Czech-Slovak Protective Society


The Czech-Slovak Protective Society, which became the Czecho Slovakian Association, was an organization supporting the welfare of Czech and Slovak immigrants to the United States. The Czech-Slovak Protective Society started as an insurance services organization. It was once the largest Czech-American freethought fraternity in the United States.

History

The CSPS was founded in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1854, and, like other immigrant societies, began by offering a kind of insurance program, which provided for members when they were ill and covered funeral expenses. It was the "largest Bohemian fraternal organization".
The Czecho-Slovak Protective Society, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, joined in organizing the Czechoslovak Society of America in 1933. That organization, based in Berwyn, Illinois changed its name to CSA Fraternal Life in 1982.
Č.S.P.S. stands for "Česko-Slovenský Podporující Spolek". These lodges were the forerunner of the. Both associations offered a type of insurance for the Czech people. The association later became known as the Western Fraternal Life Association.

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