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A Polish American is an American citizen of Polish descent. More than one million Poles migrated to the United States, primarily during the early 20th Century . Exact immigration numbers are unknown because, due to the Partitions Of Poland , the Polish state did not exist at a time when the precursor to the U.S. Immigration And Naturalization Service classified immigrants according to country of origin rather than to ethnicity. In particular, the three partitions gave rise to the terms Russian Pole s, German Pole s and Austrian Pole s, respectively, as seen in the context of Polish immigration to the United States. According to the United States 2000 Census , 667,414 Americans of age 5 years and older reported Polish as the language spoken at home, which is about 1.4% of people who speak languages other than English, or 0.25% of the U.S. population. IMMIGRATION WAVES FROM POLAND As Poland lost its independence at the end of the 18th Century through the three Partitions , Polish patriots, among them Kazimierz Pulaski and Tadeusz Kosciuszko , left for America to fight for American Independence . While the first Polish immigrants arrived in America in 1608 at Jamestown , the largest wave of Polish immigration to America occurred in the early 20th Century . Officially, more than 1.5 million Polish immigrants were processed at Ellis Island between 1899 and 1931. Estimating the actual number of Polish immigrants is complicated by Poland's history of frequent division among neighboring countries. Poland ranks tenth as a source of illegal immigrants to the U.S. with an estimated 70,000 in the early 21st century. {Link without Title} POLISH COMMUNITIES AS PART OF URBAN AMERICA .]] One of the most notable of the Polish-American communities is in Chicago, Illinois , and its surrounding Suburb s. The '' Almanac Of American Politics 2004'' states that "''Even today, in Archer Heights'' neighborhood of Chicago , ''you can scarcely go a block without hearing someone speaking Polish''". Nearly a million people are of Polish descent in Illinois, third highest after Germans and Irish. Thus, it is sometimes said that Chicago is the second largest "Polish" city in the world, as Warsaw , the Polish capital, is the only city with more Polish residents. Chicago has three major Polish neighborhoods. Other cities with major Polish communities include Buffalo , a city that once had a vibrant Polish neighborhood which is now completely integrated, Cleveland , Philadelphia , Columbus , Boston , Baltimore , Portland , Los Angeles , Rochester , San Francisco and Pittsburgh . Despite the lack of new large-scale Polish immigration, some cities are emerging with strong Polish American communities. Milwaukee (which already had a major Polish population) and Denver (where richer Polish-Americans tend to move from Chicago) experienced major increases in their Polish populations during the last 10 years. There is also a tendency among Poles to move to Florida from Chicago and New York. Polish-American communities monument in New York .]]
POLISH AMERICAN CULTURE Cultural contributions of Polish Americans extend from Polish dance classes, Polish newspapers, and culture groups like the White Eagle Lodge and Polish Falcons Of America to the wider appeal of Polish foods such as Kiełbasa (Polish sausage) or Pierogi . The Polish community was long the subject of Anti-Polonism in America. This has become less common recently. There are however some instances of Anti-Polonism still occurring in America. POLISH AMERICANS BY STATE TOTALS According to the United States 2000 Census , American states with the largest numbers of self-reported Poles and Americans of Polish ancestry are:
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POLISH AMERICANS BY PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL POPULATION
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FAMOUS POLISH-AMERICANS See: List Of Polish Americans SEE ALSO
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