Document Type

Dissertation

Date of Award

1977

Keywords

Croats, United States, Petroleum industry and trade, Indiana

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

History

First Advisor

Melvyn Dubofsky

Second Advisor

Charles B. Forcey

Third Advisor

Sidney S. Harcave

Abstract

This dissertation describes the historical experiences of Croatian immigrants and their Croatian-American children in the oil-refining city of Whiting, Indiana. It utilizes both traditional and quantitative sources.

The Whiting Croatians came from a single emigration district along the Croatian Military Border. Changes from communal to individual ownership of the land in the 1880s, coupled with a rising population, left the peasants in the area land-short. There was no alternative employment in Croatia, forcing the peasants to emigrate to America.

Whiting developed into an industrial city following the construction of the Standard Oil Refinery (1889). Immigrant males came to the city seeking work. They began as low-paid, unskilled workers; as they ended their careers, many rose to skilled positions. As immigrant women entered the community by 1900, immigrant families appeared. The families preserved many Croatian customs. Most families kept boarders in their homes. The immigrants clustered in three city neighborhoods. They founded a Roman Catholic parish and two fraternal organizations. Americanization affected immigrant speech and diet. Americanization had great impact on Croatian-Americans. Public schools, popular entertainment, military service, and ethnic out-group marriages effectively Americanized the immigrants’ children. Croatian-Americans had higher educational and occupational attainments than their immigrant parents. The Croatian-American community declined as many Croatian-Americans moved out of the aging city.

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