Greek Immigration to the United States

1
Greek Immigration to the United States

• By Maura McCarthy and Ali Hassan

2
Typical Reasons for Immigration
(and why the Greeks did not have these problems)
Political Many immigrants leave their homelands
for political reasons, however, Greece is a very
democratic country. There is no true political
oppression and no harsh military requirements.
Religious Another typical reason to leave
ones native land is for religious persecution.
In Greece, 98 of the population is Greek
Orthodox. Muslims account for 1.3 and they do
not suffer from any religious persecution.
Social The Greek society does have obvious
social classes but they are mainly defined by
wealth.
3
Why Greeks immigrated during The Great Wave
(Economic Problems) 1. Greece is a primarily
agricultural economy and secondarily
mercantile. a. Agricultural methods were
primitive b. The land was inadequately
cultivated c. The natural landscape is very
rocky and difficult to work with. d. Economy
was completely dependent on one type of crop
(currant).
4
E c o n o m i c P r o b l e m s C o n t i n u
e d
2. Most Greeks lived in small towns a. These
towns, for the most part, were very
independent. b. The majority of families
raised their own food/living materials c. Each
mans products were identical to his neighbors.
Thus, internal commerce was non existent.
5
E c o n o m i c P r o b l e m s C o n t i n u
e d
Above A boat off of the island of Crete. Right
A current Greek Highway.
3. Transportation facilities were inadequate a.
Too much effort was required to transport items
for a profit to be gained b. External trade was
limited.
6

• W h e n T h e y C a m e t o t h e U S
• 1. The Great Wave
• a. More than 500,000 Greeks, mostly men
• b. 1890-1924
• c. Great Wave ended with congressional
  legislation
• 2. Closed Door period
• a. 30,000 Greeks, mostly brides of previously
  settled Greeks
• b. 1925-1945
• 3. Postwar Migration
• a. 75,000 Greeks. Most attend
  college/universities after legislation provided
  for immigrants under displaced
  persons acts
• b. 1946-1965
• 4. The New Wave
• a. 160,000 Greeks
• b. Easier entrance if relative
  already settled in America.
• 5. Current Phase
• a. Declining immigration
• b. 1980s approx. 2500 Greeks annually
• c. 1990s approx. 1,500 Greeks annually
• d. 2000 Census 1,175,591 reported Greek
  ancestry

7
Settling Patterns

• 1860-1890
• -Majority CA, AR, NY, MA
• -Industrial Cities- NE, Midwest

• 1920s Settling Patterns
• -Largest of 20th Century- NY
• -Midwest-Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland
• -South- TX, Tarpon Springs, FL
• -Pacific Coast- Salt Lake City, San Francisco,
  CO, WY, ID, NV
• Statistics Greek 1st Generation Population
  Living in the US (Lerner 117)
• 1870- 390
• 1880- 776
• 1890- 1,887
• 1900- 8,515
• 1910- 101,282
• 1920- 175,976
• 1930- 174,526
• 1950- 169,335
• 1960- 159,169

8
The Workplace

• Occupations of 1st-generation immigrants
• Factory laborers, peddlers, busboys, bootblacks
  (Vecoli 588)
• Padrone System- exploitative (Saloutos 52)

• Savvy businessmen- development of professional
  class (1940s)
• - doctors, lawyers, dentists, etc. (Saloutos
  46)
• -upwardly mobile -entrepreneurial abilities
• -shoeshine business (Saloutos 48-49)
• -candy manufacturing business (Vecoli 588)

9
Religious Traditions

• Hellenism and Greek Orthodoxy-the one
  intertwined with the other-served as the cord
  that kept the immigrant attached to the mother
  country, nourished his patriotic appetites and
  helped him preserve the faith and language of his
  parents (Vecoli 586).
• -Early churches grew out of kinotitos
  (communities) (Vecoli 586)
• -1864- 1st Church- New Orleans (Vecoli 586)
• -By 1930- approximately 200 churches (Moskos 337)

10
The Family

• Ideal Family patriarchal
• -man- husband, father, center, authority
  figure,
• -woman- wife, mother, preserver of culture
  (Vecoli 584)
• Philotomo- love of honor
• -obligation to family/community (584)
• Parents sacrifice great deal for children, strict
  discipline code (Moskos 339)
• Common for parents to live w/ children, once
  parents elderly (Vecoli 584)

11
Continuation of Culture

• Extremely Important
• Organizations for Cultural Preservation- (Voceli
  593)
• -AHEPA (1922)
• -GOLPS (1931)
• Greek Newspapers
• -1st- 1892- Boston
• -since then, more than 100 have appeared
• -New York daily-
• -conservative- Atlantis (1894-1971)
• -liberal- National Herald
• (1915-present) (Moskos 341)

12
A m e r i c a n i z a t i o n
                                                                        

St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in front of the World Trace Center Towers

• American born generation begins to replace
  immigrants
• English introduced into liturgy in 1960s
• Womens role in church increases
• Increasing incorporation of non-Greeks through
  marriage

13
Changing Traditions
Used to hold wakes in home of deceased and have
a meal following the funeral at the home. Now,
the wake is held in a funeral home and meal is at
a restaurant. Used to celebrate the name day
of a childs saint. Now they typically celebrate
birthdays

14
G r e e k s T o d a y
Greeks initially made up the proletarian class
right after the Great Wave. In the 1920s
they began to open shops, own small businesses
Since 1960s, Greeks have been an upwardly moving
ethnic group. Their education has surpassed the
levels of Americans of N. European decent. Greeks
have also been very visible in Politics Michael
Dukakis, Paul Sarbanes, Olympia Snow.)

Senator Paul Sarbanes from Maryland (YEAHHHH
MARYLAND)
15
Famous Greeks
Science and Technology-George Papnicolaou Liter
ature- Mary Vardoulakis Journalism- Constantine
Phasoularides Music- Dimitri
Mitropoulos Education- Michael Anagnos Sports-
Jimmy Londos (wrestling), Harry Agganis
(baseball) Politics- Michael Dukakis, Paul
Tsongas (Vecoli 591),(Moskos 337)

• Michael Dukakis

Harry Agganis
16
Where are they now?
Most Greeks live in the following cities New
York City- 250,000 Chicago 120,000 Boston
100,000 Los Angeles 45,000 Detroit
40,000 Philadelphia 25,000 Baltimore
20,000 Cleveland 20,000 Pittsburg 20,000
17

• Today, Greeks continue to establish themselves as
  an influential ethnic group in the worlds of
  politics, arts, and humanities. At the same time,
  they have been able to uphold their cultural
  values.