The Russian immigrant (in the USA) Social Study 1920 PDF book by Jerome Davis

The Russian immigrant (in the USA)





The author of this dissertation, Jerome Davis, was born Dec. 2, 1891, at Kioto, Japan. He was prepared for college at Newton High School, Newton, Mass., and at Oberlin Academy, Oberlin, Ohio. He completed his collegiate work at Oberlin College in 1913, majoring in economics, and was graduated with the degree of A. B. In 1914-15 he studied at Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University, in 1915-16 continuing his graduate work at Oberlin Theological Seminary. From 1916 to 1918 he was in Y. M. C. A. War Work in Russia. In the spring of 1919, he completed the work for the Master s degree at Columbia University, and the following year continued graduate study at Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary.He received the diploma of the Seminary in 1920. In 1920-21 he was Gilder Fellow in Sociology at Columbia University. In 1921 he became an assistant professor of sociology at Dartmouth College. Besides contributing a number of articles to periodicals, he assisted in the preparation of a Summary of Housing Laws in the United States and Canada, which was published by the Minneapolis Civic and Commerce Association in 1914.must begin its investigations with observation. As Dr. Giddings says of it, Description and history will keep well in advance of explanation." * Of such a study as The Russian Immigrant, this is especially true. Moreover, this subject does not readily lend itself to adequate statistical treatment the data thus far collected by our Federal Government is too meager, and to attempt an independent investigation would involve large resources and an extensive organization. The present monograph is an attempt to describe only the main social forces impinging on the Russian in America, and their inevitable effect on his mind. Of many shortcomings in this treatise, the writer is very much aware. At best it can be but an approximation of conditions among the majority of Russians in this country. The reader must bear in mind that the research was made during a period when the Russian s attitude was affected by the great social upheaval in his native land and must remember that in America one result of the war spirit was a series of repressive measures against aliens, especially Russians. Since the bulk of Russian immigration to the United States is made up of the peasant and work for ing classes, it is with them that we chiefly concerned. By Russian, as used here, is meant the Great Russian, inhabiting Central Russia; the White Russian, living between Poland and Russia; and the Little Russian, from what was formerly South Russia. It does not include the Jews, Poles, Finns, Letts, Lithuanians, Ruthenians from Galicia, or other Slavic races. Throughout this study, we shall refer to the Russian group defined above as Russians or Russian Slavs interchangeably.First, the printed matter available on the Russians in America was analyzed. A partial list of books, pamphlets, and government reports used is to be found in the appendix. 2Second, unpublished materials, the result of surveys made by others, were utilized. Among these were researches by Mr. Cole of Chicago, by the Russian Division of the Foreign 2 The only book which the author found dealing exclusively with immigrants from the Russian empire was a paper-bound volume entitled The Russians in America, which dealt with Jews and Poles as well as the Russian Slavs and was available only in the Russian language. The author, Mr. Vilchur, was formerly editor of The Russkoye Slovo, a Russian newspaper printed in New York. His book is more in the nature of a popular historical sketch than of an analysis of the relationship of the Russian to our American society. In addition to this, there was a pamphlet in Russian, On the Question of the Organization of the Russian Colony, the result of a study made by E. I. Omelchenko, a member of the Extraordinary Russian Mission sent to the United States by Kerensky in 1917. This contains the results of personal visits to the various Russian colonies, and the conclusions reached are important.Author: Jerome DavisPublication Date: 1920Updated