Slovenská žena v Spojených štátoch amerických na konci 19. a začiatku 20. storočia
Slovak Women in the United States in the End of the 19th and Beginning of the 20th Century

Author(s): Marta Dobrotková
Subject(s): Gender Studies, Economic history, Recent History (1900 till today), Labor relations, Culture and social structure , 19th Century, Migration Studies
Published by: Historický ústav SAV
Keywords: Slovakia; women; US; 19th century; 20th century; labour relations; migration;
Summary/Abstract: In the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century women were increasingly becoming a part of the working process in industry, cultural sphere and services. In 1900, about one fourth of women was paid labourers and out of them around 90% worked in agriculture, while the rest 8 % in domestic production and trade. Working women had to face lower wages and bad working conditions. Before the mass migration to America in the end of the 19th century/ men used to go and work to other parts of Austria-Hungary or elsewhere in Europe for shorter periods. Women took over responsibility over households for a longer time. Mass migration of men from Slovakia resulted in a decrease of the number of men. The changed demographic situation affected lives of single women in the villages. In the United States, women had much better life conditions and opportunities. American women enjoyed such respect that was unheard of in other countries. American girls working in the factories had several better job options opened to them. Poor women from big cities or wives of immigrants came to their places. The language barrier restricted their opportunities. At first, however, Slovak women did not enjoy such respect as American women. It stemmed from the fact that they came from poor social classes of agricultural workers, daily labourers who worked in mining, metallurgical and engineering industries. Apart from domestic chores, women would help their husbands with their hard work in mines. American public looked with interest at this beha¬viour, but it degraded position of Slovak women. Contempt for Slovak community stemmed from their poor housing habits. The Slovaks called it the burder system, the name originated from boar¬ding houses, hostels of Slovak immigrants. They were wooden one-storey small houses where mar¬ried workers lived on the ground floor and so-called burden or hurdingosi on the first floor. They occupied several rooms without any other furniture but beds. Several or them would sleep on one beds, that were in fact simple wooden bunks. Why did women start to migrate over the ocean? The reason is simple: they did not have anybody to marrv, because all suitable men from their village region, especially from the counties in eastern Slovakia left for the States.American women did not have the best reputation as housewives, therefore they liked to hire maids and servants for domestic works. Hundreds of Slovak girls were employed in textile facto¬ries. First, fraternal and supportive societies and associations were created, followed by national societies and Slovak woinerťs organizations. There were men behind foundation of the first wo¬men’s beneficial societies such as V. P. Rovnianek and Š. Furdek. Slovak women in the USA had deep social empathy and attempted to improve education of their women. By social work they even tried to help the poor in Slovakia. It was also Slovak women religious orders that showed merit in improvement of education of Slovaks in the States, as well as their cultural and religious life. Slovak women in the States felt inadequate and admired representatives of Živena, the Slovak womens beneficial society in Slovakia. They wanted to resemble women from Živena and did not realize that it was also their activities that left significant trace in the life of Slovaks in the United States.

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