From Assyrians to Americans

FROM ASSYRIANS TO AMERICANS: FAITH, CULTURE, AND POLITICS OF EARLY TWENTIETH-CENTURY SYRIAN IMMIGRANTS IN WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA A Thesis Presented to the Graduate Faculty of the History Department and the Faculty of the Graduate College University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts University of Nebraska at Kearney By Cory D. Halvorson ii May 2016 iii iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work would not have been completed without the support of an innumerable amount of individuals. However, I will attempt to limit this section to only those who had a direct impact on its completion. First, my thesis advisor, Dr. Mark Ellis, whose guidance and unmatched expertise has shaped me into the professional historian that I have always dreamed of becoming. Second, my undergraduate advisor, Dr. Scott Reese of Northern Arizona University, a brilliant professor whose engaging lectures enlightened me to the world of Islamic and Middle Eastern history. Finally, the woman of my dreams and the love of my life, Stephanie, whose love, selflessness, and patience have allowed me to work countless nights and weekends in the pursuit of finishing this monolithic task. v ABSTRACT The influx of Syrians into America from 1880 to 1940 remains one of the lesserknown migrations in United States history. This thesis will examine a small fraction of the nearly 600,000 Syrians who migrated to the United States by the end of the Second World War, specifically those who settled in western North Dakota. This diverse group of immigrants hailed from all over the Eastern Mediterranean and came from many different religious backgrounds, including Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Muslim. Upon arrival, many chose to live in the metropolises of New York, Boston, and Chicago, but a few sought out for homesteads in the vast Great Plains. These Syrian immigrants—commonly mistaken as “Assyrians” by their American neighbors—would soon establish a life of their own and, in time, became naturalized American citizens. Some owned homesteads, some peddled their exotic wares, while others owned stores, built churches (and a mosque), and became involved in town affairs and local politics. This thesis will examine the immigrant’s transition from Syrian to Arab-American and how political and social involvement was indispensible for this cultural transition. Beginning with their subjugation under Ottoman rule in the nineteenth century until the end of the Great Depression in the late 1930s, this study will chronologically analyze life as a Syrian immigrant living in rural North Dakota, focusing specifically on the two major Syrian enclaves in western North Dakota, the Williston and Ross Townships. Other topics discussed in this thesis will include the Syrian immigrants adherence to their traditional vi religious practices, their interaction with their American neighbors, and finally the eventual assimilation that created a new generation of Arab-Americans. vii CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 CHAPTERS I. “THE SICK MAN OF EUROPE” ......................................................................18 II. “ASSYRIANS” IN AMERICA, 1880-1907.......................................................35 III. SYRIAN ACTIVISM, 1908-1925 ......................................................................53 IV. SYRIANS AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION ..................................................69 V. CONCLUSION: THE ARAB-AMERICANS ....................................................83 ILLUSTRATIONS.............................................................................................................91 BIBLIOGRAPHY..............................................................................................................92 viii 1 INTRODUCTION Barely a half-mile south from State Route Two, after passing an uncharacteristically massive grain elevator with the word “ROSS” painted in a contrasting white hue, are four small minarets surrounding a single dome-roofed building. Among a sea of green farmland, the traveling motorist can see undoubtedly Middle-Eastern architecture in the most northern reaches of the American Great Plains. This particular structure is a memorial built on the grounds of what is debated to be the location of the first mahjid (trans. mosque) in America. Although it seems unlikely that rural North Dakota would hold the claim to having the first mahjid built in the United States, this thesis will nonetheless examine those who built this Islamic oasis among America’s northern farmlands. The architects, laborers, and worshippers of this mahjid were Syrian-Lebanese immigrants who migrated to the United States throughout the period of 1880-1920, known to scholars as the period of the “Great Migration.”1 These Syrian-Lebanese immigrants, referred to from this point on as “Syrian” because these immigrants only knew themselves as such, came from what historically has been classified as Greater Syria, which encompassed modern-day Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Jordan. These Syrians, like so many of their Western and Eastern European counterparts, typically came 1. Randa A. Kayyali, The Arab Americans (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006), 27. According to Kayyali, more than twenty million immigrants from all over the world came to the United States during this time. This term is also interchangeable with the term “New Migration,” which is based on the same timeframe. 2 to the United States for one of two reasons, either to secure a stable living for themselves and their families or to amass a measure of substantial wealth and return home to their native homeland. The emphasis for this study, however, will be the political and social involvement of those Syrian immigrants who permanently settled in North Dakota and how that participation ultimately led to the cultural evolution of Syrian immigrant to Arab-American. The importance of this study is twofold: first, to understand the acculturation process surrounding a small, unique, and, arguably, marginalized group of immigrants which, at most, numbered 500 strong; and second, to understand that the story of these Muslim immigrants is virtually no different than the story of any other American immigrant.2 Syrian immigrants, like many others, suffered both economic and social hardships within their homeland, sought for a better future for themselves and their families, and made the difficult and financially taxing decision to emigrate. This concept of a ubiquitously shared immigration experience is especially important to understand considering the politically charged rhetoric surrounding the Islamic world and the blatant Islamophobia currently plaguing Western media—which, in turn, could result in an increasing intolerant society. It is also important to note that with the Syrian Civil War in its fifth consecutive year, along with the rise of fundamentalist jihadi groups like ISIL 2. William Sherman, Paul Whitney, and John Guerrero, Prairie Peddlers: The Syrian-Lebanese in North Dakota (Bismarck, ND: University of Mary Press, 2002), 34. 3 (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), the possibility of another massive Syrian diaspora to the United States is not out of the question. A limited number of primary and secondary sources exist to support this study. This is because Syrians arrived so few in number and with only a rudimentary understanding of English. However, thanks to the efforts of the field agents of the shortlived Works Progress Administration, the story of these Syrian migrants is continually analyzed and reinterpreted by sociologists, historians, and researchers alike. These WPA interviews, originally commissioned as oral histories by the WPA in an effort to understand the multiculturalism of early twentieth-century North Dakotan society, serve as the cornerstone primary source for this thesis and undoubtedly remains one of the best sources for the North Dakotan Syrian immigration experience.3 Another invaluable primary source is the 1977 North Dakota History interview with Charles Juma Sr., a North Dakota citizen and one of the first Muslims born of Syrian immigrants in western North Dakota following their migration in 1900/01.4 This interview, available at the State Historical Society of North Dakota’s Oral History Collection, gives an intimate account of life in Ottoman Syria, immigrant life in the Great Plains, Charles Juma’s childhood in a predominately Judeo-Christian public school, and the devastating impact of the Great Depression on Syrian farmers and homesteaders. The final primary source that played a 3. North Dakota Writers’ Project Ethnic Group Files, ca. 1935-1942, Institute for Regional Studies Archives Collection, North Dakota State University. 4. Charles Juma Sr., interview by Larry Sprunk, March 15, 1976, interview 669A, Oral History Collection, State Historical Society of North Dakota, Bismarck, ND. 4 vital contribution to this thesis is Mohammed (Ed) Aryain’s memoir, From Syria to Seminole: Memoir of a High Plains Merchant.5 Aryain’s account, similar to the Juma interview, chronologically discusses his path from his humble beginnings in present-day Lebanon to his success as a small business owner and a newly naturalized American citizen. While Aryain’s narrative does not take place in western North Dakota and, therefore, is out of the geographical bounds of this study, his first-hand account of Ottoman Syria, initial immigration to Ellis Island, and life as a Druze (a Shi’a-based syncretic sect of Islam) nonetheless makes his narrative of immeasurable importance. Other primary sources used in this study compose of local periodicals, US census reports, and Land Office records of Williams and Mountrail counties. This thesis will also include a number of secondary works from scholars with expertises varying from Middle Eastern/ Islamic history to nineteenth and twentieth-century American/Great Plains history. The historiography of North Dakota’s Syrian immigrants has been dominated by what has been called the “peddling thesis,” a theory first embraced in 1985 by Alixa Naff in her work Becoming American: The Early Arab Migrant Experience. Naff’s theory attempts to link the early Syrian immigrants peddling experience as the linchpin for their eventual acculturation.6 Numerous works by scholars have embraced Naff’s “peddling theory,” including William Sherman’s Prairie Peddlers, editor J’Nell Pate’s From Syrian 5. Ed Aryain, From Syria to Seminole: Memoir of a High Plains Merchant, ed. J’Nell Pate (Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University Press, 2006). 6. Alixa Naff, Becoming American: The Early Arab Immigrant Experience (Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1993). 5 to Seminole, and Greg Orfalea’s The Arab Americans: A History.7 However, this theory— while undoubtedly significant—does not complete the entire story. What appears to be lacking in the large and growing historiography of the Arab-American migration is the social and political involvement of Syrian immigrants after their arrival in North Dakota at the turn of the twentieth century. This section will examine the changing historiographical interpretations regarding the Syrian migration of 1880-1940 and where this thesis, with an emphasis on social involvement and political activity, will fit in this ever-growing field. Throughout this study, the use of the terms “Arab” and “Syrian” will be used interchangeably. This is because the early twentieth-century Arab and Syrian migrations were not typically distinguished in this historiographical field. One of the earliest works documenting the twentieth-century Arab migration to America was Phillip Hitti’s Syrians in America. Syrians in America is a topically structured monograph focused on Syrians who settled in America’s major metropolises. Hitti’s methodology involved examining Syrian migrants in the context of the greater twentieth-century American immigration story. Frequent comparisons are made between Syrians and their Western and Eastern European counterparts, including topics ranging from Syrian culture and familial interactions to work ethic and cleanliness. While no doubt significant to this historiographical field, Hitti’s work unfortunately embraced 7. William Sherman, Paul Whitney, and John Guerrero, Prairie Peddlers: The Syrian-Lebanese in North Dakota (Bismarck, ND: University of Mary Press, 2002); Ed Aryain, From Syria to Seminole: Memoir of a High Plains Merchant, ed. J’Nell Pate (Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University Press, 2006); Greg Orfalea, The Arab Americans: A History (Northampton, MA: Olive Branch Press, 2006). 6 nativist undertones, particularly when he compared the criminality of Syrians to Native Americans.8 Nevertheless, Hitti’s book is referenced frequently in Syrian immigration literature and remains an elemental piece in the historiography of Syrian migration in the twentieth century. In regards to the social and political activities of the Arab migrants (or lack thereof), Hitti remarked that the Syrian immigrants limited understanding of American political processes and the relatively alien concept of social freedoms (e.g., inalienable rights), limited the Syrian immigrants participation in political activities.9 While Hitti’s contribution to the greater Arab migration story is incalculable, my thesis will assert that North Dakota’s Syrians were politically involved and many more were active in philanthropic societies, church activities, and other social events within their respective communities. In the 1960-70’s, during the rise of New Social and New Leftist American historiography, social historians began to examine the Arab migration in terms of how immigrants eventually acculturated into Arab-Americans, and specifically what it meant to be an “Arab-American.” Two of the earliest historians to analyze this assimilation process included Abdo Elkholy and Philip Kayal. Elkholy, author of The Arab Moslems in the United States: Religion and Assimilation, examined the relationship between 8. Phillip Hitti, The Syrians in America (New York: George Doran, 1924), 83. 9. Ibid., 89. 7 religion and its effect on Arab assimilation in America.10 Elkholy’s case study included various Muslim communities in Michigan and Ohio and concluded that while Islam was not a hindrance in the Americanization process of Arab immigrant to Arab-American, occupation was much more of a factor in determining the speed with which Arab migrants assimilated. For example, middle-class Muslims who embraced a more liberal lifestyle and did not shy away from jobs that traditional Islamic puritans may deem inappropriate (e.g., manufacture and sale of alcohol and tobacco) tended to acculturate sooner than their more traditional coreligionists. A journal article by Philip Kayal, titled “Religion and Assimilation: Catholic ‘Syrians’ in America,” also attempted to describe the Arab assimilation process. Kayal focused on two distinct components to promote his theory: first, a general lack of “national awareness” of their home country; and second, the “de-ethnicizing” of their religious institutions in America. By lacking these two crucial elements, Kayal concluded that the future of Syrian culture in America was in serious doubt.11 What is significant about Elkholy and Kayal’s work is that it represented the beginning of when historians began to look at the acculturation process for Arab migrants. This emphasis on acculturation among Arab-Americans would continue into 10. Abdo A. Elkholy, The Arab Moslems in the United States: Religion and Assimilation (New Haven, CT: College and University Press, 1966), 15-18. 11. Philip Kayal, “Religion and Assimilation: Catholic ‘Syrians’ in America,” International Migration Review 7, no. 4 (Winter 1973): 425. 8 the next decade and would ultimately result in the Naff’s “peddling thesis” taking a domineering role soon after her book was published. Naff’s Becoming American had a major impact on Arab-American historiography. Naff decided that Elkholy and Kayal’s theory focusing on religion and a lack of national awareness was not conclusive. Instead, Naff’s research concluded that the Syrian immigrants assimilation was due to their “entrepreneurial pack peddling.”12 While no doubt groundbreaking, Naff’s commercialism-centric theory has been debated by some as a “preoccupation with defending a culture under siege.”13 While others, like Sherman, Pate, and Orfalea, would go on to use Naff’s theory as the cornerstone for their works. Nevertheless, Becoming American remains a dominating theory in the field of Arab migration and assimilation and is referenced frequently in this thesis. Other works regarding Arab migration and assimilation created in the 1980’s include those of sociologist William Sherman.14 These works, focusing on the history of immigrant ethnic groups in North Dakota, sometimes encompass little more than a single page of information specifically detailing the Syrian “colonies” of North Dakota. However, what they lack in quantity they make up for in substance. The combined 12. Naff, Becoming American, 4. 13. Charlotte Albrecht, “Narrating Arab American History: The Peddling Thesis,” Arab Studies Quarterly 37, no. 1 (Winter 2015): 113. 14. William Sherman, Prairie Mosaic: An Ethnic Atlas of Rural North Dakota (Fargo, ND: North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, 1983); William Sherman and Playford Thorson, eds., Plains Folk: North Dakota’s Ethnic History (Fargo, ND: North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, 1988). 9 studies of Sherman et al., encapsulate nearly ten years of research and document the lives of many North Dakota’s Syrians through interviews, oral histories, and references to local news articles. While Sherman’s early inquires remain vital to this study, it would be his magnum opus, Prairie Peddlers: The Syrian-Lebanese in North Dakota, which would be of incalculable import to this thesis. Prairie Peddlers, as the name implies, is a comprehensive study specifically focusing on North Dakota’s Syrian-Lebanese population in the early-twentieth century.15 Similar to Hitti’s monograph, Prairie Peddlers is topically structured and covers a multitude of subjects including religion, food, and occupation. What is missing in his study however is any mention of Syrian participation in political and social affairs; a void that this thesis aims to fill. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Arab migration historiography began to focus more on the religious diversity among this unique group of migrants. Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, a focus on Islamic-centric history began to work its way into this historiographical field. While only about five percent of the early twentieth-century Syrian immigrants in the United States came from a Muslim background, the historiographical discourse concerning the greater Arab migration specifically focused on Islam.16 Some of these studies, including Edward Curtis’s The Columbia Sourcebook of Muslims in the United States, Muslims in America: A Short History, and the Encyclopedia 15. Sherman, Prairie Peddlers, ii. 16. Naff, Becoming American, 112. 10 of Muslim-American History were just a few of the many and growing scholarly works regarding Arab migrants and their experiences in a predominately Judeo-Christian nation.17 As stated above, these works focused specifically on the uniqueness of Muslim migrants and examine their assimilation process as one in which “American Christianity” quickly replaced “Old Country Islam.” Other important literature in this now Islamic-focused Arab migration historiography included Amherst Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad’s anthology, The Muslims in America along with her short monograph, Not Quite American? The Shaping of Arab and Muslim Identity in the United States.18 These works are among the few secondary sources that analyzed the social and political organizations of Arab migrants—more specifically, Islamic organizations of America’s metropolises. While Haddad’s works covered the activities of the larger Muslim enclaves in America (e.g., New York; Cedar Rapids, IA; Detroit, MI), these works nonetheless provide great insight into the Arab immigrants social activism and political involvement. With some speculation, it would not be entirely inaccurate to assume that North Dakota’s Syrians would also have been politically active within their own communities as well. 17. Edward Curtis, ed., The Columbia Sourcebook of Muslims in the United States (New York: Columbia University Press, 2008); Edward Curtis, Muslims in America: A Short History (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009); Edward Curtis, Encyclopedia of Muslim-American History (New York: Infobase Publishing, 2010). 18. Amherst Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, ed., The Muslims of America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991); Amherst Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, Not Quite American? The Shaping of Arab and Muslim Identity in the United States (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2004). 11 While Islamic-centric scholarship garnered much attention during the early twenty-first century, many historians continued to analyze Arab migration and assimilation in a much larger context—to include both Christians and Muslims. One of first studies to showcase this transition was Sarah Gualtieri’s article, “Becoming ‘White’: Race, Religion and Foundations of Syrian/Lebanese Ethnicity in the United States.”19 Gualtieri’s work examined the Syrian immigrants struggle for naturalization along with their repeated petitions to be classified as “white” persons. While Kayal’s study (referenced earlier) analyzed how religious “de-ethnicizing” aided in Arab assimilation, Gualtieri concluded that “racialization” of Arabs determined their interactions both within their community and among their fellow immigrants.20 According to Gualtieri, by becoming “white,” Arab migrants severed their previous identities of “foreign,” “unAmerican,” and “other.” When one looks at the vast array of Arab migration literature, what is quickly apparent is the variety of theories emerging out of this large historiographical field. While some scholars focused on creating histories of ethnic groups and other anthropologicbased works, others theorized on the role of religion or race (or both) on the assimilation process of Arab migrants. However, two important characteristics are conspicuously lacking in this historiographical field—social involvement and political participation. 19. Sarah Gualtieri, “Becoming ‘White’: Race, Religion, and the Foundations of Syrian/Lebanese Ethnicity in the United States,” Journal of American Ethnic History 20, no. 4 (Summer 2001): 29-58; Sarah Gualtieri, Between Arab and White: Race and Ethnicity in the Early Syrian American Diaspora (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2009). 20. Ibid., 52. 12 This thesis will add to this historiographical field by examining the social and political involvement of the North Dakota Syrians and how this community involvement was foundational to their eventual acculturation. Shifting gears, the historiography of American frontier immigration will also play a major role in this study. When discussing frontier historiography, one inevitably encounters key words such as assimilation, Americanization, race, “melting pot,” pluralism, and multiculturalism. A number of prominent historians also come to mind, including Frederick Jackson Turner, John Hudson, Oscar Handlin, Alan Kraut, and John Bodnar. Like Arab-American migration historiography, American frontier historiography discusses the concept of assimilation in an ever-changing and fluid historical environment. The reason for this is simple: What does it mean to be “American?” At what time do immigrants no longer remain “immigrants” but hyphenated Americans? Do traditional cultural values from native homelands ever truly disappear? If so, is that the measure of complete Americanization? As one can see, the ambiguity regarding assimilation and Americanization creates (and will continue to create) a dynamic and reinterpretable discussion concerning frontier immigrants and their evolution into Americans. One of the first scholars of frontier immigration historiography was Frederick Jackson Turner. Turner, whose famous “frontier theory” has led to a number of leading historians to identify themselves as “Turnerians” or “Turnerian historians,” argued that the demanding and unrelenting experience of frontier living was crucial for the transition 13 from immigrant to American.21 Turner’s conclusion of the Americanization process for frontier immigrants can be interpreted in a variety of ways. For example, when Turner argued that the crucible of frontier life created a new generation of Americans, despite differences in culture and language, Turner embraced the idea of a shared immigrant experience among all ethnicities. Furthermore, this concept of withstanding the frontier crucible is considered timeless considering that it could apply not only to physical crucibles but also to economic woes such as the Great Depression, since the financial malaise knew no bounds of race, color, or ethnicity. Another prominent historian, and one referenced often in this study, is John Hudson. While Hudson, along with his journal article, “Migration to an American Frontier,” may not have specifically addressed the experiences of Syrian migrants in the Great Plains, his work nonetheless provided great insight into the motivations of immigrants (or what he calls “foreign-born”) to pursue frontier living. Hudson theorized that the traditional explanation of “push and/or pull” influencers upon first-generation immigrants was too simplistic. Instead Hudson offered his conclusion that promotes the idea that frontier immigrants were resilient opportunists who knew of the untapped resources that awaited them in the Dakota territories.22 Hudson also goes on to dispel the famous “melting pot” analogy, insisting that different ethnicities simply did not blend or 21. Frederick Jackson Turner, Does the Frontier Experience Make America Exceptional?, ed. Richard W. Etulain (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1999), 31. 22. John Hudson, “Migration to an American Frontier,” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 66, no. 2 (June 1976): 255. 14 dilute among differing ethnic groups. Hudson instead embraced the pluralism inherent within the frontier communities, in which ethnic groups formed distinct communities based on cultural similarities but were more or less amenable to interaction with other groups when necessary for trade and survival.23 In regards to this thesis, when one analyzes the migration of Syrian immigrants in western North Dakota, one must do so with the lens of Hudson’s pluralism. In other words, while the Syrian immigrants (especially the Muslims of Ross, ND) formed homogeneous communities, they were by no means closed societies. Oscar Handlin’s well-known publication, The Uprooted, has, since its publication in 1951, been the subject of both intense scrutiny and praise.24 Handlin’s anecdote of the village peasants of Europe violently “uprooted” and transported to an American society rapidly maturing as an industrial power in the late-nineteenth century was expertly written and applied not only to Europeans, but could be applied to “uprooted” Syrians as well. Syrian life during the final years of the Ottoman Empire was one in which village life was the nucleus of Syrian society. Similar to pre-colonial India, Syrian villages dominated the semi-arid landscape from the eastern coast of the Mediterranean to Damascus to the Euphrates River. Not surprisingly, agriculture remained the prime export 23. Ibid. 24. Oscar Handlin, The Uprooted, 2nd ed. (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1979), 7. 15 and leading occupation in Greater Syria in terms of percentages.25 While the dramatic imagery of Handlin’s description regarding the rapid instability in the peasant/village equilibrium may be a bit too exaggerated for the Syrians of the Ottoman Empire, Handlin’s discussion on the importance of village life among immigrants appears accurate for Syrians as it was for the Europeans. 26 Unlike Handlin, other scholars looked at immigration as a more personal, individual action, rather than embracing the theory of the metaphoric magnet of economic and social opportunism in America as a blanket cause for explaining the Great Migration of 1880-1920. One such historian was Alan Kraut. Kraut’s book, The Huddled Masses: The Immigrant in American Society, 1880-1921, examined the immigrant as an individual, and not part of the “huddled masses” of Emma Lazarus’s famous poem.27 According to Kraut, the “Great Migration” in America was but a small part in the context of the greater migration story around the globe.28 Since time immemorial, communities have relocated due to a number of variables (e.g., famine, disease, and war); therefore the analogy of the magnet of American exceptionalism drawing forth millions of 25. Greg Orfalea, The Arab Americans: A History (Northampton, MA: Olive Branch Press, 2006), 63; Charles Issawi, An Economic History of the Middle East and North Africa (1982; repr., Routledge: Columbia University Press, 2006), 118-122. 26. Handlin, Uprooted, 7. 27. Alan Kraut, The Huddled Masses: The Immigrant in American Society, 1880-1921 2nd ed. (Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson, 2001), 11-3. 28. Ibid. 16 dispossessed immigrants was too reductive for Kraut’s liking. What Kraut did acknowledge, and the stories of the Syrian migrants of North Dakota help corroborate, was that transportation made travel quicker and more importantly, cheaper.29 This, for the first time in Syrian history, made travel to far away places like the United States, but also places like Canada and the United Kingdom (which also saw rises in its Arab demographics during this time), easier for those with less wealth. Kraut’s theory of analyzing individual motivations is extremely important for this thesis. Many of the oral histories of the Syrian migrants have different reasons for what motivated them to make the physically, emotionally, and financially burdensome journey from their birthplace to a land completely foreign in language, culture, and religion. Another influential scholar, whose works also promote the theory of homogenous rural immigrant communities in the Great Plains, is Kathleen Neils Conzan. Conzan’s study on American immigrant historiography, titled “Historical Approaches to the Study of Rural Ethnic Communities,” examined the link between the strength of ethnic culture with the rate of assimilation among immigrant communities. Conzan examined the works of influential historians such as Turner and Handlin and concluded that ethnic rural communities, similar to their more urban counterparts, assimilated at a rate that corresponded with the level of ethnic culture within that particular community.30 In other 29. Ibid., 17. 30. Kathleen Neils Conzan, Ethnicity on the Great Plains, ed. Frederick C. Luebke (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1980), 4-5. 17 words, the greater the ethnic cultural presence, the slower the rate of assimilation. Conzan’s conclusion appears accurate especially when discussing the acculturation of Syrian immigrants in North Dakota. When comparing two North Dakota Syrian “colonies,” one can witness a much more rapid rate of assimilation among the Orthodox Christian entrepreneurial Syrians of Williston, as compared to the typically Muslim, agriculturally oriented Syrian homesteaders of Ross. Each one of these townships saw an increase in Syrian immigrants within its population at the same time (1890-1910); however, it was the Syrians of Williston who appear to have adapted more quickly to the middle-class lifestyle of their American neighbors. Interestingly enough, it would also be these same Syrians from Williston who would become both politically and socially active quicker within their respective communities than their Muslim counterparts. This hopefully illustrates that involvement in local politics and social organizations facilitated a more streamlined transition toward Americanization for these Syrian immigrants, which remains, the main goal for this study. This thesis will add to the growing fields of both Arab-American and frontier immigration historiography by analyzing the effect that political and social involvement, regarding both Christian and Muslim Syrian immigrants, had on the pace with which these immigrants acculturated into Arab-Americans. By examining two major Syrian enclaves in western North Dakota (Ross and Williston Townships), this study will showcase the process of assimilation between these two communities. Chapter One begins with an analysis of Syrian life under Turkish occupation. Chapter Two will 18 examine the lives of early Syrian immigrants in western North Dakota during the “Great Migration” period. Chapter Three will discuss the barriers toward assimilation, including the legal battles of maintaining “white status” by Syrians. Also discussed will be the origins of Syrian participation in social and political organizations, specifically the Syrian-led lodges of western North Dakota and the Syrian-Armenian relief organizations of the First World War. Chapter Four will document the lives of Syrians who stayed in North Dakota during the Great Depression, along with the stories of devastation caused by economic crisis and ecological disaster. Also mentioned will be the Syrian involvement in relief organizations of the New Deal and the North Dakotan agricultural movements. Chapter Five will conclude with what ultimately became of these Syrians after their children had reached adulthood, specifically what these Arab-American communities look like now in the twenty-first century, over 100 years since their immigrant ancestors arrived. Overall, this study has a dual purpose: first, to understand an alternative method of assimilation by examining the political and social involvement of North Dakota’s Syrian immigrants, and how this participation was key to their eventual acculturation; and two, to bring to the forefront of American immigration historiography the story of a small and marginalized group of Syrian Muslims who came to the United States with sometimes nothing more than Arabic on their tongues, Allah in their hearts, and opportunity in their souls. 19 CHAPTER ONE - “THE SICK MAN OF EUROPE” Following the collapse of the Mamluk sultanate in 1516, Greater Syria, which until the end of World War Two consisted of the contemporary nation-states of Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, and Jordan, was firmly under the suzerainty of the expanding and increasingly powerful Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire would control this area of the Levant until the collapse of the Empire in 1923, which saw the rise of the more secular Turkish republic under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. It is in the twilight years of the Ottoman Empire that the story of these Syrians took place. Politically, the Ottoman Empire in the early-twentieth century struggled to remain the regional hegemony that it enjoyed in the sixteenth century, particularly after centuries of military defeats by the Russian Empire. The more technologically advanced European nations viewed the Ottoman Empire as a polity ripe for exploitation and subjugation. The term “Sick man of Europe” was typically awarded to the Ottomans on a continual basis, a euphemism reserved for any European nation that was considered inherently unstable. Geographically, Greater Syria consists of rich, fertile valleys bordering the eastern Mediterranean followed by arid deserts west of the Mount Lebanon mountain range (present-day Syria). The Euphrates River represents the northern border of this large, mostly desert landscape, providing agricultural sustenance to much of the surrounding area. Agricultural produce was, and remains to this day, one of the chief exports and main sources of employment and revenue for those living within this expansive swath of land. Many of the Syrian emigrants involved in this study were farmers by trade and the 20 majority came from a small section of the agrarian heartland of Greater Syria, known as the renowned Bekaa Valley. The Bekaa Valley rests between the Mount Lebanon mountain range to the west and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains to the east. The tributaries from both of these mountain ranges provide sustenance to the alluvial plains within the valley. Situated between the historic trading metropolises of Beirut and Damascus, the Bekaa Valley produces nearly half of the agricultural exports of modern-day Lebanon and remains one of the most fertile regions of the eastern Mediterranean hinterlands. Joe Albert was one of the Syrian farmers who lived and worked in this fertile valley and one of the immigrants involved in this case study. Albert, a Syrian Christian who lived in a small village approximately twenty-five miles west of Damascus (right in the heart of the Bekaa Valley), fondly remembered working his father’s fruit farm. Some of the best fruit of the entire valley, Albert proudly recalled, came from his family’s farm.1 Another Syrian migrant, a Muslim from Rafieg named Boaley Farhart, not only harvested crops on his father’s 120-acre farm, but also raised cows, oxen, horses, goats, sheep, and chickens.2 The diversity of flora and fauna available in the Bekaa Valley provided nineteenth-century Syrians with a relatively stable agricultural lifestyle that was sustainable year-round. The popularity of farming in this area cannot be overstated. Out 1. Joe Albert, interview by Roy R. Penman, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, February 16-21, 1940. 2. Boaley Farhart, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October 31- November 1, 1939. 21 of the sixteen North Dakota Syrians interviewed by the Works Progress Administration in 1939/40, twelve had agricultural experience, many of whom specifically in this particular valley. Despite the fertility and diversity of the Bekaa Valley, farming in nineteenthcentury Syria was no easy task. The labor required for farming in Syria consisted primarily of using old wooden tools, a notoriously onerous and tedious process. Albert remembered that there was absolutely no modern machinery near his hometown in the late-nineteenth century and that Syrian farmers normally harvested crops using traditional (and archaic means) means.3 Those who could afford the luxury of modern farming equipment were still limited to nothing more than pre-Industrial Era plows and shovels. In other words, mechanical farm equipment was conspicuously lacking in Greater Syria, despite having an economy dependent on sustained agricultural production. Even with this limitation, the Syrians of the Bekaa Valley resiliently adapted to overcome the burden of using archaic farming practices. Sam Omar, a Syrian Muslim from Damascus, explained his effective, albeit primitive, farming method in the 1890s: “ A wooden plow drawn by cows or oxen were used for plowing, seeding was done by hand, we harvested with a scythe, and threshing was done by trampling the straw and thus separating the grain from it.”4 A number of Syrians involved in this case study, including Farhart, Alley 3. Joe Albert, interview by Roy R. Penman, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, February 16-21, 1940. 4. Sam Omar, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October 3, 1939. 22 Omar, and David Kalil, recollected similar farming practices. Despite the widespread use of traditional farm equipment, agrarian living in Greater Syria produced a number of benefits for those able to adapt to the strenuous farming lifestyle. For example, when land prices increased, farmers like Farhart frequently rented out partitioned land for sharecropping. Privately owned farming however was not the only method of farming in Syria, as some communities embraced a more communal form of agriculture. Kalil’s village in Tarbal sustained themselves utilizing communal farming with one large single farm providing for the entire village.5 Despite the lack of modern equipment or the resources necessary for large-scale agriculture, Syrian farmers should not be viewed as substandard or inexperienced. Syrians grew a multitude of cereal crops and fruits, including wheat, barley, flax, oats, rye, beans, lentils, grapes, figs, peaches, apples, plums, and oranges. This experience in agrarian diversity and the use of outdated farming equipment proved immensely important for those eventually destined for the homesteads of western North Dakota, where winters are notoriously harsh, crops grow seasonally instead of year-round, and the variety of flora to be grown commercially is rigidly selective. Similar to the homesteads that many of these Syrian immigrants later inhabited, the dwellings with which these Syrians called home were sometimes no bigger than a single-roomed house. Mary Juma (mother of Charles Juma, an important figure in North 5. David Kalil, interview by Roy R. Penman, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files. 23 Dakotan Syrian immigration history) grew up in a single-storied stone dwelling.6 When describing the layout and composition of her home in Syria, Juma recalled that her “floors were made of logs (about the size of our [American] telephone poles), and the space between the poles was filled with smaller poles. Branches were used to fill smallunfilled parts. A mixture of wet clay and lime [was] spread over the poles and branches… this was allowed to dry, and the result was a hard floor looking like cement.”7 Education in late nineteenth-century Syria was also limited. Syrian children averaged less than five years of formal schooling before entering the agrarian-centric workforce. Those who normally attended Syrian schools usually went to either local parochial schools or had parents willing to finance a good education and sent their children to expensive private schools or to well-known tutors. Farhart was one of the more fortunate students who had a private tutor, although he remarked that his teachings were normally limited to religious literature.8 In Tarbal, Kalil also complained about his limited education, with less than a year or so of formal education before working back on the communal farm.9 In some instances, the local community collectively hired a tutor to 6. Mary Juma, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October/November 1939. 7. Ibid. 8. Boaley Farhart, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October 31- November 1, 1939. 9. David Kalil, interview by Roy R. Penman, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files. 24 teach all of their children. However, the lesson material was normally limited to the reading and recitation of religious texts.10 One of the few Syrian boys to receive a secular education from a private school in Syria described his schooling experience as mundane, simplistic, and lacking. John Kassis, a Christian Syria from Zahle, recalled that his private school education mainly consisted of spelling exercises. While spelling is foundational for the development of reading and writing, the problem is that Kassis’s teachers failed to show students what the objects of what they spelled actually represented. In one example, Kassis recalled how he learned to spell “bird,” yet had no idea what one was until years later. Kassis in his WPA interview later categorized his schooling in Syria as “blind” education.11 Consistent with much of the Near East during the late-nineteenth century, education for women was notoriously lacking. While traditional Islamic societies, Ottoman Syria included, proclaimed egalitarianism among all Muslims (men and women included) as mandated by the Qur`an, women normally suffered the most from the lack of certain social services. Education was one of these missing services. All of the Syrian women involved in this case study (Mary Farris, Mary Juma, Libbie Layon, and Sadie Kalil) complained about the general lack of education among Syrian women. “I [didn’t] go to school at all in the old country,” remembered Libbie Layon, a Christian Syrian from 10. Allay Omar, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files. 11. John Kassis, interview by Leona A. Gauthier, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files. 25 “Zahlia” (Zahle), “girls don’t go to school. They stay home, learn to do housework, sewing, fancy work, take care [of] children at home.”12 Juma recalled a similar experience by adding that many nineteenth-century Syrians believed that education for women was a waste of both time and money.13 This does not intend to imply that late nineteenth-century Syrian women should be viewed as victims of social injustice, nor does it suggest that mainstream Syrians believed in religious ultra-conservatism similar to early Wahhabi Arabia or Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Women of nineteenth-century Syria were mobile, artisanal, and economically self-sufficient. During the time they would have spent at study, Syrian women created rugs, crafts, baskets, pottery, and clothing. Syrian women also held a number of occupations, for they frequently worked as farmhands, midwives, healers, and traders.14 This enterprising skill of farming and crafting would later help many immigrant Syrians during their first few years in America, in which Syrian women played a major economic role for the household. One of the simplest ways to describe the lives of Syrian women is to visualize them in control of the private spheres of Islamic society and conversely with men in the public realms. While this separation may seem inequitable in and of itself, it is important to recognize that 12. Libbie Layon, interview by Leona A. Gauthier, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, March 26, 1940. 13. Mary Juma, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October/November 1939. 14. Ira Lapidus, A History of Islamic Societies, 2nd ed. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 854. 26 Syrian women did in fact have authority over these more private enterprises and, as seen above, were involved in a number of different artisanal occupations.15 Ethnic segregation, on the part of the Ottoman government, appears to have been another obstacle for those Syrians seeking an education. A number of Syrians explicitly mentioned in that the Turkish government prevented them from attending state-operated schools. Albert was one of those prevented from regularly attending school. “I was born and raised in [a] town and did not get a chance to go to school,” proclaimed Albert, “The Turks—they had control of that part of Syria at that time—did not give us a chance to go to school.”16 Education aside, Syrian migrants also made other claims against their Ottoman suzerains. Kalil recalled how Turks frequently stole from his village’s communal farm with little regard that the food could not be spared due to the approaching winter season.17 Albert also described a similar experience involving a local corrupt Ottoman tax collector who frequently demanded more than what was officially mandated by the Ottoman law code. If the greedy tax collector was not satisfied or was denied payment, he would steal much more than if one simply gave into his demands.18 15. Carl Ernst does an excellent job explaining the concept of a separation of occupational duties in terms of private and public sections of Islamic society. Ref. Carl Ernst, Teachings of Sufism (Boston: Shambhala, 1999). 16. Joe Albert, interview by Roy R. Penman, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, February 16-21, 1940. 17. David Kalil, interview by Roy R. Penman, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files. 18. Joe Albert, interview by Roy R. Penman, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, February 16-21, 1940. 27 Albert also noted that this acrimonious relationship between local Ottoman officials and the local Syrian populace was so bad that he questioned how any Syrian could make a comfortable living under Ottoman rule.19 One of the most disturbing cases of this Turkish and Syrian instability involved the family of James Azarian, an Armenian from “Taschan” (possibly Trabzon). Azarian’s family, while he serviced as a conscript in the Ottoman Army, was murdered during one of the infamous “death marches” of the Armenian Genocide. “I find out they all [got] killed—my wife, my children, my mother, my father,” claimed Azarian, “I can’t believe it. Nobody sick when I left. Turks kill them all. Sometimes when they march, they got nothin’ to eat and they eat grass, and they swell up and die.”20 While Azarian’s story is dramatically different from the majority of Syrians involved in this study, his recollection highlights the ethnic-based violence and general intolerance that pervaded Asia Minor in the early twentieth century. Nineteenth-century Syria also witnessed an increase in isolated instances of religious intolerance. While conflicts between religious groups are not viewed as a causal factor for the Syrian migration to America during the Great Migration, the aftermath and repercussions of these religious pogroms effected Syrian-Turkish relations.21 The Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century instituted a number of reforms that promoted 19. Ibid. 20. James Azarian, interview by Leona A. Gauthier, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, March/April 1940. 21. Sarah Gualtieri, Between Arab and White: Race and Ethnicity in the Early Syrian American Diaspora (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2009), 26 28 religious tolerance between the three major monotheistic religions of the Near East. These reforms, taken collectively, have historically been known as the Tanzimat (trans. “reordering”) Reforms. The Tanzimat Reforms sought to ensure the survival of the Ottoman Empire by addressing the rights of its minority subjects, which would, therefore, decrease hostility and separatism in the Empire’s more troublesome regions. These reforms, while appearing to promote egalitarianism among the Empire’s diverse group of subjects, were actually attempts to halt European encroachment into Ottoman territory.22 European intervention into Ottoman affairs became a real threat with France and England constantly threatening expeditions into Syria and Palestine, ostensibly to secure the livelihoods of Christians and Jews living under Ottoman rule. These reforms, however, had the unfortunate consequence of agitating Muslim aggression since the Ottomans appeared to blatantly disregard the canons of Qur`anic ideals, which delineates specific restrictions on non-Muslims. Historian Eugene Rogan noted that this aggression signaled the beginning of the sectarian violence that currently plagues the post-modern world: “The Muslim community in Greater Syria was already growing dangerously resentful of the privileges enjoyed by some Arab Christians and Jews in the 1840s. The delicate communal balance was being upset by external forces. For the first time in generations, the Arab provinces witnessed sectarian violence.”23 22. Eugene Rogan, The Arabs: A History (New York: Basic Books, 2001), 93. 23. Rogan, The Arabs, 93. 29 One of bloodiest examples of the newfound sectarian violence occurred on May 27, 1860. On this ominous day, a force of roughly 3,000 Maronite Christians and 600 Druze Muslims engaged one another near the small rural village of `Ayn Dara, located in central valley of present day Lebanon (less than a hundred kilometers from the Bekaa Valley). For the next few weeks, repeated attacks of aggression and retribution left over seven thousand Christians dead with more than five hundred churches torched. No figures are available detailing Muslim casualties.24 Mohammad Aryain, a young Druze living in Lebanon at the time of this pogrom, recalled what life was like in the aftermath of these religious conflicts. In his memoirs, Mohammad Aryain remarked that after the Druze-Maronite conflict of 1860 (which Aryain believes to have been initiated by the Turks themselves, which again serves to illustrate the divergent relationship between the Syrians and their Ottoman rulers), the Ottoman government treated Druze prisoners ruthlessly and instituted a ban on all firearms in Aryain’s village of Henna. 25 “The Druzes gave up all their arms and ammunition,” recalls Aryain, “When the Turkish officer asked if we had any guns, my father told me to give my new gun to the officer. This I did. But from that day to this my 24. Gregory Orfalea, The Arab Americans: A History (Northampton: Olive Branch Press, 2006), 58. 25. Ed Aryain, From Syria to Seminole: Memoir of a High Plains Merchant, ed. J’Nell Pate (Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University Press, 2006), 24. Aryain places the blame of this pogrom squarely on the Turkish government: “The Turkish government became alarmed at the good relationship of these people, for they feared that the Christians and Druze might organize and start a revolution to free themselves from Turkish rule. So to start trouble between Christians and Druze, the Turkish government sent their men into the villages at night to waylay and kill people.” 30 hatred of the rule of Turks has increased.”26 Aryain later explained how the Ottoman government summarily executed the Druze leadership involved in the conflict and how the bodies of the deceased were not properly disposed of according to traditional Druze practices, but were instead publicly displayed by the Turks as a deterrence mechanism to mitigate future conflicts. The growing instability between the Syrian populace and their Ottoman suzerains serves as one of the first potential catalysts for the Syrian migration to the United States during the “Great Migration.” As mentioned earlier, Kalil and Albert specifically noted the avarice and corruption of Ottoman officials and institutions as an impetus for emigration. While no other Syrian, including the Christian Syrians from Zahle (who form the majority of Syrian emigrants in this case study), specifically mentioned the Turks as a motive for leaving their home country, it can be assumed that others had the same motivating factor as Kalil and Albert. In other words, the authoritative control of the Ottoman government in Syria—in regards to reported instances of segregated schools, the constant raiding of granaries as described in Kalil’s town of Tarbal, and the corruption of Ottoman tax collectors in Albert’s village near Damascus, or Aryain’s blatant distrust of the Ottoman government—could be seen as a potential motive for emigration for some, but not all. With that being said, it is important to remember that the reasons for Syrian immigration have been viewed by recent scholarship as largely an individual matter.27 26. Aryain, Syria to Seminole, 30. 27. Gualtieri, Between Arab and White, 26. 31 Unlike mass exoduses caused by famine, war, or religious persecution, the Syrian immigration to America, as Alixa Naff points out, was “not an emergency or panic flight; it was a deliberate and calculated choice made by individual families.”28 The decision to emigrate however was not an easy one, as familial bonds and ties to the “Old Country” frequently made immigration a difficult choice. Connections to the village, along with family ties, made the Syrian truly one with their community. Weddings, births, and religious events including Lent, Easter, and Ramadan, were typically communal in nature and lasted until the “money ran dry.” These festivals, as recalled by Kalil, consisted of large gatherings in which the entire village shared food, wine, stories, and dancing. Many times these gatherings would go from house to house and normally averaged around a week in duration.29 Abe Mikel, a Christian Syrian from Britte, recalls a similar experience during his brother’s wedding in which food, drink, and festivities were bountiful and the event lasted a total of ten days. 30 These joyous occasions were not limited to Christians, as Muslims also appear to have embraced nearly the same rituals in terms of duration, copious quantities of food, and dancing. “A party in the Old Country was really enjoyed by all. No seriousness was ever 28. Alixa Naff, Becoming American: The Early Arab Immigrant Experience (Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1993), 83. 29. David Kalil, interview by Roy R. Penman, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files. 30. Abe Mikel, interview by Roy R. Penman, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files. 32 introduced. Food was served, music played for dancing, and everyone loved it. A party was held in the evening and it often lasted for days.”31 Except for the wedding ritual itself and the lack of alcohol consumption, Muslim wedding festivals were similar to their Christian counterparts. These weeklong festivities showcase the communalism and attachment to village life in nineteenth-century Syria. These events were not small intimate ceremonies that lasted a single day. When a Syrian couple married, the entire village typically appeared in attendance, with events lasting as long as a few weeks according to Kalil and Mikel. This idea of a communal village environment made immigration a difficult and deeply personal decision, considering that when a member of the village emigrated, they not only left their family, but also their friends, relatives, and neighbors behind. This may have led many Syrians, including Aryain and Farhart, to view their exodus to America as temporary with the full intention of returning to Syria after the accumulation of some wealth. Regardless, when Syrians made the decision to leave, they usually already knew someone at their port of arrival due to their previous village ties. Therefore, the final decision to emigrate alleviated fear due to the presence of fellow Syrians. Piety among nineteenth-century Syrians, to include both Christian and Muslim, remained an important aspect of Syrian life. Syrian children barred from school, either administratively or geographically, remembered spending much of their time in their respective houses of worship. Farhart of Rafieg remembered that his family attended the 31. Allay Omar, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files. 33 “Moslem Church” every Friday.32 Friday being the day that Muslims are required to pray in congregation. In the predominately Christian city of Zahle, Christian Syrians recalled similar instances. For example, Mary Farris remembers going to church twice a day on Sundays, and twice a day every single day during Lent. While others, including Layon (also from Zahle) attended church services daily. Attendance at these religious occasions must have been considerable, considering Farris vehemently remarked that nearly everybody went to the church services.33 While many complained of the avarice and visible corruption inherent within Ottoman government, some Syrians remembered their youth in Ottoman Syria as one of economic simplicity. Albert, described earlier as one of the Syrians denied admission to public school, remembered that life in Syria was much more “simpler” than in America. According to Albert, the Ottomans required only ten percent from either crop yields and/ or profits from trade, which resulted in affordable rent and taxes.34 While families such as Albert’s only had to pay ten percent, he later goes on the mention how the aforementioned corrupt Ottoman tax collector would often come back and demand more. Even those too young to recall the specifics of tax collection in nineteenth-century Syria 32. Boaley Farhart, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October 31- November 1, 1939. 33. Mary Farris, interview by Leona A. Gauthier, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files. 34. Joe Albert, interview by Roy R. Penman, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, February 16-21, 1940. 34 remember that taxes and rent were significantly lower in Syria than in the United States.35 With that being said, not all Syrians believed they were taxed fairly. Allay Omar, similar to the experiences of Kalil, Albert, and Aryain, viewed the abusive taxation policies and lack of public amenities as serious enough to leave his homeland: I left my country of birth because I thoroughly disliked and disapproved the government of Turkey and the control they had over us. They forced the young men to join their army36, and they taxed us until we bled, and we never could understand what they used for money for as no improvements were ever seen anywhere.37 For those wishing to collectively organize, protest, or formally address their grievances, the avenues to do so were extremely limited. Many Syrian villagers remembered distinctly that organized political movements and labor organizations were notoriously absent. “I never heard of labor organizations until I came to America,” asserts Albert, “You dare not do that kind of thing over there, or at least you could not when I was there.”38 Albert is not alone in this case, as Omar similarly recalls that he did not participate in any organizations, political or social, in the “Old Country.” This lack of political and social organization among the Syrian immigrants is incredibly important to 35. Joseph Munyer, interview by Roy R. Penman, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, February 2, 1940. 36. Alixa Naff, The Arab Americans (Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 1999), 33. Naff notes that military conscription of Muslims and Druze into the Ottoman military was mandatory beginning in 1908. 37. Allay Omar, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files. 38. Joe Albert, interview by Roy R. Penman, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, February 16-21, 1940. 35 note. Those who reported that they had no experience in political and social organizations in nineteenth-century Syria were the same ones who toward the end of the 1920s were involved in a number of social organizations. This adoption of political and social activism appears to coincide shortly after when many of these Syrians arrived on American shores. This seems to contradict Phillip Hitti’s theory that immigrant Syrians in America possessed little political activism due to a general lack of understanding of the American political process.39 What is seen instead is a gradual blossoming of political and social awakening upon arrival in America that will last well beyond their transition into fully-fledged Arab-Americans. The Syrians involved in this case study came from a variety of backgrounds. Nearly half are Christians (to include Lutheran, Greek Orthodox, Maronite, Melkite, and Catholic) while the other half consist of Muslims (both Sunni and Druze). While they may have had differing religious ideals and morals, they all understood what life was like as a Syrian living in nineteenth-century, Ottoman-occupied, Syria. For many, life was about producing crops, whether commercially, individually, or communally. While for others, life was about embracing an artisanal lifestyle as merchants, mill-operators, and blacksmiths. Some possessed an education, whether that education was formal or informal, based religiously or secularly, while others knew nothing more than their mother language. Some left for reasons of oppression or inequality, while others sought out for fortune and opportunity in America. Whatever their particular background and 39. Phillip Hitti, The Syrians in America (New York: George Doran, 1924), 89. 36 whatever their level of education, these Syrians decided that life in a far away land, speaking a different language, and (for Muslims) amongst a populace adhering to a different religion, must be far better than life in Turkish-occupied Syria. As one can see, the decision to emigrate, from family, village, and homeland, was not an easy one. What we do know with a measure of certainty is that despite the hardships associated with Ottoman oppression, many Syrians viewed their exodus to America as temporary. What is more commonly seen is a large number of Syrians willing to make a better living aboard and attempt to remedy their families (and villages’) situation back home in Syria. This tenacity and resiliency would help these Syrian immigrants immensely when they encountered both the harsh climes of North Dakota and, for those who stayed in America, the impeding financial malaise of the 1930s. 37 38 CHAPTER TWO - “ASSYRIANS” IN AMERICA, 1880-1907 For millions, the thought of migrating from one’s homeland to the untold riches and opportunities available in the United States must have been both a combination of fear and excitement. Fear of the unknown coupled with the fright of being away from family and friends in a land that was completely unfamiliar. Yet at the same time exciting for the opportunity to start anew in a country that was practically giving away land with the Homestead Act of 1865. For Syrians, this temptation to recreate a new life in the “New World” was simply too enticing to ignore. This chapter will cover the Syrian immigration to America beginning in 1880, shortly before the establishment of the first Syrian colonies in western North Dakota, until 1907. Using Works Progress Administration interviews, US census reports, and local periodicals, this chapter will showcase the foundations of early Syrian life in western North Dakota. By analyzing two major Syrian “colonies”—the primarily Christian Williston Township along with the Muslim-centric Ross Township—this chapter will compare both settlements, specifically in terms of how they settled (homesteaders and shopkeepers), their adherence to traditional Syrian culture, and their interaction with their predominately Judeo-Christian neighbors.1 As mentioned earlier, Syrians left the Ottoman Empire for a number of reasons. Many left because of the corruption and inequality exhibited by the Ottoman government, 1. When reporting on the areas where Syrians typically settled many periodicals would label that location a “colony”: “There is a colony of Syrians near Ross, Ward county, who all have homesteads.” Williston Graphic (Williston, ND), April 30, 1903. 39 while others simply wanted to experience the land of opportunity with all the riches and untold fortune that was supposedly awaiting them. Of the roughly twenty million immigrants who left their homeland during the Great Migration, nearly half a million were Syrian.2 Of those, it is estimated that only a few thousand settled in North Dakota.3 Williston and Ross Township saw some of the largest increases in its Syrian population with over one hundred Syrian immigrants settling in Ross (60 of which settled on homesteads) and nearly twice that amount in Williston.4 Regardless of the motive for making the decision to emigrate, Syrians did not recall their long and taxing trans-Atlantic journey with fondness. Hassan and Mary Juma, one of the first Muslim Syrian families to settle in western North Dakota, began their journey to America in 1899/1900. The Jumas traveled the approximately thirty miles from their home village of Byria to “Bayruit” (Beirut), and from there onto a steamship destined for North America.5 Beirut became the most-used point of departure for many of 2. Charles Issawi, An Economic History of the Middle East and North Africa (1982; repr., Routledge: Columbia University Press, 2006), 94. 3. William Sherman, Paul Whitney, and John Guerrero, Prairie Peddlers: The Syrian-Lebanese in North Dakota (Bismarck: University of Mary Press, 2002), 34; Edward Curtis, Encyclopedia of MuslimAmerican History (New York: Infobase Publishing, 2010). Edward Curtis estimated that nearly 2,000 Syrians settled in North Dakota from 1880-1920. 4. Fourteenth Census of the United States, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1920. Charles Juma Sr., interview by Larry Sprunk, March 15, 1976, interview 669A, Oral History Collection, State Historical Society of North Dakota, Bismarck, ND. 5. Mary Juma, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October/November 1939. 40 the Syrians bound for western North Dakota, this is not surprising considering its central location and its large-sized harbor. Many of the Syrians involved in this case study traveled from Beirut (with varying stops in-between to include Alexandria, Marseille, and Havre) and landed in North America in one of its many East Coast ports, primarily New York. The journey from the Levant to North America was long and strenuous, and both emotionally and financially burdensome. Many families, including the Jumas, sold most of their land and possessions, and in some cases left behind family members, simply to finance the voyage. Mary Juma remembered how she had to leave behind two of her daughters in Syria with relatives because she could not afford to bring them, this was even after she sold all her possessions, including their family farm, and took out a two hundred dollar loan from a Syrian businessman.6 While affluent Syrians could afford to finance their own trip, many relied on loans or gifts from their immediate family. Mohammad (Ed) Aryain described in his memoirs how his father helped him pay for his travel expenses. Syrian Muslim Boaley Farhart also borrowed money from his parents, specifically his mother.7 After finding a way to pay for their long voyage, the substandard 6. Ibid. 7. Ed Aryain, From Syria to Seminole: Memoir of a High Plains Merchant, ed. J’Nell Pate (Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University Press, 2006); Boaley Farhart, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October 31- November 1, 1939. 41 conditions and long duration proved to be the next obstacle in the Syrian immigrant’s journey to North America. Syrians commonly used European steamships for their trans-Atlantic journey (primarily French and German freighters and liners).8 Syrians, according to their WPA interviews, heavily criticized the substandard conditions aboard ship. Joe Albert, who also borrowed money from his father in 1900 to fund his voyage, remembered his trip: “My father gave me the money for the trip. I got on a boat for France—I can’t remember the name of [boat] but I know it wasn’t clean. I then sailed from France to New York— the same thing, everything was dirty.”9 David Kalil, who was fortunate enough to have the money necessary for a first-class ticket, also described his accommodations aboard ship as substandard and lacking.10 Even those with more appropriate accommodations could not escape the paralyzing seasickness aboard these typically month-long journeys. Allay Omar, who was lucky enough to have a “cleaner” boat than Albert and Kalil, remembered having adequate accommodations, but the rampant seasickness made the trip 8. A few isolated cases have been documented that show that some Syrians, including Mike Abdallah, traveled from Beirut aboard “cattle ships.” In which case, accommodations onboard can be presumed to be considerably less pleasant. 9. Joe Albert, interview by Roy R. Penman, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, February 16-21, 1940. 10. David Kalil, interview by Roy R. Penman, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files. 42 nearly unbearable.11 Aryain noted a similar experience concerning seasickness on his voyage to New York. “Many people became deathly seasick,” recalled Aryain, “Vomiting became a common sight. People tried to get to the ship railing before the disgorgement came, but many were so sick that they vomited wherever they were, be it on the deck of the ship, in their bunk beds, or in the dining room.”12 If the rampant seasickness was not enough, many of these voyages from the Mediterranean to North America typically averaged around four weeks (half of the time at sea, the other half at layover ports en route). According to Allay and Sam Omar, their trip lasted an entire month, while others reported trips as long as forty-eight days.13 Due to the long duration of these voyages, many Syrian immigrants, including Aryrain, frequently borrowed money or took out loans halfway through their journey. Usurious interest rates typically accompanied these loans, with rates reported as high as hundred percent.14 Thankfully, once on shore, particularly for those who did not have to spend an extended period of time at Ellis Island, the Syrian immigrant’s tone changed considerably for the better. 11. Allay Omar, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files. 12. Aryain, Syria to Seminole, 41. 13. Allay Omar, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files. 14. Aryain, Syria to Seminole, 40. 43 For these Syrians, their arrival in New York City must have been an awe-inspiring moment. The Statue of Liberty’s inviting appearance, a familiar beacon of hope and opportunity for many immigrants of the nineteenth and twentieth century, captivated many Syrians. Others reported feeling speechless by the grand scale of the New York City skyline along with the sights and sounds of a large and modern metropolis. Mike Abdallah, a Syrian Muslim from Rafieg, specifically remembered the speed in which New Yorkers moved about, which, compared to Syrians, appeared to him as though they were on the verge of sprinting.15 The quick pace of urban life in America, coupled with the unfamiliar sounds normally associated with large cities, made Abdallah begin to question his decision to leave everything he knew and come to America. Others though, including Sam Omar, were not so hesitant as Abdallah and instead marveled at the modernity inherent within early twentieth-century America.16 For the unfortunate Syrians who endured a prolonged stay at Ellis Island however, the experience was both sobering and frightening. Kalil’s wife, Sadie, who arrived with her first husband sometime between 1896/97, recalled her time processing through the immigration line at Ellis Island: Before we came to New York, we stop on Ellis Island and there they put us in [a] big corral like cattle—Syrians in one, Italians, Russians, Irish and everybody, all in different corral. I [got] lost from people I came with and they put me in Italian 15. Mike Abdallah, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October/November 1939. 16. Sam Omar, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October 3, 1939. 44 corral because I talk Italian. They examine everybody there and see how much money you got, where you go and everything like that.17 Many Syrians held at Ellis Island firmly believed that if an immigrant appeared weak or sickly, immediate deportation was to follow. Aryain underwent a similar episode soon after his arrival at Ellis Island. Aryain, who arrived in the United States in June 1913, remembered the panic he suffered when—after a mild breakout of boils and pimples from the harsh and unsanitary trans-Atlantic voyage—he was marked with a chalk-white “X” on his jacket and then taken to an examination room. Aryain, in a sobering display of imagery, described his Ellis Island experience: “I was frightened and confused when I entered the vast building. The place was packed with people who seemed as frightened and confused as I was. The place was terribly noisy, for children were crying and so were many grown people, especially women. This made me feel…[that those] sent into this building were to be refused admittance into America.”18 This ominous threat of being sent back was not unheard of. Albert, after his arrival in New York in 1901, was shipped back to France after he claimed that he was without any money. It was only after Albert’s second arrival in France that he was able to borrow money from friends in France and make a successful subsequent trip back to America. 17. Mrs. David Kalil, interview by Leona A. Gauthier, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, August 8-19, 1940. Sadie Kalil’s first name is not listed in her WPA interview, however, census reports confirm her first name as “Sadie.” 18. Aryain, Syria to Seminole, 42-43. 45 It was after their initial landing in New York City that the story of these Syrians becomes divergent. Some lived for years in the New York metropolitan area as peddlers and small-scale retailers, while others knew right away that they wanted to venture to the American Midwest in order to secure their own little piece of the American frontier. Many Syrians had either family members or members of their village already living in America, which proved to be the determining factor for where they would eventually settle. For example, after Albert’s second trip to New York, he quickly purchased a train ticket to Sioux Falls, Iowa, because that was where his friends were.19 In a similar episode, Farhart, immediately after his arrival in New York, traveled to Ross, North Dakota (one of the two townships specifically under analysis in this study) and filed for a homestead.20 To finance their trip inland, many Syrians had to immediately start working. For example, Kalil spent his first few years in America working in a factory in New York, followed by a brief job working at a brickyard in Boston.21 Luckily, Kalil’s early efforts would not be in vain, for in 1902, Kalil traveled to Duluth, Minnesota and opened a small general store from his earnings as a factory worker.22 19. Ibid. 20. Boaley Farhart, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October 31- November 1, 1939. 21. Mrs. David Kalil, interview by Leona A. Gauthier, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, August 8-19, 1940. 22. Ibid. 46 In the early twentieth century, Midwestern periodicals started to notice an “Assyrian” presence in their neighborhoods. In 1903, the Bismarck Daily Tribune reported in a brief article that a large number of Assyrians began to settle in America.23 A number of emigrant Syrians possessed a calling for commercial entrepreneurship similar to David Kalil’s, as the Evening Times of Grand Forks reported how Assyrians opened numerous small businesses in several surrounding townships.24 It was approximately the same time as the Juma family was settling in Ross in 1902 that the newspapers of the Great Plains started to announce the presence of Assyrian colonies near their towns.25 The Juma family, mentioned earlier as one of the first Syrian Muslim families to settle in Ross Township, have an tremendous influence on this analysis of Muslims in western North Dakota. Juma, widowed in 1917, lived with her son Charles Juma, throughout most of the early twentieth century. In 1939, WPA field worker Everal McKinnon, a fellow resident of Ross, interviewed Juma about her immigration experience. Nearly forty years later, Larry Sprunk, writer for the North Dakota State Historical Society’s quarterly North Dakota History, interviewed Charles Juma (now Charles “Sr.”) about his early years as a Syrian Muslim living in Ross. Taken together, these two primary sources encapsulate nearly eighty years of oral history and serves as 23. Bismarck Daily Tribune, July 29, 1903. 24. Evening Times (Grand Forks, ND), November 10, 1906. 25. Williston Graphic (Williston, ND), April 30, 1903. 47 the cornerstone for any analysis on early Syrian migration into North Dakota. It is from these two sources that much of the early Muslim experience in North Dakota is found. As stated earlier, the Jumas arrived in Ross in 1902. Similar to many Syrian immigrants in the late nineteenth early twentieth century, the Jumas initially made their living from peddling. Mary Juma described how after their departure from Montreal, She and Hassan peddled for years until they finally settled in Ross: We moved further inland and started to travel over that country with a horse and cart as peddlers. We…then moved to Nebraska [and] traveled through the entire state in a year. In 1902, we came to western North Dakota where [we] started to peddle. It was at the time when there was such an influx of people to take homesteads, and for no reason at all, we decided to try homesteading too. In 1903, my son Charles, was born. He was the first Syrian child born in western North Dakota. We were the first Syrians to homestead in this community, but soon many people from that country [Syria] come to settle here.26 Soon after the Jumas arrival and settlement in Ross, a number of Syrians began to take homesteads in Ross as well. According to the US census, by 1910 the Juma family had other Syrian neighbors including Solomon Hodge, Farhart, Joseph Sadeen, Salem Bahne and family, George Alley and family, Ally Caled, Side Abdallah and family, Omar 26. Mary Juma, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October/November 1939. 48 Abdallah, Omar Salem and his brother Albert, and Mike Abdallah (whom according to his WPA interview actually traveled with Farhart and the Jumas on their initial voyage.)27 The Syrians of Ross, which consisted mostly of Muslims, quickly adapted to the farming lifestyle that was so familiar back in Ottoman Syria. Ross, which was founded in 1902, contained little more than a single-lane downtown and contained a population of less than twenty families by the time Syrians began to arrive. Farming was one of the few occupations available, and luckily for these Syrian immigrants land was plentiful. Nearly all of the Syrian families of Ross claimed homesteads according to their WPA interviews, including Farhart, the Jumas, and Alley Omar along with his brother, Sam. Major Syrian settlement in Ross appears to have taken place between 1900-1910. Ross Syrians typically lived under conditions strikingly similar to those back in Syria. Farhart’s first home in Ross measured approximately ten feet long by twelve feet wide and consisted of mud, wood, and sod.28 The Omar brothers lived in a similarly sized dwelling, which, after the construction of his second home, was converted into a small granary (no doubt an 27. When reading Mike Abdallah’s WPA interview, Abdallah lists the date of departure from Beirut as “1907.” However, the layover ports and the final destination of Montreal appear the same as Farhart and Juma’s initial voyage in 1900/01. This leaves the researcher with two possibilities: the first being that either Abdallah or the WPA interviewer mistakenly noted the wrong date; or the second, Farhart and Juma made another trip to Syria and returned in 1907. While the latter appears the less likely of the two scenarios, some instances of Syrians leaving for extended trips to Syria have been documented. Ref. Solomon Hodge, Old Settler Questionnaire, Historical Data Project Pioneer Biography Files. 28. Boaley Farhart, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October 31- November 1, 1939. 49 allusion to the small scale of his first dwelling).29 Syrian homesteaders normally beautified their homes in a manner similar to their previous homes back in Ottoman Syria. Sod houses, which were typical of Syrian homesteads in early twentieth-century America, normally consisted of a mixture of soil and clay. These materials, once mixed together, created a smooth plaster that both insulated and improved the overall appearance of the homestead. Luckily for these Syrians, homestead acreage increased beginning at the turn of the twentieth century. In the late nineteenth century, Syrian homestead acreage ranged from forty to eighty acres, however, toward the end of the First World War, homesteads averaged around one hundred and sixty acres. What is quickly apparent from analyzing the Syrians of Ross is the emphasis on religion and religious services during the formative years of Muslim settlement is western North Dakota. Before the construction of the first debated mahjid in America, individual homesteads held religious services on a rotating basis. Juma recalled how each individual homestead hosted Islamic services, which consisted of congregational Friday prayers and the celebrations typically associated with the ending of Ramadan (a month-long religious observance that requires Muslims to fast from morning to night).30 Farhart, who arrived in Ross sometime between 1904-1906, described how different homes held services, 29. Sam Omar, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October 3, 1939. 30. Mary Juma, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October/November 1939. 50 before the construction of the “Moslem church.”31 This is significant for two reasons: first, the Syrians of Ross appear to have tenaciously held on to their religious and cultural traditions despite being thousands of miles away from their homeland or any resemblance of formal Islamic institutions; and second, the vivid recollection of religious services in WPA interviews showcases the importance of religion to North Dakotan Muslim immigrants. With traditional Islamic facilities being so far away and with a population of largely illiterate Syrians, how was Islam able to survive in rural North Dakota? The answer lies in the nature of Islam itself. Islam, unlike other monotheistic religions, is not considered incredibly onerous. Islam requires neither an ordained clergyman nor does it mandate religious sacraments present during services. All that is required is an area to prostate and a basic knowledge of Qur`anic literature. While Islam does require Muslims to follow the “Five Pillars” of Islam, exceptions are given for circumstances that would prevent such acts of orthodoxy.32 For these reasons, Islam could arguably be the perfect pioneer religion. Islam survived in western North Dakota due to its emphasis on pragmatism and practicality over ritualism and orthopraxy. 31. Boaley Farhart, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October 31- November 1, 1939. 32. The “Five Pillars” consists of salat (ritual prayer), zakat (giving of alms), hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca), Ramadan (fasting), and shahada (the acknowledgement of Allah and Muhammad as His Prophet. Ref. Ira Lapidus, A History of Islamic Societies, 2nd ed. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 24. 51 Roughly fifty-five miles to the west of Ross, another North Dakotan township witnessed a dramatic increase in its Syrian population. The city of Williston, a major commercial and agricultural hub for western North Dakota, slowly became another “Assyrian colony” of North Dakota. Williston was founded in the late-nineteenth century and, since its foundation, remains the largest city in western North Dakota. Typically the last major city before entering Montana, Williston uses its status as county capitol and as a railroad hub to dominate the commercial and agricultural sectors of western North Dakota. The Syrians who inhabited Williston, unlike their Muslim counterparts of Ross, consisted mainly of Christians.33 Kalil and his wife Sadie were one of the first Syrians to file a homestead in Williston in 1903. The reason for the Kalil’s departure from Duluth to Williston is not fully explained in their WPA interviews, however, Kalil noted that his general store in Duluth closed due to excessive debt owed to his creditors. Kalil also explained that a number of Syrians claimed homesteads in Williams County, but not in Williston itself. The combination of his failed store in Duluth, the prospect of settling near fellow Syrians near Williston, and the availability of homesteads, is the likely impetus for Kalil’s, and other Syrians, migration to western North Dakota. Soon after their arrival in Williston, the Kalils immediately began to fulfill their homesteader obligation by clearing the land and establishing a functioning ranch.34 They also 33. Christians, in this context, refers to Greek Orthodox, Catholics, Melkites, and Maronites; which all of whom were present in Williston. 34. David Kalil, interview by Roy R. Penman, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files. 52 employed fellow Syrian migrants as farmhands, including James Azarian, whose family was killed during the Armenian Genocide. In a testament to their commercial entrepreneurship, in 1908, the Kalil’s opened another general store in Williston. Around this same time, another Syrian family began to establish a life of their own in western North Dakota. John and Eva Kassis, who arrived in America in 1902, immediately travelled to Williston and began one of the most successful commercial enterprises by Syrian immigrants.35 Kassis, along with his brother Eli, would become a staple in Syrian-owned businesses in Williston. Frequently referred to as the “Kassis brothers,” the Kassis’ also employed fellow Syrians who settled in western North Dakota, including Edward Nedoff, whom made candy for the Kassis’ general store.36 While the Kassis family, and the Kalil family to a lesser extent, focused on commercial entrepreneurship, many Williston Syrians settled for a homestead lifestyle, similar to their Muslim counterparts in Ross. John Munyer arrived in Williston in April 1906 with the intention of settling down on one of the available homesteads to the north of the city. After his arrival in Williston, Munyer proceeded to clear up the land his future farmland while at the same time peddling goods near the local towns for extra income. Munyer, as mentioned earlier, was not the only Syrian in western North Dakota to 35. Kassis’ date of immigration according to his WPA interview conflicts with the 1920 U.S. Census Report, which claims his date of arrival as 1904. 36. Edward Nedoff, interview by Leona A. Gauthier, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files. 53 embrace the peddler lifestyle during the early-twentieth century. Many Syrians— Christian and Muslim—used peddling as a means of securing a living.37 The Syrian immigrants gravitation toward peddling has been exhaustively documented throughout the history of Syrian immigration in early twentieth-century America. Scholars, including Naff, Sherman, and Gualtieri, wrote extensively about Syrian immigration and their proclivity towards small-scale peddling. This thesis, while fully acknowledging the importance and the impact that peddling had on Syrian immigrants, does not intend to belabor the fact that many Syrians—including Munyer and the Juma family—fully embraced peddling to secure a living. However, this study will look at other activities described by Syrians in their WPA interviews and other unpublished manuscripts. As mentioned before, this is not an effort to downplay the significance of peddling among Syrian immigrants in North Dakota, but rather to focus on the lesser known activities of North Dakota’s Syrian population—specifically social and political involvement.38 Similar to the Muslims of Ross, the Syrians of Williston were also a pious community. While Williston’s Syrians did not formally establish a Greek Orthodox church of their own, they did however honor their religious obligations by attending the 37. For a detailed analysis of Syrian peddlers in Kearney, Nebraska, reference Aaron Jesch’s “A Peddler’s Progress: Assimilation and Americanization in Kearney, Nebraska, 1890-1924,” Master’s thesis, University of Nebraska at Kearney, 2008. ProQuest (UMI 1453640). 38. A complete analysis of Syrian peddling in America is found in Alixa Naff’s Becoming American: The Early Arab Immigrant Experience (Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1993). 54 local Episcopalian church located downtown. Syrian religious services in Williston were so popular that during the First World War, Syrian parishioners invited a number of prominent Greek Orthodox clergymen to conduct services and to promote awareness of Syrian oppression in the Ottoman Empire. One of these clergymen was the Archbishop of Baalbek, Syria, Germanos Shehadi. Archbishop Germanos’s visit in 1916 was similar to many other influential figures who arrived in western North Dakota to discuss aid programs to distressed Syrians. However, and to the surprise of some local periodicals, the high priest decided that he would stay in America until something was done about the atrocities affecting Syrians in Turkey. No doubt an allusion to the lack of American intervention in European and Near Eastern affairs. What is important to note about the Williston Syrians is that they appear to have interacted with their non-Syrian neighbors much more frequently than their Muslim counterparts in Ross. Williston Syrians, for the most part, did not attempt to segregate themselves due to differences in religious practices, but instead joined local non-Syrian churches. This served to not only provide religious services but to facilitate interactions between Syrians and non-Syrians. Interactions between Syrian immigrants, to include the Ross Muslims and the Williston Christians, and their predominately Judeo-Christian neighbors (primarily of Scandinavian origin), can be characterized as a mixture of both semi-toleration and necessity for survival. Syrian peddlers and shopkeepers, whose occupation demanded interaction in order to secure a living, normally bore the brunt of the racial slurs and prejudices from their non-Syrian neighbors. However, reported instances of racism by 55 Syrians between themselves and their native American neighbors should be considered minimal. Regrettably, an increase of racial intolerance was noted during World War I, apparently due to the close geographic and religious ties between Syrians and their former Ottoman suzerains. Not surprisingly, Syrians who adopted the more isolated homesteader lifestyle normally enjoyed a relatively tolerant environment. The harsh climes and the limited availability of social and commercial services in western North Dakota necessitated a close interaction between neighbors. For example, Farhart’s wife, Rosena, an immigrant of Irish descent, served as the midwife for much of the Ross community, to include services for Syrians and non-Syrians.39 Mohammed (Ed) Aryain recalled a incident when he accidently shot himself while cleaning a gun. Due to the rural location of the shooting, Aryain chose to seek the help of his neighbor, who, luckily, was a doctor. A few weeks after the near-fatal incident, when Aryain attempted to pay for the doctor’s services, the doctor reportedly refused payment. Needless to say, Aryain described the doctor’s pro bono work as shocking, but after some thought, understood why the doctor acted they way he did. “I understood why the doctor had not charged me for doctoring my hand,” remembered Aryain, “ I knew that to survive, the homesteaders had to live in harmony with each other.”40 39. Boaley Farhart, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October 31- November 1, 1939; Charles Juma Sr., interview by Larry Sprunk, March 15, 1976, interview 669A, Oral History Collection, State Historical Society of North Dakota, Bismarck, ND. 40. Ed Aryain, From Syria to Seminole: Memoir of a High Plains Merchant, ed. J’Nell Pate (Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University Press, 2006), 77. 56 From the data available, a number of conclusions can be drawn concerning early Syrian migration. First, Syrian emigrants appear to have left Ottoman Syria for a multitude of reasons, with no one single motive being the sole reason. Second, the transAtlantic journey and arrival in Ellis Island appears no different than those from Europe or Asia. And third, the final destination with which many of these Syrians settled was mainly determined whether or not Syrians had previously settled at that particular location. In other words, if a family member or a member of that person’s village claimed residence in that area, the likelihood that a fellow immigrant settling near that location is almost guaranteed. Syrians chose to come to the United States for a number of reasons, whether it was to escape Ottoman persecution, an attempt to secure a new life in America, or simply to gain a substantial income before heading back to the “Old Country.” Regardless of the circumstances, it cannot be stressed enough that the Syrian immigration to America is no different than the immigration story of those from Western Europe, Eastern Europe, or Asia. The prospect of securing a foundation for one’s family transcends bounds of nationalism, ethnicity, or religious differences. For the American immigration story at the turn of the twentieth century was familiar to all who entered its borders, regardless of race and religion. Each immigrant needed to find a way to survive in their new environment, learn the language, and attempt to provide a living for themselves and their family. It is for this reason that the Syrian exodus to America needs to be viewed as one small part of the great “huddled masses” of Emma Lazarus’s renowned poem. 57 58 CHAPTER THREE –SYRIAN ACTIVISM, 1908-1925 A gradual increase in the number of Syrian-based social organizations in western North Dakota begins almost immediately after the arrival and settlement of Syrian immigrants. The organizations normally attended by Syrians consisted of two types. The first were Syrian-Armenian relief groups, dedicated to securing donations to provide aid to displaced Arabs. The second type consisted of Syrian lodges (similar to fraternal orders) that promoted “Americanization” and held English language seminars, with the overall goal of providing a smoother transition from Syrian immigrant to American citizen. This chapter will examine Syrian political and social activism from 1908 to 1925 in western North Dakota. Other important topics include the naturalization battles that took place following Syrian settlement and Syrian involvement in the First World War. Unlike other scholarly works that describe Syrian acculturation in America as a result of “entrepreneurial pack peddling” or the struggle to maintain a “white” racial status, this chapter will present the Syrian immigrant’s impetus for assimilation through their political involvement (both local and national) along with their attendance in social organizations.1 Participation in political and social organizations among early twentieth-century American immigrants was not a unique phenomenon. American immigration historians, 1. Alixa Naff, Becoming American: The Early Arab Immigrant Experience (Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1993); Sarah Gualtieri, “Becoming ‘White’: Race, Religion, and the Foundations of Syrian/Lebanese Ethnicity in the United States,” Journal of American Ethnic History 20, no. 4 (Summer 2001); Sarah Gualtieri, Between Arab and White: Race and Ethnicity in the Early Syrian American Diaspora (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2009). 59 especially Alan Kraut, argued that immigrants had interactions in the political arena almost immediately after their arrival. These interactions typically consisted of political “party bosses” providing food, clothing, and other amenities to those living in urban slums.2 This unofficial “food for votes” campaign usually warmed immigrants enough to get involved in local politics. Furthermore, immigrants who embraced political activism typically adhered to the party of their fellow immigrants within their ethnic group, thereby adding to the ranks with each arriving steamship. However, the Syrians of western North Dakota do not appear to have been significantly influenced by party bosses or other more urban-oriented political machines. Instead, Syrians formed a number of self-initiated social organizations that appear to have served a dual purpose: first, to promote awareness among the American public of the oppression suffered by Syrians living under Ottoman rule; and second, to streamline the assimilation process of Syrian members by hosting seminars emphasizing American exceptionalism and “proper American citizenship.” As mentioned earlier, Ottoman Syria in the nineteenth century failed to promote, either deliberately or unintentionally, political and social activism among its Syrian demographic. Joe Albert distinctly remembered that not only did political and labor organizations not exist in his village, but it was something that was not talked about: “I never heard of any labor organizations until I came to America. I do not think they have 2. Alan Kraut, The Huddled Masses: The Immigrant in American Society, 1880-1921 2nd ed. (Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson, 2001), 169. 60 anything of that kind over there now (1939/40). You dare not do that kind of thing over there, or at least you could not when I was there.”3 Albert’s statement is significant for two reasons. First, the outright denial of labor organizations, along with the caveat that one “would not dare” to do such a thing, showcases the limited political opportunities available to Syrians under the reign of the Ottomans. And second, that the increase in political and social activism during and immediately following the First World War (the main focus of this chapter) shows the importance of political involvement to Syrian immigrants of western North Dakota. This, coupled with the vehement hatred of Ottoman suzerainty during the First World War, served as the catalyst for the evolution of Syrian immigrants into the first generation of Arab-Americans in western North Dakota. However, the Syrian immigrant’s first obstacle in this path toward Americanization would be their ever-changing racial status, a by-product of American and Ottoman political relations during the early twentieth century. In 1909, Richard Campbell, the US Bureau of Immigration’s Commissioner of Naturalization, officially barred Syrians from naturalization. Campbell argued that due to the Syrians subjugation to Ottoman rule, Syrians should be viewed as the “racial kindred” of the Turks and therefore were “yellow, not white.”4 The Commissioner’s ruling, as suspected by the Williston Graphic, appeared to be a politically motivated attack specifically targeting the 3. Joe Albert, interview by Roy R. Penman, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, February 16-21, 1940. 4. “Race Problems Up to the Courts,” Williston Graphic, November 25, 1909. 61 Ottoman government, since no scientific basis for his rationalization existed.5 Even prior to Campbell’s unprecedented ruling, many American scientists unequivocally concluded that Syrians were of the “white” racial category. According to an article written by the Williston Graphic, whose subscribers included a large number of Syrian immigrants, the “race experts” at the Smithsonian Institute concluded that “Syrians, Arabs, Semitics, and dweelers [sic] of northern Africa, such as the Egyptians, notwithstanding the hot sun in that climate has tanned their skins, are as much a part of the white race as any blond white man can be (italics mine). ”6 Dr. William Holmes, rector of the Bureau of American Ethnology, supported the Smithsonian’s conclusion by adding that Syrians were “undoubtedly white”.7 Luckily for North Dakota’s Syrians, the lack of scientific evidence to support Chief Campbell’s conclusion led to a quick withdrawal of his policies. In less than a month after Campbell’s ruling, the Williston Graphic reported that Syrians could once again be granted American citizenship.8 This denial of “white status” among Syrians, along with the fear of being placed in the category of an “inferior race,” compelled many North Dakota Syrians to actively protest—one of the first reported instances of Syrian immigrant involvement in American politics. According to the Bismarck Daily Tribune, the 1909 ruling by the Bureau of 5. Ibid. 6. Ibid. 7. Ibid. 8. “Syrians Given their Citizenship,” Williston Graphic, December 16, 1909. 62 Immigration ignited many Syrians into political activism: “From Minnesota and Wisconsin comes word that a considerable number of Syrians have been naturalized and have been denied participation in primary elections and that mass meetings have been held there to protest against the interpretation of the law (italics mine).”9 These protests, happening within a decade of the first generation of North Dakota’s Syrian immigrants to arrive in the United States, illustrates the faith that immigrant Syrians held in the American political process, especially considering that a number of Syrians at this time could not fully speak or understand English. Despite dealing with the ever-present threat of racial segregation by certain sectors of the US government, North Dakota’s Syrian immigrants did not lose their newfound political resolve. In fact, less than a decade after their arrival on American shores, many were soon participating in local and county elections. Local politicians also took notice of this large and growing Syrian voting bloc. The significance of the Assyrian vote was so important that in March 1912, the Bismarck Daily Tribune reported that John Bruegger, a local Williston councilmember, secured his victory by capturing the “entire Assyrian vote”—now considered a key constituency in Williams Country.10 Starting in 1910, Midwestern periodicals also began to witness the growing number of political and social organizations associated with its Syrian populace. 9. “Syrians Protest Against Rules,” Bismarck Daily Tribune, October 31, 1909. 10. Bismarck Daily Tribune, March 20, 1912; Fourteenth Census of the United States, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1920. 63 Involvement in these organizations, typically limited to political parties, special interest groups, and church organizations, represents a syncretism of Syrian tradition infused with American political involvement. For example, in the 1910s, North Dakotan newspapers reported on the “native customs” of Assyrians (e.g., informal Islamic services, Syrian-style Christian baptisms, food, and clothing) while at the same time describing the donations and contributions of Syrian-led organizations like the Syrian Relief Committee during the First World War.11 What this represents is a merging of two distinct cultures, a traditional Syrian cultural adherence combined with a newfound American-style political activism. This concept is key for understanding the evolution of Syrian immigrant to Arab-American. For a unique and distinct culture with a relatively unfamiliar religion (especially for early twentieth-century rural North Dakota), alien cuisine, and a distinct language, was quickly embracing the foundations of the American political process. Following the end of the legal battles surrounding the racial status of Syrian immigrants, the next issue to enter the crosshairs of these politically active Syrians was the oppression suffered by Syrians living under Ottoman suzerainty—a topic all too familiar for many immigrant Syrians. Shortly before the entry of the United States into the First World War, Syrians of western North Dakota frequently donated to a number of Syrian-Armenian relief organizations. One of the main topics that Syrian relief organizations exploited was the Ottoman Empire’s inability to feed its Syrian populace, 11. “Native Custom Observed Here,” The Evening Times (Grand Forks, ND), May 7, 1913; “Liberal Donations for Syrian Relief,” Williston Graphic, September 21, 1916. 64 not surprising after two years of warfare as an ally to the Central Powers. In 1916, in response to the growing allegations that over 80,000 Syrians had starved to death during the first two years of the war, the Blossom of the United Syrian Society (one of the first reported Syrian-led relief organizations) met for a statewide conference in Williston with the goal of securing donations for Syrian refugees. Many Syrians mentioned earlier were members of the Blossom of the United Syrian Society, including Joseph and John Munyer, David Kalil, and Ross resident Saleem Bahne.12 The goal of this particular conference, besides extracting funds from their more affluent benefactors, was to telegram President Woodrow Wilson a list of grievances that Syrians suffered while under the reign of the “unmerciful Turks.”13 Interestingly enough, the mistreatment and suffering of Syrians under the Ottoman regime did not the cause the creation of this early Syrian-based organization. Instead, the Blossom of the United Syrian Society evolved from a local church club that later grew into a social organization. The evidence for this is the incorporation date of the Blossom of the United Syrian Society, which was dated in 1913—nearly a year before the start of Great War and three years before America’s eventual involvement.14 This social activism once again shows how Syrian immigrants, who did not come from a politically active 12. “Blossom of United Syrian Society Met Sunday,” Williston Graphic, June 8, 1916. 13. Ibid. It should be noted that in response to Syrian activism on a national level, President Wilson declared October 21st and 22nd as “Armenian-Syrian Relief Days.” 14. Williston Graphic, July 17, 1913. 65 background in Syria, frequently convened and lobbied using political avenues less than a decade after their arrival. Overall, the Blossom of the United Syrian Society (which later evolved into the much-larger Syrian Relief Committee) successfully collected thousands of dollars from donators. Frequent donators included John Kassis, the Munyer brothers, the Kalil brothers, and Joe Albert.15 The Syrian Relief Committee, in an effort to secure more donations by appealing to a larger pool of potential benefactors (namely non-Syrians), frequently embraced rhetoric that applied to not only Syrians, but to all North Dakota Christians. Members of the Syrian Relief Committee masterfully crafted their speeches in an effort to showcase the barbarity of the Ottomans, whom at the time were enemies not only to Syrian immigrants but also to an enthralled American public fully engaged in war. In 1916, the Williston Graphic reported a story in which Dr. Thomas H. David, chairmen of the Syrian Relief Committee, described the suffering of Syrians using religious rhetoric in an effort to appeal to Christian Americans. According to the 1916 article, David mentioned how Syrians hailed from the “Holy Land” and were the “initial spreaders of Christ’s gospel”— no doubt an allusion to Syria’s coincidental proximity to Palestine.16 Not surprisingly, the language used to describe the Ottoman Empire frequently embraced provocative words such as “barbarian,” “tyrant,” and “hardened-hearted.”17 In one extreme example of the 15. “Liberal Donations for Syrian Relief,” Williston Graphic, September 21, 1916. 16. “Hunger and Death Threatens Syrians,” Williston Graphic, August 3, 1916. 17. Ibid. 66 demonization of the Ottoman government in an effort to secure donations for Syrian relief, the Syrian Relief Committee penned a story describing the cruelty of Ottoman governors: It has been reported by a reliable source (name unmentioned) [that when] the people in Lebanon complained to the Turkish mutassaref, the general governor of this state of the great misery that befell the country as the result of the death from starvation, he asked, “Has any woman eaten her child?” “No your honor, how could this be?” “Well, therefore there is no starvation in existence in the country as long as no woman had eaten her own child yet,” replied the governor of that stricken country.18 While it is unknown whether an Ottoman governor actually based his criterion for starvation on the cannibalization of Syrian children, it highlights the incendiary language used by the Syrian Relief Committee in order to promote awareness and secure donations from both Syrians and their non-Syrian neighbors. The Syrian Relief Committee did not confine their events to North Dakota alone. Throughout the war years, North Dakotan newspapers described the Syrian Relief Committee as active in not only Syrian relief efforts, but in establishing other smallerscale philanthropic organizations both inside and outside of the state, including Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, and Wisconsin. These philanthropic organizations, also under control of David and the Syrian Relief Committee were responsible for establishing “naturalization workshops” for Syrians seeking permanent residence.19 The purpose of these naturalization workshops appears to be the establishment of English language 18. Ibid. 19. Williston Graphic, May 10, 1917. 67 courses. With no doubt significant in its own right, these workshops are best remembered as the foundation for the much-larger, and better funded, Knights of Modern Syria, along with its numerous workshops providing not only language courses, but seminars that taught “proper American customs.”20 The Syrian Relief Committee also had a women’s auxiliary. The Syrian Ladies Relief was responsible, and largely successful, for securing profits for its parent organizations from selling Syrian-made goods.21 The Knights of Modern Syria (KOMS), once again chaired by David, was formally established in March 1917 and would soon grow into one of the largest Syrian social organizations in western North Dakota. The mission of the KOMS was the promotion of “good citizenship and patriotism” among North Dakota’s Syrian population.22 Along with the creation of the KOMS also came a female auxiliary, that consisted entirely of wives and female relatives of active “knights,” including David Kalil’s wife, Sadie Kalil.23 The KOMS represented one of the earliest stepping-stones for the transition from Syrian immigrant to American citizen. For example, not only was the mission statement of the KOMS the promotion of “proper” American citizenship and 20. It is not known whether the Knights of Modern Syria officially replaced the Syrian Relief Committee. However, considering that many Syrians who were members of the Syrian Relief Committee were also members of the KOMS (to include its female auxiliary) coupled with the lack of press after the creation of the KOMS, it appears that the Syrian Relief Committee evolved into the KOMS. 21. “Syrian Ladies Relief Bazaar,” Williston Graphic, December 20, 1917. 22. “Syrians Organize Two New Societies,” Williston Graphic, March 21, 1918. 23. Mrs. David Kalil, interview by Leona A. Gauthier, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, August 8-19, 1940. 68 patriotism, but one of the first ordinances passed by the KOMS included the establishment of a night school in Williston. The purpose of this night school was the teaching of American “civil government” and an Arabic language course.24 This represents another example of the syncretism of Syrian tradition and American-style politics. Through participation in social organizations like the KOMS, Syrian immigrants had access to English and Arabic language courses along with seminars promoting American exceptionalism and political participation on both the national and local level. The popularity of the KOMS in western North Dakota grew so rapidly that, in 1918, Williston was selected as the headquarters for all KOMS lodges, which at this time spanned from Oregon to Wisconsin.25 On a number of occasions, the KOMS would host guest speakers from locations around the Great Plains. These keynote speakers typically consisted of Greek Orthodox clergymen from larger Midwest cities, namely Detroit or St. Louis. The messages these impassioned clergymen propagated usually focused on Christian unity in a time of great distress in Ottoman Syria.26 Although, Syrian guest speakers would also discuss more secular topics. These topics supported the KOMS mission of promoting the embracement of American exceptionalism. One such speaker was Assad Elias, a Syrian resident of 24. Ibid. 25. “Williston Selected as Headquarters of Syrian Grand Lodge,” Grand Forks Herald (Grand Forks, ND), February 13, 1918. 26. “Archbishop Ends Williston Visit,” Williston Graphic, August 10, 1916. 69 Duluth, Minnesota, who arrived in Williston at the request of the Kalil brothers. While in Williston, Elias penned a couple of speeches, his most famous being the “Unity of the Society for Progress and Good Purposes.” While the title of this speech may appear ambiguous, its message was not. According to the Williston Graphic, the “Unity of the Society for Progress and Good Purposes” was an eloquently expressed anecdote describing the proper way for Syrians to conduct themselves not only as “good citizens,” but more importantly as “good Americans.”27 Even David, who led the KOMS since its inception, was asked to be the keynote speaker at a convention for Syrian relief in Minneapolis. The title of David’s speech, if he had spoke at the rally (he declined due to the late notice), was “Americanization.”28 These seminars, funded by Syrian relief organizations like the KOMS, are excellent examples of the promotion of American ideals through participation in Syrian social groups. With the constant inculcation of American ideals by organizations like the Syrian Relief Committee and the KOMS, it is not surprising that Syrians who participated in these organizations quickly adopted American ideals and more seamlessly streamlined their transition from immigrant to citizen. This is evidenced by the fact that those who participated in these organizations reported a much quicker adoption of American concepts than those who did not. For example, all of the Syrian immigrants who regularly attended these Syrian organizations 27. “Addressed Syrian Society,” Williston Graphic, March 14, 1918. 28. “Williston Doctor Honored,” Williston Graphic, August 4, 1919. 70 noted in their WPA interviews that English was now the primary language spoken in the household, as compared to those who did not attend reported that “Syrian” was still used exclusively at home. The KOMS also embraced similar tactics used by older Syrian relief organizations, including the demonization of the Ottoman with the purpose of securing donations from North Dakota’s non-Syrian population. The motive behind this tactics was originally promote awareness of Syrian oppression by the Ottoman Empire; however, they also had the unintended, but fortunate, consequence of presenting North Dakota’s Syrian immigrants as refugees fleeing from an oppressive regime. This would only help Syrians integrate among their native American communities. This appeal to emotion showcased Syrians as victims of discrimination rather than another faceless immigrant group competing for America’s resources. The Ottoman demonizing campaign was, not surprisingly, more successful during the war years. In July of 1918, with more than two years of American involvement in the war, the KOMS hosted the annual Fourth of July parade in Williston. Due to their position as parade host, the Williston city council allowed the KOMS to present the largest number of floats at the parade. The KOMS created four motorized floats. The first two floats displayed Syrians as the forerunners of science, technology, arts, and, of course, Christianity—no doubt an appeal to the Christian population in Williston. The third float, however, specifically targeted the Ottomans. This particular float showed what appeared to be impoverished Syrians wearing rough, torn-apart clothing while under the watchful eye of the well-dressed 71 Turks. The not-so-subtle message the KOMS attempted to portray with this particular float could not have been more obvious. Even the local newspaper, the Williston Graphic, reported that this float showed poor Syrians under the draconian hand of the “barbarian Turks, oppressed and starved.”29 The KOMS utilized local print media on a number of occasions, many times submitting letters “from Syria” detailing the horrible and deteriorating conditions of Syrian life under Ottoman control.30 The 1910s witnessed some of the greatest showings of Syrian participation in political and social organizations. Many of these organizations, like the Blossom of the United Syrian Society, began as church-affiliated groups but soon evolved into fully developed Syrian social organizations, similar to American-style lodges and fraternal orders. While the purpose of these organizations focused on awareness of Syrian mistreatment at the hands of the Ottomans (usually for the result of increased donations), they also frequently encouraged the promoting good citizenship and developing proper American attitudes. These organizations served as an unofficial prerequisite course in how to adjust to American society. In other words, these societies, while promoting and preserving Syrian heritage, culture, and tradition, also initiated the first steps of North Dakota’s Syrians into becoming a new generation of Arab-Americans. 29. “Red Cross Nets Large Sum at Fourth of July Celebration,” Williston Graphic, July 11, 1918. 30. “Syrian Society Wire Answered,” Williston Graphic, December 27, 1917; “Interesting Letter from Tyre Syria,” Williston Graphic, February 27, 1919; “Distress of Syrians Expressed in Letter,” Williston Graphic, March 20, 1919. 72 It was after the war years, when the focus of Syrian and Armenian atrocities began to lose its prominence in the agendas of both the Syrian relief organizations and in America’s print mediums, that a number of Syrians officially became members of the United States’ two largest political parties. Sam Omar, a Syrian Muslim of Ross, reported that in the 1920s, he officially became affiliated with the Democratic Party.31 Similarly, a number of Syrians also joined the Republican Party, including Farhart of Ross and Rameden of Bowbells.32 No single national political party could claim dominance over North Dakota’s Syrian constituency, as participation in both parties was recorded. Unfortunately, there is no available data describing whether western North Dakota became involved in the more left-leaning sects of western North Dakota’s political arena. Membership in the Socialist and Communist parties saw tremendous increases with western North Dakota—becoming a de facto hub for Great Plains socialist activities region wide.33 Williams and Mountrail counties specifically, both of which having a substantial population of Syrian immigrants, contained some of the largest constituencies of far-left members in early twentieth-century North Dakota. For example, in 1912, 31. Sam Omar, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October 3, 1939. 32. Boaley Farhart, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October 31- November 1, 1939; Edward Curtis, Encyclopedia of Muslim-American History (New York: Infobase Publishing, 2010). 33. William C. Pratt, “Rural Radicalism on the Northern Plains, 1912-1950,” Montana: The Magazine of Western History 42, no. 1 (Winter 1992): 43. 73 Williams County elected both a socialist sheriff and county commissioner.34 Furthermore, in 1912, Socialist Party candidate, Eugene Debs, won twenty-six percent of the vote in both Williams and Mountrail counties during the presidential election.35 Finally, in 1924, Williams County, whose county seat resides in Williston, elected August Miller, the first known communist politician in America, to serve in the North Dakota State legislature.36 Sadly, no empirical data currently exists to prove whether Syrians actively participated in left-wing politics and further research needs to be conducted in order to either prove or dispel this theory. A number of North Dakota Syrians enlisted in the United States military. Eli Kassis (one of the Kassis brothers of Williston), Joseph Munyer, John Farris, Sam Juma, and Sid Zine (Sadie Kalil’s first husband) all enlisted into the United States Army shortly before the start of the First World War. Not much is mentioned about the Syrian immigrant military experience in the United States in their WPA interviews except that these men served an average of two years before returning to civilian life in western North Dakota.37 Sid Zine, however, died from an illness shortly after his transit to Camp 34. Pratt, “Rural Radicalism,” 44. 35. Ibid. 36. William C. Pratt, “Socialism on the Northern Plains, 1900-1924,” South Dakota History 18, no.1 (Spring 1988): 29. 37. Roster of the Men and Women Who Served in the Army or Naval Service (including the Marine Corps) of the United States or Its Allies from the State of North Dakota in the World War, 1917-1918. Vol. 3. 1931. North Dakota State University, Special Collections Archive; Mary Farris, Interview by Leona A. Gauthier. Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files. (Transcript on file at the NDSU Institute for Regional Studies); Williams County Historical Society, The Wonders of Williams: A History of Williams County, Vol. 1. (Williston, ND: Williams County Historical Society, 1975). 74 Dodge. It was four years after Zine’s death that Sadie later married Williston businessman and fellow Syrian, David Kalil. From the available data, there is no question that the Syrian immigrants of western North Dakota were a politically and socially active demographic during the early twentieth century. Less than a decade after the arrival of the first group of Syrian immigrants to North Dakota, it was reported among Midwest periodicals that the establishment of Syrian-based social organizations began to take place. This is impressive for a group of immigrants whose full comprehension of English was still being shaped. What is even more impressive is that these Syrians did not come from a politically active background in Ottoman Syria, but instead discovered their newfound political awareness as a result of the Great War and the sympathy of the American populace toward Syrian refugees. While the 1910s showcased the initial stages of Syrian political and social activism, it would be during the financial malaise of the Great Depression that a greater number of Syrians, including both Christians and Muslims, participated in relief organizations. Organizations only this time targeting Syrian-Americans, and not just the Syrian of the Near East. 75 76 CHAPTER FOUR – SYRIANS AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION The Great Depression of the 1930s was a difficult time for many Americans, not just the Syrians of western North Dakota. It was a time when wheat, the staple crop of not only North Dakota but much of the American Great Plains, dropped its price per bushel by nearly seventy percent—to a record low of only .27¢ per bushel.1 It was also the time when a largest number of Syrian immigrants returned back to Syria, only now to a postOttoman Syria now under French control. But for those who stayed, it was also a time when political activism among North Dakota’s Syrian population (who by now had resided in America for nearly twenty to thirty years) grew to combat the growing threat of economic instability. This chapter will analyze Syrian immigrant involvement in political and social organizations during the 1930s, specifically the New Deal relief organizations beginning in 1933. This chapter will also discuss the difficult financial situation that plagued Syrian farmers and shopkeepers of western North Dakota and how these maladies, suffered by both Syrian and non-Syrian alike, brought together a diverse group of ethnicities due to their common plight of economic hardship. Alixa Naff commented that Syrians immigrants before World War II “required neither political parties nor unions” as their emphasis was on individual achievements.2 This chapter will showcase 1. Catherine McNicol Stock, Main Street in Crisis: The Great Depression and the Old Middle Class on the Northern Plains (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1992.) 19; Charles Juma Sr., interview by Larry Sprunk, March 15, 1976, interview 669A, Oral History Collection, State Historical Society of North Dakota, Bismarck, ND. 2. Alixa Naff, Becoming American: The Early Arab Immigrant Experience (Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1993), 327. 77 that while organized representation might not have been the Syrian immigrant’s number one priority, it was nonetheless an instrument embraced by Syrians when necessary—and the Great Depression was indeed one of those times. The start date of the Great Depression mistakenly coincides with the stock market crash of October 24, 1929—commonly referred to as “Black Thursday.” On this ominous day, the New York Stock Exchange fell to nearly one-third of its overall value.3 While the full effects of the Great Depression were not apparent until the end of 1929, for North Dakota’s Syrian population, the devastation was already underway. Charles Juma of Ross, now the male breadwinner of the Juma family following his father’s death in 1917, described the misery his family and neighbors suffered during the 1930s: “Between 1929-1937, we couldn’t make our way. We couldn’t raise no crops, [and] didn’t have enough cattle.”4 Joe Albert of Williston remarked how his prosperity in America significantly decreased following the Great Depression, which left his loans unpaid and his debtors frequently defaulting on their payments. While Albert did not list an exact year with which came his financial hardships, he did note that he was so poor by the late 1930s that he was forced to live in a boarding home in Williston for the last ten 3. Eric Rauchway, The Great Depression & The New Deal (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008), 19. 4. Charles Juma Sr., interview by Larry Sprunk, March 15, 1976, interview 669A, Oral History Collection, State Historical Society of North Dakota, Bismarck, ND. 78 years.5 Boaley Farhart of Ross remembered that 1934 was the year of his greatest loss, when over thirty-two head of cattle needed to be “disposed of” in order to continue living on his homestead and support his family of seven (later expanded to ten). Farhart also warned how farmers who invested too much of their wealth in cattle quickly became despondent after the prices for sheep, cattle, and goats dropped and the price of feed rose astronomically.6 Other North Dakota Syrians, including Sam and Alley Omar, reported similar occurrences as Albert and Farhart. The Omar brothers, who farmed together in Ross since the 1910s, both remembered (from two separate WPA interviews) that they “lost twelve head of cattle” (assuming sold) to the government just to keep their homestead. Sam Omar remarked how that was a loss they could ill afford and that their standard of living subsequently decreased not long after. Mike Abdallah, a Syrian Muslim of Ross, recalled a different, yet still disastrous, consequence of the Great Depression. According to Abdallah, the economic situation in Ross was so dire that the local school (the Ross Consolidated School) officially shut down due to lack of funding. “The children living at home have been going to school every year until this year,” proclaimed Abdallah, “there 5. Joe Albert, interview by Roy R. Penman, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, February 16-21, 1940. 6. Boaley Farhart, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October 31- November 1, 1939. 79 is no school this year because they haven’t any money to pay expenses.”7 Luckily though, the children of Williston never underwent a break in education as the majority of the Williams County schools continued to operate. Syrian women also remembered with dismay the hardships endured during this difficult financial time. Libbie Layon of Williston remarked in her WPA interview how they lost all their cattle, which Layon deemed as a loss of “everything” due to her family’s dependence on livestock.8 Libbie Layon also went on to describe how her family took out a mortgage from the government that soon led to foreclosure not long after due to their inability to pay.9 Mary Juma, a Muslim resident of Ross, did not recall any particular instance specific to the Great Depression; however, she did simply note however that after her husband’s death, life was much more difficult, even more so during the “depression.”10 Unfortunately, it is difficult to determine with any certainty the effect that the Great Depression specifically had on western North Dakota’s Syrian women. The problem for this is twofold: first, the lack of education among Syrian women both before and after their arrival in America caused a large percentage of Syrian female 7. Mike Abdallah, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October/November 1939. 8. Libbie Layon, interview by Leona A. Gauthier, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, March 26, 1940. 9. Ibid. 10. Mary Juma, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October/November 1939. 80 illiteracy and most women had to rely on their husbands and relatives to understand matters external to the community; and second, the consensus among Syrian women as to the cause of the Depression was reduced to an association with bad crop yields, which is not entirely inaccurate.11 While “bad crops” can be an appropriate indicator of the environmental devastation caused by the Dust Bowl, which ravaged throughout much of North Dakota during the 1920s and 1930s, they still do not describe the extent of how the Great Depression affected Syrian women. With that being said, the drought and the infamous dust storms of the 1930s certainly exacerbated an already volatile situation. The ecological disaster of the 1930s, known euphemistically as the “Dust Bowl era”, could be described as the most devastating environmental disaster to strike the United States. For North Dakota farmers, the 1930s was a constant downward spiral going from bad to worse. Between 1927-1938, North Dakota experienced the driest summers and the most arid winters ever recorded. While 1934 and 1936 saw the most rainfall during this dry decade, these two “wet years” were still considered as having less than average rainfall.12 Williams County, home of the city of Williston, and home of many Syrian immigrants, determined that their combined harvest in 1936 for the entire county was “a total failure.”13 Even those Syrians who were lucky enough to financially handle the onslaught of the Great Depression early on, the 11. Ibid. 12. Stock, Main Street in Crisis, 20. 13. Ibid, 21. 81 endless droughts of the 1930s were simply too much to bear. Charles Juma of Ross once described his financial troubles as manageable “until the drought came.”14 The Great Depression was difficult for many North Dakota Syrians. Regardless of occupation, gender, or age, the financial malaise of the 1930s created hardships for all those involved. For farmers and shopkeepers, many had to sell land (or livestock) or their businesses in order to provide the basic needs for their families. For Syrian women and children, while they may not have explicitly listed the hardships they endured in their WPA interviews, one can imagine decreased income, food, and clothing, especially for the children (those who were lucky enough to continue attending school). To illustrate the severity of the agricultural devastation suffered by North Dakotans, the WPA concluded that between 1930-1935, thirty-four of North Dakota’s fifty-four counties reported production loss at a rate of sixty percent.15 If that were not enough, nearly one hundred percent of North Dakota farmers reported their farm’s agricultural output at less than fifty-four percent (italics mine).16 It goes without saying that one of the hardest hit states during the Great Depression was the agriculturally-dependent state of North Dakota. Despite all of this, the Syrians of western North Dakota, particularly those who stayed, 14. Charles Juma Sr., interview by Larry Sprunk, March 15, 1976, interview 669A, Oral History Collection, State Historical Society of North Dakota, Bismarck, ND. 15. Ibid, 25. 16. Ibid. 82 showed incredible resilience and perseverance during this difficult financial time.17 Not surprisingly, many western North Dakota Syrians quickly sought for collective representation (just as they did during the war years) and organized relief efforts in an attempt to secure their livelihoods and to voice their concerns. The most popular organization among western North Dakota’s Syrians was the North Dakota Farmer’s Union (NDFU). The NDFU began simply as the “Farmer’s Union” in the early 1900s and permeated from its state of origin in Texas and into North Dakota by the 1910s. By 1927, the NDFU was officially recognized by the state as an organization dedicated to securing the collective rights for farmers and ensuring that the cost of production was the minimum price for which these farmers could sell their crop. Charles Talbott, an ex-socialist and former member of the Nonpartisan League, served as president of the North Dakota Farmers Union, along with its direct-action arm, the Farmers Holiday Association, until his death in 1937.18 A number of Syrian farmers quickly enrolled to become Farmer’s Union members. Sam Omar and his brother Allay, both Syrian Muslims from Ross, joined the NDFU in 1926/1927.19 Rameden, a Muslim of Bowbells, and Farhart, a Muslim from Ross, also joined the NDFU, however their 17. Charles Juma Sr., interview by Larry Sprunk, March 15, 1976, interview 669A, Oral History Collection, State Historical Society of North Dakota, Bismarck, ND. Charles Juma reported that “many Syrians left [during the Great Depression] because prosperity didn’t look too good.” 18. Pratt, “Rural Radicalism,” 47-8. 19. Sam Omar, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October 3, 1939. 83 dates of enrollment were not given.20 Charles Juma of Ross served on the Farmers Union Oil Company Board of Directors, and remained active in the organization for nearly seventeen years.21 Toward the end of the Great Depression, the NDFU grew to a strength of about 50,000 North Dakotans with the majority of Syrians involved in this case study actively participating in this particular organization well past their WPA interviews in 1939/40. Another important agrarian-centric political organization in western North Dakota was the County Agricultural Conservation Association (ACA). This organization was a result of President Roosevelt’s famous Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933. The ACA sustained regional offices in each county of the state it represented and had the purpose of promoting soil conversation and encouraging modern farming practices. Many Syrians flocked to join the ACA, including the Omar brothers, Rameden, Farhart, Abdallah, and Charles Juma (who served as chairman of the Mountrail County ACA for twenty-five years).22 The importance of the ACA to North Dakota Syrians is apparent from the significance many of these Syrian placed on this particular organization: “If it weren’t for this [organization],” remembers Abdallah, “ there wouldn’t be any money in trying to 20. Boaley Farhart, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October 31- November 1, 1939; Edward Curtis, Encyclopedia of Muslim-American History (New York: Infobase Publishing, 2010), 61. 21. Charles Juma Sr., interview by Larry Sprunk, March 15, 1976, interview 669A, Oral History Collection, State Historical Society of North Dakota, Bismarck, ND. 22. Ibid. 84 raise a crop.”23 Rameden recalled in his WPA interview that he did not remember much about the ACA, but he did recall that it helped him immensely during a time of great need.24 A number of other relief organizations found western North Dakota Syrians joining their ranks en masse. Most of these included organizations similar to the Agricultural Adjustment Administration and the WPA, like the Farm Security Administration (FSA) and the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. Albert, after losing most of his agricultural investments, recalled how the only work he could get was through the WPA, particularly the irrigation projects surrounding the Missouri River. Farhart experienced a similar situation as Albert in regards to the WPA’s absolute importance to North Dakotans as a job-providing entity. “The relief situation is all right,” recalled Farhart, “as that is the only way some people can exist.”25 Williston shopkeeper and local farm owner David Kalil, who at this time employed a number of Syrian immigrants including James Azarian, remembered the frustration he suffered for not seeking assistance from the AAA, which he stated would have granted him two thousand 23. Mike Abdallah, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October/November 1939. 24. Edward Curtis, Encyclopedia of Muslim-American History (New York: Infobase Publishing, 2010), 61. 25. Boaley Farhart, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October 31- November 1, 1939. 85 dollars in relief supplies.26 Syrians who worked for organizations like the WPA frequently complained of the small wages, but it was one of the only sources of employment available at the time. Joseph Munyer recalled how difficult it was to feed his family of eight with his meager income of $48 per month.27 Likewise for Edward Nedoff of Williston, who described how he enjoyed the relief the WPA provided, but it was never nearly enough to survive off of.28 Syrian women, while not explicit as to how the FSA, AAA, and the WPA, brought relief to North Dakota Syrians, typically categorized federal relief efforts as overwhelmingly positive. Mary Juma conceded that while she did not know much about the FSA and other relief efforts, she did know that they were good because they helped people survive the harsh times.29 Libbie Layon also praised the WPA, especially since her son, Thomas Layon, was employed by the relief organization for a number of years.30 Similarly, Mary Farris recalled the necessity of government-provided sustenance and 26. David Kalil, interview by Roy R. Penman, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files. 27. Munyer, Joseph. interview by Roy R. Penman, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, February 2, 1940. 28. Edward Nedoff, interview by Leona A. Gauthier, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files. 29. Mary Juma, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October/November 1939. 30. Libbie Layon, interview by Leona A. Gauthier, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, March 26, 1940. 86 relief, “ e’pecially when you [can’t] grow no crop.”31 While the exact number of Syrians who received federal assistance has not yet been produced, what can be seen is that nearly all of the Syrians involved in this case study (nearly thirteen out of sixteen) received some form of federal relief, whether directly or indirectly. Despite the financial and ecological maelstrom suffered by North Dakota’s Syrians, this resilient group of homesteaders, farmers, ranchers, peddlers, and shopkeepers, continued to adhere to their cultural traditions. One of the most conspicuous examples of this continued Syrian cultural adherence was the establishment of what has been debated to be the first mahjid (mosque) in the United States. Construction on this mahjid began sometime in 1927 and was finished in 1929.32 As mentioned in Chapter Two, the generous flexibility surrounding Islam’s religious observances made it possible for Islam to survive in western North Dakota for nearly seventy years. For example, due to the remote location, coupled with the lack of proper Islamic facilities nearby, Islamic services in western North Dakota typically used the most educated follower to lead the Friday services. Sam Juma, who arrived in Ross in 1907, was frequently chosen to lead these services.33 However, on a limited number of occasions, a local imam (prayer leader) of Detroit, Hussein Karoub, would arrive in Ross to officiate weddings and perform 31. Mary Farris, interview by Leona A. Gauthier, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files. 32. “Once Numerous Moslem Community Now Reduced to Half Dozen Families,” Minot Daily News (Minot, ND) December 7, 1968. 33. Ibid. 87 funerals according to Islamic tradition.34 Those who regularly worshipped at this mahjid also formed a “Moslem Association” sometime in the late 1920s. Unfortunately, the purpose of the Moslem Association never made its way to print nor did a roster of active members survive the early twentieth century. What is known about this Muslim organization is limited to the number of members at its apex (30-40 members) with Charles Juma as the last chairman.35 One can speculate however that one of the functions of this Moslem Association would have been the oversight and maintenance of the local Islamic cemetery, known officially in the North Dakota registry as the “Assyrian Moslem Cemetery,” that surrounded the Ross mahjid.36 In the 1930’s, a surprisingly large number of first generation Syrians remained illiterate and frequently had to converse in a mixture of Arabic and broken English. Interestingly, this lack of education did little to dissuade Syrians from participating in political organizations or subscribing to English periodicals. Most of the Syrians of western North Dakota appear to have subscribed to both local periodicals and Arabic newspapers from presses located as near as Bismarck to locales as distant as Cairo and Damascus. Farhart, Kalil, and the Omar brothers reported that they subscribed to Syrian 34. Ibid. In the early twentieth century, there were two imams who normally led services in Detroit: Hussein Karoub, who led the Sunni congregation; and Khalil Bazzy, who lead Shi`a services. Since we have multiple accounts of Karoub officiating Islamic services in Ross, with no mention of Bazzy, it is safe to assume that the Muslims of Ross were more than likely Sunni. 35. Ibid. 36. This cemetery is currently in use today and remains one of the few Islamic cemeteries in the state of North Dakota. Nearly all of the Ross Syrians involved in this case study are interned at the “Assyrian Moslem Cemetery.” Ref. Figure 1.1 88 periodicals from presses in both New York (probably al-Bayan or al-Hada, both of which were popular twentieth-century Syrian-based newspapers written in Arabic) and Damascus. Of these subscribers, the Omar brothers announced in their WPA interviews that they had little understanding of English (Allay Omar particularly) but used these periodicals to increase their English and also for updates in current events and recreation.37 Other Syrians, including John Kassis, remembered how he used to subscribe to Arabic newspapers but had stopped in the 1930s and had only read local periodicals from Williston, Stanley, and Minot.38 Sadly though, after nearly thirty years of living in the United States, most of the Syrian women involved in this case study (Mary Farris, Mary Juma, Libbie Layon, and Sadie Kalil) all reported that they had an extremely rudimentary understanding of English and frequently had to converse in Arabic to their husbands and others for information. This lack of English among Syrian mothers would have a detrimental effect on the continued adherence to Syrian culture starting when the second generation of Syrians began maturing into young adults. The Great Depression can be seen as the crucible for many Syrians of western North Dakota in the early twentieth century. Many Syrians, regardless if they were shopkeepers, farmers, day laborers, or housewives, remembered just how miserable the Great Depression was on their already fragile lifestyle as a frequently poor, immigrant, 37. Sam Omar, interview by Everal J. McKinnon, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, October 3, 1939. 38. John Kassis, interview by Leona A. Gauthier, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files. 89 largely illiterate, group of homesteaders. According to Charles Juma in his North Dakota History interview in 1977, Juma claimed that a large number of Syrians (exact number unknown) returned to Syria because of the devastation caused by the loss of land and wealth by a number of Syrian immigrants.39 A comparative analysis of the US census records for Ross Township shows that while the number of “Syrians” listed in the census did increase by nearly forty percent from 1900 to 1930, the actual number of new arrivals was quite lower (roughly ten to fifteen percent). What this means is that the number of Syrians increased from 1900 to 1930 because families that have lived in Ross for multiple years (e.g., Sam Juma, Farhart, Juma, and the Omar brothers) continued to have children thereby increasing the number of Syrians, and not that new “Head(s) of Household(s)” arrived to settle and create families of their own.40 Despite the economic hardships caused by the Great Depression, all of the Syrians involved in this case study continued to stay in western North Dakota. As for much of America, the eruption of hostilities in the 1940s created new opportunities for many Syrian immigrants, only now to include their children, whom by now were married and starting families of their own. Their survival during the Great Depression, an economic and environmental anomaly that touched the lives of nearly every single American— 39. Charles Juma Sr., interview by Larry Sprunk, March 15, 1976, interview 669A, Oral History Collection, State Historical Society of North Dakota, Bismarck, ND. 40. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Fourteenth Census of the United States: 1920—Population (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1920); U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930 Population Schedule (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1930). 90 immigrant and native—helped to shape this new generation of Arab-Americans. The resiliency displayed by Syrians during the Great Depression, coupled with the political activism and participation in social organizations beginning in the 1910s and continuing into the late 1930s, initiated the evolution of Syrian immigrants into Arab-Americans. It would be this group of mostly illiterate, poor, farming families who would become pioneers in their own right. For this was the first group of Syrians (especially Muslims) to arrive, settle, and interact with their American neighbors in western North Dakota and became involved in a number of political and social organizations. It was also this group who settled in one of the most remote locations in North Dakota and began construction on the first disputed mahjid in America. This last part is of particular importance. For it showcases the importance and significance that religion and other Syrian cultural traditions had on this particular group of immigrants. For seventy-three years, Islam in Depression-Era western North Dakota survived without the help of any official sheikhs, imams, or Sufis.41 Like the survival of Islam in western North Dakota, it was this sort of adaptive nature that led to the survival of these Syrians, during one of the most difficult financial times in American history, in one of the most remote locations, with a native population that had little (if any) understanding of Arabic. Adding to this the newfound political activism these Syrians had adopted as part of their experience in America, and one can now see a strong, resilient Syrian community that fully embraced the Americanstyle political process that has become a staple in what it means to be an American. What 41. Sheiks (trans. leader/chief), imam (trans. prayer leader), Sufi (typically associated with ascetic groups of Muslims who embrace a mystical interpretation of Islam). 91 makes Americans American is the acknowledgment that all of us come from different backgrounds, the renowned “huddled masses” of Emma Lazarus’s poem, and that what binds this seemingly incompatible meddling of cultures together is the belief and faith in the American political system. A system where even poor, illiterate, Syrian immigrants could find a political voice. 92 93 CONCLUSION – THE ARAB-AMERICANS This thesis attempted to analyze the political and social activism of North Dakota Syrians during the early-twentieth century. As mentioned throughout this work, Syrian activism has been thoroughly documented during two periods of the early-twentieth century, the first from 1910-1922 and the second from 1929-1939. While it is not recorded that Syrian immigrants actively participated in political and social organizations either before or in-between these two time periods, it does not mean that their political resolve simply ended or withered during these undocumented sections. This simply means that empirical evidence for their activism is lacking. Regardless, even with some periods of time missing valuable information concerning Syrian involvement in social and political organizations, a number of important details can be drawn from the available data. First, all of the Syrians involved in this case study did not mention any involvement in social or political groups while living in Ottoman Syria. Not only was any information on this particular subject missing, but a first-hand account from Joe Albert, a Syrian immigrant from Damascus, concluded that involvement in organized labor unions was not only absent, but one “dare not do that kind of thing over there (Syria).”1 Yet, less than a decade after their disembarkation onto American shores, Syrian immigrants joined a number of Syrian relief organizations including the Blossom of the United Syrian 1. Joe Albert, interview by Roy R. Penman, Works Progress Administration, North Dakota Writers’ Project: Ethnic Group Files, February 16-21, 1940. 94 Society, the Syrian Relief Committee, the Knights of Modern Syria, and the numerous female auxiliaries associated with these organizations. These organizations appear to cross religious lines, as residents from both the Christian-centric city of Williston and the predominately Muslim township of Ross had representation within these organizations. Most of these Syrians arrived in the United States with little to no understanding of English. This unfortunate trend would continue for over thirty years (and longer for firstgeneration Syrian women), but interestingly enough, their illiteracy did not decrease their ambition for political activism or social involvement. Second, Syrians of western North Dakota, particularly those involved in the Syrian-led relief organizations, are presented as remarkably curious about becoming American or adopting traits that would make them more like their fellow native Americans. For example, a large number of Syrians attended naturalization workshops in Williston hosted by Syrian social organizations like the Knights of Modern Syria or attended speeches by senior members educating Syrians on topics such as American “civil government,” becoming “good American citizens,” and “Americanization.” Many Syrians actively sought to increase their Americanization process by attending these night classes, speeches, and workshops. Third, western North Dakota Syrians, particularly those who homesteaded or adopted a more agrarian lifestyle, quickly enrolled in agriculturally-focused political groups in order to secure their financial interests through collective representation. The Great Depression saw the largest number of Syrians involved in both agricultural special 95 interest groups like the Farmer’s Union and the federal relief programs of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration. Despite that many Syrians continued to be illiterate decades after their arrival in America, many understood that the most efficient means of securing employment or obtaining relief involved active participation in government programs like the Works Progress Administration, the National Recovery Administration, and the County Agricultural Conservation Association. These organizations specifically targeted those most affected by the economic downturn of the Great Depression, many of which included the immigrant farming community of North Dakota, a predominately agrarian region of the United States. These trends in political and social activism among western North Dakota Syrians are a means of explaining their acculturation from Syrian immigrant to Arab-American. While scholars such as Naff and Gualtieri have written extensively on the Syrian assimilation experience as one perpetuated by either “entrepreneurial pack peddling” or their effort to secure their “white” racial status in the eyes of the courts, this thesis attempts to add to this growing body of historiographical literature the newfound concept that Syrian involvement in the American political process, to include collective representation through social organizations, active participation in political groups, and 96 reliance on federal relief during the economic malaise of the Great Depression, was instrumental in their evolution from Syrian immigrant to Arab-American.2 One of the binding factors that makes Americans American, despite the large collection of cultures, differing religions, and frequent lack of English, is the belief that the American political system offers potential solutions to those who are normally not accustomed to voicing their concerns using formal political avenues, at least not without the threat of retribution. The Syrian emigrants of Ottoman Syrian seemed to know that all too well. Their quick participation in Syrian relief organizations during the 1910s in order to combat the “barbarity” of the Ottoman government showcases that Syrians did not hesitate to form collective organizations in an effort to address their concerns for their fellow countrymen. This trend continued into the late 1920s and 1930s, when Syrians rallied for the support of federal relief programs and other agrarian relief organizations, only this time to combat the economic devastation caused by the Great Depression. This pattern of membership in collective organizations and utilization of federal relief programs was common not only among North Dakota’s Syrians immigrants, but also among many immigrant groups in America. Alan Kraut, author of the Huddled Masses, one of the foremost narratives on the American immigrant experience of 1880-1920, described how many immigrant groups 2. Alixa Naff, Becoming American: The Early Arab Immigrant Experience (Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1993); Sarah Gualtieri, “Becoming ‘White’: Race, Religion, and the Foundations of Syrian/Lebanese Ethnicity in the United States,” Journal of American Ethnic History 20, no. 4 (Summer 2001): 29-58; Sarah Gualtieri, Between Arab and White: Race and Ethnicity in the Early Syrian American Diaspora (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2009). 97 organized small, partisan, political groups in order to secure the interests and provide for the newer immigrants (i.e., food in exchange for votes). North Dakota Syrians, while not explicitly exchanging votes for relief, do not appear to be dissimilar from the immigrants listed in Kraut’s work. These immigrants arrived for a number of different reasons (e.g., Turkish oppression, opportunity in America, and/or evasion from conscription into the Ottoman military) just like those of Eastern and Western Europe who left their respective homelands for their own reasons, whether internally or externally influenced. Luckily for this particular group of North Dakotan immigrants, America’s entry in the First World War provided Syrians, particularly those involved in Syrian relief efforts, and the rest of the American populace with a common enemy and a shared obligation of helping Syrians living under Ottoman rule. We see examples of Syrian and non-Syrian participation in Syrian relief organizations throughout the war years. This involvement grew so rapidly and had such a strong financial backing that in 1919 an American expedition to Syria was sent to provide relief and aid to the Syrians of the Ottoman Empire.3 This virulent acrimony against the Ottoman government was also a double-edged sword, as many Syrian immigrants mistakenly suffered racial slurs originally intended for their Turkish suzerains. This scale of prejudice must have been limited to outside of western North Dakota as no Syrian involved in this case study reported any instances of overt racism or discrimination by their American neighbors. 3. “Armenian-Syrian Relief Expedition,” Williston Graphic, March 20, 1919. 98 Regrettably, the de facto maintainers of Islamic cultural traditions within the family, a role normally reserved for mothers, were unable to effectively pass on their unique heritage due to a general lack of education and widespread illiteracy among Syrian immigrant women. It is not surprising then that the subsequent generations of Syrian-Americans began to create their own distinct culture, which embraced a syncretic blend of Christianity (conversions promoted either from marriages outside their ethnic group or through a desire to adopt more “American” ideals), mixed with the interspersed use of both English and Arabic. Syrians who arrived unmarried many times had little choice but to marry outside of both their ethnicity and their religion. This was the case for a number of Syrians including Boaley Farhart, Allay Omar, and John Munyer. While some of these trans-ethnic marriages resulted in a conversion to Islam, actual reported instances of these conversions are limited. Edward Curtis argues that the period of the greatest Muslim assimilation in the northern Great Plains took place during the Great Depression and continued into the 1940s. According to Curtis, “A 1930s drought forced many farmers out of business and they moved away. In World War II, many Muslim men and women left to serve in the U.S. armed forces…and [many] did not return. Some who did remain in North Dakota began joining local Christian churches.”4 This does not, however, imply that Syrian culture in western North Dakota was completely subsumed by the 1950s. When North Dakota History interviewer Larry Sprunk asked Charles Juma 4. Edward Curtis, Muslims in America: A Short History (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), 50. 99 about his cultural traditions that survived into the 1970s, Juma (now seventy-four) proudly quipped that he could speak “Syrian” as well as the current “President of Syria.”5 While Charles Juma may have steadfastly proclaimed his adherence to certain aspects of his Syrian culture, many Syrian immigrants assimilated as quickly as they could in an effort to begin their Americanization process. It was during the Second World War and into the Cold War that one can see a gradual dilution of Islamic traditions in favor of a more “American” culture and with it the full embrace of Christianity. This dilution ultimately resulted in the demolition of the original mahjid in the 1970s after a long period of disuse. Only a small number of descendants of Syrian immigrants continue to live in this small town, which even today has a population of less than 120. This, however, is not the end of their story. While this assimilation may have halted the traditional practices of Islam in the small Ross community, a proud heritage continues to exist that fully acknowledges its Middle Eastern and Islamic background. This assimilation was not a complete purge of its former Islamic heritage, but was—like for so many others—an embrace of Americanism; the belief that while “Old Country” traditions may eventually fall by the wayside, the acknowledgement of their former traditions would always remain a unique and memorable background. 5. Charles Juma Sr., interview by Larry Sprunk, March 15, 1976, interview 669A, Oral History Collection, State Historical Society of North Dakota, Bismarck, ND. 100 While the memorial located off of North Dakota’s State Route Two is not the original mahjid built in the late 1920s, its presence nonetheless serves as a reminder of the cosmopolitan nature of western North Dakota society, especially in the early years of its statehood. This is evidenced by the creation of the memorial itself, which was constructed in 2005 from donations from both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. In fact, the founder of this memorial was none other than Alley Omar’s wife, Sarah Omar Shupe. While Sarah’s dream of restoring the mahjid was not accomplished in her lifetime (she passed away in 2004), one of her daughters, Lila Thorlakson, sought to make her mother’s desire come to fruition and later served as caretaker of the newly constructed memorial. While some of the Arab-Americans of Ross Township (now simply Ross) may not practice the faith of the immigrant ancestors, their memorial and their heritage continues to be a source of pride within the North Dakotan Arab-American community. Its those like Sarah Omar and Lila Thorlakson who represent this remembrance of their traditional Islamic culture, nearly 105 years after the arrival of their ancestors. This thesis had a dual purpose. The first was to showcase the political and social activism of a group of Syrian Christians and Muslims, and how this activism (which was unfamiliar to them in Ottoman Syria) was a catalyst for their acculturation from Syrian immigrant to Arab-American. And second, to present the story of these Syrian immigrants as no different than the story of the millions who arrived during the period known by scholars as the Great Migration. These Syrians, like so many other immigrants, landed in an unfamiliar territory with only a rudimentary understanding of the local 101 vernacular and slowly began to live off the land and provide for their children. Many times these immigrants had to rely on one another, especially those living in more homogenously congruent communities that were isolated rurally. Other times, events like war and relief efforts on the home front opened opportunities for Syrians to interact with their more native neighbors. Sooner or later, these Syrians, like so many others, began to partake in the political processes that have been the lynchpin for what mends this diverse amalgamation of cultures together. 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