Pittsburgh Agreement

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The Pittsburgh Agreement paved the way for the creation of the state of Czechoslovakia and was signed by a group of 20 Czechs, Slovaks, and Rusyns on May 31, 1918. The agreement, signed in a hotel in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, declared the intent of the citizens of Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia, and Silesia, to create an independent nation to be known as Czechoslovakia, and is often compared to the United States' Declaration of Independence.^{[citation needed]}

On October 18, 1918, the primary author of the agreement, T. G. Masaryk, declared the independence of Czechoslovakia on the steps of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA. He was elected the first President of an independent Czechoslovakia in 1920.

Because the biggest group of politically-active Slovaks was in the United States, when the Czechs and Slovaks decided to come together in a nation state, the agreement was signed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.^{[citation needed]}

The Pittsburgh Agreement proclaimed that the groups would work for mutual independence to form one country: “Czecho-Slovakia.” The document guaranteed autonomy for Slovaks under one state including the right to create an assembly.^[1] The Martin Declaration created by the Slovak National Council provided for Slovak assent in joining a united Czecho-Slovak Republic.^[2] In 1920, the Constitution of the Czechoslovak Republic was adopted by the National Assembly without provision for an autonomous Slovak entity.

An original copy was donated on September 9, 2007 to the John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, at a public ceremony attended by Representatives of many Slovak and Czech cultural organizations and Sokols, as well as government officials from Slovakia, The Czech Republic, and The United States of America. This copy remains in the History Center's collection, but many copies are present in various places worldwide.

[edit] Signatories

Albert Mamatey (Slovak)
Tvan Bielek (Slovak)
Jan Jancek, Jr. (Slovak)
Matus Gazdik (Slovak)
Milan Getting (Slovak)
Jan Pankuch (Slovak)
G. H. Mika (Slovak)
Michael Bosak (Slovak)
Ignac Gessay (Slovak)
Rev. Jozeh Murgas (Slovak)
Josef Husek (Slovak)
Rev. Jan Kubasek (Slovak)
Andrej Schustek (Slovak)
Rev. L. J. Karlovsky (Slovak)
Rev. Pavel Siska (Slovak)
J.A. Feriencik (Slovak)
Ivan Daxner (Slovak)
T. G. Masaryk (Czech)
Karl Pergler (Czech)
Dr. Fisher (Czech)
B. Simek (Czech)
J. Smrhal (Czech)
Jos. Martinek (Czech)
Hynek Dostal (Czech)
Rev. Oldrich Zlamal (Czech)
Vojta Benes (Czech)
Rev. Emmanuel Kestl (Czech)
Jan Straka (Czech)
Dr. G. Pecival (Czech)

[edit] References

^ Czechoslovakia 1918-1992 in Dates. Radio Prague. Retrieved on 2007 - 05 - 02.
^ A Brief History of the Slovak Republic. Office of the President of the Slovak Republic. Retrieved on 2007 - 05 - 02.