SLOVENIAN IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY IN THE UNITED STATES FROM PAST TO PRESENT
Over the last three centuries , many Slovenians were swept by modern European and global waves of migration , leaving their homeland and settling in different parts of the world . Emigration from the Slovenian ethnic territory to the United States was at its high before the First World War , in the interwar period , and in the 1960s and ‘ 70s . It has continued to this day , although in substantially smaller numbers .
Slovenian women and men moved across the big pond for a variety of reasons . In the second half of the 19th century and in the 1960 ’ s and ‘ 70s , they mainly left for economic reasons , while post-WWI and WWII migrations were provoked by the political situation in the country . Slovenian intellectuals engaged in science , art or culture were often motivated by better economic and work conditions , career opportunities or reputation , which is also the case with the current immigration of Slovenians to the States .
The first to come were the Protestants who emigrated during the Slovenian Counter-Reformation in the 17th century , followed by Catholic missionaries engaged in religious work among the native tribes in Minnesota , Michigan and Wisconsin .
Immigration was massive between 1870 and 1924 , which was the period of rapid development of industry and mining . In 1924 , the U . S . placed severe restrictions , establishing a quota system that limited immigration from southern and eastern Europe . However , not even strict legislation could stop people from abandoning their homes to live the American dream .
Due to fertile soil , developed industry and mining , Slovenian immigrants mostly settled in the northwestern and midwestern part of the U . S . Their destination depended on a variety of factors , such as accessibility , period of immigration , eventual Slovenian immigrant settlements , climate . They worked in mining , steel and ironworks , agriculture and service
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