Polish Americans

Polish Americans

ETHNONYMS: Polacy (plural), Polak (masculine singular)/Polka (feminine singular), Polanders, Poles, Polonia

Orientation

Identification and Location. Polish Americans are ethnic Poles who or whose ancestors migrated to the United States. Of the 9,366,106 persons who reported Polish ancestry in the 1990 U.S. Census, 37 percent lived in the Northeast, an equal percentage lived in the Midwest; 15 percent lived in the South, and 11 percent lived in the West.

Demography. Preliminary estimates of the 2000 U.S. Census estimated 9,050,122 individuals of Polish ancestry in the United States, or 3.3 percent of the total population.

Official statistics for the period 1820-1880 reported 16,656 immigrants from Poland. Until the 1880s Polish immigrants were few and consisted largely of political exiles. There were some exceptions, such as the group of peasants that settled Panna Maria, Texas, in 1854. However, the migration from 1880 to 1914 was a massive economically motivated movement of almost two million persons. This wave culminated in 1912-1913, when 174,365 Poles immigrated, with men outnumbering women two to one. Because of the two world wars and restrictions on population movements by the U.S. and Polish governments, Polish immigration to the United States was numerically at a low level from 1914 to 1988.

Between 1885 and 1972 there were 669,392 nonimmigrant temporary visitors, another 297,590 individuals came to and later left the United States, and 1,780,151 immigrants stayed. Officially, from 1971 to 1997, there were 257,771 immigrants from Poland. In addition, there are those who overstay their visas (the wakacjusze) and become undocumented residents.

Linguistic Affiliation. Polish Americans speak English, a West Germanic language, and Polish, a West Slavic language. Both languages are part of the Indo-European language family, which is part of the Nostratic superfamily. Competency and usage range from bilingualism to monolingualism in one of the languages with knowledge of a few words in the other. In the 1990 U.S. Census 723,000 individuals reported that they spoke Polish at home.

History and Cultural Relations

Poles have been migrating to North America since 1608. Upon arrival, they participated in mainstream American life. Polish American officers and soldiers served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, enlisted on both sides in the Civil War, and fought in both world wars, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam War, and the Gulf War.

The earliest arrivals were political exiles or adventurers. By the late 1800s and until World War I the majority of Polish immigrants were peasants with little or no formal education who were employed primarily as unskilled laborers. After World War II an increasing number of immigrants were relatively well educated and had urban rather than rural backgrounds. From 1974 to 1984 the typical immigrant was married, twenty-nine to thirty-nine years old, and came from a large city. Ninety percent of these persons were high school or vocational school graduates, and almost a third had a college education.

As a result of its size and settlement patterns in contiguous neighborhoods in cities, Polish American society was oriented inwardly and relatively resistant to assimilation until the 1920s. However, as a significant and increasing proportion of the Polish American population was born in the United States, in the third, fourth, or a later generation some became assimilated into the general population while others maintained their ethnic identity. At the beginning of the twenty-first century Polish Americans participated fully in American society, and some, such as Gloria Swanson, Charles Bronson (Buchinski), and Loretta Swit, gained popularity and fame.

Settlements

According to estimates based on the 2000 U.S. Census, the states with the largest numbers of Polish Americans are New York, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Recently, California and Florida gained significant numbers of Polish Americans. The cities with the largest concentrations are Chicago, New York, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, and Philadelphia.

Before World War II Polish American communities were centered on their churches. Poles lived in households that in addition to the owner's family often included one or more boarders. By the turn of the millennium these localized concentrations of Polish Americans were shrinking. At the beginning of the twenty-first century individuals whose ancestors immigrated several generations ago are increasingly assimilating into the larger society. They are dispersing by relocating to the suburbs and no longer settle in ethnic neighborhoods when they move from one city to another. New arrivals from Poland are not sufficiently numerous to maintain large ethnic neighborhoods and, because of their higher levels of education and greater socioeconomic opportunities, are not interested in doing so.

Economy

Subsistence. Most Polish Americans buy their everyday food in local supermarkets, restaurants, and fast-food outlets. In the ethnic neighborhoods some stores carry specialty foods and items that reflect Polish tastes and traditions. Restaurants featuring Polish American ethnic foods seem to be more successful in areas where the family's everyday fare no longer consists of Polish dishes. People sometimes indulge in nostalgia by ordering "the foods mother used to make."

What is considered Polish American cuisine was peasant fare in Poland, albeit dishes served on special occasions. As the economic status of Polish immigrants improved, people ate these foods with increasing frequency. Now that many Polish Americans have switched to the foods common in American society, dishes such as czarnina (duck's blood soup),kiełbasa (Polish sausage), kiszka (buckwheat sausage), kluski (noodles),gołçbki (stuffed cabbage rolls), and pierogi (Polish ravioli) are again served only on special occasions.

Commercial Activities. Initially, Polish American commercial activities centered on serving the immigrant community. Grocery stores carried the day-to-day items to which people were accustomed, drugstores stocked herbs used in folk remedies, and neighborhood bars served as centers for socialization with other Poles. Some establishments sold tickets for relatives to come to the United States, and others facilitated the sending of money "back home."

Some businesses still target the needs and preferences of the ethnic community, but the majority of Polish American enterprises are part of the general economy. They range from small businesses such as janitorial and home cleaning services to large enterprises such as Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.

Industrial Arts. The first record of Polish American industrial activities dates back to 1608, when a glass furnace was constructed and workshops were established for the manufacture of pitch, soap ash, and tar. More recently Polish Americans have made contributions to technology through the work of individuals such as Zbyslaw M. Roehr, inventor of the disposable hypodermic needle, and Tadeusz Sendzimir, holder of more than fifty patents on processes pertaining to the annealing, galvanizing, and continuous rolling of steel that are used by more than a hundred steel works worldwide.

Division of Labor. By 1990, 34 percent of Polish Americans were engaged in administrative support, sales, and technical occupations; 30 percent worked in managerial and professional occupations; 12 percent were fabricators, laborers, and operators; 11 percent worked in services; 11 percent worked in crafts, precision production, and repairs; and 1 percent engaged in farming, fishing, and forestry.

Kinship

Kin Groups and Descent. Descent is traced bilaterally with a patrilineal bias. The basic kin unit is the nuclear family consisting of a married couple and its unmarried children. Ties beyond this unit are recognized but have become increasingly inactive as members have dispersed spatially by moving to new locations. Kindreds assemble for formal occasions, especially weddings and funerals.

Kinship Terminology. Polish Americans use Eskimo kinship terminology. They recognize kinship through both genders and use the same kin terms for both the father's and the mother's relatives but differentiate between genders and generations.

Marriage and Family

Marriage. Most Polish American marriages are similar to those in the general American society. Ethnic endogamy is decreasing, but there is pressure to marry other Roman Catholics. More traditional individuals expect to get married, for the marriage to last for life, and that there will be children.

Domestic Unit. Newlyweds establish an independent household or may reside with the bride's parents. As a result of this pattern, Polish American wives have more power in their homes than was and is common in Poland.

The typical household consists of a married couple and their unmarried children. If the spouses' parents are still alive, they usually maintain their own households or, with increasing frequency, move into a retirement facility rather than into the children's home.

Inheritance. The pattern of inheritance is similar to that of the larger society and follows its laws. If the deceased was a first-generation immigrant with no survivors in the United States, his or her property may be deeded to relatives in Poland.

Socialization. The mother is seen as the nurturing supportive parent, and the father is thought of as a stern disciplinarian who may use physical punishment. Polish Americans operate 553 elementary schools, 71 high schools, 8 colleges, and 4 seminaries to further their education and socialize the next generation. However, a 1971 survey of Polish American parochial schools found that only 20 percent taught Polish history or culture. Polish Saturday schools and catechism classes have increased in popularity because they serve the needs of newer immigrants.

Sociopolitical Organization

Social Organization. Approximately ten thousand Polish American organizations unite people with different interests. Memberships may be based on athletic, fraternal, religious, social, or other criteria. Many of these groups are affiliated with national associations that have a total membership of more than 800,000. Polish Americans are served by a number of periodicals that include two major Polish-language daily newspapers, twenty weekly and biweekly publications, and about thirty-five quarterlies with differing levels of scholarship and artistic orientation.

Political Organization. In 1619, after being denied the right to vote for the first legislative assembly in the James-town colony, Polish Americans organized the first strike for civil liberties on American soil. Given their numbers and length of residence, Polish Americans have not been especially successful in achieving high political office. Politicians have included Senator Edmund S. Muskie, the Democratic Party's nominee for vice president in 1968 and a contender for the presidency four years later; Doctor John Gronouski, a U. S. postmaster general and U. S. ambassador to Poland; and Mary Ann Krupsak, the first woman to be elected lieutenant governor of New York.

When Poland was not a free and united country (between 1795 and 1918 and from 1939 to 1989), Polish émigrés saw themselves as freedom fighters who were continuing the struggle from abroad. Among other activities, Polish Americans have attempted to influence the U.S. government's policies toward Poland. They also actively interact with Polish society. In 1995 there were more Polish citizens in Chicago than in Warsaw and many feel that these voters abroad were decisive in electing Aleksander Kwasniewski president.

Social Control. There is internal competition and division in Polish American society. One conflict—though it has been less prevalent since 1989—is between the Polish American left and people with other political orientations, especially those who have experienced communism firsthand. A second cleavage is between recent immigrants and those whose ancestors arrived before World War II, who have different perspectives on ethnic identity and Polish culture. To a degree these conflicts are based on the differences in education and employment of the different cohorts of immigrants. Another division is based on the religious schism between adherents of the Polish National Catholic Church and those who have remained Roman Catholic.

These conflicts are manifested in the formation of parallel organizations and in competition for offices in the existing organizations. Often conflict situations result in avoidance and refusal to acknowledge the existence of those who have different opinions.

Conflict. Conflict with non-Poles is specific to the locality and is a function of the ages of those involved. In the past there were fights between young boys of different ethnic groups. Perhaps the most common and visible interethnic conflicts among adults have involved ethnic succession in residential neighborhoods and the resulting tensions. Occasionally these conflicts involve demonstrations covered by the news media.

Some conflicts are continuations of relationships in Europe. One example is the relationship between Catholic Poles and Polish Jews. This conflict is visible primarily in publications in which Polish Americans are accused of anti-Semitism and attempt to refute the charge. And when Poland was fighting for its independence after World War I, 24,000 to 30,000 men were recruited in the United States to help Poland fight. During World War II there were 722 volunteers for a similar unit.

Religion and Expressive Culture

Religious Beliefs. Partly because of the atheistic propaganda of the Polish government between 1945 and 1989, recent immigrants are more agnostic than were pre-World War I immigrants. Two belief systems coexist: the formal Roman Catholic cosmology and doctrine and modified folk beliefs.

Among the most common practices are the lighting of a candle blessed by priests that is used to ward off sickness and general misfortune (the gromnica) and the blessing of the Easter basket. The way the table is set, the way people are seated, and the kinds of foods and dishes served at Christmas and Easter have religious significance.

Religious Practitioners. The overwhelming majority of Polish Americans have always been Roman Catholic. When Poles started arriving in large numbers, the Catholic Church in the United States was dominated by German and Irish cardinals and bishops. The Polish immigrants wanted to practice the kind of Catholicism they were used to in their country of origin, and this created conflict. Ultimately, some Polish priests were appointed to higher office, and the nine hundred Polish American congregations gained a measure of control over their property and practices.

An offshoot of the conflict with the Catholic Church in the United Sates was the creation of the Polish National Catholic Church in 1904. By the end of the twentieth century it had over a hundred parishes with three hundred thousand members. This church gained members in Poland, where the communist government tried to use it to reduce the effectiveness and power of the Roman Catholic Church.

Polish American social and organizational life remains strongly influenced by the church. There are religious fraternal organizations, insurance companies, and women's organizations. Polish American nuns have direct control of large organizations and raise capital for projects those groups initiate and control. This practice increased the power of Polish American women before and after World War I.

Ceremonies. Polish American culture incorporates elements of the Polish culture of Poland and the "Anglo" culture of the United States. The Dyngus Day party traditionally held on the Monday after Easter evokes the Polish custom of entertaining neighbors on that day, while in Buffalo, New York it is an event to which people buy tickets to enjoy the food and festivities. Two other examples are Kolȩdy Night and Dozynki. Kolȩdy Night is based on the custom in Poland of caroling from door to door during the Christmas season. In Buffalo, Polish and American carols are sung in both languages and there is polka music and other activities whose juxtaposition is unique to the United States. Even though in many communities few of the participants are farmers, the harvest festival, Dozynki, is still observed. These events are occasions for Polish Americans to bond and express ethnicity and for other people to experience their culture vicariously. The same ends are served by Polish Days and other festivities, such as Pulaski Day, named after famous Polish Americans.

There are numerous events sponsored by organizations and intended for their members. Usually these celebrations commemorate events and anniversaries significant to a specific organization. Some events are organized by a group and are open to all Polish Americans living in the vicinity. Usually these events have religious significance, such as Christmas, Easter, and New Year's celebrations, or they may be holidays observed in Poland. Regardless of the organization under whose auspices an event is held, its overt significance, or the activities associated with it, such events provide in-group bonding and serve to distinguish members of the Polish American community from the general population.

Arts. The polka is the best known type of Polish American music, and there have been popular musical entertainers such as Bobby Vinton. Others, such as Edward Sobolewski, the founder of the Minneapolis Symphony orchestra, and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, who became its conductor a century later, have contributed to classical music in the United States.

Polish Americans have had a number of important literary figures, including Czeslaw Milosz, winner of the 1980 Nobel Prize for literature, and Jerzy Kosinski, who won the National Book Award in 1969 and was the first foreign-born and -educated person elected president of the American Center of PEN.

Important figures in the visual arts include Richard Anuszkiewitcz, op-art painter; Yan Khur, founder of Ero-Art; and Janusz Korczak-Ziolkowski, sculptor of the monument to Chief Crazy Horse in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Medicine. Until World War II many immigrants and members of the first generation born in the United States continued to rely on the folk medicine of the "old country." They used herbs applied externally as poultices and salves or ingested in foods and as teas. There often was a magico-religious element in these treatments. For example, plants collected before sunset on Saint John's Eve (June 23) were believed to have special potency. Educated immigrants and most Polish Americans who were born in the United States rely primarily on Western scientific medicine. Occasionally people may drink a tea made from chamomile or wormwood as a home remedy. In the 1990s there was a revival of interest in herbs as a result of the popularity of alternative medicine among the general public.

Death and Afterlife. Catholic peasants considered death in old age part of the normal life cycle and a transition to a better situation. When a member is dying, the family summons a priest to hear confession or administer the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. Relatives gather at the bedside to bid farewell and place the gromnica (a candle blessed on February 2) in the dying person's hand to ease the agony of dying and protect the person from Satan. An all-night wake is observed. Sometimes relatives scatter Polish soil over graves so that the immigrants would not be buried in foreign ground. As a sign of respect for the dead, the stypa (the ritual funeral meal) is observed. The mourning period usually is a year.

For other cultures in The United States of America, see List of Cultures in Volume 10 and under specific culture names in Volume 1, North America.

Bibliography

Bukowcyk, John J., editor (1996). Polish Americans and Their History: Community, Culture, and Politics. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.

Bukowczyk, John J. (1987). And My Children Did Not Know Me: A History of the Polish Americans. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Erdmans, Mary Patrice (2000). "Polonia in the New Century: We Will Not Fade Away," Polish American Studies LVII(l): 5-24.

Kuniczak, W. S. (2000). My Name is Million: An Illustrated History of the Poles in America. New York: Hippocrene Books.

Lopata, Helena Znaniecka (1994). Polish Americans, 2nd revised ed. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.

Pula, James S. (1995). Polish Americans: An Ethnic Community. New York: Twayne Publishers.

Silverman, Deborah Anders (2000). Polish American Folklore. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

Strybel, Robert, and Maria Strybel (1993). Polish Heritage Cookery. New York: Hippocrene Books.

Wiegand, Bruce, and John F. Kozlowicz (1998). "Polonia Divided: Conflict and De-Industrialization in Taptown," The Polish Review XLIII(3): 315-335.

Internet Sources

Polish American Congress. http://www.polamcon.org

ANDRIS SKREIJA