Polish Americans

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A Polish American is an American citizen of Polish descent. There are an estimated 10 million Americans of Polish descent.

More than one million Poles immigrated to the United States, primarily during the late 19th and 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, German, and Austrian Poles, Polish Germans, respectively, as seen in the context of Polish immigration to the United States. According 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.

History

File:Pomnik Kazimierz Pulaski.jpg
Kazimierz Pułaski monument in Washington.

The first Polish immigrants arrived in America in 1608 at Jamestown, Virginia. In 1770 Jacob Sadowski settled in New York, and his sons were among the first white men to penetrate as far as Kentucky. It is said that Sandusky, Ohio, was named after him.[1]

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.

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. In addition, many Polish immigrants arrived at the port of Baltimore. Estimating the actual number of Polish immigrants is complicated by Poland's history of frequent division among neighboring countries. In the early 21st century, Poland ranks 10th as a source of illegal immigrants to the U.S., with an estimated 70,000 having arrived there. [2]

Between 1870 and 1914, more than 3.6 million people departed Polish territories (of whom 2.6 arrived in the U.S.).[3] Serfdom was abolished in Prussia in 1808, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1848 and Czarist Russia in 1861. In the late 19th century the beginnings of industrialization and commercial agriculture, and a population boom that exhausted available land, transformed Polish peasant-farmers, once considered an immovable fixture of the land, into migrant-laborers. Pressures of industrialization drove them to emigrate.

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 immigrants from Austrian and Russian Poland.

The Russian section of the partition, Congress Poland, also was undergoing considerable industrialization, particularly the textile capital of Łódź (the Manchester of Imperial Russia), and the iron-foundries of Piotrków. The decline of these areas after the Russo-Japanese War and the 1905 Revolution, led to a mass exodus of laborers, first to Germany, Denmark, and France, and, eventually, to 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, chiefly rural but with laborers 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. [4] The 1910 US census recorded more than 900,000 new immigrants who spoke Polish.[5]

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.

Occupations

Polish immigrants working on the farm, 1909.

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. Their intention was to buy land there to ensure them of 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. By the end of the war when travel became possible again, many of the temporary migrants had decided to become permanent Americans. After Poland regained independence in 1918 and was building a strong country again, many Poles tried to return. Since all the ills of life in Poland could be blamed on foreign occupation, the immigrants did not 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. It strongly influenced Polonia's life.

Official estimates were that 30% of the emigrants from the Russian provinces of Poland-Lithuania returned home. The return rate for non-Jews was closer to 50-60%. More than two-thirds of emigrants from Austrian Galicia to the U.S. returned.[6] Russian and Austrian Poles came from areas oriented to a feudal society, where classless Jews performed the essential middle roles of artisans, merchants and moneylenders.

American employers considered Polish immigrants 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 recruited for work in 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.

The Gateway Theatre, seat of the Copernicus Foundation in Jefferson Park. The Baroque spire is modeled on Warsaw's Royal Castle.
Bobak's Polish supermarket in Chicago.

Polish communities as part of urban America

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" It is widely believed that Boothwyn, Pennsylvania is one of he largest growing Polish communities in the United States.

There are about 10 million Americans of Polish descent. Chicago bills itself as the largest Polish city outside of Poland, with approximately 185,000 Polish speakers.[7]. Chicago's Polish presence is demonstrated by the numerous Polish-American organizations: Polish Museum of America, the Polish American Association, the Polish National Alliance and the Polish Highlander's Alliance of North America. In Illinois more than one million people are of Polish descent, the third largest ethnic group after Germans and Irish.

Chicago's Polish Community is concentrated along the city's Northwest and Southwest Sides along Milwaukee and Archer avenues, respectively. Chicago's Taste of Polonia festival is celebrated at the Copernicus Foundation in Jefferson Park every Labor Day weekend. Nearly 3 million people of polish descent live in the area between Chicago and Detroit.

Further north along Lake Michigan's coast, Milwaukee's Polish population has always been overshadowed by the city's more prominent German inhabitants. Nevertheless the city's once numerous Polish community built a number of magnificent Polish Cathedrals among them the magnificent St. Josaphat Basilica and St. Stanislaus. The city is also home to Polish Fest, the largest Polish festival in the United States, where Polish Americans from all over Wisconsin and nearby Chicago come to celebrate Polish Culture through music, food and entertainment.[8]

Michigan's Polish population of more than 850,000 is third behind that of New York and Illinois. Polish Americans make up 8.6% of Michigan's total population. The city of Detroit had a very large Polish community, which historically settled in Poletown and Hamtramck. Poletown was cleared of residents to make way for the General Motors Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly plant. Much of Hamtramck's Polish population moved on to suburbs and have been replaced by Arab American and African American citizens.

The Polish influence is still felt throughout the entire Metro Detroit area, especially the suburb of Wyandotte, which is slowly emerging as the major center of Polish American activities in the state. An increase in new immigration from Poland is helping to bolster the parish community of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and a host of Polish American civic organizations located within the city of Wyandotte. 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.

The city of Cleveland, Ohio has a large Polish community, especially in historic Slavic Village as part of its Warszawa Section. Poles from this part of Cleveland migrated to suburbs such as Garfield Heights, Parma, and Seven Hills. The more affluent of Cleveland's Polish community live in Brecksville, Independence, and Broadview Heights. Many of these Poles return to their Polish roots by attending masses at St. Stanislaus Church on East 65th Street and Baxter Avenues. Poles in Cleveland celebrate the annual Harvest Festival, which is usually held at the end of August. It features polka music, Polish food, and all things Polish.

Cleveland's other Polish section is in Tremont, located in Cleveland's west side. The home parish is St. John Cantius or St. John Kanty. They too host events in Cleveland for Polish celebrations.

Greenpoint, Brooklyn, considered the center of New York City's Little Poland

Poles in Cleveland were instrumental in forming Third Federal Savings and Loan in 1938. After seeing fellow Poles discriminated against by Cleveland's banks, Ben Stefanski formed Third Federal. Today the Stefanski family still controls the bank. Unlike Cleveland's Keybank and National City, which have their headquarters in Downtown Cleveland, Third Federal is on Broadway Avenue in the Slavic Village neighborhood. Third Federal S & L is in the top 25 saving and loan institutions in the United States. In 2003, they acquired a Florida banking company and have branches in Florida and Ohio.

Other industrial cities with major Polish communities include Buffalo, a city whose Polish neighborhood dispersed into suburbs and became integrated; Philadelphia, Columbus, Boston, Baltimore, New Britain, Connecticut, Portland, Minneapolis,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. South Bend, Indiana has a large Polish population for a mid-sized city. Milwaukee and Denver experienced major increases in their Polish populations during the last 10 years. There is also a tendency among Poles from Chicago and Greenpoint, Brooklyn to move to Florida.

Luzerne County in northeastern Pennsylvania is the only county in the United States where a plurality of residents state their ancestry as Polish. See Maps of American ancestries. This includes the cities of Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Hazelton, and Nanticoke. Many of the immigrants were drawn to this area because of the mining of Anthracite coal in the region. Polish influences are common today in the form of church bazaars, polka music, and polish foods.

File:Inside Basilica of St. Josaphat.JPG
the interior of the Basilica of St. Josaphat, one of Milwaukee's Polish Cathedrals.

Religion

Most immigrants to North America from the Polish lands who considered themselves Polish in ethnic or national orientation were Roman Catholic. These people were responsible for building the Polish Cathedrals found in the Great Lakes, New England, and Middle Atlantic regions of North America. Poles in the Cleveland metropolitan area founded the following churches: St. Stanislaus, St. John Kanty, Immaculate Heart of Mary, St. Hyacinth, St. Lawrence, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Our Lady of Czestochowa, St. Timothy (Garfield Heights), Ss. Peter and Paul (Garfield Heights), St. Therese, St. Monica (Garfield Heights), as well as Marymount Hospital (Garfield Heights).

To assert their independence from the Irish-dominated American Catholic Church, a group of Roman Catholics of Polish descent broke away to form the Polish National Catholic Church, which is headquartered in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

A small group of Polish Muslims of Lipka Tatar origin from the Bialystok region helped cofound the first Muslim organization in Brooklyn, New York in 1907 and later a mosque which is still in use.[9]

Polish American culture

Cultural contributions of Polish Americans extend from Polish dance classes; Polish newspapers, like Dziennik Zwiazkowy in Chicago or Nowy Dziennik in New York; several TV stations like international TVP Polonia or Polsat 2 International; 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 established by Polish American communities often serve as a vehicle for cultural retention.

During the 1950s-1970s, the Polish wedding was often an all-day event. Traditional Polish weddings in Chicagoland, in areas 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. The receptions were typically held 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 beer, screwdrivers, and highballs.

The Polish community was long the subject of anti-Polonism in America. Much of it was associated with a more generalized anti-Catholicism and early 20th century worries about being overrun by Eastern European immigrants in general. This has become less common recently.

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)

Appendix 1: Polish American communities

Appendix 2: Polish Americans by state totals

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:

...

Appendix 3: Polish Americans by percentage of the total population

Famous Polish Americans

See: List of Polish Americans

References

  1. ^ American Pioneer, I, 119; II, 325, cited by Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Poles in the United States" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  2. ^ http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/illegal.pdf
  3. ^ Aleksader Gieysztor, History of Poland (Warsaw: Polish Scientific Publishers, 1968) Pg. 585
  4. ^ Caroline Golab, Immigrant Destinations (Temple University Press: Philadelphia, 1977) Pg. 94
  5. ^ Immigration...Polish/Russian: The Nation of Polonia
  6. ^ Golab, Immigrant Destinations Pg. 86-7, 99
  7. ^ The Polish Community in Metro Chicago:A Community Profile of Strengths and Needs, A Census 2000 Report, published by the Polish American Association June 2004, p. 18
  8. ^ Gauper, Beth (2007-05-27). "Polish for a day". St. Paul Pioneer Press, via MidwestWeekends.com. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
  9. ^ Ramadan - TIME

See also

External links


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