Citizenship Textbook = Citizenship Handbook.Philadelphia, 1954

“After long years of captivity, after great hardships… You have come to this inhabited and blessed land, for it is free.”

Citizenship Textbook = Citizenship Handbook.

Philadelphia (Philadelphia, Pa.): United Ukrainian-American Relief Committee, 1954. — Ill., diagrams. — (Social Service Library of UUARC; Part 2). — Printed by “Svoboda,” Jersey City (Jersey City, N. J.). Text in Ukrainian and English.

Softcover edition: a tone image of the Statue of Liberty on a yellow background, with the title and series printed in blue. The cover is yellowed and darkened, with stains, foxing, and creases; along the spine are rust stains from staples, which also show through on the inner pages near the fold. The paper of the text block shows natural yellowing; on the last page of the text, there is soiling along the top edge and a pink stain in the lower corner; the lower corner of the title page is creased. The number “1200” is written in pencil on the back cover. No losses. Condition: good.

The edition has historical and cultural value and is of collector’s interest.

INFORMATION

A guide for Ukrainian refugees preparing to take the American citizenship exam. Its text opens with the national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner” and the oath of allegiance to the United States in English, with a Ukrainian note explaining that it is taken by every naturalized citizen. The following sections in Ukrainian cover the early colonists of Virginia and Massachusetts, the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and diagrams of the federal and state governments, while the end contains fifty questions and answers in English, as they appeared on the exam itself. Among the illustrations is a photograph of a young Ukrainian man whom, according to the caption, “UUARC brought to this country from European exile”: the young man is kissing the American flag.

The United Ukrainian-American Relief Committee was established in 1944 at the initiative of the Ukrainian Congressional Committee of America and was based in Philadelphia. When direct contact with Ukraine was impossible, the committee focused on refugees and displaced persons in Western Europe: it campaigned against forced repatriation to the USSR and helped nearly 60,000 Ukrainians emigrate to the United States between 1947 and 1957.

The brochure was published in 1954—just as the first immigrants who had arrived under the Displaced Persons Act of 1948 became eligible for naturalization after five years of residence. It was printed by the Jersey City printing house of the “Svoboda” newspaper. This is the second issue of the “Social Service Library of UUARC”—a series of practical guides published by the committee to assist new arrivals on the other side of the ocean.