Polonia
in the Progressive Era, 1900-1920
The first two decades of the twentieth century
marked a period of unprecedented growth in immigration. As immigration
increased, fears of crime, slums, and labor unrest caused the dominant group to
become more hostile toward newcomers.
This
was reflected, for example, in a renewed emphasis among nativist writers on the
natural superiority of the so-called Anglo-Saxon race and in calls for the use of a literacy test to establish whether people
could read and write as a means of
limiting immigration.54 Another result was the adoption by many in
the Progressive movement of the demand for an end to unrestricted immigration,
which it blamed for the growth of slums and bossism, the twin pariahs of urban America. The Progressives were joined in
their crusade by Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of
Labor, who in 1902 commented, "Both the intelligence and the prosperity
of our working people are endangered by the present immigration. Cheap labor,
ignorant labor, takes our jobs and cuts our
wages/'55 His sentiments were echoed by his constituents when
the AFL convention that year endorsed the literacy test by an overwhelming vote of 1,858 to 352.
Lobbyists for the Immigration
Restriction League and the American Federation of Labor renewed their efforts for a
literacy test in 1906. The author of the
new bill, North Carolina Senator F. M. Simmons, appealed to Congress to preserve
America's Anglo-Saxon civilization from a new class of immigrants whom he described as "nothing more than the
degenerate progeny of the Asiatic hoards [sic] which, long centuries
ago, overran the shores of the Mediterranean/'56
This position was increasingly propagated in the press, espoused by such
notables as Ellwood
Cubberly "the father of school administration in the United States/' who wrote in 1909 that "these
Southern and Eastern Europeans are of
a very different type from the Northern Europeans who preceded them.
Illiterate, docile, lacking in self-reliance and initiative and not possessing
the Anglo-Teutonic
conceptions of law, order, and government, their coming has served to dilute
tremendously our national stock, and to corrupt
our civic life."57
Opponents
of the 1906
literacy test hoped to postpone or prevent its passage by calling for
the establishment of a commission to study the entire immigration question.
Thus was born the U.S. Immigration
Commission. The commission employed a staff of more than 300 people for
more than three years, spent better than a million dollars, and accumulated a
mass of data and conclusions that it published
in 42 volumes. The commission's findings supported the proponents of
restriction, officially declaring for the first time that there was a distinct
difference between what it labeled the
"new" immigration and the previous groups from Northwestern
Europe, which it termed the "old" immigration. Restriction of the former, it concluded, was
"demanded by economic, moral, and social
conditions."58
Although based on faulty research and reasoning, these
reports extended federal sanction to the stereotyping of millions of
Americans. The reports appeared to "legitimize" calls for restriction. The effects
can be seen in T. J. Woofter's survey of popular literature between 1900 and
1930. Woofter found that during 1907-14,
"there occurred a marked change in public sentiment toward immigration" and concluded that the old
restrictionist arguments based on
economics were giving way to a rationale based on "the undesirability
of certain racial elements."59
This new rationale became a favorite of writers such as Madison Grant, whose The Passing
of the Great Race, published in 1916, argued that the pure, superior American racial stock
was being diluted by the influx of "new" immigrants from the
Mediterranean, the Balkans, and the Polish ghettos. Thinly cast in the
guise of scientific theory, Grant's racist diatribe gained wide popularity
among the American public and greatly influenced federal immigration
legislation.
Bills for a literacy test passed Congress, only to be vetoed
by William Howard Taft in 1913 and Woodrow Wilson in 1915. When the measure passed again in 1917,
Wilson vetoed it a second time, noting that, in addition to reversing traditional
American policy on immigration, the test would reflect opportunity rather than character. Congress remained unimpressed and
overrode Wilson's veto. Thus the stage was set for further restriction.
The result of this renewed agitation became
clear once the Republicans gained control of Congress in March 1919.
Albert Johnson
issued a
call for immigration restriction, backing up his words with the
introduction of a measure designed to restrict total immigration by allotting
quotas based on national origin. The influence of the Immigration Commission
was evident throughout the hearings on the measure from 1919 to 1921.60
A new restriction bill passed Congress, only to expire
through Wilson's pocket veto. Shortly afterward Warren G. Harding took the oath of office as
the new president and summoned a special session of Congress to consider the
immigration act. The measure cleared both houses of Congress in a matter of
hours, and on May 19, 1921, the president
signed the first law in American history designed specifically to
restrict European immigration.
The
First
Quota Act of 1921 imposed a maximum of 357,803 as the number of immigrants that could enter the country from
outside the Western Hemisphere in any year. The number was considerably
less than the average of 625,629 who entered
annually between 1901 and 1920. In addition, each nationality group was given a separate quota based
on 3 percent of the number of people from that group residing in the
United States in 1910. This provision discriminated directly against Southern
and Eastern Europeans. The
quota system reversed a trend in prewar years that saw Southern and
Eastern Europeans outnumbering Northwestern
Europeans by four to one. It is clear that the law was designed
specifically to limit, in a discriminatory fashion, immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe. A quota board was
responsible for determining the precise proportions of the population to be
assigned to each nationality. Poland's first quota of 25,827 was
increased to 31,146 in 1922, and then cut to 30,977
in 1923.
The National Origins Act
of 1924 reduced the total number of immigrants per year from 357,803 to
164,667. To ensure the predominance of the "old" immigration, the
quota percentage of each nationality was reduced from 3 percent to 2 percent,
while the base year was moved from 1910 to 1890. This was a clear attempt to
lessen the impact, and therefore the quota, of immigrants from Southern and
Eastern Europe who entered en masse after 1890. For Poland, this resulted in an annual reduction from 30,977 to
5,982, a loss of 80.69 percent. The
final quota established in 1927 recognized Poles as the fifth largest group in the United States behind Germany, Great Britain,
Ireland, and Italy, and assigned them a quota of 6,524.
While
the limitation on Polish immigration deprived Polonia's communities of
immigrants from Poland, the report of the Immigration Commission, which was
based on faulty scholarship that resulted in invalid conclusions,
led to far graver consequences by "legitimizing" a derogatory ethnic stereotype
of Polish Americans. As Janice Kleeman explained, "Mainstream America's reluctance
to embrace the Poles was rooted in three
discriminatory stances: religious prejudice (Protestant America
eschewing Catholicism), racism (Anglo-Saxon/Teutonic America depreciating the Slavic Poles), and
general resentment of immigrants as alien and as competitors in
the job market/'61
Although the Progressive
Era is known as a period of great political, economic, and
social reform, for Polish Americans the era also brought condemnation by the
U.S. Immigration Commission, a restriction of Polish immigration, and the
development of a pervasive
stereotype that characterized them as submissive,
yet explosive; fatalistic, yet irascible; docile, yet undisciplined; of limited
mental
capacity; satisfied with poor housing, clothing, and food; and prone to excessive use of alcohol and criminality. In time
this image, reinforced in literature and film, gradually developed into
the stereotypical "hard-hatted,
beer-bellied Joe Sixpacks" of the 1960s.62
Aside from the ugly stereotyping and the restrictions
imposed by the Immigration
Commission and Congress, Polish Americans during the Progressive Era witnessed
the realization of a dream they had held for more than a century, the re-creation of an independent homeland.
In addition, they made serious inroads into organized labor, waged successful strikes aimed at
bettering their economic status, and developed both family
and organizational means of accommodating their needs to the demands of urban,
industrial America. By the end of the Progressive Era Polonia was poised to
begin serious integration into mainstream America.
The 20 years between the end of the "war to end
wars" and the beginning of the next world conflagration were dominated in
the United States by economic themes—the cultural and recreational
explosion that came with the prosperity of the 1920s and the unemployment and deprivation that
accompanied the Depression.
For
Polish Americans, the interwar period was also one in which socio-economic
issues played an important role. The period witnessed the beginnings of the movement of Polish Americans out of the lower
socioeconomic class. During the 1920s, for the first time a majority of
Polish Americans were employed outside the confines of the urban Polonia
communities, or at least in non-Polish businesses. By 1930, many were
becoming small business operators
in the ethnic communities, an intermediary
step to becoming part of the general American
middle class.
The
decades during which most of second-generation Polonia grew to maturity were
dominated by several major themes, including the end to mass migration, the
response of Polonia to an independent Poland, further development of
organized Polonia, changes within the parish community, increased political
awareness, and fundamental changes and challenges within Polonia itself as the
mantel of leadership passed from the immigrant to the second generation.1
One
of the events that exerted an immediate influence on Polonia was the
implementation of immigration restriction. The effect of the nationality quotas
imposed by Congress in 1921 and 1924 was to sharply reduce the influx of nearly
100,000 Poles per year to a fraction of that number—30,977 under the 1921 law
and a mere 5,982 after 1924.
Following
passage of the quota acts, the flood of Polish immigrants diverted to France and to a lesser extent Belgium. The
result was that fewer Poles came to the United States during the
period between 1921 and 1940 than came in any single year between 1900 and
1914.2 The exact number, of course, depends on how you defined a
"Pole." Helena Lopata compared
the arrivals and departures listed by the U.S. Bureau of Immigration by
"race or people" and found that between 1920 and 1932 there was a net
exodus of 33,618 Poles from the United States. Yet when she used the figures
for "country of birth" there was an increase of 107,476. The
discrepancy, which led to some confusion and contradiction among historians of
the Polish
experience in America, occurred because of the multinational nature of
the Polish republic between the two world wars. Because of this, many who, in
conformity with U.S. immigration policies, listed their "country of
birth" as Poland were in reality members of other ethnic groups. A review
of Polish sources by Edward
Kolodziej shows that of those who left Poland for America during this
period, 34.2 percent were ethnic Poles, 6.4 percent Ukrainians and White
Russians, 1.0 percent Germans, 56.9 percent Jews, and 1.4 percent were of other
or undeclared heritages. Of these, 41.0 percent were farmers, 0.1 percent
miners, 18.8 percent industrial workers, 6.9 percent trade workers, 0.3
percent transport workers, 2.7 percent engaged in the learned professions, 3.9
percent provided household service, 8.4 percent were members of unspecified
professions, and 17.9 percent were unknown.
With the rebirth of Polish independence after World
War I, many Poles in the United States elected to return to their homeland.
Lopata found that 5,227 Poles arrived in the United States in 1920, while
19,024 left for a net loss of 13,797. In 1921 the outflow continued with a loss
of 19,039, and in 1922 the loss increased to 26,075. In 1923, however, the
immediate postwar departure thinned and immigrants thereafter outnumbered those
returning to their ancestral land. Relying on Polish sources, Kolodziej
calculated that between 1918 and 1938 approximately 273,161 Poles migrated to
the United States, while 106,793 returned to Poland—a net gain to America of
166,368.
Polish historian Adam
Walaszek identified four primary motivations for re-emigration: some
returned because of failure in the United States, some because they succeeded
in earning enough money to return to a better life, some to retire, and some for
political reasons. American sources indicate that 96,832 ethnic Poles returned
to Poland between 1918 and 1923. Many of those who returned to Poland reported
feeling "different." They had changed. Their experience in America
made them different. Some had been away from their homeland for 5 years, and
some for 35. In the intervening years they became accustomed to life in the
Polish American urban ethnic enclave. Although few realized it, they had
already begun the process of assimilation. Their recollection of Poland was an
idealized, even romanticized vision shaped by the forces of time. Upon their
return some complained of the low standard of living and poverty in their rural
homeland. Some were treated with respect by the Poles, but others were envied
by their new neighbors or ridiculed because of the Americanisms in their speech
and their unfamiliarity with contemporary Poland. Many, having been
Americanized more than they realized, no longer fit into Polish society, and an
estimated 20,000 once again made the voyage to America after 1924.3
The
1930 U.S. Census counted 1,268,583 people born in Poland and 2,073,615 with one
or both parents born in Poland. The effect of the quotas can be seen as natural
attrition began to take its toll on the immigrant generation in the 1930s. By
1940, the U.S. Census reported only 993,479 who were actually born in Poland
and 1,912,380 with one or both parents born in Poland. Both figures
represented decreases from 1930.
The
drastic reduction in Polish immigration not only cut off the external source of
immigrants used to perpetuate the urban ethnic communities but also cut off
direct .access to cultural renewal from Poland. Even before the effects of
these acts became apparent, Father Bojnowski warned
that "in a few decades, unless immigration from Poland is upheld, Polish
American life will disappear, and we shall be like a branch cut off from its
trunk."4 As a consequence, Polonia
had to rely on limited cultural contacts with Stary Kraj to nurture continuing
ethnic awareness and development. In this, Poland was only too willing to help.
One of the most significant results of World War I
was the re-creation of an independent Poland. Lost in the general euphoria over
the realization of a century of Polish dreams was the fact that independence
of the homeland meant a fundamental change in the fabric of Polish America.
During the entire period since Kosciuszko
and Pulaski
first came to fight in the American Revolution, the cause of Polish freedom and
independence was on the minds of Polish immigrants to America. It was in
many respects a unifying factor among Poles. Although they might disagree
on the best methods for aiding Poland, their nationalism and patriotism were
pervasive influences in their lives.
Now Poland was free and independent. The unity that
could be mustered by an appeal to patriotism would not be the same. One of the
immediate difficulties that arose concerned the relationship of Polonia to the
homeland. Many veterans of Mailer's Army returned from Poland disillusioned, as
did a large number of those who re-emigrated with such enthusiasm in the
immediate postwar years. For those who chose to invest in Polish business
enterprises, an alarming number of such ventures either ended in failure or did
not fulfill their initial high expectations. Then, too, the political situation
in Poland posed another problem as many immigrants objected to the dictatorship
of Jozef
Pilsudski. Given the disenchantment of people arriving back in America,
the less-than bullish Polish economy and the debate over Pilsudski's policies,
the interest of Polish Americans in interwar Poland tended more toward the
cultural than toward any significant political or economic ties.5
From the standpoint of Polish authorities, cultural
relations with Poles living abroad was an important issue. Given the serious
domestic and international difficulties the reborn nation faced, the Polish
government looked on Polonia as a source of financial and political support. As
such, it tended to view Polonia as an extension of the homeland, to assume a
moral responsibility for the cultural condition of Poles living abroad, and to
treat Polonia in a rather paternalistic manner. Given this perspective, the
obvious beginnings of assimilation clearly evident among Polish Americans were
of great concern to Polish authorities. The Americanization of immigrants
abroad even became a serious subject for debate in the Polish Sejm, where the
general consensus held that assimilation was "incompatible with the
interests of the Polish nation and state."6
To
arrest the process of Americanization, the Polish government inaugurated a
number of cultural and educational programs focusing on Polonia with the intent
of forming ties between it and the homeland. The government in Warsaw, however,
did not grasp the complicated political divisions within Polonia.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of
which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We
are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of
environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and
social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any
such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research and educational purposes.
