Chicago Foreign Language Press Survey. Records, 1861-1938

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When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Chicago Foreign Language Press Survey. Records, [Box #, Folder #], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Organized in 1936 as a project under the Works Progress Administration of Illinois, the Chicago Foreign Language Press Survey sought to translate and classify selected news articles appearing in Chicago’s foreign language press from 1861-1938. Operating under the belief that Chicago’s various ethnic and foreign-born communities played a major role in shaping and continuing to shape the city, the Survey turned to Chicago’s varied foreign language newspapers as a means of understanding how and why Chicago came to develop as it did. Hoping to shed light on the development of a city whose very essence seemed to fuse foreign and native elements, the Chicago Foreign Language Press Survey was particularly interested in the processes of assimilation and cultural diffusion, whereby particular individuals and/or groups both adopted “American” or “Chicagoan” customs and practices and simultaneously infused the city with foreign cultural elements, thereby enriching it. The Survey itself, due to its premature termination in October 1941, found itself unable to examine all of the newspapers originally slotted for review, yet it did manage to complete the bulk of its work. It was published in 1942.

The Chicago Foreign Language Press Survey, officially sponsored by the Chicago Public Library, also drew enthusiastic support from other agencies, namely the Newberry Library, the Chicago Historical Society, and the John Crerar Library, all of which extended the use of their facilities in order to aid the project’s completion. The history departments of the University of Chicago and Northwestern University provided notable aid and direction for the project, particularly through University of Chicago historian Bessie Louise Pierce, who helped direct the Survey. Pierce herself was responsible for donating this collection to the University of Chicago.

Bessie Louise Pierce, Professor Emeritus in the University of Chicago’s History Department at the time of her death in 1974, began teaching at the University in 1929. Born in Caro, Michigan, in 1888, Pierce came from a family who believed in the importance of education for women. Pierce’s aunt, Della M. Pierce, had gone to medical school and become a pioneering female physician in Michigan, leading a movement in Kalamazoo to establish hospitals and break down rural prejudices against institutionalized health care. Bessie Pierce followed in her aunt’s footsteps, receiving her A.B. degree from the University of Iowa in 1910, her A.M. degree from the University of Chicago in 1918, and her doctorate—albeit one of a different character than that held by her aunt—from Iowa in 1923. Upon joining the University of Chicago in 1929, Pierce began researching and writing A History of Chicago, a three-volume work that focused on 19th century Chicago through the conclusion of the Columbian Exposition in 1893. The first volume, subtitled “The Beginning of a City,” saw publication in 1937, the second, “From City to Town,” in 1940, and the third, “The Rise of a Modern City,” in 1957. Though originally conceived as a five-volume study, Pierce died before

completing the fourth installment, having spent 45 years working on A History of Chicago, in that time becoming the foremost expert on Chicago’s history.

The collection consists of 120,000 typewritten pages translated from newspapers of 22 different foreign language communities in Chicago, ranging from Lithuanian, Slovene, and Filipino to Chinese, Albanian, German, Greek, and Ukrainian communities. The dates of the original articles span the period of 1861-1938. The collection is arranged alphabetically by language group, beginning with Albanian newspapers and ending with those of the Ukrainian language press. Within these language groupings, the various articles are categorized by subject and theme (ie. “Attitudes,” “Social Organization,” “Contributions and Activities,” “Assimilation,” etc.), as well as numerous sub-themes. Though arranged according to a primary theme or topic, the articles are also cross-listed to indicate other areas upon which the article content touches. Said articles within these language and thematic/subject groupings are, for the most part, arranged in reverse chronological order, the more recent articles appearing first.

Series I: ALBANIAN

Series II: BOHEMIAN

Series III: CHINESE

Series IV: CROATIAN

Series V: DANISH

Series VI: DUTCH

Series VII: FILIPINO

Series VIII: GERMAN

Series IX: GREEK

Series X: HUNGARIAN

Series XI: ITALIAN

Series XII: JEWISH

Series XIII: LITHUANIAN

Series XIV: NORWEGIAN

Series XV: POLISH

Series XVI: RUSSIAN

Series XVII: SERBIAN

Series XVIIII: SLOVAK

Series XIX: SLOVENIAN

Series XX: SPANISH

Series XXI: SWEDISH

Series XXII: UKRAINIAN

Series XXIII: WELSH

The following related resources are located in the Department of Special Collections:

• NamesPierce, Bessie Louise, 1888-1974
• Subject
  • American newspapers -- Foreign language press
  • American newspapers -- Illinois -- Chicago
  • Ethnic press -- United States
• Geographic CoverageUnited States. Works Progress Administration