Due to the severe political and economic downturn in Poland
The Polish-Americans were forced to leave their native country. Although they were not warmly welcomed into American culture, they have consistently contributed significantly to the country's economic growth.
A Group of American Citizens Whose Ancestry Can Be Linked to Poland
Since it has been established that there are currently 9.5 million Polish Americans living in the United States, it is estimated that they make up 3% of the country's total population. They are expected to be the second-largest Slavic ethnic community and the eighth-largest immigrant group in America. The main reasons why they fled from their homeland include political recession and hard economic times. Jaroszynska-Kirchmann (2004) claims that 64.5% of the immigrants were agriculturalists while in their native land. On reaching America, most of them settled near the urban areas and were employed in the nearby firms as unskilled laborers. As demonstrated through this paper, the immigrants were not gladly welcomed in America, which made them spend most of their time in the Catholic Churches and they were continuously exploited by their American employers since they were offered meager salaries. Consequently, this paper will demonstrate that the Polish-Americans have not only played a crucial role in the economic development of the American nation but also, they play an active role in the nation’s political affairs.
Historical Context
The history of the Polish Americans in the United States can be traced back to the colonial period. It is approximated that they have lived in America for over four hundred years, since the year 1608. Currently, the United States is considered to be the largest diaspora for the Poles. According to the Ohio History Central, millions of immigrants found their way into the United States during the early twentieth century and the nineteenth century with a major objective of living the American Dream (Ohio History Central, n.d.). Before the emergence of the American Civil War, most of the American immigrants came from Ireland, the Great Britain, and Germany. However, during the 1880s most of the immigrants hailed from nations within the European countries such as Hungary and Poland. In the year 1900, it was estimated that the total number of immigrants in Ohio was 458,734 people. By then, only a few numbers of Polish immigrants lived in Ohio although their number soared to 67,579 people in 1920. The Ohio History Central notes that most of the Polish immigrants settled around Lake Erie, where they were employed in firms while others worked as casual laborers. Also, some of them were employed as laborers in the quarry mines where they were used in the extraction of the precious stones (Bukowczyk, 2008). Nevertheless, some of them started their businesses and sold the traditional Polish products to their fellow Polish Americans. Most of them followed the Roman Catholic Church doctrines and even started their Catholic Church in Cleveland.
Research Questions
To have a comprehensive understanding of the Polish Americans in North-East Ohio, the following research questions will be used:
a) Are the Polish Americans in North-East Ohio inclined to any political affiliation in America?
b) Were the Polish Americans in Ohio adversely affected by the American culture?
c) Has there been any tension between the Polish-Americans and the Americans in the North-East Ohio?
d) Have the Polish-Americans played any significant role in the enhancement of the American society?
Analysis
Even though they are part of the minority races in America, the Polish-Americans have not only been inclined to some political affiliations but have also been given the opportunity to play an active role in American politics through their political representatives. According to King and Pomper (2004), the Polish-Americans were given a chance to hold leadership positions in some of the powerful institutions in America. According to Lopata and Erdmans (1994), the Polish Americans have learned that consolidating their votes and ensuring that each of them casts in the elections is the primary way through which they can guarantee they are represented in the government. Through their political advocates, they have not only been capable of voicing out their concerns on any matter that affects them but also play an active role in the nation building of America.
Evidence suggests that the Polish-Americans have also played an integral role in the commercial building of America. Research that was conducted in 2005 revealed that forty-five percent of the Polish-Americans play an active role in sales, managerial, and even technical occupations (Barkan, 2013). Fifty percent of the men are also employed within the manufacturing sector either as skilled or unskilled laborers. According to Barkan, the early Polish-Americans were offered employment opportunities in West Virginia mines and also in the steel firms in Ohio. These employees continuously worked hard to the extent that most of them earned a higher income than other immigrants from the European states by the year 1970.
After migrating to America, the Polish-Americans were not significantly affected by the American way of life. Some scholars have noted that most of them quickly adapted to the demanding nature of the American society that was undergoing industrialization. According to John R. Commons, most of the Polish Americans were extraordinarily radical and passive to have some organizations that would fight for their rights as workers (Pula, 1995). As a result, most of them were exploited by the American communists who offered them the employment opportunities. Pula also notes that the desire to be successful in a foreign nation made them persevere any hardships they encountered while working in America. Renkiewicz is of the opinion that their zeal to succeed in America is what made them not behave in either a capitalistic or a Protestant way of life. However, most of them believed that their presence in America was short-lived since most of them were convinced that they would soon return to their native land and use the finances they would have amassed to purchase property or even bail out their debt-ridden friends and relatives (Pula, 1995). Nevertheless, although the Polish-Americans were not organized in any labor movement, their calls for collective action and unionism kept on increasing as each day passed and eventually they started carrying out mass actions such as the Rolling Mill Company strike that occurred in 1913 in Ohio.
During the 1970s, the Polish economy suffered an economic crisis that stemmed from political repression, censorship, and an influx in the country’s level of national debt. Besides, there was an intense conflict between the 'peasants and the nobility in Poland' (Rempusheski, 1988), which made the poor people flee from their homeland. Bukowczyk argues that the daily challenges the immigrants faced in Poland led them to seek greener pastures in overseas nations, key among them being the United States (Bukowczyk, 1996). Unfortunately, even though the Polish-Americans were attracted by the readily available job opportunities that were offered by the American firms, most of them were treated with a lot of ambivalence. As a result, they always sought refuge from the Roman Catholic Church (Jozefski, 2008). The church was deemed as the main security provider for the immigrants, hence, protecting them from the members of society. It is important to note that most of the immigrants were devout Catholics, which made them easily adapt to the nature of life in America as guided by the Catholic Church. However, even those who did not embrace the Catholic Church’s doctrines were attracted to it as it was the only way through which they could successively venture into American society. Jaroszynska-Kirchmann (2004) is of the opinion that the Polish Americans’ culture was deemed quite good since it was based on religious doctrines, which emphasized the essence of having a stable family organization (Jaroszynska-Kirchmann, 2004). Also, the religious dictations advocated for a sense of unity within the community, which enabled the immigrants to live in peace with each other. According to Jaroszynska-Kirchmann, the Polish-Americans were grouped into various parishes, which were assigned to clerical leaders. The religious leaders were mandated to solve any conflicts among the members to enhance their cohesion and guide them in practicing the religious traditions and beliefs.
Conclusion
From the analysis above, it is evident that despite being one of the minority groups in the United States, the Polish-Americans have played an active role in the enhancement of the economic welfare of America. After fleeing from their homeland due to the political recession and economic hardships, most of the Polish-Americans were employed as casual laborers in Ohio and the quarry mines. However, the immigrants were not gladly welcomed into American society, hence, making them seek refuge from the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. Evidence suggests that most of them found it easy to be integrated into the American way of life, which was facilitated by their desire to succeed in the foreign land, thus, the reason why they were always willing to persevere the exploitation met on them by the American capitalists. As mentioned above, the immigrants did not have any labor unions that would be used to defend their rights, hence, the main idea behind the meager salaries they were offered by the American employers. Nevertheless, there were serious calls for unionism and collective actions, which eventually led to strikes that were used by the laborers to express their discontent. Over the years, the successful integration of the Polish-Americans into American society was significantly boosted by their active involvement in the politics of the nation, which even led to their appointment to head some of the powerful institutions in society. Besides, they have also acknowledged that making sure that they vote for their preferred candidate is the only way through which they will keep on ensuring that they are well represented in the government. Nevertheless, there is a need for adequate research to be carried out to illustrate the future of the Polish-Americans (and their role) in American politics as well as demonstrating their place in the future American society.
References
Barkan, E. R. (2013). Immigrants in American history: Arrival, adaptation, and integration. ABC-CLIO
Bukowczyk, J.J. (1996). Polish Americans and their history: Community, culture, and politics. University of Pittsburgh Press, United States of America.
Bukowczyk, J.J. (2008). A history of the Polish Americans. Transaction Publishers.
Jaroszynska-Kirchmann, A.D. (2004). The exile mission: The polish political diaspora and polish Americans, 1939 – 1956. Ohio University Press, Athens.
Jozefski, J.M. (2008). The role of Polish and America identities in the future of the Polish National Catholic Church. Polish American Studies. Vol. LXV. No. 2.
King, D., Pomper, M. (2004). The U.S. congress and the contingent influence of diaspora lobbies: Lessons from U.S. policy toward Armenia and Azerbaijan. Journal of Armenia Studies. Vol. VIII(1)
Lopata, H.Z., Erdmans, M.P. (1994). Polish Americans. Transaction Publishers.
Pula, J.S. (1995). Polish Americans: An ethnic community. Twayne Publishers.
Rempusheski, V.F. (1988). Caring for self and others: Second generation Polish American elders in an ethnic club. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology. Vol. 3. Is.3.
