3. Pictures showing the functioning of the Polish community in the U.S.
Questions
Description and Analysis
1. Emigration of Poles was political in many cases. The first wave of Polish political emigration was due to Polish partition in 1772. Further waves of emigration were caused by the fall of Kosciuszko uprising, then November uprising and January uprising. They consisted mainly of nobles and soldiers who chose emigration to escape from the exile to Siberia. Poles, like other European nations, emigrated to the U.S. in search of better paid jobs, which would give them the chance for a better life. This was gainful emigration, which took place in the second half of the nineteenth century. In total, between 1820 1914, 2.3 million Poles emigrated to the U.S.
Geographical/Historical Context
The first Polish settlement in the U.S. was Parisville settlement founded in Michigan in the 1840s. In 1854 the emigrants from Silesia founded in Texas Virgin Mary and Czestochowa settlements. From the 1840s Polish founded organizations and associations in the U.S. From the mid – nineteenth century, Polish newspapers appeared. Poles also began to incorporate the social, cultural and political life in the U.S. During the Civil War (1861 - 1865) over two thousand Poles fought in the ranks of the northern army.
Links
http://www.polonia-biznes.com/pph_news_details.asp?nid=185&pph=usa – the history of Polish immigrants in the U.S.
http://wapedia.mobi/pl/Polonia_w_Stanach_Zjednoczonych - the Polish community in the U.S.
http://www.zegocina.pl/historia/opracowania/emigracja/emigracjazegocinian.htm - Polish emigration.
Presentation
On 1st October 1608, a year after the founding of the first settlement of English colonists in the United States called Jamestown, on the initiative of Captain John Smith, a group of Polish artisans, specialists in making soap, tar and glass arrived there on the British ship “Mary and Margaret” . In 1619 the Poles were denied the right to vote. They organized a strike, which was successful. About a thousand Poles also took part in the American War of Independence (1775-1783). The most famous among them were: Tadeusz Kosciuszko and Kazimierz Pulaski. Polish emigration to the United States was always connected with the socio - political conditions of the Polish nation. The first wave of Polish political emigration was due to the partition in 1772. Further waves of emigration were caused by the fall of Kosciuszko uprising, November uprising and January uprising. They consisted mainly of nobles and soldiers who chose emigration to escape from the exile to Siberia. The largest wave of Polish emigration reached the United States in the second half of the nineteenth century and had earning and commercial nature. In search of better living and workingsoon the Poles from the territories annexed by Prussia set off, which was connected with a massive wave of German immigration in the period lasting from 1870 to 1890. In the mid-70s the Poles from the territories annexed by the Austrian and Russian began to emigrate to the U.S. In total, between 1820 - 1914 2.3 million Poles emigrated to the U.S. Emigration consisted mainly of unskilled workers and peasants. Social - professional structure of Polish immigrants and the ignorance of English language resulted in them having low social status in the USA. The United States is a country with the largest Polish community in the world. Poles reside mainly in the U.S. cities: Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle. According to estimates from 2001, 10.6 million people of Polish descent lived in the United States .