Polish Americans

Polish Americans(Polish:Polonia amerykańska) areAmericanswho either have total or partialPolishancestry, or are citizens of theRepublic of Poland. There are an estimated 8.81 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.67% of theU.S. population, according to the 2021American Community Surveyconducted by theU.S. Census Bureau.
The first eight Polish immigrants to British America came to theJamestowncolony in 1608, twelve years before thePilgrimsarrived inMassachusetts. Two Polish volunteers,Casimir PulaskiandTadeusz Kościuszko, aided the Americans in the Revolutionary War. Casimir Pulaski created and led the Pulaski Legion of cavalry. Tadeusz Kosciuszko designed and oversaw the construction of state-of-the-art fortifications, including those at West Point, New York. Both are remembered as American heroes. Overall, around 2.2 million Poles and Polish subjects immigrated into the United States between 1820 and 1914, chiefly after national insurgencies and famine.They included former Polish citizens ofRoman Catholic,Protestant,Jewishor other minority descent.
Exact immigration figures are unknown owing to several complicating factors. Many immigrants were classified as "Russian", "German" or "Austrian" by theU.S. Immigration and Naturalization Serviceas many former territories of Poland were underGerman, Austrian-Hungarian and Russian occupationbetween the 1790s and the 1910s. Complicating the U.S. Census figures further is the high proportion of Polish Americans who married people of other national descent. In 1940, about 50 percent married other American ethnics and a study in 1988 found that 54% of Polish Americans were of mixed ancestry from three generations or longer. The Polish American Cultural Center places a figure of Americans who have some Polish ancestry at 19–20 million.
In 2000, 667,414 Americans over five years old reportedPolishas the language spoken at home, which is about 1.4% of the census groups who speak a language other than English or 0.25% of the U.S. population.
The history of Polish immigration to the United States can be divided into three stages, beginning with the first stage in the colonial era down to 1870, small numbers of Poles and Polish subjects came to America as individuals or in small family groups, and they quickly assimilated and did not form separate communities, with the exception ofPanna Maria, Texasfounded in the 1850s. For instance,Polish settlerscame to theVirginia Colonyas skilled craftsmen as early as 1608.Some Jews from Poland even assimilated into cities which were Polish (and also other Slavic and sometimes additionally Jewish) bastions to conceal their Jewish identities.
In the second stage from 1870 to 1914, Poles and Polish subjects formed a significant part of the wave of immigration fromGermany,Imperial Russia, andAustria Hungary. The Poles, particularly Polish Jews, came in family groups, settled in and/or blended into largely Polish neighborhoods and other Slavic bastions, and aspired to earn wages that were higher than what they could earn back in Europe and so many took the ample job opportunities for unskilled manual labor in industry and mining. The main Ethnically-Polish-American organizations were founded because of high Polish interest in theCatholic church,parochial schools, and local community affairs. Relatively few were politically active.
During the third stage from 1914 to present, the United States has seen mass emigration from Poland, and the coming of age of several generations of fully assimilated Polish Americans. Immigration from Poland has continued into the early 2000s and began to decline after Poland had joined the European Union in 2004. The income levels have gone up from well below average, to above average. Poles became active members of the liberalNew Deal Coalitionfrom the 1930s to the 1960s, but since then, many have moved to the suburbs, and have become more conservative and vote less oftenDemocratic.OutsideRepublicanand Democratic politics, politics such as those ofAgudath Israel of Americahave heavily involved Polish-Jewish Americans.
Helena Lopata(1976) argues that Poles differed from most other ethnic groups in America in several ways. They did not plan to remain permanently and become "Americanized." Instead, they came temporarily to earn money, invest, and wait for the right opportunity to return. Their intention was to ensure a desirable social status in the old world for themselves. However, many of the temporary migrants decided to become permanent Americans.
Many found manual labor jobs in the coal mines ofPennsylvaniaand the heavy industries (steel mills, iron foundries, slaughterhouses, oil and sugar refineries), of the Great Lakes cities ofChicago,Pittsburgh,Detroit,Buffalo,Milwaukee,Cleveland, andToledo.
The U.S. Census asked Polish immigrants to specify Polish as their native language beginning in Chicago in 1900, allowing the government to enumerate them as an individual nationality when there was no Polish nation-state.No distinction is made in the American census betweenethnically Polish Americansand descendants of non-ethnic Poles, such as Jews or Ukrainians, who were born in the territory of Poland and considered themselves Polish nationals. Therefore, some say, of the 10 million Polish Americans, only a certain portion are of Polish ethnic descent. On the other hand, many ethnic Poles when entering the US from 1795 to 1917, when Poland did not exist, did not identify themselves as ethnic Poles and instead identified themselves as either German, Austrian or Russian (this pertained to the nations occupying Poland from 1795 to 1917). Therefore, the actual number of Americans of at least partial Polish ancestry, could be well over 10 million. In the 2011 United States Census Bureau's Population Estimates, there are between 9,365,239 and 9,530,571 Americans of Polish descent, with over 500,000 being foreign-born.
Historically, Polish-Americans have assimilated very quickly to American society. Between 1940 and 1960, only 20 percent of the children of Polish-American ethnic leaders spoke Polish regularly, compared to 50 percent for Ukrainians.In the early 1960s, 3,000 of Detroit's 300,000 Polish-Americans changed their names each year. Language proficiency in Polish is rare in Polish-Americans, as 91.3% speak "English only."In 1979, the 8 million respondents of Polish ancestry reported that only 41.5 percent had single ancestry, whereas 57.3% of Greeks, 52% of Italians and Sicilians, and 44% of Ukrainians had done so (clarification needed). Polish-Americans tended to marry exogamously in the postwar era in high numbers, and tended to marry within the Catholic population, often to persons of German (17%), Italian (10%), East European (8%), Irish (5%), French (4%), Spanish-speaking (2%), Lithuanian (2%), and English (1%) ancestry.
Polish-born population in the U.S. since 2010:
The vast majority of Polish immigrants settled inmetropolitan areas, attracted by jobs in industry. The minority, by some estimates, only ten percent, settled in rural areas.
Historian John Bukowczyk noted that Polish immigrants in America were highly mobile, and 40 to 60 percent were likely to move from any given urban neighborhood within 10 years.The reasons for this are very individualistic; Bukowczyk's theory is that many immigrants with agricultural backgrounds were eager to migrate because they were finally freed from the local plots of land they had owned in Poland. Others ventured into business and entrepreneurship, and the majority of them opened small retail shops such as bakeries, butcher shops, saloons, and print shops.
Polish American Heritage Monthis an event in October by Polish American communities, first celebrated in 1981.
One of the most notable in size of the urban Polish American communities is inChicagoandits surrounding suburbs.Chicagois a city sprawling with Polish culture, billing itself as the largest Polish city outside of Poland, with approximately 185,000Polishspeakers,making Polish the third most spoken language in Chicago. The influence ofChicago's Polish communityis demonstrated by the numerous Polish-American organizations: thePolish Museum of America,Polish Roman Catholic Union of America(the oldest Polish American fraternal organization in the United States),Polish American Association,Polish American Congress,Polish National Alliance,Polish Falcons,Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America, and thePolish Genealogical Society of America. In addition,Illinoishas more than one million people that are of Polish descent, the third largest ethnic group after theGermanandIrish Americans. The Chicago area has many Polish delis, restaurants, and churches.
Chicago's Polish communitywas concentrated along the city'sNorthwestandSouthwest Sides, alongMilwaukeeandArcher Avenues, respectively. Chicago'sTaste of Poloniafestival is celebrated at theCopernicus Foundation, inJefferson Park, everyLabor Dayweekend. Nearly 3 million people of Polish descent live in the area between Chicago and Detroit, includingNorthern Indiana, a part of theChicago metropolitan area. The community has played a role as a staunch supporter of the Democratic machine, and has been rewarded with several congressional seats. The leading representative has been CongressmanDan Rostenkowski, one of the most powerful members of Congress (1959 to 1995), especially on issues of taxation, before he went to prison.
TheNew York metropolitan area, includingBrooklyninNew York City, andNorth Jersey, is home to the second-largest community of Polish Americansin the nation, and is now closely behind theChicago metropolitan area's Polish population.Greenpoint,New Yorkin Brooklyn is home to theLittle Polandof New York City, whileWilliamsburg,MaspethandRidgewoodalso contain vibrant Polish communities. In 2014, the New York metropolitan area surpassed Chicago as the metropolitan area attracting the most new legal immigrants to the United States from Poland.
Linden, New JerseyinUnion County, nearNewark Liberty International Airport, has become heavily first-generation Polish in recent years.15.6% of the residents five years old and above in the city of Linden primarily speak Polish at home and a variety of Polish-speaking establishments may be found by theLinden station, which is a direct line to Manhattan. St. Theresa's Roman Catholic Church offers masses in Polish.
In the early part of the 20th century, up to and immediately following the second World War, Newark, New Jersey and Elizabeth, New Jersey were the primary, historic centers of 'Polonia' as Polish-Americans of that era thought of themselves. Castle Garden and Ellis Island generation immigrants and those that followed them found employment in the industries of these two cities as well as Linden which housed oil refineries and auto manufacturing. Initial settlements were in Newark, primarily the "Ironbound" section, where St. Stanislaw Roman Catholic Church, followed by Casimir's Parish were the first parish churches founded and built by the communities there. In Elizabeth, the first parish serving the Polish community is St. Adalbert's Roman Catholic Church. All these parishes are over 100 years old, dating from the late 1800s, with churches constructed in the early 20th century. Post-war prosperity allowed many Polish Americans to disperse from the original core in New Jersey's industrial areas to the surrounding suburban communities. Documentation of their early history may be found on individual parish websites. Other significant centers of Polish settlement in New Jersey included Garfield, New Jersey, Manville in Somerset County, Trenton, New Jersey, and Camden, New Jersey.
InHudson County,New Jersey,Bayonnehouses New Jersey's largest Polish American community, whileWallingtoninBergen Countycontains the state's highest percentage of Polish Americans and one of the highest percentages in the United States, at over 40%. However, within New Jersey, Polish populations are additionally increasing rapidly inClifton,Passaic Countyas well as inGarfield, Bergen County.
Riverhead, New York, located on easternLong Island, contains a neighborhood known asPolish Town, where many Polish immigrants have continued to settle since theWorld War IIera; the town has Polisharchitecture, stores, and St. Isidore's R.C. Church, and Polish Town hosts an annual summer Polish Fair.LOT Polish Airlinesprovidesnon-stop flightservice betweenJFK International Airportin theQueensborough of New York City,NewarkandWarsaw.
TheKosciuszko Foundationis based in New York.
Milwaukee's Polish population has always been overshadowed by the city's more numerousGerman Americaninhabitants. Nevertheless, the city's once numerous Polish community built a number ofPolish Cathedrals, among them the magnificentBasilica of St. JosaphatandSt. Stanislaus Catholic Church. Many Polish residents and businesses are still located in theLincoln Village neighborhood.The city is also home toPolish Fest, the largestPolishfestival in the United States, where Polish Americans from all overWisconsinand nearbyChicago, come to celebratePolish Culture, through music, food and entertainment.Polonia in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul is centered on Holy Cross Church in the Northeast Neighborhood of Minneapolis, where a vibrant Polish ministry continues to care for the Polish Roman Catholic Faithful.
Wisconsin,Minnesota, andNebraskarepresent a different type of settlement with significant Polish communities having been established in rural areas. Historian John Radzilowski estimates that up to a third of Poles in Minnesota settled in rural areas, where they established 40 communities, that were often centered around a Catholic church.Most of these settlers came from the Polish lands that had been taken by Prussia during the Partitions, with a sub-group coming from Silesia. The Kaszub minority, from Poland's Baltic coast, was also strongly represented among Polish immigrants to Minnesota, most notably in Winona. Despite relative isolation from Poland and larger urban Polonian communities, due to strong community integration these communities continued speaking Polish into the 1970s in some cases and continue to have a strong Polish identity.
Michigan's Polish population of more than 850,000 is the third-largest amongU.S. states, behind that ofNew YorkandIllinois. Polish Americans make up 8.6% of Michigan's total population. The city ofDetroithas a very large Polish community, which historically settled inPoletownandHamtramckon the east side of Detroit, the neighborhoods along Michigan Avenue from 23rd street into east Dearborn, the west side of Delray, parts of Warrendale and several sections of Wyandotte downriver. The northern part of Poletown was cleared of residents, to make way for theGeneral MotorsDetroit/Hamtramck Assemblyplant. Today it contains some of the most opulent Polish churches in America like St. Stanislaus, Sweetest Heart of Mary, St. Albertus, St. Josephat and St. Hyacinthe. Michigan as a state has Polish populations throughout. In addition tometropolitan Detroit, Grand Rapids, Bay City, Alpena and the surrounding area, the thumb of Michigan, Manistee, and numerous places in northern lower Michigan and south-central Michigan also have sizable Polish populations.
The Polish influence is still felt throughout the entire metropolitan Detroit area, especially the suburb ofWyandotte, 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. Also, the Detroit suburb ofTroyis home to the American Polish Cultural Center, where theNational Polish-American Sports Hall of Famehas over 200 artifacts on display from over 100 inductees, includingStan MusialandMike Krzyzewski.St. Mary's Preparatory, a high school inOrchard Lakewith historically Polish roots, sponsors a popular annual Polish County Fair that bills itself as "America's Largest High School Fair."
Outside of Metro Detroit, Polish Americans retain a strong presence inNorthern Michigan. The town ofCedarinLeelanau Countyretains a large Polish presence, and is home to a Polish Art Center, as well as an annual polka festival.The counties ofAlpena,Presque Isle, andHuronalso have a large percentage and population of families of Polish immigrants.
Ohiois home to more than 440,000 people of Polish descent, their presence felt most strongly in theGreater Clevelandarea, where half of Ohio's Polish population resides.The city ofCleveland, Ohiohas a large Polish community, especially in historicSlavic Village, as part of its Warszawa Section. Poles from this part of Cleveland migrated to the suburbs, such asGarfield Heights,ParmaandSeven Hills.Parmahas even recently been designated a Polish Village commercial district.Farther out, other members of Cleveland's Polish community live inBrecksville,IndependenceandBroadview Heights. Many of these Poles return to their Polish roots by attending masses atSt. Stanislaus Church, on East 65th Street and Baxter Avenue.
Cleveland's other Polish section is inTremont, located on Cleveland's west side. The home parishes are St. John Cantius and St. John Kanty.
OtherPolish languagechurches in Cleveland city includeSt. Casimir,St. Barbara, andImmaculate Heart of Mary. Outside of annual church festivals, other major city celebrations includeDyngus Dayand the Slavic Village Harvest Festival, celebrating with Polish food, customer, andPolkamusic.Cleveland is home to thePolka Hall of Fame.
Poles in Cleveland were instrumental in forming theThird Federal Savings and Loanin 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'sKeyBankandNational City Corp., which have their headquarters inDowntown Cleveland, Third Federal is on Broadway Avenue in theSlavic Villageneighborhood. Third Federal Savings and Loan is in the top 25 saving and loan institutions in the United States. In 2003, they acquired aFloridabanking company and have branches in Florida and Ohio.
Panna Maria, Texas, was founded by Upper Silesian settlers on Christmas Eve in 1854. Some people still speakTexas Silesian.Silesianis regarded as either a dialect of Polish, or a distinct language.Cestohowa,Kosciusko,Falls City,Polonia,New Waverly,Brenham,Marlin,Bremond,Anderson,Bryan, andChappell Hillwere either founded or populated by the Poles.
Other industrial cities with major Polish communities includeBuffalo, New York;Boston;Baltimore;New Britain,Connecticut;Dallas,Houston,Portland, Oregon;Minneapolis;Philadelphia;Columbus, Ohio;Erie, Pennsylvania;Rochester, New York;Syracuse, New York;Los Angeles;San Francisco;Seattle;Pittsburgh;South Bend, Indiana;central/western Massachusetts; andDuluth, Minnesota. There is a relatively large Polish population inKansas CityandSaint Louis, Missouriin addition to the area's many German-Americans.
Luzerne County, innortheastern 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 ofWilkes-Barre,Pittston,Hazleton, andNanticoke. Many of the immigrants were drawn to this area, because of the mining ofAnthracitecoal in the region. Polish influences are still common today, in the form of church bazaars,polkamusic, andPolish cuisine. It is widely believed thatBoothwyn, Pennsylvania, has one of the fastest growing Polish communities in the United States.
In 2007, at the urging of Attorney Adrian Baron and the local Polonia Business Association, New Britain, Connecticut officially designated its Broad Street neighborhood asLittle Poland, where an estimated 30,000 residents claim Polish heritage. Visitors can do an entire day's business completely in Polish including banking, shopping, dining, legal consultations, and even dance lessons. The area has retained its Polish character since 1890. There is also a Polish community inLas Vegas.
As of the 2021American Community Survey, the distribution of Polish Americans across the 50 states and DC is as presented in the following table:
As in Poland, the majority ofPolishimmigrants areRoman Catholic. Historically, less than 5% of Americans who identified as Polish would state any other religion but Roman Catholic. Jewish immigrants from Poland, largely without exception, self identifiedas "Jewish," "German Jewish," "Russian Jewish," or "Austrian Jewish" when inside the United States, and faced a historical trajectory far different from that of the Polish Catholics.
Polish Americans built dozens ofPolish Cathedralsin theGreat LakesandNew Englandregions and in theMid-Atlantic States.Chicago'sPoles founded the following churches: St. Stanislaus Kostka, Holy Trinity, St. John Cantius, Holy Innocents, St. Helen, St. Fidelis, St. Mary of the Angels, St. Hedwig, St. Josaphat, St. Francis of Assisi (Humboldt Park), St. Hyacinth Basilica, St. Wenceslaus, Immaculate Heart of Mary, St. Stanislaus B&M, St. James (Cragin), St. Ladislaus, St. Constance, St. Mary of Perpetual Help, St. Barbara, SS. Peter & Paul, St. Joseph (Back of the Yards), Five Holy Martyrs, St. Pancratius, St. Bruno, St. Camillus, St. Michael (South Chicago), Immaculate Conception (South Chicago), St. Mary Magdalene, St. Bronislava, St. Thecla, St. Florian, St. Mary of Częstochowa (Cicero), St. Simeon (Bellwood), St. Blase (Summit), St. Glowienke (Downers Grove), St. John the Fisherman (Lisle), St. Isidore the Farmer (Blue Island), St. Andrew the Apostle (Calumet City) and St. John the Baptist (Harvey), as well as St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital, on theNear West Side.
Poles established approximately 50 Roman Catholic parishes in Minnesota. Among them: St. Wojciech (Adalbert) andSt. Kazimierz (Casimir)in St. Paul; Holy Cross, St. Philip, St. Hedwig (Jadwiga Slaska) and All Saints, in Minneapolis; Our Lady Star of the Sea, St. Casimir's, and SS. Peter and Paul in Duluth; and St. Kazimierz (Casimir) and St. Stanislaw Kostka in Winona. A few of the parishes of particular note, founded by Poles elsewhere in Minnesota, include: St. John Cantius in Wilno;St. Jozef (Joseph)in Browerville;St. John the Baptistin Virginia; St. Mary in Częstochowa; St. Wojciech (Adalbert) in Silver Lake; Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Opole; Our Lady of Lourdes in Little Falls; St. Stanislaus B&M in Sobieski; St. Stanislaus Kostka in Bowlus; St. Hedwig in Holdingford; Sacred Heart in Flensburg; Holy Cross in North Prairie; Holy Cross in Harding; and St. Isadore in Moran Township.
Poles in Cleveland established St. Hyacinth's (now closed),Saint Stanislaus Church(1873), Sacred Heart (1888–2010) Immaculate Heart of Mary (1894), St. John Cantius (Westside Poles), St. Barbara (closed), Sts Peter and Paul Church (1927) in Garfield Heights, Saint Therese (1927) Garfield Heights, Marymount Hospital (1948) Garfield Heights, and Saint Monica Church (1952) Garfield Heights. Also, the Polish Community created the Our Lady of Częstochowa Shrine on the campus of Marymount Hospital.
Poles inSouth Bend, Indiana, founded four parishes: St. Hedwig Parish (1877), St. Casimir Parish (1898), St. Stanislaus Parish (1907), andSt. Adalbert Parish, South Bend(1910).
Circa 1897, in Pittsburgh'sPolish Hill,Immaculate Heart of Mary, modeled onSt. Peter's BasilicainRomewas founded.
Polish Americans preserved their longstanding tradition of venerating theLady of Czestochowain the United States. Replicas of the painting are common in Polish American churches and parishes, and many churches and parishes are named in her honor. The veneration of the Virgin Mary in Polish parishes is a significant difference between Polish Catholicism and American Catholicism; Polish nuns in theFelician Orderfor instance, took to Marianism as the cornerstone of their spiritual development, and Polish churches in the U.S. were seen as "cult-like" in their veneration of Mary.Religious catechism and writings from convents found that Polish nuns in the Felician Sisters and The Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth were taught to have "a sound appreciation of Mary'srole in the mystery of the Redemption” and “a filial confidence in her patronage," more explicitly, “to be . . . a true daughter to the immaculate Virgin Mary." The Marianism that was taught in Polish parish schools in the United States was done independent of the Catholic Church, and demonstrated autonomy on the part of the nuns who taught Polish American youths. It is notable that there was a concurrent movement in Poland that eventually led to a separatist Catholic church, theMariavite Church, which greatly expanded the veneration of the Virgin Mary in its doctrine. In Poland, the Virgin Mary was believed to serve as a mother of mercy and salvation for Catholics, and throughout the Middle Ages, Polish knights prayed to her before battle. Polish American churches featured replicas of theLady of Częstochowa, which was on feature at theJasna Góra Monasteryand holds national and religious significance because of its connection to a victorious military defense in 1655. Several towns in America are namedCzęstochowa, in commemoration of the town in Poland.
Though the majority of Polish Americans remained loyal to the Catholic Church, abreakaway Catholic churchwas founded in 1897 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Polish parishioners founded the church to assert independence from the Catholic Church in America. The split was in rebellion from the church leadership, then dominated by Irish bishops and priests, and lacking Polish speakers and Polish church leaders. It exists today with 25,000 parishioners and remains independent from the authority of theRoman Catholic Church.
Poland is also home to followers ofProtestantismand theEastern Orthodox Church. Small groups of both of these groups also immigrated to the United States. One of the most celebrated painters of religious icons in North America today is a Polish American Eastern Orthodox priest, Fr.Theodore Jurewicz, who singlehandedly paintedNew Gračanica MonasteryinThird Lake, Illinois, over the span of three years.
A small group ofLipka Tatars, originating from theBiałystokregion, helped co-found the firstMuslimorganization inBrooklyn,New York, in 1907, and later, amosque, which isstill in use.
In 1969, the median family income was $8,849 for Polish Americans. The median family income for all families in the United States in 1968 was $7,900. Leonard F. Chrobot summarizes the Census data for 1969:
In 2017, byeducational attainment, the U.S. Census estimates that 42.5% have bachelor's degrees or higher, whereas the American population as a whole is 32.0%. However, among other Slavic-American groups, most notably Russian (60.4%) and Ukrainian (52.2%), Americans of Polish descent fall short in educational attainment.The median household income for Americans of Polish descent is estimated by the U.S. Census as $73,452, with no statistically significant differences from other Slavic-American groups, Czech, Slovak, and Ukrainian. The median household income for those of Russian ancestry has been reported as higher on the U.S. Census, at $80,554.
Polish-Americans comprise a largevoting blocsought after by both theDemocraticandRepublicanparties. Polish Americans comprise3.2% of the United States populationbut are concentrated in severalMidwesternswing statesthat make issues important to Polish-Americans more likely to be heard by presidential candidates. According to John Kromkowski, Polish-Americans make up an "almost archetypicalswing vote".ThePiast Institutefound that Polish Americans are 36% Democrats, 33% Independents, and 26% are Republicans as of 2008. Ideologically, they were categorized as being in the more conservative wing of the Democratic Party, and demonstrated a much stronger inclination for third-party candidates in presidential elections than the American public.
Historically, Polish-American voters have swung from the Democratic and Republican parties depending on economic and social politics. In the 1918 election,Woodrow Wilsoncourted Poles through his promises of Polish autonomy. They gave strong support to the wet Catholic Al Smith in 1928. They gave even more enthusiastic support to theNew Deal Coalitionand PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt. In World War II they were fiercely againstNazi Germany. FDR consistently won over 90% of the Polish vote during his four terms.
Polish-Americans founded thePolish American Congress(PAC) in 1944 to create strong leadership and represent Polish interests during World War II. FDR met with the PAC and assured Poles of a peaceful and independent Poland following the war. When this did not come to fruition, and with the publication ofArthur Bliss Lane'sI Saw Poland Betrayedin 1947, Polish-Americans came to feel that they had beenbetrayed by the United States government.John F. Kennedywon a majority of the Polish vote in 1960, owing in part to his Catholicism and connection to ethnic communities and the labor movement. Since then, Polish voters have been tied to the more conservative wing of the Democratic Party, but shifted away from the Democrats over social issues such as abortion. Poland's liberation from Soviet occupation during the 1980s was championed toRonald ReaganandGeorge H. W. Bush, butBill Clintonseized Polish voters through his expansion of NATO. The relevance of the Polish-American vote has been in question in recent elections, asAmericans of Polish descenthave assimilated to U.S. society and increased their rate ofexogamous marriages.
In modern politics, the Polish-American vote continues to have influence in the United States. TheAmerican Polish Advisory Council, a politically involved network of Polish organizations, has created a political platform and convention, and has shared its agenda with politicians, both at the state and federal level.
The Polish community was long the subject ofanti-Polish sentimentin America. The wordPolackhas become anethnic slur. This prejudice was partially associated withanti-Catholicism, and early 20th century worries about being overrun by immigrants fromCentral and Eastern Europe.
The cultural contributions of Polish Americans span a broad spectrum, including in media, in the publishing industry, in religion, art, food, museums, and festivals.
Among the most notable Polish American media groups areHippocrene Books(founded by Polish American George Blagowidow);TVP Polonia;Polsat 2 International;TVN International;Polvision; TV4U New York;WEURRadio Chicago;Polish Radio External Service(formerly Radio Polonia); Polonia Today and theWarsaw Voice. There are also Polish American newspapers and magazines, such as theDziennik Związkowy,PLmagazine,Polish Weekly Chicago, theSuper Express USAandNowy Dziennikin New York andTygodnik PolskiandThe Polish Timesin Detroit, not to mention the Ohio University Press Series in Polish American Studies,Przeglad Polski Online,Polish American Journal,the Polish News Online,Am-Pol Eagle Newspaper,and Progress for Poland,among others.
Even in long-integrated communities, remnants of Polish culture and vocabulary remain. Roman Catholic churches built 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 inChicago metropolitan area, in areas such as the southeast side of Chicago, inner suburbs like Calumet City and Hegewisch, andNorthwest Indianasuburbs, 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, a singer, accordion, and trumpet, entertained the people, as they danced traditional dances, such as the oberek, "Polish Hop" and the waltz. 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. Common drinks were beer, screwdrivers and highballs. Many popular Polish foods became a fixture in the American cuisine of today, includingkiełbasa(Polish sausage),babkacake,kaszanka,pierogi, and, especially around the time of Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent,pączkidoughnuts.
Polish American cultural groups includePolish American Arts Associationand thePolish Falcons.
Among the many Polish American writers are a number of poets, such asHedwig Gorski,John Guzlowski,Cecilia Woloch, andMark Pawlak(poet and editor), along with novelistsLeslie Pietrzyk,Suzanne Strempek Sheaand others.
Among the best known Polish American museums are thePolish Museum of Americain Chicago's oldPolish Downtown; founded in 1935, the largest ethnic museum in the U.S. sponsored by thePolish Roman Catholic Union of America. The Museum Library ranks as one of the best outside of Poland. Equally ambitious is thePolish American Museumlocated inPort Washington, New York, founded in 1977. It features displays of folk art, costumes, historical artifacts and paintings, as well as bilingual research library with particular focus on achievements of the people of Polish heritage in America.There is also thePolish Cultural Institute and MuseumofWinona, Minnesota, known informally as "The Polish Museum of Winona." Formally established in 1979 by FatherPaul Breza, the Polish Museum of Winona features exhibits pertaining to Winona's Kashubian Polish culture and hosts a wide range of events celebrating America's Polish-American heritage in general.
There are a number of unique festivals, street parties and parades held by the Polish American community.Polish Festin Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which is a popular annual festival, takes place atHenry Maier Festival Park. It is also the largest Polish festival in the United States. It attracts Polish Americans from all over Wisconsin and nearby Chicago, who come to celebrate Polish culture through music, food and entertainment.New York Cityis home to theNew York Polish Film Festival, an annual film festival showcasing current and past films ofPolish cinema. NYPFF is the only annual presentation of Polish films in New York City and the largest festival promoting and presenting Polish films on theEast Coast.
The Polish Festivalin Syracuse's Clinton Square has become the largest cultural event in the history of the Polish community in Central New York. There's also theTaste of Poloniafestival held in Chicago every Labor Day weekend since 1979 at theCopernicus Cultural and Civic Centerin the Jefferson Park area. The Polish Festival in Portland, Oregon is reported to be the largest in the Western United States.One of the newest and most ambitious festivals is theSeattle Polish Film Festivalorganized in conjunction with thePolish Film FestivalinGdynia, Poland.Kansas City, Kansasis home to a large Polish population and for the last 31 years, All Saints Parish has hosted Polski Day[2]. And last, but not least, there's thePierogi FestinWhiting, Indianawith many more attractions other than Polishpierogi, and the Wisconsin Dells Polish Fest.
Polish Americans carried on celebrations of Constitution Day throughout their time in the United States without political suppression. In Poland, from 1940 to 1989, the holiday was banned by Nazi and Soviet occupiers.
Polish-Americans have influencedAmerican culturein various ways. Most prominent among these is that Jefferson drafting theConstitution of the United Stateswas inspired by religious tolerance of theWarsaw Confederation,which guaranteed freedom of conscience.
The Polish culture left also culinary marks in the United States – the inclusion of traditionalPolish cuisinesuch aspierogi,kiełbasa,gołąbki. Some of these Polish foods were tweaked and reinvented in the new American environment, such as Chicago'sMaxwell Street Polish Sausage.
Polish Americans have also contributed to altering the physical landscape of the cities they have inhabited, erecting monuments to Polish-American heroes such asKościuszkoand Pulaski. Distinctive cultural phenomena such asPolish flatsor thePolish Cathedral styleof architecture became part and parcel of the areas where Polish settlement occurred.
Poles' cultural ties toRoman Catholicismhave also influenced the adoption of such distinctive rites like the blessing of the baskets before Easter in many areas of the United States by fellow Roman Catholics.
Early Polish immigrants built houses with high-pitched roofs in the United States. The high-pitched roof is necessary in a country subject to snow, and is a common feature in Northern and Eastern European architecture. In Panna Maria, Texas, Poles built brick houses with thick walls and high-pitched roofs. Meteorological and soil data showthat region in Texasis subject to less than 1 inch of snowand a meteorological study conducted 1960-1990 found the lowest one-day temperature ever recorded was 5 degrees Fahrenheit on January 21, 1986, highly unlikely to support much snow.The shadedverandathat was created by these roofs was a popular living space for the Polish Texans, who spent much of their time there to escape the hot temperatures of subtropical Texas. The Poles in Texas added porches to these verandas, often in the southward windy side, which is an alteration to traditional folk architecture.According to oral histories recorded from descendants, the verandas were used for "almost all daily activities from preparing meals to dressing animal hides."The Poles in Texas putstraw thatchingon their roofs until the early 1900s, another European influence. The first house built by a Pole in Panna Maria is the John Gawlik House, constructed in 1858. The building still stands and is visited as a historical attraction in the cultural history of Texas. In 2011, theSan Antonio Conservation Societyfinanced a replacement of the building's roof, identifying it as a "historically and architecturally significant building."
Organizations like thePolish Legion of American Veteranswere organized to memorialize the Polish contribution to the American military.Those who contributed to the Polish military createdPolish Army Veterans' Association in America.