First German Immigrants In America example essay topic

In the late sixteen hundreds, many different European's came to the Americas for many different reasons. German Immigrants came to America for mainly two reasons. Religious freedom and the quest for land caused many Germans to migrate to America. This essay will mainly include the history behind German immigration and their first settlement in "Germantown, Pennsylvania. German immigration began in the 17th century and continued into the late 19th century at a rate exceeding that of any other country.

German immigrants in this early period came from the states of Pfalz, Baden, Wurttemberg, Hesse, and the bishoprics of Cologne, Osnabruck, Muenster, and Mainz. At the beginning of the 18th century, economic problems in Germany brought a new wave of immigrants. Nearly one million German immigrants entered the United States in the 1850's; this included thousands of refugees from the 1848 revolutions in Europe. In these later phases of German immigration, newcomers joined established settlers. This phenomenon of "chain migration" strengthened the already existing German regions in the United States". Today, approximately 58 million Americans claim German ancestry.

They are most numerous in California, followed by Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and Texas. The most dense German-American populations are in the "German belt" -- Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa" (. The first German immigrants in America came seeking land and the promise of religious freedom. They had heard that both could be found in the newly chartered colony of Pennsylvania, which was governed by a Quaker, William Penn. "Francis Daniel Pastorius, an agent for a land purchasing company in the city of Frankfurt am Main, organized the original party of settlers. It was a group largely made up of German Quakers and Mennonites from the Rhineland" (First German Settlers Land in America).

The first group of immigrants included 13 families from Krefeld arriving in Philadelphia on October 6, 1683. These thirteen families traveled for 75 days on the ship "Concord" to reach their new home. "Upon their arrival the German settlers felt an immediate kinship to their new home, since Pennsylvania's rolling hills and fertile plains resembled the terrain of the land they had left behind" (First German Settlers Land in America). They built homes first of logs and later of native stone; they raised flax, built looms and set up their spinning wheels.

Many were accustomed to growing vines and when they saw wild grapes, they establishing vineyards. Which is why the official seal of Germantown bears at its center a trifolium having a grape vine on one leaf, flax blossoms on another and a weaver's spool on a third with the inscription "Vinum, Linux et Textrinum", to show that the people lived from grapes, flax, and trade. By the end of the 1600's Germantown had a wide Main Street bordered by peach trees, a central market and on opposite ends of town were burial grounds. Along the several streams were a number of mills. More than fifty families built spacious farm buildings and tended their three-acre town plots growing vegetables and flowers. The fields of the town lay to the north and south.

These Germans had a love and respect for the land unequaled by other immigrants and so they gained the reputation for caring for the land exceedingly well. In a few years the population of Germantown had increased". Their glowing accounts of life in the New World soon prompted other German immigrants to follow their lead. Settlers representing a variety of Protestant religious groups began descending on Germantown. By 1689, the settlement had grown so large that it had to be incorporated" (First German Settlers Land in America).

Germantown's citizens were pious, peaceful, industrious people, who quickly established southeastern Pennsylvania as a leading agricultural region. Due to this large immigration increase additions were made to Germantown; Kriegs heim with 884 acres (named for the home of the Palatine Quakers), Sommerhausen with 900 acres (in honor of Pastorius' birthplace), and Crefeld with 1166 acres were added to the 2750 acres of Germantown. All were on the same road; Germantown was the nearest to Philadelphia and Crefeld was beyond Chestnut Hill in present Montgomery County" (First German Settlers Land in America). Historical events between the 1600's and 1900's in Germany that led to several "waves" of German immigrants into the USA included; The devastations of the 30-Years War (1618-1648) and the political disintegration of the German Empire, The Turks's i ege of Vienna in 1683, King Louis XIV's push in the late 1600's and early l 700's to claim for France all land west of the Rhine River. Especially victimizing the Palatine, Religious intolerance from the days of the Reformation (16th century) through the 18th and 19th centuries. Tens of thousands emigrated from the numerous and autonomous German dwarf states, Population increase and shortage of farmland; Famines caused by catastrophic harvest failures (1850-1853) and beginning potato rot (1845), Impact of the Industrial Revolution leads to demise of home industries (esp. weavers), The failed democratic revolution and attempt to unify the German-speaking states in 1848, and finally Intolerance and persecution during Hitler's Third Reich (1933 and 1945).

The immigration doesn't stop here, it continues till today. However it's not as drastic and there is many other reasons why these German / Americans choose to leave their homelands. Initially, German immigrants were very well received. Several state bureaus worked to attract German immigrants.

The Northern Pacific and Burlington railroad agencies also actively recruited German settlers for their land. Anti-German xenophobia became rampant, however, around the outbreak of WWI. In addition to the war with Germany, the German presence in the United States was seem by many as a threat because in 1900, over 15% of people in the United States had an immediate enough German heritage that they still spoke German. In the aftermath of two World Wars against Germany, Americans with German lineage often take a subdued approach to their heritage" (German Immigrants). For some German / Americans the integration into the new country was extremely hard. Some just came to make some money and later returned home.

Those that did assimilate into the American culture adapted this new country and now call it their home. It is said that there are Reasons German-Americans were integrated into the predominantly Anglo population faster than other ethnic groups. These reasons included the fact that Germans were similar in appearance to the Anglo majority and they had a tendency to intermingle more than certain other ethnic groups. Germans immigration has made quite an impact on the American Culture.

They have contributed to this country in many different fields including; politics (Minne wit (Minuit), Schurz), military (Von Steuben, Eisenhower), architecture (Van der Rohe), engineering, Motion pictures (Dietrich) and many more other fields. Today the German culture is still kept alive whether it is through small groups such as the Amish, who still adhere to old customs and traditions or German customs that have found themselves in the American culture such as the Christmas tree or kindergarten. There are also many places that have German name such as Frankenmuth, MI, Hamburg IN, Berlin, NH and many more. The point that I'm trying to make is that despite the fact that Germans have left their homeland, they still remember where they came from. As one can see the German immigration goes way back in history. It started off with 13 German families arriving in American leading to a chain migration that continues till this day spreading out all over the country.

These Germans have left their homelands for various reasons but the main ones include religious reasons, finding fortune and new start for their families and their children. Some have come and stayed and made America their new home, others made a living and went back home. Either way they have impacted American in many different forms and made many great contributions to this country.