June 27. Mr. President. in the 1850s many immigrants from Europe sought to find a new home in America. Among them were the Czechs and Slovaks. who began organizing cultural. fraternal. and gymnastic organizations soon after their arrival. On March 14. 1865. the Czechs organized their first Sokol group in Saint Louis. 3 years after Dr. Miroslav Tyrs and Jindrich Fuegner began their Sokol physical education movement in Praha. The Sokol in all Slavic languages means falcon. a bird representing strength and fearlessness. The aim of the organization was the moral and physical regeneration of their people. The Sokol system of gymnastics is unique.
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immigrants