raček who had a ticket to a steamship. “We all started the journey at the same time. It was around noon when the steamship with our fellow countryman left the port. Every Czech person sadly starred at the steamship with Raček in it...”40 Steamships were obviously faster than a sailing boat but the majority of the Czech immigrants were poor farmers, thus, unfortunately, a long journey on a sailing ship was their only option at that time.
3.2.Experiences on the ship
For the majority of Czech people the journey on the ship, whether a steamship or sailing ship, was a once in a lifetime experience. Most of them had never set foot on a ship and if they did it was no longer than for a few hours. In the 19th century, the journey from Europe to America
took approximately six weeks on a sailing ship. Later on, in 1852, when steamships were introduced, transportation of immigrants to the new land lasted two weeks.41 And, as pointed
out earlier, the majority of Czechs did not have money to afford a ticket to the steamship, thus, they had to travel a month and a half on a shaky small sailing ship. Moreover, some of the ships that transported people to America served first as a transport for cattle to Europe.42
The letter written by Josef Raiman depicts the journey on a sailing ship that started on the 21st of August 1854:
On the 21st of August we boarded the sailing ship to bring us to the Promised Land where, as we expected, happiness will await us. At the beginning the voyage was not very pleasant; the ship was violently tossing from side to side so we had to drop the canvas for three days and three nights. After that storm the sea was so
38 Ibid., p. 36
39 Ibid., p.48-49
40 Oldřich, Kašpar. Tam za Mořem je Amerika, Československý spisovatel, Praha, edice Slunovrat, 1986, p. 30 41 Guido Deboeck, Flemish DNA & Ancestry: History of Three Families Over Five Centuries Using
Conventional and Genetic Genealogy, Dokus Publishing, 2007, p. 193
calm that we could not move from that spot for two days. After 58 days we finally landed in New York.43
From time to time storms were an inevitable part of the journey. But even though Czech people expected some difficulties at sea, whether a storm, being seasick or a possible death of a friend/family, no one was really ready to go through it. Only personal experiences can tell us how hard it was. Jakub Kudrle describes one of the storms he experienced when he was travelling in 1854 on a sailing ship: “During the stormy weather there was always such a terrible rumble and the ship was moving so strongly that it was throwing people out of their beds like they were a piece of straw and most of them remained on the floor unconscious.”44
Some immigrants used similes and metaphors to describe the storm to their relatives, so they could imagine it more clearly. Petr Šafařík wrote: “The ship was moving and the waves were like floating mountains and the storm began.”45
Such horrific descriptions can be found in many more letters. Moreover, in most of the letters feelings like fear, sadness and loneliness were expressed either during the storm or in general during the voyage. Čeněk Paclta writes disturbingly about the: “(c)rying of women and children, sobbing of ill people, swearing of the officers, dark and very hot and stifling air...”46 Jakub Kudrle explains how he felt during the storm: “Because it was pitch dark a
person cannot even imagine how it affects your mind, the splashing of water, the creaking of ropes and masts, the noise of the falling metal utensils, the wailing and lamentation of women and children...”47 Also, Petr Šafařík saw how the storm influenced other people and eventually
a chain reaction of seasickness started: “The storm began and every single person, like when a lightning strikes, was in a poor health and within a few hours everybody was seasick. You should have seen it – pale faces, pallid eye, staggering and tottering – horror.”48
43 Ibid., p. 30 44 Ibid., p.53 45 Ibid., p.56 46 Ibid., p. 48 47 Ibid., p.54 48 Ibid., p.56
3.3.First impressions, first experiences
When Czech people saw America for the first time, usually from their ship, their astonishment could not be overlooked in the letters. The majority were surprised and overwhelmed by the tremendous view. Čeněk Paclt depicts it as a: “(m)agnificent, breathtaking view of the landscape that gradually opens to your startled eye.”49 Jakub Kudrle was amazed by the:
“magnificent wonder of the nature, Niagara Falls...”50 Others were very happy when they saw
land after they spent so much time on a ship. Josef Přibyla explains how everyone on a ship was cheerful. “Finally, New Years Eve 1854 was here, and in the afternoon around 4PM we were so glad to hear: land, land. It was a pure joy. Everyone was jumping, crowing and laughing.”51 Josef Kaplan52 explains how relieved he was when they started to shout land.
…and you know, dear friends, the immigrant to America after endless hardship on the ocean longs exceedingly for sight of the promised land for which he has yearned for so long and thought of constantly, finally we on board the ship heard the cry: "Land! land!" You can imagine how we felt.53
First experiences in the new land were not always positive and some Czech people were witnesses to strange practises immigrants went through in order to make some money. Čeněk Paclt describes how some immigrants in New York were so desperate that they were collecting dead bodies to make money.
One guy drank so much that he fell on the floor and seemed to be dead. His friends put him immediately into a torn bag and brought him to the nearest institute where they were buying corpses for autopsy. In New York the demand for corpses is so great. The common price for a dead body is five dollars.54
49 Ibid., p. 48
50 Ibid., p. 54 51 Ibid., p. 60
52 The first letters are written by Josef Kaplan. Kaplan’s four letters were written between the years 1856 and
1858. Josef Kaplan lived near Owatonna, a town in southern Minnesota. Originally, he came from Dlouhá Třebová, which is about one hundred seventy-five kilometres from Prague. His father was a farmer, and as it was common at that time to follow the father’s craft, Josef became a farmer as well. After his father’s death Josef took over his land. However, under various circumstances Josef sold what was left from his land and decided to move to America. The research will compare some of Kaplan’s experience with other Czech people in
Minnesota. Letters were originally in Czech and addressed to Kaplan’s brother who lived in Chrudím (Bohemia). We can state that Kaplan tried to write to his brother quite regularly. The first four preserved letters were
composed in the period 1856-1858. Based on this, Kaplan seems to have written at least two letters a year.
53 Esther Jerabek, Letters to Bohemia: A Czech Settler Writes from Owatonna, 1856-1858, in Minnesota History,
Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1934,p. 138
Such practises were nothing new in New York; however, new immigrants found it extremely fascinating. People in New York collected dead bodies to practise medicine on them and that is why it was so convenient to everyone – immigrants got their money and New Yorkers could practise their skills. Also, in 1854 an Act to Promote Medical Science was passed, which allowed giving unclaimed bodies to medical schools to practise autopsy.55 Thus, many people were searching for random bodies lying around on the street and selling the corpses for good money. Moreover, immigrants became aware of the fact that no place is safe and that you have to be very careful and attentive even around your friends.
3.4.Conclusion
The journey from their beloved home to the unknown, new country was very difficult. But each journey has its end. Those who survived the dreadful voyage finally arrived to the Promised Land where they expected to start a new life. For some it was an amazing experience for some a great disappointment. However, there is no sign of transnationalism yet. Those letters about struggling on a ship or a sailing boat and early experiences of Czechs had only an informative character. Nevertheless, those letters helped other Czech people in Bohemia to get the courage and follow their relatives to America, which supported a chain migration.
55 Suzanne Shultz, Body Snatching: The Robbing of Graves for the Education of Physicians in Early Nineteenth
4. Letters from Czech immigrants
In this chapter I will analyze letters sent between America and the Czech land during the period 1848-1900. My aim is to find out whether Czech people maintained transnational ties via those letters. First, I will introduce the collection of letters, individual letters and memoirs I worked with as they represent a crucial part of my research. Also, because one of my main sources is written in the Czech language and one source wants to stay anonymous, it is important to explain how I am going to work with those sources. All the letters I used in my research come from the Midwest; therefore, the main focus is going to be on the states within this area.
The main focus of this paper is on the period from 1848-1900 because it was a period of a great migration; this was not only Czech people but also other nations began to migrate to America. Habenicht, a Czech-born American, explains in his book Dějiny Čechů Amerických (The History of Czechs in America) there were probably a lot of Czech people coming to America in the 18th and the first half of the 19th century.56 However, no written evidence was found from any person claiming their Czech origins.57 We have to take into account that finding letters from the second half of the 19th century is not an easy task either. The accessible collection of Czech letters from the second half of the 19th century is very limited. Many letters were not preserved, were lost or the owners simply do not want to share their personal correspondences. However, plenty of material has been found to support my research. The main part of the research will analyze the letters and indicate whether transnationalism appears or not. To avoid any confusion, the letters have been divided by topic. So, those included are topics that were discussed in multiple letters and naturally, where transnationalism is clearly noted.
Chrislock, a specialist on Eastern Europe, believes that the “emigration fever” that drove Czech people to leave Bohemia in the 1850s was influenced by immigrants already living in America. Letters from friends and family who had already settled in places like Minnesota spoke of the new opportunities and the new lives they were having in America. Esther Jeřábek, a teacher and librarian born in Minnesota, daughter of Czech immigrants, agrees with Chrislock. Jeřábek writes that many new immigrants went to places where the
56 Unfortunately, there are no records of how many Czech people came to America in this period. Another
problem was that many Czech people would write that they were of either Austrian or Hungarian descent.
“old” immigrants already settled.58 Thus, letters were an important source of information and
lured more Czech people to America. The following sections will discuss these letters.
4.1.Transnationalism in the letters
The most important source for this thesis is the book Tam Za Mořem je Amerika (There Is America Over the Sea) published by Oldřich Kašpar. The book contains many letters from Czech immigrants in America writing to their families and friends in Bohemia. All the letters have a known author, place where they were writing from, and date when they were sent. Individual authors from this collection are marked with a footnote. The letters are from various regions of America; however, letters from the Midwest are most prevalent. A small number of the letters are from the period 1801-1850, but most (90%) were written between 1848 and 1900. Each chapter deals with a different topic in the lives of the immigrants. These include letters about the voyage from Bohemia to America, describing the difficulties of the journey; letters from places where Czech people settled; letters that describe encounter with the Native Americans; and letters that were sent during the major conflicts in America, such as the American Civil War, the second French Intervention in Mexico59 and the Spanish American War. The letters are written in Czech, so as a native speaker, I will provide English translations.
Czech people wrote about various different topics in their letters and my aim is to find out if transnationalism occurred as well. To make my research clear, I divided the topics from the letters into several categories: economy and prices, assimilation, comparison and relation with Bohemia, religion, encounters with the Native Americans, and money matters. In each section, I will discuss whether transnational ties were present or not. We have to take into account that family networks via letters, particularly to children and parents left behind, were an important motivation for maintaining transnational ties.60
58 Alena Jaklová, Communication and Identity of Czech Immigrants in the United States of America, Informatol.
45, 2012, 2, p. 116
59 Also known as Mexican Adventure ort he War of the French Intervention during 1838-1939
60 Afra Ahmed Hersi, Transnational Immigration and Education: A Case Study of an Ethiopian Immigrant High
4.1.1. Economy and prices
The difficult economy situation in Bohemia was one of the reasons why Czech people left and settled in America. So it is no wonder that the majority of the letters deal with the economic situation in America to show their families and friends how different or similar it was to that of Bohemia. The majority of Czech people writing about economy and prices were farmers.
Kaplan’s first letter describes the journey to America and settling down. However, it contains important information about the economic situation at that time. Kaplan writes, “As we intend to go northwest to Minnesota, we have to ride from here by wagon.”61 There he met a Czech friend and bought farming equipment from him. “Here we stayed fourteen days with some Czech settler acquaintances and bought equipment for farming like: wagons, oxen, cows; 2 wagons for $160, 4 oxen for $200, 2 cows for $50 and many other things such as stoves, plows, saws, axes, hoes, etc.”62 Obviously, it confirms that Kaplan was from a farming
family.
The economic situation in America can be found in almost every letter throughout the collections. Prokalik’s63 letter, dated 1866, tells us the prices of food: “Butter costs 16 cents,
eggs 15 cents.”64 Jan Nolla’s letter from the 1860s offers a full list of prices: “… wheat was
30 cents per bushel, corn 10 cents,…, fattened pigs were 2 dollars and 50 cents, a pound of butter for 8 cents, a dozen eggs for 8 cents.”65 Moreover, Nolla adds in his letter that: “almost
everything was exchangeable so we did not know money at all.” Farmers were used to a barter system so it did not cause them any trouble. However, the assimilation process was slower as they did not properly get used to the new currency. In Jan Neruda’s letter, dated thirty years later (1896), he also writes about prices: “wheat 56 cents per bushel, oats 10 cents per bushel, corn 10 cents per bushel, rye 25 cents per bushel, potatoes 25 cents per bushel.” As you can see, the prices were roughly the same even though there was a 30 year time
61 Esther Jerabek, Letters to Bohemia: A Czech Settler Writes from Owatonna, 1856-1858, in Minnesota History,
Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1934,p 138
62 Ibid., p. 138
63 An American-born citizen with Czech ancestors sent me a collection of letters from his own family. Because
he wishes to remain anonymous in this thesis, he has asked that their family name be changed to Prokalik. Nevertheless, I have a copy of the letters in my possession, and there would be no problem to send a copy to whoever would like to check the authenticity of the letters. All of the letters are written in English and the only changes will be to Mr. Prokalik’s real name. Mr. Prokalik also included a memoir of The Němec family, their close friends, who settled in Minnesota as well. The memoir is written in English. Němec is the real name of this family.
64 Prokalik Letters, p. 7
difference. Naturally, it also depended on the quality of the product, but the economic situation seems to have been steady from the 1860s to the 1890s.
The letters say a lot about the economic situation in America. Basically, the letters serve as a source of information about the prices of various products in the second half of the 19th century. Because the economic situation in Bohemia was very unfavourable is it not surprising that Czech people viewed the United States primarily in economic terms. We can see that Czech people tried to assimilate as they used American currency for the prices in the letters and did not try to convert the money to Czech currency.
4.1.1.1. Land
As mentioned before, the American government was giving free land to newcomers, mainly to persuade them to come to America. Although some Czech people obtained land for free, some were willing to pay to get a better piece of land.
The letter from Jan Kašpar tells the story of his father, who settled first in Racine, Wisconsin in 1854, but his father decided to find his luck in Minnesota. The main reason to move there was the possibility to get land for free from the government: “we got 160 acres of land from the government…”66 However, it was not that easy to cultivate the land, and
Kašpar’s family had some troubles at the beginning. “After we arrived we got our 160 acres of government land, which was covered in dense forest. The statutory official gave us the land and now we had to work hard to prepare the land that was supposed to feed us.”67 So, many
Czech people went to America with the promise of free land, but no one told them in what state the land will be. It was hard work to cultivate the land but the Kašpar’s family did not give up.
Since very early in the morning till late night we worked hard; we cut the woods, prepared the land so we can start to grow crops. We were all very tired and exhausted, and we did not have enough money to ask for help… While our father worked in the city, we continued cutting the forest. It lasted several years… But after our hard work we were able to sell some crops...68
Even though they had to work hard to make a living, Czechs did not abandon their goal to cultivate the land. They starved and suffered for years, but eventually reached their goal.
66 Ibid., p. 92
67 Ibid., p. 92 68 Ibid., p. 93
In another letter, dated 1854, Vojtěch Dolejš tells a very similar story. Dolejš was working in the cemetery, and one day he had enough. So he decided to change his life. “Let’s go to Minnesota, we will claim land there.”69 He was young and poor but he was ready for the
adventure. When he arrived with his friends to Minnesota they realized that: “[t]he better land was already taken…” so they had to “walk 8-9 miles to the south to claim 160 acres of land…” Thanks to Dolejš and his friends another colony was built: “we established there a colony called Nemanice, later on Budějovice, now Montgomery.”70
A letter written by Mikuláš František Divina, dated 1875, offers prices for the land they bought in America. “I bought 75 acres of rippling, desolate prairie, 8 dollars per acre…” Another letter from Jakub Kudrle, dated 1889, also includes the price for the land he bought: “Again I bought 20 acres, 60 dollars per acre…”,71 however, here we can see that the price for
land was changing over time. Some Czechs even paid full price for the land they wanted. Josef Bartoň72 explains in his letter, “...there were many farms for sale near Silver Lake. I paid
$1,000.00 for this farm in 1875 (160 acres).”73 Thus, some land was even worth buying, but
only a few Czech people could have afforded it.
Czech people wrote a lot about the prices in their letters to show how different America was economically. Moreover, it helped Czech people to realize if there was any difference in price in Bohemia and if it is worth following their families and friends to America. Information about free land worked as a luring mechanism in Bohemia. So the letters basically supported the chain migration to America. When Czech people, who lost their land or did not have any land in Bohemia, read those letters about free land in America they did not hesitate and started their journey. Again, there is not much transnationalism in these letters, but it certainly lured more Czech people to America.
69 Ibid., p. 104
70 Ibid., p. 104 71 Ibid., p.105
72 A diary of the Kadlec family is another interesting source. The whole family Anthony Joseph Kadlec, his
parents and four siblings arrived in America in 1856. After that they settled in Silver Lake, Minnesota. The web site describes their lives in Bohemia, their voyage to America and finally their new life in the New Land. Each chapter includes various documents, such as immigration, naturalization, and tax records, the records of names from the ship’s log, marriage certificates and so on. Moreover, many pictures of the Kadlec family occur in the document. The document itself is written in English; however, some documents are preserved in Czech. What is more, a letter written by Josef Bartoň is included on the web page. The letter was originally written in Czech, but Bartoň’s daughter Emily has translated it into English.
73 Translation of Josef Bartoň’s Biography – by Emily Bartoň, 1949,
4.1.2. Assimilation
Even though many scholars believe that Czech people - and the first immigrants in general - did not assimilate at all, the content of the letters prove them wrong. It is true that the assimilation process was very slow in the beginning; still, the first steps towards assimilation can be found in the early letters.
4.1.2.1.Language
The first signs of assimilation can be seen in the language.74 Many Czechs used English words in their letters. Also, not to confuse their families they tried to explain the English words in brackets or with a note at the end of the letter. In Josef Raisler’s letter dated 1857, he explains the word ‘grocery’: “On the opposite side was a merchant’s shop (grocery).”75
František Brodský, in his letter from 1885, uses inverted commas for English terms in his letter: “When they pointed at me, the guy who brought us here, ‘a young fellow,’ started to ask me where I worked…”76 Also, it is interesting that Brodsky even used the article ‘a’
because in the Czech language there are no articles at all. Thus, that shows some effort to learn the language was present as well.
Some words became so familiar that Czech people assimilated them into the Czech language. For example, when Jan Nolla in the 1860s writes about his crops, he uses English words but he transformed them a bit so Czechs at home would be more familiar with the words: “I began to build our new house. I bought a couple of oxen, a vehicle and some tools and I started to plant korn.”77 In Czech corn is translated as ‘kukuřice’; thus, to make it more
familiar, Czech people used the term korn in their letters. Almost the same thing happened with the word ‘land.’ Josef Nebuda writes from Minnesota to his family in the Czech village Polička, “…since we were here I cultivated 18 acres of ‘lantu’ and I did it so well…”78
Nebuda made the word ‘lant’ out of ‘land’ because in Czech there are many cases to inflect the nouns. So if he had said ‘landu,’ Czechs would have had problems pronouncing it. So to make it adhere more fluently to the rules of the Czech language, he changed the final ‘d’ to a ‘t’.
Other people tried to teach their Czech relatives some English words via letters. František Herites, dated 1872, depicts how poor America looked at that time. In his letter he
74 All letters that have been used for this section are written in Czech
75 Oldřich, Kašpar. Tam za Mořem je Amerika, Československý spisovatel, Praha, edice Slunovrat, 1986, p.77 76 Ibid., p.124
77 Ibid., p.93 78 Ibid., p.125
writes about a girl he saw: “On the other side there was a girl dressed in black with a hat on her head, a member of Armády spásy.”79 However, in the next paragraph he does not use the
Czech term anymore and switches into English: “I am one out of many travellers to whom the
Salvation Army does not seem funny.”80 Also, there is no note at the end of the letter; therefore, he hoped that Czech people would realize what he was talking about.
In many letters we can find the expression “bushel” – a U.S. unit of certain dry commodities.81 Czech people again transformed it so it appeared more Czech. Instead of ‘sh,’ Czech people used ‘š’, which is actually the same sound.82 Josef Nebuda writes: “wheat we
harvested 230 bušlů,… rye only 75 bušlů…”83 The same can be found in a letter from Jan Nebuda: “rye we had 15 to 20 bušlů…”84 or in the letter written by Josef Raiman: “Wheat was sold for often a miserable price, 20 to 30 cents for a bušl,…”85
There are more English-isms found in the letters. For instance, Josef Raiman writes about farmers: “A lot of farmerů from the Grand Prairie…” ‘Farmerů’ is the Czech equivalent of the English word ‘farmers.’ Frantisek Švehla writes about the Mayor of the town he lived in: “The mayor of the town summoned all men to meet in front of the town hall.”86 Czech
people would usually use ‘starosta,’ not ‘mayor’.
The alterations made to English terms could be said to be an element of transnational character because Czech people who settled in America were trying to make the new, English words they used more familiar to their families and friends back home. Some Czech people were very enthusiastic about learning English. Frantisek Brodsky explains how he started to work for an Irishman. “I was very happy not only that I found a job but also that I could learn English from him.”87 Josef Bartoň was so enthusiastic to learn English that he even hired a
person to teach him: “I hired out to learn some English.”88 Also, Bartoň’s wife-to-be
Františka, who was Czech as well, was working for an English family. Bartoň was not happy about it at first, but he did not stop her. “Františka was planning to work with an English
79 The Salvation Army
80 Oldřich, Kašpar. Tam za Mořem je Amerika, Československý spisovatel, Praha, edice Slunovrat, 1986, p.141 81 Levy, Sindey, Construction Calculations Manual, Elsevier, 2011, p.9
82 Bushel and bušl even though written differently sounds the same in both languages/ˈbʊʃ(ə)l/
83 Oldřich, Kašpar. Tam za Mořem je Amerika, Československý spisovatel, Praha, edice Slunovrat, 1986, p.94 84 Ibid., p.96
85 Ibid., p.107 86 Ibid., p.166 87 Ibid., p.116
88 Translation of Josef Bartoň’s Biography – by Emily Bartoň, 1949,
family and I didn’t dissuade her as I had planned... She liked working for the English family.”89
Other Czech people were trying to get the best education for their children; thus, they sent them to American schools. František Pospíšil was one of them: “My son was a watchmaker. First, I sent him to school to learn the language, and then I found him a position as a watchmaker in Port Haven.”90 His son was not the only one who went to school:
Then I sent all my children to school. … I sent one of them to study medicine. The oldest one became the first engineer on a government steamship. A year later my second son also got an engineer degree and became the second engineer on a government steamship; and 2 years after that Karel passed an exam with the best results of the whole class and became a doctor…91
Learning a language is a common process of people in transnational communities.92 As we can see, Czechs were very eager to learn English and gain the necessary education so they or their children could find a good job. So we can see that Czech people engaging in the educational process were advocates of transnationalism.
4.1.2.2.Despair
There were also some individuals who were not that lucky at first in their new homes, and elements of despair is very apparent in their letters. For instance, Jakub Arbes, dated 1867, begins his letter with two questions and one simple but poetic answer: “Would you like to know what my living looks like? Would you like to know my situation over the ocean? Brother! So far my life is very miserable – yet, very uncertain situations embitter and fill my life with bitterness.”93 Arbes also gives a couple of reasons why he feels so sad and unfortunate in the new land. He writes, “the first reason, which is the greatest one, is the craft…and not enough job opportunities...The second reason, very important as well, is the ignorance of the language”94 and his last complaint was about various different illnesses in America. Moreover, Arbes explains in the same letter why he could not achieve those goals.
89 Ibid.
90 Oldřich, Kašpar. Tam za Mořem je Amerika, Československý spisovatel, Praha, edice Slunovrat, 1986,p.108 91 Ibid., p. 108
92 Karen Monkman, Transnational or Immigrant Learners: Re-drawing the Boundaries of Socio-cultural Context
in Understanding Adult Learning, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Comparative and International
Education Society, Mexico City, Mexico, 1997, p,5
93 Ibid., p.91 94 Ibid., p.91
For example, he describes why the language was so difficult for him to learn: “The language could not absorb because of the lack of an intellectual sense, which is caused by my age.”95
Arbes was not the only one who had troubles with assimilation. Jan Nolla found himself in a similar situation. Because for three years the weather was very dry and hostile Nolla’s family lost almost all the money they had. Nobody was buying, nobody was selling and there were no loans possible at that time. Despair is very obvious at the end of the letter. The last sentence reads, “We could not escape because we had no money.”96 Nolla did not
even write a goodbye, possibly evidence of how hopeless he truly was.
Another cry of despair can be found in the letter from František Brodský where he writes: “All of the sudden I had a feeling of total desperation and doubt in humanity as the whole. Wild thoughts were running through my head in the stormy city, tormented further and further by hunger…”97 Moreover, some Czechs underwent so much stress in America that
they were even thinking about suicide. Jakub Hnulík confides in his letter: “I stopped at the bridge thinking if I should or should not jump to the river and end my life. Nevertheless, love of life wins my heart and I postponed that act of desperation until I fail again.”98 Although Hnulík did not commit suicide at that moment the last part of the sentence suggests that if he found himself in a very difficult situation again, he would jump.
Hope for a better future was a motivating element for many Czech people. They did not want to give up, but they still struggled through hard times. František Pospíšil experienced the worst of the worst – the deaths of all his sons (5) - but, still, he did not give up on life and tried to make the best of it. “So, consecutively, I lost my five sons. … Right now I enjoy my 25 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren….”99
Some Czechs were ready to go back home after they earned some money to afford the way back. Josef Raisler in his letter dated 1858 writes how at first he could not find a job for several weeks, and when he finally got an unnamed job it was so unusual job that he could not walk. He was bedridden for seven weeks. He explains that: “I wrote to Czech to my parents that as soon as I earn enough money for the journey I will come back to Czech.”100 We can see that even though Bohemia was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire Raisler recognizes himself as a Czech person. He does not talk about himself as Bohemian or Austria Hungarian
95 Ibid., p.92 96 Ibid., p. 94 97 Ibid., p.123 98 Ibid., p.135 99 Ibid., p.111 100 Ibid., p.78
but Czech. Thus, we can see that Czech people in the 19th century were already aware of
Czech national identity.
The fact that Czech families stayed in touch in both good and bad times means that they had become a transnational family. Even though the family members are separated, living in two or more countries, they maintain very close connections with their families back home.101
4.1.3. Comparison and interest in Bohemia
In some of the letters we can find comparisons with Bohemia that helped Czech people at home to imagine how America looked. Sometimes, Czechs living in America encountered various different animals and interactions with native life during their stay so they were comparing them to things and situations that can happen in Czech. Also, a couple Czechs were writing about their villages in Czech, how they miss them and asking their relatives how things are going there.
Kaplan in his third letter, dated November 1st, 1857, compares the similar weather conditions: “winters are as cold here as in Bohemia, with plenty of snow.”102 Also, Josef
Nebuda writes:
The state of Minnesota lies similar to Bohemia in on the northern hemisphere, even the same zone. So the climate is the same as in Polička. Winter is long with lots of snow; spring begins later on, and summer is short and warm, and autumn is long and beautiful…103
So we can say that adjusting to the weather conditions in Minnesota was not that difficult and Czech people got use to it pretty quickly.
However, Kaplan describes the difficulty with some wild animals, which are not common in Bohemia.
I must tell you also about a mishap which my mother-in-law had last month. One day she was walking barefoot about 100 steps from the barn to get the cattle
101 Carola Suarez-Orozco, Amrcelo Suarez-Orozco, Desiree Baolian Qin-Hilliard, The New Immigration: An
Interdisciplinary Reader, Routledge, 2012, p. 165
102 Esther Jerabek, Letters to Bohemia: A Czech Settler Writes from Owatonna, 1856-1858, in Minnesota
History, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1934,p. 140
