Immigrants to North America from Central Europe had a very difficult time. The lack of a social system, unfamiliarity with the new environment and lack of knowledge of the language motivated them to form self-help associations in which they paid a certain amount of money as membership fee that could be used in the event of an accident at work, illness or death.
Gradually, other activities, especially in the field of education, were added to the task of self-help in order to maintain national awareness, whether Slovak or Ruthenian. Most of the associations were founded on a religious basis; faith was the basic link between them. The largest associations founded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries have survived to the present day, fulfilling the role of continuous maintenance of national and cultural traditions.
“Data throughout this interactive webmap were created using QGIS® and Carto® platform and are the intellectual property of authors and are used herein under license. Copyright ©Martin Javor. All rights reserved. For more information contact javorisko@gmail.com”.
For further using cite: Javor, M., Michalko, M. Slovak and Ruthenian Associations in North America from 1873 to 1992 [map]. 2024. “Interactive Map: 2024”. https://carto.com (generated March 21, 2024)
The interactive map of Slovak and Ruthenian societies in North America is the result of a collaboration between two historical geography enthusiasts from the University of Prešov in Prešov. Martin Javor provided the database, which Miloslav Michalko transformed into an interactive map.
The map shows almost three hundred Slovak and Ruthenian associations sorted into several logical layers. The associations are depicted on the map according to their affiliation to their parent association, i.e. whether the First Slovak Catholic Association, the First Slovak Catholic Women’s Association, the Slovak National Society, the Sojedineniye amerikanskich greko-katolicheskych russkych bratstv, or the Slovak Evangelical Unity. For each association, the year of founding, affiliation to the parent association, founding members, and the association’s ribbon or emblem, if available to Kasigarda, will be displayed.
We will be very glad if you add more associations or other information to our database, which can complete the comprehensive picture of our associations in America.