74 | Istorija » History istor i ja / history According to Dr Krinka V. Petrov, the history of Serbian immigration in the U.S. can be divided into several periods. During the first period, from 1820 to 1880, Serbs arrived from Montenegro (Bay of Kotor) andDalmatia. And because they’d lived in coastal towns in their native lands, they settled in similar towns in the States, such as New Orleans, Galveston and San Francisco. They lived in small communities and the only way to satisfy their “heart and soul,” i.e., religious beliefs, was to build parishes and churches together with their fellow-Orthodox neighbours, such as T he long and glor i ous Se r b i an -Ame r i can story FromŠagić, via Tesla to Pupin The history of Serbian immigration in the United States began with the adventurous spirit of individuals in the early 19th century Russians, Greeks and Syrians. ThesecondperiodofSerbianimmigrationlastedfrom 1880 to the second decade of the 20th century. Following the American Civil War (1861-1865), the U.S. began its great industrial and economic growth, opening the door to all European immigrants.The new land gave themhope for economic prosperity, along with political and religious freedom. In this context, America was a promised land for them. Serbian immigrants came from Krajina (Lika, Kordun, andBanija), Bosnia andHerzegovina,Montenegro andVojvodina.Themajority of immigrants fromKrajina settled inPennsylvania; immigrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina settled in Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Gary and St. Louis; immigrants from Montenegro settled in Montana, Pennsylvania and Illinois, and immigrants from Vojvodina settled in Ohio (Cleveland and Akron). Thefirst famousSerb,ĐorđeŠagić,who later came to be known as George Fisher, arrived in the United States via the port of Philadelphia in 1815. His contribution to building American society was so important that today we can find Šagić’s picture mounted in the National Museum of Texas in Houston. Most Serbian immigrants arrived in theport ofNew York without money. For instance, distinguished Serbian-American scientistMihajlo I. Pupin had arrivedwith Foto: Profimedia.rs / Roger-Viollet via AFP
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