There were three major waves of Polish immigration. The most significant of the waves was the second. This wave happened between 1860 and World War I. During this year almost 2.5 million Polish immigrants came to the U.S. These polish immigrants were made up of two different kinds of groups; the more educated German Poles and the lower class Russian and Austrian Poles.
Reasons or Historical Circumstance that led Immigrants to leave your country?
There were many reasons for why the different polish groups left the country. For the German Poles, overpopulation, large scale farming methods, and the policy vis-a-vis that restricted the power of the Catholic Church, were reasons for their exodus. Large scale farming methods in Prussia had forced many small German Pole farmers off of their land. Polish people believed that owning land showed stability and if you didn’t have any you were ruined. For the Russian and Austrian Poles overpopulation and land lose were also major problems. Along with many young men leaving to escape conscription. For both groups through the fast moving gossip of the better opportunities in America caused many to leave their home country. …show more content…
During this time Poland people lived in three different states; each of these states were run under a different political, social, and economic condition. These three states were Austrian-Poland, Russian-Poland, and Prussian-Poland, with Austrian-Poland the only place where Polish culture was able to flourish. Many Polish people were forced off their land. The few that had land had to little of it to make any money off crops. This caused many Polish people to experience poverty. A high tax rate was also prevalent in each of these states driving people deeper into