How did working-class immigrants from Poland create new communities in Chicago during the industrial age? This book explores the lives of immigrants in two iconic South Side Polish neighborhoods—the Back of the Yards and South Chicago—and the stockyards and steel mills in which they made their living. Pacyga shows how Poles forged communities on the South Side in an attempt to preserve the customs of their homeland; how through the development of churches, the building of schools, the founding of street gangs, and the opening of saloons they tried to recreate the feel of an Eastern European village. Through such institutions, Poles also were able to preserve their folk beliefs and family customs. But in time, the economic hardships of industrialization forced Poles to reach out to their non-Polish neighbors. And this led, in large part, to the organization of labor unions in Chicago's steel and meatpacking industries.
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
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"A well-organized, thoughtful work which amply demonstrates the author''s command of the literature on labor, social, and class history. . . . Pacyga illustrates better than any previous author the relationship of Polish behavior in America to the traditional values and practices of Polish peasant society in Europe."
(James S. Pula Journal of American Ethnic History )“Its outstanding quality is the description of the life of its subjects. . . . [Pacyga] offers a graphic and vivid picture of what it was like for an unskilled, blue-collar foreign worker to labor in the arduous and dangerous environments of the slaughterhouse and the steel mill at the turn of the century”—Victor Greene, The Journal of American History
(Journal of American History )“A classic social history of one immigrant community. Yet it also links the experiences of Poles on the South Side of Chicago to broader elements of social, class, and labor history. [Pacyga’s] work offers important insights into American history during the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era.”—The History Teacher, August 2005
(The History Teacher )“Scholars who have followed the recent scholarship of Lizabeth Cohen’s Making a New Deal (1990) and of Robert A. Slayton’s Back of the Yards (1986) will wish to study Pacyga’s valuable monograph in more detail.”—Joseph J. Parot, American Historical Review
From the Inside Flap
How did working-class immigrants from Poland create new communities in Chicago during the industrial age? This book explores the lives of immigrants in two iconic Polish neighborhoods—the Back of the Yards and South Chicago—and the stockyards and steel mills in which they made their living.
Pacyga shows how Poles forged communities on the South Side in an attempt to preserve the customs of their homeland—how through the development of churches, the building of schools, the founding of street gangs, and the opening of saloons they tried to recreate the feel of an Eastern European village. Through such institutions, Poles also were able to preserve their folk beliefs and family customs. But in time, the economic hardships of industrialization forced Poles to reach out to their non-Polish neighbors. And this led, in large part, to the organization of labor unions in Chicago's steel and meatpacking industries.
Brimming with insights into the Polish American experience, this book is must reading for anyone interested in the histories of Chicago, the working class, and immigration.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Pacyga shows how Poles forged communities on the South Side in an attempt to preserve the customs of their homeland—how through the development of churches, the building of schools, the founding of street gangs, and the opening of saloons they tried to recreate the feel of an Eastern European village. Through such institutions, Poles also were able to preserve their folk beliefs and family customs. But in time, the economic hardships of industrialization forced Poles to reach out to their non-Polish neighbors. And this led, in large part, to the organization of labor unions in Chicago's steel and meatpacking industries.
Brimming with insights into the Polish American experience, this book is must reading for anyone interested in the histories of Chicago, the working class, and immigration.
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More About the Author
Dominic A. Pacyga was born in Chicago's Back of the Yards neighborhood and received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1981. While in college he worked as a livestock handler and security guard in the famous Union Stock Yards. He has authored, or co-authored, five books concerning Chicago's history, including "Polish Immigrants and Industrial Chicago." Pacyga has lectured widely on topics ranging from urban development, residential architecture, labor history, immigration, and racial and ethnic relations, and has appeared in both the local and national media. His latest book is "Chicago: A Biography."
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
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An Excellent Snapshot of Polish-American History.,
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This review is from: Polish Immigrants and Industrial Chicago: Workers on the South Side, 1880-1922 (Urban Life and Urban Landscape Series) (Hardcover)
If you've traced your Polish ancestors back to turn-of-the-century Chicago, You will find a lot of valuable insights on their experience by reading this book. The life of any new immigrant was never very easy in this country and Pacyga leads you through all of the hardships that these determined people faced. Unfortunately, Pacyga's focus shifts away from the immigrant towards the end of the book and he includes an in-depth history of Chicago's labor unions. Although the unions certainly affected the Polish immigrant's life, I thought that too much of the divergent chapters were off-subject. But, don't let that discourage you from reading it. There is real American history being told here.
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First Sentence:
The nineteenth century witnessed several revolutions. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
blast furnace department, butcher workmen, major packers, packinghouse workers, stockyard workers, organizational drive, packing industry, safety movement Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Back of the Yards, South Chicago, United States, Stock Yard District, South Side, World War, Illinois Steel, South Works, Amalgamated Meat Cutters, Ashland Avenue, Dziennik Chicagoski, Years of Crisis, Polish American, Immaculate Conception, Roman Catholic, Stock Yard Labor Council, Amalgamated Association, Steel Corporation, African Americans, John of God, Union Stock Yards, Black Belt, Chicago Federation of Labor, North Side, New York New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The nineteenth century witnessed several revolutions. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
blast furnace department, butcher workmen, major packers, packinghouse workers, stockyard workers, organizational drive, packing industry, safety movement Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Back of the Yards, South Chicago, United States, Stock Yard District, South Side, World War, Illinois Steel, South Works, Amalgamated Meat Cutters, Ashland Avenue, Dziennik Chicagoski, Years of Crisis, Polish American, Immaculate Conception, Roman Catholic, Stock Yard Labor Council, Amalgamated Association, Steel Corporation, African Americans, John of God, Union Stock Yards, Black Belt, Chicago Federation of Labor, North Side, New York New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 55
books:
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12
books
cite this book:
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- History of Poland by Stefan Kieniewicz in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Steelworkers in America: The Nonunion Era by David Brody in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Women In Industry by Edith Abbott in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- History of Chicago by Bessie Louise Pierce in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Back of the Yards: The Making of a Local Democracy by Robert A. Slayton in Front Matter, and Back Matter
See all 55 books this book cites
- Immigrant America: European Ethnicity in the U.S. by Timothy Walch on page 194, and Back Matter
- City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America by Donald L. Miller in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Reform and Resistance: Gender, Delinquency, and America's First Juvenile Court by Anne Meis Knupfer in Back Matter
- Sounds of Reform: Progressivism and Music in Chicago, 1873-1935 by Derek Vaillant in Back Matter
- Cousins and Strangers: Spanish Immigrants in Buenos Aires, 1850-1930 by Jose C. Moya in Back Matter
See all 12 books citing this book
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