GERMAN AMERICANS - Yola



GERMAN AMERICANS

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People of German ancestry who are citizens of the United States.

Population : 5,3000,000 ( 1983 estimate of Americans born in Germany or having parents born in Germany ).

Location : German Americans live in all of the 50 states but are most heavily represented in Pensylvania, Wisconnsin, and the Midwest.

Geographical Setting

The earliest German immigrants to the United States were mostly farmers. They had come from an agricultural economy in Germany, and were at ease with the land they found in Pennsylvania, the Carolinas and the Northeastern states. Later, more schooled people began to move to America, and some German Americans began to build towns of their own or to populate the already existing cities. Today, the geographical setting for the German Americans is the setting of Americans everywhere.

Historical Background

The First Germans in America . The earliest visitor to America from Germany is said to be the foster father of Leif Erickson. About 1000 A.D. this man, Tyrker, joined the Norse pioneers who explored Nova Scotia and New England. In fact, Tyrker is said to have wandered from the party somewhere in what is now New England and become lost. While lost he discovered a grape vine and was so excited about a vine like those at home that he named the place Vineland.

Certainly, the role of Germans in America had begun by 1507. In that year, word about the new world had reached Martin Waldeschmüller in Freiburg, Germany. Waldeschmüller suggested that the new world be named after Amerigo Vespucci, the explorer who claimed to have discovered the American continent in 1497.

Immigrants from Germany were among the first settlers in America. By 1607, they had found their way to Jamestown ( in Virginia ), and had become farmers – sometimes working for hire to farm land owned by the Anglo-Saxon pioneers. By 1608, German craftsmen had migrated to America and begun such industries as glass blowing. They proved so much more effective in dealing with the Indian inhabitants that the British landowners, in envy of the German work habits and honesty in Indian dealings, had given their German neighbors the derisive label of “ damn Dutch. ” In fact, the Germans were nearer the Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam ( New York ) in language and work habits than to the British. So as many as one third of the early immigrants to the New Amsterdam aera were German. By 1620, skilled craftsmen from Germany had erected sawmills in the new world and, by 1653, able German farmers had begun to develop tobacco plantations.

One famous immigrant from the city of Wesel on the Rhine River was instrumental in building New York. Peter Minuit bought much of the land around Manhattan Island from the Indian residents in 1626. By 1689, a German immigrant, Jacob Leisher from Frankfurt, had become the second governor of the colony at New York. In that same year, German settlers began to build the city of Germantown in Pennsylvania – a city later to become part of Philadelphia. By that time German skilled workers had become weavers, vintners,

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carpenters, locksmiths, shoemakers and tailors in the new society along with many other occupations. However, these early German immigrants had been dominated by princes in

the old country and had little interest in political activities in the new world. Some found little difference in the new world dominated by British immigrants. A 1728 journal describes the plight of early German immigrants : “ The immigrants are all examined as to whether any contagious disease be among them. The next step is to bring all the new arrivals in a procession before the city hall and there compel them to take an oath of allegiance to the King of Great Britain. ” ( O’ Connor 1968. p. 22. )

German eagerness for a new land was the result of the turmoil in European Germany in the 1600s through the 1800s. Beginning with the Thirty Years War ( 1618 – 1648 ) the people of Germany were pressed first by Bohemians, then Swedes, then Spanish followed by the French and Bavarians. The 1707 Spanish War of Succession brought new oppression to the area. In that year, Joshua von Kochesthal brought 60 smiths, weavers, and carpenters to the new world. That was followed in 1709 by 500 Germans who first fled to Holland, then to England. These Germans were seen by Indian visitors to England who gave them land near what is now Philadelphia. The same year saw 600 families immigrate to the Carolinas and 3,000 to New York. Unable to care for so many living in destitute circumstances, the governor of New York hit upon the idea of sending 2,000 Germans upstate to make pitch and tar for the growing colony. Of those who remained in New York City, an orphan, Peter Zenger, eventually became publisher of the New York Weekly Journal. This newspaper led the way in advocating reforms in government, taking such strong position that Zenger was thrown in jail in 1735. Thereupon, his wife took on the publishing duties and became the first women puplisher in America.

A German state in America . Many of the German immigrants to America had come from near-feudal princedoms in Europe or had felt the heavy hand of rule by dictators from other countries. So, much of their early actions in the new world were rejection of organizations that threatened their independence. They held to their own language, and many had dreams of an independent German countrie in Americas. As early as 1738, newspapers in the German language were published in the colonies. In that year, a man named Sauer began Der Hoch Deutche Pennsylvanische Geschichtschreiber in Philadelphia. It was followed in 1762 with Wöchentliche Philadelphische staatsbate. As the numbers of immigrants increased, the number of German language papers increased. By 1818 there were fourteen prospering newspapers for German readers.

Religious oppression was common in Europe in the 1700s, and the German Americans were reluctant to be dominated by any single religious leader. Germans were responsible for the organization of a wide range of religious groups in the Americas : sects such as Ephrata ( predicting the imminent end of the world ), Mennonites, Dunkards ( so named because of their insistence on Christian baptism by immersion ), Lutherans, United Brethern, and the German Reformed Church.

German Americans in the Revolution . Their own oppression in Europe also made many German immigrants wary of the British crown. In May of 1776, Germans formed their own regiment to serve under George Washington. This regiment distinguished itself in battles at Trenton, Princeton, and Brandewine. Gerhard Augustin Steuben was credited with much of the organization and training of the American troops. Alexander Hamilton credited him with having “ introduced into the army a regular formation and exact discipline. ” Other German officers played important roles in the American revolution. Peter Muhlenberg commanded the Eighth Virginia Regiment, while Nocholas Herkimer led troops to the borders of Canada to hold the British in the noth. Following the war, Muhlenberg served the new country as a congressman.

Immigration in the 1800s. German immigration was small in comparison to that from some other European countries at first, but grew to exceed even the immigration of

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the Irish by the mid 1800s. Until 1832 – 1837 this annual movement had risen to 10,000 to 25,000 each year, and in the early 1850s Germans fled Prussian aggression and

religious oppression in Europe at the rate of 500,000 each year. The growing numbers of German Americans resulted in two very different actions. Some Germans held to their dream of a German state on the American continent. But the numbers of immigrants resulted in spreading the Germans across the continent and resulted in more blending of Germans across the continent and resulted in more blending of Germans with other immigrant groups.

German Immigration by Year

1830. 6,761 1870 787,648

1840. 152,454 1880 718,182

1850. 434,626 1890 2, 452, 970

1860 951, 667 1900 505,152

Germans in Europe held their own rebellions in the early 1800s, and tasted freedom for a short time. When the Prussian armies reasserted their power over Germany in the 1840s, some of the leaders of the rebellions migrated to the United States. They became known as the 48’ ers, a small group of intellectuals very different from the farmers that had come to America earlier and established themselves as land owners. These newcomers sought to build independent German republics in Texas, Missouri, and Wisconsin. Their ideas did not gain strong acceptance among the German farmers who had already become successful in the new world. Eventually, the movement for a German state faded. However German traditions remained strong. Better students were sent to Germany to attend universities. Between 1815 and 1850, 137 of these students returned to become professors in the beginning American universities.

German Americans in the West . German Americans led settlers to many parts of the continend. Daniel Boone, who spoke German but was of English ancestry, helped settle Kentucky as did Germans like Stoner and Harod, who left their names on towns in the territory. Conrad Weiser and Christian Post led Moravian settlers into the Ohio Valley. John Jacob Astor settled the community that carries his name in Oregon. John Sutter started the gold rush to California. Heinrich Hilgard was president of the Norhern Pacific Railroad that helped tie the East and West by rail. By 1840, 10,000 Germans had settled in New Orleans.

The Civil War . By the beginning of the Civil War, Germans had spread into all occupation and all states. The majority of them were anti – slavery and strongly in favor of a unified democratic nation. One hundred seventy - six thousand Germans joined the Union Army – nearly one – fifth of all the Union soldiers in the war. General Siegel, a German, was chief of staff of the Union Army led by General Sherman. Another German, Carl Schurz, had fled Germany to prevent imprisonment for leading rebellious acts. As he escaped, his best friend was captured. Schurz planed a one – man invasion to free the friend and carried it out successfully. In the United States, Schurz became a lawyer and a political leader. He campaigned for Lincoln’s election to the presidency and was an advise to the president until Lincoln’s assassination. Following the war, Scurz became a senator from Missouri and led the congress in acts to give full citizenship to blacks and to provide reparations that would restore the South.

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Industrial developers . After the Civil War, German Americans, always enjoying strong reputations as farmers, began to lead in industry as well. Familiar names today such

as Heinz ( canned foods ), Spreckels ( sugar ), and Steinmetz ( electric power companies )

illustrate German success in industry. There were others : John Roehling, who designed the suspension bridge, Andrew Carnegie ( steel ), and J. M. Studebaker ( automobiles ),

Politics . Germans also became more active in politics. By 1857 German socialists had begun a communist party in the United States. In 1877, Germans started a Socialist Labor Party that was effective to the end of the century. Some Germans still clung to the idea of a German state, and many still tended to settle in their own communities and to read German newspapers.

World War I . When World War I began, there were two and a half million German immigrants in the United States and another nearly four million born in the United States of parents who were born in Germany. Their interest in preserving their own culture, the German record of independence in language, religion, and politics, and their family ties to European Germans led to American German resistance to becoming involved in the war. This resistance to American participation in the war was led by a German organization, the German – American Alliance. While most German Americans were quick to place their allegiance with America, a few actively opposed American participation and refused to obey the draft of soldiers. These factors also led many Americans to distrust their German neighbors. As one result, the teaching of the German language was banned from schools in 26 states, and German-owned stores were stoned in many American cities. German introductions to American society underwent name changes to avoid the German stigma. Sauerkraut became known as liberty cabbage, for example, and the frankfurter became a hot dog. Still, the leader of American forces in World War I, General John J. Pershing was of German ancestry and many German Americans distinguished themselves in battle. Three of America’s flying aces in this war were German Americans : Eddie Rickenbacker, Frank Luke, and Joseph Wehner.

A result of World War I was the beginning of the disintegration of a separate German-American identity. Two hundred seventy-eight German publications survived to begin again after World War I, but by 1930 there were only one hundred seventy-two remaining. World War II reinstilled some distrust of German Americans by other citizens, but the actions of the European German state were indefensible to many. For a time, German Americans sought to preserve their identity and to avoid further involvement with Germany through such organizations as the Nonpartisan Alliance. But a new and influential organization of German Americans, the Steuben Society, was organized to thoroughly Americanize the people of German ancestry. Their work was aided by a slowdown of German immigration to the United States.

Hitler and the Nazis . By 1925, Adolph Hitler had taken power in Germany and was determined that Germans outside Germany would never again oppose the fatherland. Hitler organized propaganda campaigns to elicit support from German Americans but was not very successful. In 1936, a strong German American Bund was organized and threatened to increase its importance as a Hitler propaganda outlet under its leader Fritz Kuhn. However, Kuhn was imprisoned. Despite the organization of such political bodies as the American Nazis, who still remain active although small in number, the final assimilation of German Americans began as these citizens of the United States found it impossible to join their European relatives in the Hitler Ideals. German exiles to the United States formed an impressive brain trust that advanced American technology in a number of fields such as rocketry. Werner von Braun led American scientists and German exiles in this field. When World War II finally involved the United States, German Americans for the most part

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did not hesitate to choose the American side. After the war there was little that would

distinguish German Americans from other white Americans of European ancestry, except for some social clubs.

Today . In the 1950s and 1960s there was a new influx of immigrants from Germany. A new openness in Europe along with a sharing of U.S. and West German troops, led to new bonds between European Germans and their U.S. counterparts. This interest in ancestry pervaded the United States after the 1976 centennial celebration and has resulted in student exchanges, inquiries about ancestors overseas, and cultural exchanges between the two countries. Still, most German Americans consider themselves to be Americans ; the hyphenated term is no longer widely used.

Culture Today

Family life . The first German Americans were farmers and Protestants fleeing a Europe of oppression. They were strongly religious and scrupulously honest with all people. Daily Bible reading was common. The father was the ruler of his household, and everyone in the family was supposed to help with the work of the house or farm. It was this work ethic that set the early settlers apart from their colonial neighbors. Their hard work and honesty earned them a good rapport with their Indian neighbors. Through the centuries since the first settlers, German families have continued to be strongly united, and German Americans have continued to be known for their intense work habits. Later German immigrants to the United States brought with them a strong interest in education. The German point of view is that through hard work and learning, the person can achieve almost any objective.

Food and shelter . German food tends to be simple and plentiful. Meat, potatoes, and coarse bread, along with cabbage dishes, stews, and pastries are still the menus for German-American families today. German butchers brought new kinds of sausages to the American diet. Today, such foods are so much a part of American diets that we do not identify them as “ German American. ” Foods such as sauerkraut, frankfurters, liverwurst, and streusel are food names from the German language. Dark bread, a German staple, can be found in most supermarkets.

The first Germans in America survived by building houses of whatever material was available. In the first years, many German immigrants lived in homes dug out of the earth and covered over with wood and more earth. Later they would build sturdy houses of wood and brick not distinguishable from those of other immigrants. Today, homes of German Americans are as variable as those of any other Americans.

German contributions to American culture . A review of German names among those with major achievements would tend to verify this point of view. German Americans have excelled in almost all fields of work. H. J. Heinz in food manufacture, Claus Spreckles

( the sugar baron ), and Frederick Weyerhauser ( lumber ), J. M. Studebaker ( automobiles ), Henry Hilgard ( railway developer ), Werner von Braun ( rocketry ), Margaret Fuller and Theodore Dreiser

( literature ), Dwight D. Eisenhower ( politics ), John D. Rockefeller, ( business leader ), Ernstine Schumann-Heinke ( not a German but generally associated with German Americans in music ), Admiral Chester Nimitz, and many others brought German values and arts to America. But the influence of German Americans on the American culture is not totally reflected by these German-American leaders.

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Germany’s influence in America . In the 1800s, European Germans, under independent princes ( the Spanish, French, and Prussians ) were world leaders in education and thought. Great philosophers such as Goethe, Kant, and Hegel led world thought in new directions. German scientists gave rigor to the new scientific methods of test and

verification. Long leaders in music, the music of Germany spread throughout the world. American writers such as John Greenleaf Whittier, Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville visited Germany and brought back ideas for their own writing. Philosophers like Josaiah Royce and John Dewey studied German writings and applied them to their teaching and study in American universities. In the 1890s, G. Stanley Hall studied in Germany and brought the new experimental psychology to America. The result of all this exchange has been that much of German culture has been integrated into the general American culture today.

Literature . German Americans have from the first been interested in literature. German language newspapers were among the first in America. Benjamin noted that of the first six newspapers in Philadelphia, half were in the German language. Perhaps the most famous German language newspaper publisher was Joseph Pulitzer, a German-speaking Hungarian who migrated to the United States just before the end of the Civil War. He worked for German newspapers until he was able to save enough to buy the English language St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Later he would buy the New York Morning World and become one of the country’s leading journalists. Today, Pulitzer prizes are awarded for distinction in journalism.

Today . The difficulties of World I and World War II brought the decline of German language use in America, and a reduction in the number of social and political organizations of German Americans, so that today there is little to identify as a purely German-American culture. However, the influence of German thought has become a major part of the general American culture, and Americans of German ancestry continue to contribute strong leadership in every field of endeavor.

For More Information

See these reading materials :

Heubener, Theodore. The Germans in America. Philadelphia: Chilton Company, 1962.

O’ Connor, Richard. The German Americans.. Boston : Little, Brown and Company, 1968.

Totten, Christine M. Roots in the Rhineland.. New York : German Information Center, 1983.

Pochmann, Henry A. German Culture in America.. Madison : University of Wisconsin Press, 1961

COMPILED

BY

Flavio Codarin

2007

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