September 18, 2012
Polish Americans are the largest Central and Eastern European ethnic group in the United States and one of the most significant ethnic groups in the Northeast and Midwest. The story of Polish people coming to this nation to settle, starting in the 1600s and peaking in the late 19th and early 20th Century, is one of the important stories that will be told in the National Museum of the American People.
The National Museum of the American People, which would sit near the heart of our nation's capital in Washington, DC, will tell the story of Polish Americans along with the stories of all of the other people that have come to this land and this nation. It has support from national Polish American organizations including the Polish American Congress and The Kosciusko Foundation.
They are part of a coalition of more than 150 ethnic and minority organizations that are calling for a bipartisan commission after the election to study establishment of the museum.
"No one, no matter who she is or what she does, can fail to appreciate the American experience and what it has meant for all of our peoples," said Polish American Congress President Frank Spula. "By telling their stories, the National Museum of the American People offers not only a look back at what was done, nor just a focus on what is happening today, but rather includes critical insights for this country's march into the future.
"The National Museum of the American People is one sure way to keep the story of who we are, and where we came from, front and center both in our nation's capital and in our minds and hearts."
The museum will tell the story of the making of the American People from the prehistoric period to the present. It will challenge visitors to reflect upon that history and take pride in that story.
The story of the making of the American People starts with the first migrations to this land thousands of years ago and extends through waves of migration and immigration to the present. Yet nowhere is there a museum devoted to telling this full story.
For Polish Americans, as well as all of the others, the museum will tell who these people were, where they came from, why they left their homeland, how they got here, when they arrived, where they first settled, who was already here, what they encountered, where they moved after they arrived, how they became Americans, what they contributed and how they transformed the nation.
The Coalition for the National Museum of the American People is not seeking federal funding to plan, build or operate the museum. A resolution in Congress calling for the Presidential commission has bipartisan support, including from Rep. Dan Lipinski, co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Poland.
"The story of the making of the American People will be presented in a dramatic, interactive documentary format," said Sam Eskenazi, director of the Coalition. "It will be developed and vetted by teams of eminent scholars and be told with force and clarity."
Eskenazi said "The Museum's permanent exhibition could leave an indelible impression of knowledge and understanding on visitors as they engage and come to know the full story of the making of the American People."
The story will be told in the museum over four chapters:
Chapter 1 — The First Peoples Come: Prehistoric period–1607; Indian migration and settlement, early European explorers and first European settlement.
Chapter 2 — The Nation Takes Form: 1607–1820; the fate of Indians, Western European settlement, the African slave trade, the establishment of the nation and the beginning of its expansion westward taking in new peoples. In this chapter, visitors will learn that the first Poles arrived in the Virginia Colony in 1608. Two of the greatest heroes of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War were two Polish American generals, Kazimierz Pulaski and Tadeusz Kosciuszko.
Chapter 3 — The Great In–Gathering: 1820–1924; a century of immigration. The ancestors of most Americans came during this period. The main wave of Polish Americans came during the second half of this period. More than 2.5 million people left Polish territories for the United States between 1870 and 1914. During much of this and earlier periods, the Polish territory had been carved up by a variety of neighboring powers. Poles tended to settle in large cities in the upper Midwest including Chicago, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Buffalo and Cleveland. After Chicago, the New York City area has the second largest concentration of Polish Americans.
Chapter 4 — And Still They Come: 1924–present; the ongoing story of American immigration. The United States took in many refugees during and after World War II, including Jewish Holocaust survivors who had lived in Poland.
There are an estimated 10 million Americans that list Polish ancestry. Today, six states have Polish American populations of 7 percent or more: Wisconsin, Michigan, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. New York, with nearly 1 million, has the largest number of Polish Americans followed by Illinois, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
"The museum is the intersection of every American group's memory and the history of our nation," Eskenazi said. "The theme of the museum is embodied by our nation's original national motto: E Pluribus Unum, from many we are one."
He said that "both U.S. neighbors, Canada and Mexico, have major national museums in their capitals telling the story of their peoples, and they're the most visited museums in those nations. Our museum will be a destination for every school group visiting Washington and it will foster learning nationwide."