The ''Pokrok Západu''Pokrok Západu 1871-192 Online Chronicling America /ref> (the ''Progress of the West'' in English) was a
Czech language
Czech ( ; ), historically known as Bohemian ( ; ), is a West Slavic language of the Czech–Slovak group, written in Latin script. Spoken by over 12 million people including second language speakers, it serves as the official language of the ...
newspaper in
Nebraska
Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
, running issues from 1871 to 1920. It was the first Czech newspaper in the state, and in 1900, began sponsoring other Czech language newspapers in other locations, such as in
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
. It was founded by
Edward Rosewater
Edward Rosewater, born Edward Rosenwasser, (January 21, 1841 – August 30, 1906) was a Republican Party politician and newspaper editor in Omaha, Nebraska. Rosewater had a reputation for being "aggressive and controversial", and was influentia ...
, sold to
Jan Rosický
Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to:
Acronyms
* Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN
* Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code
* Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group
* Japanese Article Num ...
in 1877, and sold again in 1920, when it stopped further publication.
Founding and dissolution
The ''Pokrok Západu'' (in English meaning ''Progress of the West'') was founded in 1871 by Edward Rosewater, a Jewish immigrant, who after coming to Omaha had founded the ''
Omaha Daily Bee
The ''Omaha Daily Bee'', in Nebraska, United States, was a leading Republican newspaper that was active in the late 19th and early 20th century. The paper's editorial slant frequently pitted it against the ''Omaha Herald'', the '' Omaha Republ ...
''. The first Czech language newspaper in Nebraska, it was at first designed for advertisements of land to prospective settlers in the state. It was supported by American railroad companies. In 1887, it was sold to
Jan Rosický
Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to:
Acronyms
* Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN
* Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code
* Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group
* Japanese Article Num ...
, an immigrant who had come to Omaha in the 1870s to edit the paper. Under Rosický, the newspaper became a place for Czechs to inform one another; he used it to influence Czech migrations across the American midwest. While most Czech Nebraskans in politics were Democratic, the paper was Republican in orientation. Editors of the paper included Vaclav Snajder, V. A. Jung, F. J. Kutak, Jaroslav Albert Havranek, and Otakar Charvat.
Rosický also published other papers, such as the Czech language '' Květy Americké'' (''American Blossoms''), a literary magazine containing original work by Czech Americans, and the ''Hospodář'' (the ''Farmer''), which became the largest-circulating agricultural magazine in Czech in the world, and which aided in Czech settlement to the United States. From 1876 to 1890, the ''Pokrok Západu'' was the official paper of the Czech Farmers' Mutual Aid Society in Nebraska, a group that helped settlers in the state. From 1890 to its dissolution in 1893, the mutual aid society was represented by the '' Nová Doba'' in Schuyler. In 1900, the Pokrok Publishing Company was formed, which published local Czech language papers in other locations, such as Iowa (''Iowský Pokrok''), Minnesota (''Minnesotský Pokrok''), and
Wilber, Nebraska
Wilber is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Nebraska, Saline County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,855 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Saline County. Wilber is the official "C ...
(''Wilberský Týdeník'', the ''Wilber Weekly''). From 1915 to 1920, the ''Pokrok Západu'' was a daily paper, before it was sold to the '' Hlasatel'' of Chicago; in 1920, it ceased publication. It was the longest-running Czech newspaper in the United States.
The motto of the paper was "": "While ever serving national interest let me give heed always to the education of all".