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| Fred Astaire • Arnold Schwarzenegger • Wolfgang Pauli Hedy Lamarr • Maria von Trapp Joe Mauer |
| Total population |
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| Austrian 735,128 Americans [1] 0.3% of the US population |
| Regions with significant populations |
| New York, California, Pennsylvania, Florida, New Jersey |
| Languages |
| Religion |
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Roman Catholic, Protestant; Jewish and other minorities |
| Related ethnic groups |
Austrian Americans are Americans of Austrian descent. According to the 2000 US census, there are 735,128, or 0.3% Americans of full or partial Austrian descent. The states with the largest Austrian American populations are New York (93,083), California (84,959), Pennsylvania (58,002) (most of them in the Lehigh Valley), Florida (54,214) and New Jersey (45,154). This is probably a severe undercount, as many German Americans have ancestors from Austria, or the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Before World War I, by which time most German Americans had immigrated, Austrians were mistaken as German people, probably largely because of their cultural-linguistic origin.
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Before of the World War II, the Aunstrian migration to United States was difficult determined , because the Austria´s country was born in 1918, being until this moment, a set of diferent states. The first Austrian of German descent documented (now, after the disappearance of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, most people living in Austria are of German descent) settlers in United States were 50 family of Protestants from Salzburg that fleeing of the religious persecution, arriven to the colony of Georgia in 1734, where prospered. However, after of this initials settlers, the Austrian imigration was low during the first half of the nineteenth century. So, during this period only emigrated fewer 1,000 Austrians to United States. The Austrian that be established in Illinois and Iowa had a religious education thanks to shipment of 100 to 200 Catholic priests since Germany and Austria by The Leopoldine Stiftung, an Austrian foundation that funded to those priests, for the newly emigrated and the Native American, and monitored his education. The most of emigrated were tyroleans, that looking land, people that fleed the oppressive Metternich regime. The political refugees were mostly anticlerical and anti - slavery. They were liberals and be adapted easy to new country.
The imigration of Austrian of German origin be incremented during the second half of XIX century, emigrating reaching 275,000 by 1900. Many Austrians worked in the United States as miners, servants, and common laborers. Many Austrian settled in New York, Pittsburgh, and Chicago. Since 1880, when be originated a mass emigration of all Europe, the Austrian also emigrated massively to this country, looking new agricultural parcels on which to work, because in his country the fields were being replaced by cities, so they were disappointed when they discovered that the same was happening in the western United States. So many of these immigrants came from Burgenland, an agricultural to Vienna. During the years 1901-1910 alone, the Austrian were one of the ten more important immigrant groups in United States, arrived so more of 2.1million Austrian of country.
The most of this new immigrants Austrians were cosmopolitan and of left-wing. They working in Chicago stockyards and Pennsylvania cement and steel factories. Many of them, more than 35 percent, returned to his country with the savings achieved by his job.
Since the First World War and until the end of the Great Depression, Austrian immigration low until slowed to a trickle during the years of the Depression. So, during the postwar period of 1919 to 1924, only fewer than 20,000 Austrians arrived to the United States, most of them from Burgenland. Also, the the law restricting immigration-approved U.S. and that limited the Austrian emigration, further reduced it emigration to only 1,413 persons per year. However. to late 1930s, new Austrian wave began arriving. The most of them were Jews that fleeing of the Nazi persecution. So, in 1941, some 29,000 Jewish Austrians emigrated to the United States. The most of them were medical, lawyers, architects and artist (such as composers and stage and film directors).
More late, between 1945-1960, some 40,000 Austrians entered the United States. Since the 60´s, however, Austrian immigration has been negligible, already that Austria is now day a developed state that have poverty and political oppression scarce. So, the 1990 U.S. census a 948,558 people claimed be of Austrian descent, only 0.4 percent of the total population, when in the XIX, had emigrated to United States, a 4,2 million of Austrian.[2]
The Austrian immigrants tend adapt quickly to the American society, because his homeland is also a a melting pot, therefore, these immigrants tend to assimilate quickly to American culture and language, more than many other groups. On the other hand, despite the rejection that Austrians feel about the behavior of the Germans, regard themselves as more tolerant and cosmopolitan than those, have suffered the same damages and discrimination that the Germans in United States, being considered by Americans, like them, because of its origin and German language.[2]
Most Austrian American speak American English and German (official and language majority of Austria), but mostly of Austrians, to difference of the Germans, are Roman Catholic. So, is remarkable his contributions in the XVII century for extend the Catholicism among the natives by the Austrian Missionaries, baptized to them. However, in the nineteenth century, the Austrians had to work with the Irish Catholic Priests, who not knew the German language, to baptize the natives and convert to their religion. So, Leopoldine Stiftung or Foundation sent money and priests into North America for convert to the natives. His contributions led to over 400 churches on the East Coast, in the Midwest, and in "Indian country" further west. Especially prominent in cities such as in Cincinnati and St. Louis. The Benedictines and Franciscans also originated to both priests and nuns and build thousands bishoprics and congregations. However, this expansion of catolisismo conducted by Austrian priests caused a rejection of them in American society as this could alter the religious balance in this country. Therefore, for a long time to Austrians struggled to adapt to American life. From the twentieth century has reduced the religiosity of the Austrian American, as does the general population. In this century, the emigration of other religious groups from Austria to the United States, especially the Jews, have also contributed to strengthen religious variety in this country.[2]
The top US communities with the highest percentage of people claiming Austrian ancestry are:[3]
Top 101 U.S. communities with the most residents born in Austria are:[4]
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