A Slovak woman and America

In the first phase of emigration (1880s) men were migrating first and then they were followed by women. It is interesting that since the men crossed the Atlantic several times in a row they were given a wonderful nickname – ‘the birds of the sea’. Following these emigrants, young women who could not find a life partner at home and married women following their husbands were coming. Like men, women belonged to different social groups too. Wives of evangelical priests, traders, and some representatives of associations and organizations belonged to intellectual groups. Except the middle classes, such as merchants and craftsmen, most of the expatriates can be classified as based in lowest social layers. These were miners, steel workers and auxiliaries.

This present work has an ambition to deal with a marginal phenomenon of emigration, but in particular with the issue of Slovak women in the U.S., the emergence of the first Slovak female associations, primarily the Zivena, the First Catholic Ladies Organization (Prva zenska katolicka jednota), The Ladies Pennsylvania Greek – Catholic Union (Pennsylvanska greckokatolicka zenska jednota), the Lutheran Union (Evanjelicka jednota), as well as with the development of the first Slovak female orders and congregations in America. This work also partly touches the topic of the first Czech-Slovak resistance, especially the participation of Slovak women in resistance activities.