Polish American

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Kazimierz Pułaski monument in Washington.
Kazimierz Pułaski monument in Washington.

A Polish American is an American citizen of Polish descent. There are around 10 million Americans of Polish descent. One of the most notable of the Polish-American communities is in Chicago, Illinois.

Contents

[edit] Numbers

There are an estimated 10 million Americans of Polish descent.[citation needed] More than one million Poles migrated to the United States primarily during the early 20th century. Exact immigration numbers are unknown because, due to the partitions of Poland, the Polish state did not exist at a time when the precursor to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service classified immigrants according to country of origin rather than to ethnicity. In particular, the three partitions gave rise to the terms Russian Poles, German Poles and Austrian Poles, respectively, as seen in the context of Polish immigration to the United States. According to the United States 2000 Census, 667,414 Americans of age 5 years and older reported Polish as the language spoken at home, which is about 1.4% of people who speak languages other than English, or 0.25% of the U.S. population.

Polish imigrants working on the farm, 1909.
Polish imigrants working on the farm, 1909.

As Poland lost its independence at the end of the 18th century through the three partitions, Polish patriots, among them Kazimierz Pułaski and Tadeusz Kościuszko, left for America to fight for American Independence. While the first Polish immigrants arrived in America in 1608 at Jamestown, Virginia, the largest wave of Polish immigration to America occurred in the early 20th century. Officially, more than 1.5 million Polish immigrants were processed at Ellis Island between 1899 and 1931. Estimating the actual number of Polish immigrants is complicated by Poland's history of frequent division among neighboring countries. Poland ranks tenth as a source of illegal immigrants to the U.S. with an estimated 70,000 in the early 21st century. [1]

Between 1870 and 1914, over 3.6 million people departed Polish territories (of whom 2.6 arrived in the U.S.).[1] Serfdom was abolished in Prussia in 1808, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1848 and Czarist Russia in 1861. Coupled with the beginnings of industrialization and commercial agriculture, and a population boom that exhausted available land, Polish peasant-farmers, once considered an immovable fixture of the land, were transformed into migrant-laborers. Initially, Polish emigrants came mainly from the German section of the partition, where they were targeted by Bismarck’s anti-Catholic Kulturkampf. After 1900, German Poles were outnumbered by migrations from Austrian and Russian Poland.

The Russian section of the partition, Congress Poland, saw considerable industrialization, particularly the textile capital of Łódź (the Manchester of Russia), and the iron-foundries of Piotrków, but these declined after the Russo-Japanese War and the 1905 Revolution, leading to a mass-exodus, first to Germany, Denmark, France, and, eventually, the U.S., Canada, Brazil and Argentina. At its peak, in 1912-13, annual emigration to the U.S. from the Polish provinces of the Russian Empire exceeded 112,345 (including large numbers of Jews, Lithuanians, and Byelorussians). In the Polish provinces of Austrian Galicia, overwhelmingly rural but a source of labor in the mines and factories of Bohemia, Silesia, Moravia and Lower Austria, land shortages, crop failures and the loosening of travel restrictions led to another exodus, mainly to Germany, Austria proper, France and the United States. [2]The 1910 census found more than 900,000 new immigrants who spoke Polish.[3]

[edit] Occupations

Lopata (1976) argues that Poles differed from most ethnics in America in several ways. First, they did not plan to remain permanently and become "Americanized." Instead they came temporarily to earn money, invest in property, and wait for the right opportunity to return to Poland and buy land there which would assure them a desirable social status within the familiar world of a limited reference group. The coming of World War I in 1914 made return almost impossible, and by the time travel became possible again, many of the temporaries had decided to become permanent Americans. Since all the ills of life in Poland could be blamed on foreign occupation, the immigrants did not even resent the Polish upper classes as much as the immigrants of other European countries detested the top layers of their home countries. Their relation with the mother country was, in fact, unique and it strongly influenced Polonia's life.

Most ethnic Poles came as migrant laborers (known as za chlebem, or 'for bread' immigrants) intending to return home with their American savings, usually to acquire land. Official estimates claimed 30% of the emigrants from the Russian provinces of Poland-Lithuania returned home, while the return rate for non-Jews was closer to 50-60%, while over two-thirds of migrants who left Austrian Galicia for the U.S. returned.[4] Russian and Austrian Poles came from areas oriented to a feudal society, where classless Jews performed the essential middle roles-as artisans, merchants and moneylenders. American employers considered them better suited than Italians for arduous manual labor in coal-mines, slaughterhouses, and steel mills, particularly in the primary stages of steel manufacture. Consequently, Polish migrants were drawn to the coal mines of Pennsylvania and the heavy industries (steel mills, iron foundries, slaughterhouses, oil and sugar refineries) of the Great Lakes cities of Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Buffalo, Milwaukee, and Cleveland.

[edit] Polish communities as part of urban America

Pulaski Day Parade in New York City.
Pulaski Day Parade in New York City.

One of the most notable of the Polish-American communities is in Chicago, Illinois, and its surrounding suburbs. The Almanac of American Politics 2004 states that "Even today, in Archer Heights [a neighborhood of Chicago], you can scarcely go a block without hearing someone speaking Polish".

Nearly a million people are of Polish descent in Illinois, third highest after Germans and Irish. Thus, it is said that Chicago is the second largest "Polish" city in the world, as Warsaw, the Poland capital, is the only city with more Polish residents. Chicago has three major Polish neighborhoods.

The city of Detroit also has a very large Polish community, especially historically in areas such as Poletown and Hamtramck. While Poletown was cleared of its residents to make way for the General Motors Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly plant, and Hamtramck has seen the decline of its Polish community to Arab and African-American increases, the Polish influence is still felt throughout the entire Metro Detroit area, especially the suburb of Wyandotte, and to a lesser degree, that of Warren and Sterling Heights. Michigan's Polish population is 3rd behind New York and Illinois with over 850,000, while Polish-Americans make up 8.6% of Michigan's total population. The northern suburb of Orchard Lake is also home to the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame, which includes greats such as Stan Musial and Mike Krzyzewski.

Other cities with major Polish communities include Buffalo, a city that once had a vibrant Polish neighborhood which is now completely integrated, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Columbus, Boston, Baltimore, Portland, Los Angeles, Rochester, San Francisco and Pittsburgh. Despite the lack of new large-scale Polish immigration, some cities are emerging with strong Polish American communities. Milwaukee and Denver experienced major increases in their Polish populations during the last 10 years. There is also a tendency among Poles to move to Florida from Chicago and New York.

[edit] Polish American culture

Cultural contributions of Polish Americans extend from Polish dance classes, Polish newspapers, and culture groups like the White Eagle Lodge and Polish Falcons of America to the wider appeal of Polish foods such as kiełbasa (Polish sausage), babka, or pierogi. Even in long-integrated communities, remnants of Polish culture and vocabulary remain. Roman Catholic churches in Polish American communities often serve as a vehicle for cultural retention.

The Polish wedding, still very important in Poland, was often during the 1950s-1970s an all day event. Polish weddings of this time in Chicagoland, in places such as the southeast side of Chicago, inner suburbs like Calumet City, and Hegewisch, and northwest Indiana suburbs such as Whiting, Hammond, and East Chicago, always occurred on Saturdays, and typically occurred in a large hall such as a VFW Hall. A polka band of drums, singer, accordion, and trumpet entertained the people as they danced traditional dances such as the oberek, "Polish Hop," and the waltz. Always an important part of Slavic culture, food played a very important role. The musicians as well as the guests were expected to enjoy ample amounts of both food and drink. Foods such as Polish Sausage, sauerkraut, pierogi, and kluski were common foods. Common drinks were either beer, screwdrivers, or "High-Balls."

The Polish community was long the subject of Anti-Polonism in America. Much of it was associated with a more generalized Anti-Catholicism and distrust of Eastern European arrivals in general. This has become less common recently. There are however some instances of Anti-Polonism still occurring in America.

[edit] Bibliography

  • Anders-Silverman, Deborah. Polish-American Folklore. U of Illinois Press, 2000.
  • Andrzej Brozek. Polish Americans, 1854-1939 (1985)
  • John J. Bukowczyk. And My Children Did Not Know Me: A History of the Polish-Americans (1987)
  • John J. Bukowczyk, ed. Polish Americans and Their History. U of Pittsburgh Press, 1996.
  • William J. Galush. For More Than Bread: Community and Identity in American Polonia, 1880-1940, (East European Monographs, distributed by Columbia University Press; 313 pages; 2007). Explores competing versions of Polish identity in Polish-American communities during the period.
  • Thomas S. Gladsky; Princes, Peasants and Other Polish Selves: Ethnicity in American Literature. (1992), ISBN 0870237756. online version
  • David J. Jackson; "Just Another Day in a New Polonia: Contemporary Polish-American Polka Music." Popular Music and Society. 26#4 (2003) pp: 529+. online version
  • Helena Znaniecka Lopata; Polish Americans: Status Competition in an Ethnic Community (1976), ISBN 0136864368. online version
  • Theresa Kurk Mcginley; "Embattled Polonia Polish-Americans and World War II." East European Quarterly. 37#3 2003. pp: 325+. online version
  • Karen Majewski. Traitors and True Poles: Narrating a Polish-American Identity, 1880-1939, (2003) - 248 pages
  • Jacek Nowakowski. Polish-American Ways (1989)
  • Pula, James S. Polish Americans: An Ethnic Community (1995)
  • Pula, James S. "Image, Status, Mobility and Integration in American Society: The Polish Experience." Journal of American Ethnic History 16 (1996): 74-95.
  • Charles Sadler, "Pro-Soviet Polish Americans: Oskar Lange and Russia's Friends in the Polonia, 1941-1945," Polish Review 22, (1977), 4: 30+
  • Deborah Silverman. Polish-American Folklore (2000)
  • William Thomas and Florian Znaniecki. The Polish Peasant in Europe and America. 2 vol 1920, ISBN 0252010922 (1984 printing). ; famous classic online edition
  • Joseph A. Wytrwal. Poles in American History and Tradition (1969),
  • Joseph L. Zurawski, Polish American History and Culture: A Classified Bibliography (1975)

[edit] Appendix 1: Polish-American communities

Tadeusz Kościuszko monument in New York.
Tadeusz Kościuszko monument in New York.

[edit] Appendix 2: Polish Americans by state totals

Distribution of Polish Americans according to the 2000 census
Distribution of Polish Americans according to the 2000 census

According to the United States 2000 Census, American states with the largest numbers of self-reported Poles and Americans of Polish ancestry are:

...

[edit] Appendix 3: Polish Americans by percentage of the total population

...

[edit] Famous Polish-Americans

See: List of Polish Americans

[edit] See also

[edit] External links


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