Polish Americans

For more information on Polish history and culture, seeVol. 3: Poles.

OVERVIEW

Polish settlers helped establish the Jamestown colony in Virginia in the early 1600s. Polish adventurers and radicals came across the sea to help the American colonists win the Revolutionary War (1775–83), including heroes Tadeusz Kosciuszko (1746–1817), who later returned to the United States to serve as liaison between President Thomas Jefferson and leaders of the French Revolution and Count Kazimierz Pulaski (1747-1779), sometimes called the "father of the American cavalry," who was killed in the battle of Savannah, Georgia. Since then, millions of people from Poland have immigrated to the United States.

When Poland was partitioned in the 1770s between Russia, Austria, and Prussia, members of the Polish upper class chose to escape the new oppressive governments. Many came to America. So many came, in fact, that Polish America became known as the "Fourth Province" of Poland, the other three being those areas controlled by Russia, Austria, and Prussia, respectively. (Another term for the Polish community outside of Poland is "Polonia.") A few groups of peasant farmers also came to America, looking for better economic opportunities. They set up Polish farming communities in places like Panna Maria, Texas, the first permanent Polish community in America, founded in 1854.

Polish immigration from the 1770s to about 1870 is sometimes referred to as the "first wave," but more often, the first wave is considered to have begun in 1870 when Polish serfs were given their freedom. The United States also began encouraging immigration to help rebuild the country after the devastation of the American Civil War (1861–65). Up to 2 million Poles immigrated to the United States between 1870 and 1914, when the beginning of World War I brought immigration to a halt.

Most Polish immigrants in this first large wave of immigration, also called the "old emigration," were single young men looking for the chance to work at wage-earning jobs, save up their money, and return to Poland. Some 30% actually did return to Poland, but the rest stayed in the United States. As uneducated (though generally literate) peasant farmers, they were unskilled and unprepared for the industrialized world of America. They took whatever jobs they could find, working in mines, mills, factories, slaughterhouses, refineries, and foundries. Once established in their new home, many sent for their families or returned to Poland to marry, then brought their wives back to the United States with them. Women and children went to work then to support the family.

The second wave, or "new emigration," of Polish Americans came to the United States under the Displaced Persons Act of 1948, which allowed Europeans who had been displaced by the destruction of World War II to enter the United States as immigrants. These second-wave Polish Americans tended to be well-educated intellectuals, the writers, artists, and scholars who had been targeted by the Nazis for elimination. A number of them were Jewish (see Vol. 2: Jewish Americans ). The new emigration added depth to the already established Polish American community.

In the 1960s and 1970s, "Polack" jokes became popular in the United States, portraying Polish and Polish American people as stupid, crude, and lazy. The Polish American community fought back with a campaign showing the great achievements of Polish writers and scholars, etc., but the discrimination continued. Even Ronald Reagan, while running for president in 1980, told "Polack" jokes to a group of reporters. When the Solidarity movement took off in Poland, however, Americans were drawn into sympathy with the revolutionary Poles, and "Polack" jokes died out. First-generation Polish Americans were allowed to vote in the 1990 Polish presidential elections and they helped bring Lech Walesa, leader of the Solidarity movement, into office.

In the 2000 U.S. Census over 8.9 million people were listed as having Polish ancestry. Early immigrants generally settled in the industrial cities of the Northeast and Midwest, such as Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio; South Bend, Indiana; Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota; Omaha, Nebraska; St. Louis, Missouri; Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; and Buffalo and New York City, New York. Few of the old purely Polish neighborhoods still exist, but many of the cities of early settlement still host larger communities of Polish Americans. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there were about 213,447 people of Polish ancestry living in New York City and 210,421 living in Chicago, Illinois. The states with the highest populations of Polish Americans were New York (986,106), Illinois (932,982), Michigan (854,815), Pennsylvania (824,146), and New Jersey (576,465). About 9.3% of the population of Wisconsin was listed as having Polish ancestry. The 2005 American Community Survey estimated a total of about 9.7 million people of Polish ancestry, with 38% living in the Midwest, 33% in the Northeast, 17% in the South and 12% in the West. In the 2000 U.S. Census, Polish ranked as the 10th most popular language other than English that was most frequently spoken at home.

The Polish American community has been in the United States for several generations and traditional Polish ways are being lost by later generations. Polish language proficiency is limited or nonexistent among third- and subsequent-generation Polish Americans. Some first- and second-generation Polish Americans lament that their children speak Spanish or some other language learned in school better than they speak Polish.

Many Polish Americans chose to shorten or otherwise Americanize their names in order to blend in better with the mainstream society when they first arrived. Immigration officials simplified others' names on their entry papers because they either could not understand the actual name or did not care to write it out. In today's climate of multiculturalism and ethnic pride, some young Polish Americans are reclaiming their true Polish names.

Nearly all Polish Americans are either Catholic or Jewish. When Polish Catholics arrived in America, they found the Roman Catholic churches controlled by Irish Catholics who had arrived earlier. The Irish Catholics did not welcome the newcomers and Polish Americans began establishing their own churches whenever and wherever possible. In 1897 a number of Polish Americans decided to separate from the Roman Catholic Church entirely and formed the Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) under the leadership of Father Franciszek Hodur. The PNCC is very similar to the Roman Catholic Church with a few very important differences: PNCC priests are allowed to marry and church officials are elected, rather than appointed. The PNCC had over 25,000 members in 2008. There were parishes in 20 states and 3 Canadian provinces.

Polish Americans celebrate the holidays and rites of passage common to their tradition, be it Catholic or Jewish. Many Polish American Catholics continue to hold the traditional Polish Christmas Eve dinner called Wigilia and sing koledy— Polish Christmas carols. A secular holiday celebrated by all Polish Americans is May 3, commemorating the Polish Constitution of 1791, the first democratic constitution in all of Europe. Some Polish American communities celebrate Pulaski Day (October 11), a holiday established in the United States by presidential proclamation to commemorate the death of General Kazimierz Pulaski, a Polish hero in the American Revolution. The state of Illinois has designated the first Monday of March as Pulaski Day, a date which more closely coincides with Pulaski's birthday (March 4).

Polish Americans continue to hold to the traditional Polish values of hard work and tenacity, good manners, and generosity. They are also competitive within their personal community, striving to achieve higher status (usually by means of material goods) than those around them. However, Polish Americans are also very loyal to their community, so the competition is good-natured, even joyful. The people of Poland learned to be wary of change after centuries of upheaval and oppression. Polish Americans carry on that wariness, placing a high value on security, stability, respectability, and order. For this reason, as well as religious convictions, the divorce rate is quite low among Polish Americans as compared to other ethnic groups in the United States.

Polish Americans have contributed a great deal to American culture. Kielbasa (Polish sausage), pierogi, Polish dill pickles, sauerkraut, Polish ham, and babka (an egg-dough cake) are all fairly common items in the American diet. Paczki, a jam-filled donut, has become a traditional food for some Polish Americans to eat on Fat Tuesday (Shrove Tuesday). Vodka, originated by the Polish, not the Russians, is now a favorite liquor in the United States.

Polish American writers, musicians, actors and directors, and even fashion designers (Helena Rubinstein) have all made a serious impact on U.S. society. Writer Czeslaw Milosz won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1980. Other successful Polish American writers include Isaac Bashevis Singer, Jerzy Kosinski, and playwright Janusz Glowacki. The first well-known Polish American film actor was silent-screen star Pola Negri (credited with introducing painted toenails to American women). She was followed by Gloria Swanson, Carole Landis, Loretta Swit, Stephanie Powers, Jerry Orbach, and Charles (Buchinsky) Bronson, among others. Producer/director/screenwriter Joseph L. Mankiewicz is another important figure in American film, as are producer Samuel Goldwyn; producer/director Roman Polanski; the founders of Warner Brothers Studio, Harry, Albert, and Jack Warner; and filmmakers Zbigniew Rybczynski and Agnieszka Holland.

Polka music is probably the best-known contribution Polish Americans have made to American culture. Contrary to popular belief, the polka did not originate in Poland but in Bohemia (a region of the Czech Republic) and it was never more popular in Poland than such dances as the mazurka or the polonaise, which are similar to the polka in rhythm and steps. Polish immigrants to America embraced the polka as a "national anthem" as they began to link Polish verses to the tunes. The Polish-style polka originated in Chicago and generally features an accordion, drums, string bass, and two trumpets. The International Polka Association in Chicago preserves and promotes both the Polish-style polka and the cultural heritage of Polish Americans.

Many individual Polish Americans have also made significant contributions to the world of music, including pianists Liberace and Arthur Rubinstein; orchestral conductors Leopold Stokowski and Arthur Rodzinski; singers Bobby Vinton, Pat (Andrzejewski) Benatar, and Huey Lewis; drummer Gene Krupa; and jazz violinist Michal Urbaniak.

In the world of industry, Joseph "Jock" Yablonski was a strong force in the United Mine Workers union. He ran for president of the union in 1969 but lost. While appealing the decision, he was assassinated, along with his wife and daughter. Martha (Kostyra) Stewart, home economics maven, has become enormously popular in popular culture. Her books and magazine are highly successful and she has made numerous appearances on morning and afternoon talk shows. She also stars in her own television show. Max Factor, Sr., a Polish born businessman, is well-known for the cosmetic company he founded under his own name.

Polish American scientists have made significant contributions in their fields. Albert Abraham Michelson was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1907 for his study on measurements of the speed of light. He was the first American to receive the Nobel Prize in the sciences. Stephanie Kwolek discovered the synthetic material known as Kevlar.

Polish Americans are well represented in the U.S. government. Edmund Muskie served as a U.S. senator for a number of years, then ran unsuccessfully for U.S. vice-president, with presidential candidate Hubert Humphrey in 1968. He later served as the U.S. Secretary of State during Jimmy Carter's presidency. Another Polish American, Zbigniew Brzezinski, also served in Carter's administration, as National Security Advisor. Other Polish American politicians include U.S. Senators Barbara Mikulski and Frank Murkowski, and former Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, Dan Rostenkowski.

A form of baseball was probably introduced to America by Polish settlers in the Jamestown colony in the early 1600s. Baseball remained Polish Americans' favorite sport for many generations. In the 1870s Oscar Bielaski was the first Polish American to play professional baseball. When the National League was formed in 1876, Bielaski joined the Chicago White Stockings (as they were then named). Men's baseball stars since that time include Stan "the Man" Musial, Carl Yastrzemski, and Dave Dombrowski. Sophie Kurys, Loretta (Jasczak) Jester, Connie Wisniewski, and Jenny Romatowski were among the stars of the short-lived women's professional baseball league.

Two Polish Americans have won the Heisman Trophy for college football: Johnny Lujack and Leon Hart. Ron Jaworski, Bill Romanowski, Alex Wojciechowicz, Bill Osmanski, and Ed Danowski are all successful professional football players. Wayne Gretzky is considered by some to be the best hockey player ever to take the ice. Ed Olczyk is another well-respected hockey player. Janet Lynn found great success on the ice as a figure skater.

Polish American culture is celebrated at several Polish American festivals, usually held in the summer. The parades, feasts, and polka music are enjoyed by Polish and non-Polish Americans alike. Few Americans are aware that October is Polish American Heritage Month. Polish American organizations are trying to increase awareness of Polish American heritage among the general American public as well as among younger generations of Polish Americans, many of whom have lost touch with their traditional culture.

The Polish Women's Alliance of America (PWAA) was founded on 22 May 1898 in Chicago as a fraternal benefit society. Stefania Chmielinska, PWAA founder, was a Polish immigrant who worked as a seamstress in Chicago. She and others like her realized that women needed equality and worked to promote this cause. The right of women to pursue higher education, the right to enter many professions, and the right of women to purchase life insurance in their own names were some of the issues taken on by the PWAA. Polish American women worked against prejudices and narrow-mindedness to become leaders in their communities. During World War I and II, during the years of political freedom in Poland between the wars, and for almost 50 years of Communist rule in Poland, the PWAA and other Polish American organizations worked to bring aid and moral support to the Polish nation, its people, and religious institutions. Polish American women today must decide to what extent they want to relinquish their traditional culture in the face of modern American values and habits. Such negotiation of the past and present can be difficult.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cisek, Janusz. Polish Refugees and the Polish American Immigration and Relief Committee. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2006.

Dolan, Sean. The Polish Americans. New York: Chelsea House, 1997.

Erdmans, Mary Patrice. The Grasinski Girls: the Choices They Had and the Choices They Made. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2004.

Gabor, Al. Polish Americans. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1995.

Jaroszyska-Kirchmann, Anna D. The Exile Mission: the Polish Political Diaspora and Polish Americans, 1939-1956. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2004.

Lopata, Helena Znaniecka. "The Polish American Family."Ethnic Families in America: Patterns and Variations, 3rd ed., Charles H. Mindel, Robert W. Habenstein, and Roosevelt Wright, Jr., ed. New York: Elsevier Science Publishing, 1988.

Obidinski, Eugene. "Proclaiming Polish Praises." Polish-American Journal 84, no. 11 (1 November 1995): 3.

Polish Women's Alliance of America. http://www.pwaa.org/index.html (16 April 2008).

Smigielski, John J. "Saving My Roots." Polish-American Journal 84, no. 6 (1 June 1995): 3.

Tarapacki, Tom. "Chasing the American Dream." Polish-American Journal 85, no. 2 (1 February 1996): 7.

—revised by K. Ellicott