Lebanese Americans
Where Did They Come From: Lebanon lies at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, north of Israel and west of Syria. It is four-fifths the size of Connecticut. The Lebanon Mountains, which run parallel to the western coast, cover most of the country, while on the eastern border is the Anti-Lebanon range. Between the two lies the Bekaa Valley, a major agricultural area.
When: After World War I, France was given a League of Nations mandate over Lebanon and its neighbor Syria, which together had previously been a single political unit in the Ottoman Empire. France divided them in 1920 into separate colonial administrations, drawing a border that separated mostly Muslim Syria from the kaleidoscope of religious communities in Lebanon. After 20 years of the French mandate regime, Lebanon's independence was proclaimed on November 26, 1941. Under an agreement between representatives of Lebanon and the French National Committee of Liberation, most of the powers exercised by France were transferred to the Lebanese government on Jan. 1, 1944. The evacuation of French troops was complete 1946.
What region of the US did they settle: They settled mainly in Brooklyn, New York and Boston, Massachusetts. While they were marked as Syrians, the vast majority of them were Christians from Mount Lebanon. Upon entering America, many of the Lebanese and Syrians worked as peddlers. This wave continued through the 1920s. During the first wave, an estimated 100,000 Lebanese had immigrated to America settling besides Brooklyn and Boston in Northern New Jersey. Some Lebanese ventured into the midwest settling in Detroit, Michigan. Others bought farms in Texas, South Dakota and Iowa.
What occupations did they take part in: Lebanese-Americans worked in a variety of occupations. About 60 percent of working Lebanese-Americans are executives, professionals, office and sales staff.
What are the family patterns: Lebanese Americans are a deeply religious which impacts their family values. Family is at the core of Lebanese social identity and loyalty to family has traditionally superseded all other allegiances. Each person is expected to protect the family's honor. In Lebanese culture, roles are often defined by gender, and this social definition anchors both men and women in their respective roles. Women are to be protected by other family members. Men are the undisputed heads of their families. In Lebanese -American families, the welfare of the group is considered more important than the needs of any single individual. Lebanese -Americans are known for their elaborate and warm hospitality and it is considered rude not to offer food and drink to a guest.
As with other ethnic groups Americanization, with its emphasis on youth, personal achievement, individualism, and independence has eroded some of these traditional beliefs and practices.. Though the family is highly valued among Lebanese -Americans the belief in family honor has lessened somewhat in part because families are not living together in close circles. Major family roles have become less gender centered in the United States.
Are they a group that appreciates schooling: YES!
By the time they began immigrating to the United States, the immigrants from Greater Syria had attended British, French, Russian, and American schools in their homeland for half a century or longer. These foreign schools had also stimulated the establishment of local government schools, and many of these schools encouraged the education of girls. When they arrived in the United States, the Lebanese adapted to the American school system and culture. Their attitudes paralleled the evolution of the attitudes of other Americans toward education. By the third generation, the education of girls was considered equal in importance to that of boys. The generation of Lebanese Americans born after World War II attended college at the same rate as the rest of the nation's youth, studying business, medicine, law, pharmacy, computer science, and engineering. Because the vast majority of third-generation Lebanese Americans are middle class, they enjoy a higher educational level than Americans on average.
What are the basic demographics today? Lebanese Americans are the largest Arab group in America, comprising 0.16% of the American population (of the American Community Survey estimations for year 2007) and 32.4% of all Arabs. Over three million Americans are estimated to have at least partial Lebanese ancestry according to Lebanese American activists.
Fun facts:
The 1st school of law was built in Lebanon
The name of the BIBLE comes from the name of our city BYBLOS
Lebanon is the country that has the most books written about it
The Phoenicians, the ancient Lebanese, were the first to develop an alphabetic script in 1100 B.C. They did so to facilitate their prosperous trade further.
Lebanon is the only country in the Middle East that does not have a desert
On January 22, 1976, a guerrilla force blasted into the vaults of the British Bank of the Middle East in Bab Idriss, cleaning out the contents of the safe deposit. The boxes of cash and other valuables were estimated by former finance minister Lucien Dahdah at $50 million. It was the single most lucrative bank robbery in history, occurring during the worst civil unrest period ever in Beirut, Lebanon.