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CHAPTER ONE
Arab American Historical Chronology This chapter highlights chronologically Arab American historical events, some that made national headlines, others that gained little, if any, public attention. Small, seemingly unimportant facts and events are particles of history that, when combined, reveal the true wealth of Arab American history, and become a visible string woven within the fabric of American culture and exhibited in the annals of history. Toward that end, we encourage Arab Americans to conserve and contribute historical articles, copies of scholarly papers, photographs, and other historical data to the archives of the Arab American Historical Foundation (AAHF) for use in future publications. For details, visit: www.arabamericanhistory.org This chapter covers Arab American historical chronology through 2009. Additional important books covering Arab American history are found in the bibliography chapter 11.
Immigration of Arab Americans The late Dr. Philip Hitti, Professor of History at Princeton University and author of many books on Arabs and the Arab American community, wrote the following article during World War II in which he briefly described the immigration of Arab Americans: Our people are among the more recent immigrants into the United States. It was not until the 1880’s that the Arabs reached America. The pioneers were Syrian, Lebanese, and Palestinian. Few were members of the educated class for Egypt had formed the chief center of attraction for such men. Friendless, penniless, and helpless, they landed at Kees al-Khardal (Castle Garden) in lower Manhattan, NY.
Ignorant of the language of the land and the customs of its people, and with no consuls or counselors to guide or advise them, they had to struggle hard to keep body and soul together. They were mostly men, hardly any women; young men who had heard that the streets of “Na-Yurk” (New York) overflowed with gold. They were intent on getting their share and returning to their native villages in Syria or Lebanon to build a house with a red brick roof and enjoy life forever after. Their first experience must have been very disheartening, but they proved worthy descendants of their adventurous ancestors, the Phoenicians and Arabs. As peddlers, trying to sell crosses, rosaries, and icons from the Holy Land, and later laces and notions, they wandered with their Kashshis from street to street and from town to town until they covered almost every city in the States. Snow and
ARAB AMERICAN ALMANAC, 6TH EDITION