Polish immigrant children wearing handmade national costumes at Fairford Hostel, Gloucestershire.
POLISH IMMIGRATION
New immigrants arriving at Ellis Island where they will be processed before starting their new lives in America.
By the 19th century, Poland was no longer a country of its own. Instead, it was divided up by three imperial powers known as the Russian, Prussian, and Austro-Hungarian empires. The polish were seperated by distance, but they did not let their culture die. They kept believing in the roman catholic religion and their own independence and diversity as a group. The Poles fled to America for many different reasons. Some left to bypass conscription or religious persecution. Others were seeking better opportunities that America could provide them with.
The Texas plains were home to the first permanent settlement of Poles in 1854. The town of Panna Maria, a small farm community, drew an increasing amount of Poles as they made their way into America. These people were part of the first wave of Polish Immigrants who were mostly intellectuals and poor nobles.
The first poles came to America in 1608. They chose America because they got an offer to work for the London Company in Jamestown. They were hired for their industrial skills which they put to work in glass house shops, and pitch and potash burners.
Many were forced to leave their family members behind, a definite struggle.
Because the poles were determined to stay polish and not americanize, they were discriminated upon more than many other immigrant groups. In fact, that is one of the reasons that the Johnson Bill was created. It was going to restrict immigration of poles along with other immigration groups who were not assimilating well, to two percent.
Poles kept their culture alive even after arriving in America. They had their own newspapers that kept them informed of events going on in their old country. Some newspapers focused on polish organizations, religion, or political associations. Others focused on the challenges of immigrants that was reflected by art, music, and literature.
The Polish spread mostly throughout the midwestern states, or settled in New England. They became established in mining and other large industries. They experienced anti-immigrant prejudice and were given low wages.
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