What challenges did Polish immigrants face in America?

At the turn of the 20 th century, Polish immigration exploded. Imperial repression, land shortages, and chronic unemployment made life more and more untenable for the Poles of Europe, and as the 19 th century waned they left for America by the thousands, then by the hundreds of thousands.

How did Polish immigrants contribute to America?

In the United States, Polish immigrants created communities centered on Catholic religious services, and built hundreds of churches and parish schools in the 20th century. The Polish today are well assimilated into American society.

Where did Polish immigrants settle in America?

Most of the early emigrants to the United States settled in Texas; Hamtramck, Michigan; and the Chicago area. Emigration was minimal until 1854, when Poles from Silesia began settling in Texas. A great wave of Polish emigration started in the 1870s.

Why did Polish immigrants come to Chicago?

These Polish immigrants came to Chicago as a result of the imposition of martial law in Poland (1981) and the decade-long struggle to bring democracy to the Polish Republic. The first Polish emigrants to Chicago were noblemen who had fled Poland after the Polish-Russian War of 1830–1831.

When did Poles immigrate to America?

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 of Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish or other minority descent.

How did Polish immigrants come to America in the 1900s?

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, Polish immigration skyrocketed in the United States due to imperial repression, chronic unemployment, and land shortages in Poland. Most Polish immigrants flocked to industrial cities to work in factories, steel mills, slaughterhouses, and foundries.

Why did the Poles leave Poland?

Vast numbers of Poles left the country during the Partitions of Poland for economic and political reasons as well as the ethnic persecution practised by Russia, Prussia and Austria. Many of the Poles who emigrated were Jews, who make up part of the Jewish diaspora.

Where do Polish people migrate to?

As of 2011, approximately 80\% of Polish emigrants settle in the countries of the European Union. As of 2013, the largest group of modern Polonia can be found in the United Kingdom (550,000), followed by that in Germany (425,608), and in France (350,000 as of 2012).

Where do Polish Americans live?

U.S. cities and communities with large Polish American populations are largely concentrated in the Upper Midwestern United States, Chicago metropolitan area and the New York metropolitan area, with Wisconsin accounting for the largest number of communities with large Polish populations.