Germans Immigration to America

Germans began immigrating to America in 1709. The reasons were not the same as with other countries. According to Immigration a journey

     Germans began immigrating to America in 1709. The reasons were not the same as with other countries. According to Immigration a journey to America the reasons were quite different. “Unlike most immigrants, German immigrants did not immigrate for political reasons. In fact, the country was repeatedly being attacked by armies of various nationalities. Inhabitants of the southwestern part, especially, were constantly robbed and tortured. Entire villages were often burnt down and their inhabitants killed.” 
    
   Wagner, A. lists many factors for why the Germans immigrated to America. Some of those are poverty, persecution by their government, and overcrowded population growth. One of the first German ships to come to America was the Concord. Wagner, A. states:
The development of a settlement by Germans immigrating to America began already in the 17th Century. The pioneer Francis Daniel Pastorius, born in Sommerhausen (near Wuerzburg), together with 13 Mennonites & Quaker families from Krefeld, was the first German immigrant to enter and set foot in the North American Continent.

     Did the group face prejudice, segregation, racism or any combination of the three? Throughout my research I found no evidence until World War I where German immigrants faced prejudice, segregation, or racism when coming to America. According to two sources researched, Wagner, A, and Immigration a journey to America, once German immigrants came into America they sought out farmlands and blended in with the population. The Germans were easily accepted as ‘white’ and they kept to themselves. Throughout America ‘Little Germanys” were popping up for those Germans who wanted to remain close to others of their ethnicity but most were content to live the farm life.

     Germans were not subject to prejudices until the start of World War I. Then America’s view of Germans changed. Upon hearing of the terrible acts that were committed by the Germans public opinion changed drastically. According to Grolier Online Encyclopedia:
“…when, during the first two years of World War I, the battle for public opinion concerning the war shifted from admiration for the efficiency of the Prussian war machine to not-so-subtle charges about Huns killing Belgian babies and Kaisers sinking American passenger vessels. Overnight, hatred and bigotry engulfed the German-born, German-speaking businessmen, wage-earners, clergy, and ordinary citizens, not infrequently occasioned by rivalry, competition, and a jealousy for the accomplishments of German immigrants. Like pariahs Germans now were hunted down.”

     Was this group effected by or did it participate in any of the following forms of discrimination? If so, describe:
• Dual labor market
• Environmental justice issues
• Affirmative action
• Redlining
• Double jeopardy
• Institutional discrimination
• Reverse discrimination
• Glass ceiling, glass walls, or glass escalator
I have found nothing in my research that would confirm that the Germans were effected by or participated in any of these forms of discrimination. They have contributed greatly to America and seem to have lived up to the American dream; showing their ingenuity and good business sense. Germans are not active in politics and remain in the background when it comes to government.

     Do you culturally identify more with the ethnic group you examined, with United States mainstream culture, or with both equally? Though I do have some German ancestry, I do not culturally identify with them. I identify more with United States mainstream and my Native American ancestry, specifically with the Cherokee tribe. My family and has always identified more with our Cherokee heritage. As were the Germans we are a farming people but then so were the Cherokee. I do not acknowledge my German heritage much. I would say that is probably because of ill feelings regarding Hitler and what he did to Jews and the Holocaust.

     In researching Germans, I have come to a better understanding of my heritage. Before now, my knowledge of Germans has been limited to Hitler and the Nazis, so I have always had a dim view of German people in general. For example I had never connected the fact of beer and breweries that produce beer came from Germans and that it was part of my heritage. I have learned a few things in researching Germans and feel a little more pride in my German heritage as a result.





















                                             References



Immigration the Journey to America. Immigration the Journey to America: The living
   
    mosaic of people, culture, and hope, Retrieved June 24, 2006 from
   
    library.thinkquest.org/20619/German.html

Ripley, L. J. German Americans. Grolier Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved on June 24,

    2006, from go.grolier.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/

Wagner, A. German Immigration to America. Reinhart Genealogy.com,
     2001, Retrieved June 24, 2006 from  
    www.reinhartgenealogy.com/GermanImmigration.htm





This is a paper I did for ETH123