Kossuth Emigrants in the United States: A Case Study of Károly László

In my thesis I combine several topics like immigration to the United States, Kossuth emigrants and the significance of travel literature – especially diary writing. My main focus is on Károly László and his diary, Naplótöredék. László was a revolutionary, engineer and writer who travelled with Lajos Kossuth and his followers to the United States after the failure of the Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848-49. He recorded all his experiences in the United States and Mexico providing a perfect material for examining how a Hungarian political refugee experienced emigration in the 19th century. We can observe how his world view changed and how his character developed from a revolutionary and freedom-fighter into a more American minded businessman. His diary is also a record of Kossuth’s tour with interesting comments about American people and their lifestyle. The focus of my research is on how László saw the US and how this image changed during the emigration experience.BSc/BAAnglisztikaB