Original "Pittsburgh Agreement" of 1918 Presented to Slovak Public in New Exhibit

Ambassador Vincent Obsitnik's Remarks

Mr. Speaker, Minister Kubis, ladies and gentlemen, greetings. I am delighted to be here today to commemorate with you the 90th anniversary of the signing of the Pittsburgh Agreement, a symbol of the strong bonds between the United States and Slovakia.

On May 31, 1918 the Pittsburgh Post, along with other newspapers in the U.S., enthusiastically reported on a mass meeting of Czech and Slovak Americans whose aim was to call for independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and culminated in the signing of the Pittsburgh Agreement by Slovak and Czech Americans and Mr. Tomas Masaryk.  We are proud today that we have the original of this agreement for this commemoration and thank the Heinz Museum in Pittsburgh for consenting to its display here in Slovakia.  A copy of this exhibit will travel around Slovakia for public viewing.  The Pittsburgh Agreement represented a major step on the long road to independence for Slovakia and a tangible proof of the support America has offered and offers to this day to Slovakia and its people. 

We know that, as a people with its own language, traditions and history, Slovaks have constituted a nation with continuity in the land that is Slovakia today-- beginning with the Great Moravian Empire; living for a thousand years as a part of the Hungarian Kingdom and the Austro-Hungarian Empire; and experiencing a national awakening in politics, linguistics and culture in the mid 19th century. With the defeat of the Central Powers in the First World War, Slovakia finally had the opportunity for its full democratic freedom and independence. 

Much of the inspiration for the Pittsburgh Agreement itself was born of the American belief in the principle of self-determination. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, approximately a half-million Slovaks immigrated to the United States.   These immigrants from Slovak lands absorbed this principle and wished to see it transplanted to their homeland with the freedom espoused by America. President Woodrow Wilson made self-determination for Slovaks and Czechs our official policy when he announced the famous Fourteen Points to Congress on January 8, 1918. By September of that year the United States had recognized the Czechoslovak National Council as the official governing body of Czechoslovakia, paving the way for Allied recognition of Czechoslovakia in October. 

While the supporters of the Czech and Slovak cause who gathered on May 30 numbered about 20,000 – one of the largest such demonstrations witnessed in Pittsburgh to that date, this was an early demonstration of support and inspiration provided by America.

Throughout the Cold War, the United States worked tirelessly to end the oppression and tyranny of the Soviet system. After the Velvet Revolution, through the Velvet Divorce and continuing to today, the United States actively worked and is working side-by-side with our Slovak partners to found, develop and maintain institutions that are critical to a healthy, free and democratic nation.  And most recently, the United States was one of the first and strongest supporters of Slovakia’s entry into the EU and NATO. 

Out of its commitment to a free and democratic Slovakia, America has  supported Slovakia in the modernization and training of your military; has worked closely with Slovakia during your recent membership on the UN Security Council, and supports its non-governmental organizations, which serve the cause of democracy and help Slovakia share its experience in democratization and economic reform with other countries.  All of these efforts are in the spirit of the U.S. commitment to the nation of Slovakia symbolized by the Pittsburgh Agreement.

I am proud for myself, for the almost three million Slovak-Americans and for the entire United States, to stand with you today as allies.  As embodied in the Pittsburgh Agreement, we look forward to a continued friendship that honors freedom and self determination.