Polish Immigrants to the United States - Essay Example

Name Grade course University Course instructor 9th July, 2013 Роlish immigrants tо thе United States Introduction New Immigration was a term used in the 1890, it comprised of immigrants for the southern and Eastern Europe moving into the United States. The huge number of people to the United States was worrying to the people of America who questioned whether their country had become dumping ground. Particularly, the Americans were worried about the political, economic and cultural impacts as a result of the immigration. Among the immigrants during that time were the Polish who currently comprise 3.2 percent of the total America’s population. It is estimated that around 5 million Polish went to the United States between the 1800’s and the time of the World War II (Spickard 17). There were various reasons as to why the Poles immigrated to the United States as will be discussed in this paper. Polish immigration to America was a tough journey that was caused by conscription, better opportunities and religious persecution and lead to very large increase in the Polish population in America. Conscription Constant military draft Following Russia’s defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, as well as the Russian Revolution in 1905, there developed an anti-Russian revolution in Russia Poland. It was mandatory for the young men to be drafted into military in order to prepare for the possible war. Many people did not wish to be drafted in the military once they attained the age of military service in fear of the consequences of the war. It was also illegal for men to emigrate after attaining the age of military service for them to be drafted into the service. During the same time, Poland was under the power of three countries Austria, Russia and Germany; people were drafted to join the militaries of these countries which were all interested in total control of Poland (Ingram & Asher 44). Many people therefore sought for ways to emigrate especially if they had relatives in the United States. Some people even opted to risk and start new lives away from home in fear of being drafted into military service. Fleeing war During the cold war, Poland was under the power of three countries, Austria, Germany and Russia. All the three nations fought and were being supported by their allies. The issue of Poland gaining independence was gaining urgency every time. Each of the country was employing its different approach to win the loyalty of Poland. The Poles had been subjected to poverty since they did not have rights to own land. Polish leaders had to ensure that Poland attained independence through war. Around 2 million Polish troops participated in the war fight against the armies of the three nations occupying power resulting to 450,000 dying (Spickard 37). Many Poles were forced to immigrate to the United States which was considered as a safe land for them. Those who failed to join the Polish army were either drafted into the militaries of the occupying powers. More opportunity a) Economic opportunities Stability The biggest immigration from Poland occurred when a group of farmers fled in the search of better economic opportunities. Most of these farmers had lost their land during war and could not feed their family forcing them to seek for stability. There was a common belief among the Poles that land ownership determined stability and lack of land meant that one was nothing. As a result of this belief, along with other problems in Poland, the biggest group of Poles migrated to the United States. It is estimated that 2.5 million Poles migrated and settled on Ellis Island, this immigration is referred to as the second wave of the Polish migration (Seroczynski 33). This group of immigrants can further be classified into two groups: the intelligent German Poles and the lower class Poles comprising of the Russian and the Austrian Poles. The German Poles fled immigrated as a result of religious persecution by the Germans. Driven by their desire to become economically stable, these Poles were referred to as “for bread” immigrants; their sole aim for immigrating to America was to make money (Ingram & Asher 49). They would only go back to Poland after they had accomplished their goal and hence they prospered. There were also those who risked everything like selling every property in order to travel to America. Soon, the Polish immigrants would write letters to their relatives informing them about how life in America was, this would in turn result to their relatives immigrating to America too. There were also those Poles who solely immigrated after hearing exaggerated stories that the United States was a land of opportunities and many jobs. Business As previously mentioned, many Polish went to America for economic but as well as other reasons. Most of the immigrants were from the southeastern and south part of Poland. These areas had been affected by poverty until the 20th century when the tourism industry developed. Majority of these immigrants went to the United States to make some money and were willing to go back to their country after getting some amount of cash. This was contrary to The Jews who came to America from Eastern Europe and were never willing to go back, they opted for United States to be their homes. However, the Poles could not make much money since they were illiterate and unskilled implying that they would only get low-paying jobs. They could still save some of the little money they earned so that they could get some money to send back to their country and save some for business (Lucille 89). Most of the immigrants were forced to settle in crowded and unsanitary places where they could afford. They were also required to undergo several forms of screening in order to ascertain whether they would be allowed to stay in America. Jobs Polish immigrants started immigrating to the United States long ago although the massive immigration occurred in the late 1800’s. In 1608, the first Poles entered in the United States, this was the earliest wave of immigration. It comprised of Poles hired by London companies to take their industrial skills to Jamestown (Lucille 86). They were skilled workers who were hired to make glass house shops as well as pitch and potash burners; these were actually the first products to be exported by Jamestown. This successful labor led to more Poles being invited to Jamestown. In 1619, more Poles would land to Jamestown to manufacture pitch, resin and tar for ships; this group of Poles was very helpful in start of the timber industry that was used in the manufacture of ships. The numbers of Poles in Jamestown had increased to the extent that the legislative assembly denied them an opportunity to vote. This resulted to the Poles going on strike and refusing to work; the legislative assembly was forced to allow them the right to vote implying that the Poles were the first fighters of civil rights to successful win their fight (Birkbeck 62). Even for the Poles who later immigrated during the massive immigration of the second immigration wave, hard work was a principle. It was a culture among the Poles that the family had the responsibility to ensure that everyone was dressed and food was placed on the table. Therefore, everyone from the children to the mother had to work from sunset to eight in order to ensure that the family was met its demands. Those who lacked skills were forced to work in the unsanitary and unsafe conditions in the factories. According to Reisner, Davis and Miara this is the only time in the Polish history that mothers become the head of the household, they were in charge of raising the children and ensuring the family was clean. At that time, education was considered as a luxury among the Poles, they could not be bothered by it at all. As a result, they could not get well-paying jobs forcing them to do unskilled and dirty jobs but they could not mind because they had stayed unemployed for many years in their country. The Poles were very good in saving their money, from 1900 to 1914; the Poles were in a position to send about 4 million dollars a year to their country. They would soon integrate with the Americans and play a major role in the American economy. The second and third generations of Poles were born in America in the late 1900’s. These generations still recognized the Polish heritage but they would later reject the old Polish lifestyles since they were born as Americans. The generations recognized the need to move out to become part of the America’s big society but since they still had the Polish heritage in their blood, they still respected their ancient heritage (Clark 2). Religious persecution Jewish The first group of Polish immigrants occurred from 1800 to 1860 and comprised of intellectuals and poorer nobles. The main cause for these people to flee their country was out of political reasons as reported by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service. Approximately 6 million of the world’s 7.7 million Jews lived in Eastern Europe in 1880. During the time of the civil war, a new wave of anti-Semetism in Poland began and reached a peak in 1912. An anti-Semitic wing of the National Democratic Party started to attain strength as a result of many intellectuals as well as representatives of organized labor left the party, this was in the early 1990’s (Birkbeck 71). In order to retain their strength, the party began using anti-Semitic slogans that were aimed at Jews, this time the number of Jews had gone so high in the cities. Radical nationalists groups facilitated this process. Poles were forced not to seek any services from the Jews. Poles who were seen entering Jewish shops were photographed and the pictures were displayed, such people were discriminated. The Poles blamed their problems on the Jews; they would throw stones to them and even kill them as a result of the hate being circulated. Polish-Jews were thus forced to immigrate to America in order to flee from the hatred and killing that was facing them. By 1920’s, after a massive immigration by the Jews, 23 percent of the Jews were calling United States as their home (Spickard 60). Catholics Poland was also affected by religious persecution against Catholics during the civil war. As a result of Nazi invasion of Poland, Catholics who were the majority of the population were brutally murdered. Approximately 3 million Polish Catholics were killed during the invasion of Poland. Also, their priests, bishops, and nuns were not spared. The leadership of the country violently suppressed the Catholics by murders, deporting or imprisoning the clergy and closing down the churches. The suppression of the Catholic Church continued even under the Communist regime from the 1950s (Clark 74). As a result, followers of this religion were forced to flee their country in search of safer land. The United States offered them a major landing ground because majority of them had there relatives there who had fled for some other reasons. Conclusion As has been found out, Polish immigration to the United States was really a tough journey. The condition in Poland did not favor the residents forcing majority of them to flee as a result of religious persecutions, conscription and search for better opportunities. The immigration had its own effects on the immigrants who ended up doing low-paid jobs since they did not have specialized skills. Also, the immigrants did not have time to study since they considered education as a luxury. Many problems surrounded the lives of the Poles when they arrive in the United States. The problems were mainly social as well as economical. They were working in hazardous and unsanitary conditions yet their pay was just too low. They were thus forced to live in some crowded places where they could afford. They also faced the problem of discrimination from the Native Americans who felt that the immigrants were just to many and that they would result to many problems in America. Works Cited Birkbeck, John. Religious persecution in Galicia (Austrian Poland). London: Berridge, 2008. Print. Clark, Harriet. Our Immigrants at Ellis Island. Boston: United Society of Christian Endeavor, 1912. Retrieved on 9 Jul. 2013 from http://lccn.loc.gov/12013648 Ingram Scott & Asher Robert. Polish Immigrants. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009. Print. Lucille, Sisters. The Causes of Polish Immigration to the United States. Polish American Studies 8, (3/4): 85-91, 1951. Reisner Lenny, Davis Steven & Miara Linc. Polish immigration into America. Retrieved on 9 Jul.2013 from http://www2.needham.k12.ma.us/nhs/cur/kane98/kane_p3_immig/Poland/Polish.html Seroczynski, Felix. Poles in the United States. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. Retrieved on 9 Jul. 2013, from http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12204c.htm Spickard, Paul. Almost All Aliens: Immigration, Race, and Colonialism in American History and Identity. New York: Routledge, 2007. Print. Read More

This was contrary to The Jews who came to America from Eastern Europe and were never willing to go back, they opted for United States to be their homes. However, the Poles could not make much money since they were illiterate and unskilled implying that they would only get low-paying jobs. They could still save some of the little money they earned so that they could get some money to send back to their country and save some for business (Lucille 89). Most of the immigrants were forced to settle in crowded and unsanitary places where they could afford.

They were also required to undergo several forms of screening in order to ascertain whether they would be allowed to stay in America. Jobs Polish immigrants started immigrating to the United States long ago although the massive immigration occurred in the late 1800’s. In 1608, the first Poles entered in the United States, this was the earliest wave of immigration. It comprised of Poles hired by London companies to take their industrial skills to Jamestown (Lucille 86). They were skilled workers who were hired to make glass house shops as well as pitch and potash burners; these were actually the first products to be exported by Jamestown.

This successful labor led to more Poles being invited to Jamestown. In 1619, more Poles would land to Jamestown to manufacture pitch, resin and tar for ships; this group of Poles was very helpful in start of the timber industry that was used in the manufacture of ships. The numbers of Poles in Jamestown had increased to the extent that the legislative assembly denied them an opportunity to vote. This resulted to the Poles going on strike and refusing to work; the legislative assembly was forced to allow them the right to vote implying that the Poles were the first fighters of civil rights to successful win their fight (Birkbeck 62).

Even for the Poles who later immigrated during the massive immigration of the second immigration wave, hard work was a principle. It was a culture among the Poles that the family had the responsibility to ensure that everyone was dressed and food was placed on the table. Therefore, everyone from the children to the mother had to work from sunset to eight in order to ensure that the family was met its demands. Those who lacked skills were forced to work in the unsanitary and unsafe conditions in the factories.

According to Reisner, Davis and Miara this is the only time in the Polish history that mothers become the head of the household, they were in charge of raising the children and ensuring the family was clean. At that time, education was considered as a luxury among the Poles, they could not be bothered by it at all. As a result, they could not get well-paying jobs forcing them to do unskilled and dirty jobs but they could not mind because they had stayed unemployed for many years in their country.

The Poles were very good in saving their money, from 1900 to 1914; the Poles were in a position to send about 4 million dollars a year to their country. They would soon integrate with the Americans and play a major role in the American economy. The second and third generations of Poles were born in America in the late 1900’s. These generations still recognized the Polish heritage but they would later reject the old Polish lifestyles since they were born as Americans. The generations recognized the need to move out to become part of the America’s big society but since they still had the Polish heritage in their blood, they still respected their ancient heritage (Clark 2).

Religious persecution Jewish The first group of Polish immigrants occurred from 1800 to 1860 and comprised of intellectuals and poorer nobles. The main cause for these people to flee their country was out of political reasons as reported by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service. Approximately 6 million of the world’s 7.7 million Jews lived in Eastern Europe in 1880. During the time of the civil war, a new wave of anti-Semetism in Poland began and reached a peak in 1912.

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