Liechtensteiner Americans (german: Liechtensteineramerikaner) are
Americans
Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...
of
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarch ...
descent.
History
The first Liechtensteiner emigrants of which we have record immigrated to the United States in the early 1830s. However, the first great wave of Liechtensteiner emigrants arrived in the United States on April 7, 1851, settling in
; and in 1852 another group immigrated to
Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
(including stonemasons, bricklayers and carpenters). Eventually, many of the Liechtensteiner immigrants to Dubuque left that city and got farms nearby. However, the Liechtensteiner emigration was markedly reduced during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
(1861-1865). Later, when the construction of railroads began "tying the country together and opening up the West", other Liechtensteiners immigrated to the United States to work in the construction of railroads.
During the following decades, many other Liechtensteiners immigrated to places such as
Guttenberg, Iowa
Guttenberg is a city in Clayton County, Iowa, United States, along the Mississippi River. The population was 1,817 at the time of the 2020 census, down from 1,987 at the 2000 census.
History
Prairie La Porte, meaning "the door to the prairie," ...
and
Wabash, Indiana
Wabash is a city in Noble Township, Wabash County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 10,666 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Wabash County.
Wabash is notable as claiming to be the first electrically lighted ci ...
. However, between 1885 and 1907, Liechtensteiner emigration was markedly reduced, limited to a few individuals and families. Less than 30 Liechtensteiners immigrated during that period to the United States. Reducing migration was due to the significant increase in economic activity derived from the establishment of the first textile factories in the 1880s.
The First World War caused an economic crisis in Liechtenstein (which originated, among other things, because the Entente allies stopped the "import of raw materials" into the country and the "massive speculation by the national bank"), so the Liechtenstein immigration to the United States was retaken. Most of the new Liechtensteiner emigrants settled in urban areas, especially in Chicago and Hammond, Indiana, but there were Liechtensteiners throughout the country.
After the Second World War, a few more Liechtensteiners immigrated to the United States, the largest number arriving in 1948, when fifteen individuals or families came to this country. The reduction of the Liechtenstein emigration was due to improvements in the economic conditions of Liechtenstein.
[Norbert Jansen (16 June 2002)]
Principality of Liechtenstein (FL): Emigration to America (volume 1)
Consulted on 17 May 2017.
Notable people
*John Latenser Sr.
See also
*Liechtenstein–United States relations
References
American people of Liechtenstein descent,
European-American society
Liechtenstein diaspora
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