The Hungarian State and Diasporic Intervention in the United States in the Early Twentieth Century

Abstract

Austria-Hungary’s leaders were highly interventionist in their response to trans-Atlantic migration, eager to maintain loyalty among their diaspora in America. This article explores the very active role that the Austro-Hungarian government—especially the Hungarian Prime Minister’s Office—played in overseeing migrant loyalty in the United States from 1902 until World War I, examining both its successes and the protests it inspired. Intervention followed migrants overseas: the government integrated itself into the migration bureaucracy and attempted to integrate the home government into migrants’ American lives through the press, churches, and cultural events. Several of Austria-Hungary’s efforts to maintain the loyalty of its migrating citizens backfired, sparking protest.