Immigration Journal

Abigail L. Schlie

LITR 5733: Seminar in American Culture

Dr. Craig White

July 27, 1999

This seminar class is easily transferable to a high school literature class. Although some texts would have to be substituted due to language and sexual content, I believe it would be an enjoyable class to teach. The main objective in the high school class would be for students to comprehend and appreciate the rich, unique heritage our country has due to immigration. Learning the historical progression of immigration would be a second objective. With this in mind, I would teach stories and novels from particular groups chronologically when the class studied each group's history. Besides learning immigrant narrative techniques and history, students should learn as much as possible about their own immigrant history. I think many students would be surprised what they discover. This would be a great opportunity for students to learn about their families and perhaps some generational studies and interactions could occur. Many of the journal assignments are appropriate for high school students, and would make excellent assignments individually. I have compiled examples for each assignment.

2. Review two articles about immigration or immigrant literature. Both should be headed with a bibliographic citation, followed by a review of the scholar's argument and evidence. These reviews should be at least one page each.

3. Write at least four pages about your own family's immigration history. Interviews with your family members and family trees may be helpful. Another option is to interview a recent immigrant reg&-ding his/her immigrant experience. Report your findings in at least four pages.

5. Choose an ethnic group that you belong to and record that particular group's immigration history in America. Also include a review of immigrant literature from this group. Provide a bibliography. (Examples: German-American, Mexican-American, Caribbean-American, Japanese-American, etc.)

Sandra Cisneros (1954- )

• Bad Boys (poetry). Mango Publications, 1980.

• The House on Mango Street. Arte Publico, 1984.

• My Wicked, Wicked Ways (poetry). Third Woman Press, 1987.

• Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories. Random House, 199 1.

• Hairs: Pelitos (Juvenile, bilingual stories), illustrated by Terry Ybanez, Knopf, 1994.

• Loose Woman (poetry), Knopf, 1994.

Many selections from her books as well as articles and interviews have been published in various periodicals and joumals.

Dasenbrok, Reed. "Interview With Sandra Cisneros." Sandra Cisneros.

Ganz, Robin. "Sandra Cisneros: Border Crossings and Beyond" MELUS. Vol. 19, No. I (Spring

Giffin, Glenn. "NEA Kept Author on Keel." Denver Post. (I April 1995) sec. E, p. 10.

Gonzalez-Berry, Erlinda and Tey Diana Rebolledo. "Growing Up Chicano: Tomas Rivera and

Hart Patricia. "Babes in Boyland." 7he Nation. Vol. 252, No. 17 (6 May 1991): 597-98.

Italie, Hillel. "Author Attempts to Remove Masks from Hispanic Culture." Houston Post. (28

Jussawalla, Feroza F. Interviews with Writers of the Post-Colonial World Jackson, Mississippi:

Kingsolver, Barbara. "Poetic Fiction With a Tex-Mex Tilt." Los Angeles Times Book Review.

Rust, Carol. "Poet Power." Houston Chronicle. (16 June 1995): sec. D, p. I -

Sagel, Jim. "Sandra Cisneros." Publishers Weekly. 238, No. 15 (29 March 1991): 74-5.

Schhe 6

Olivares, Julia. "Sandra Cisneros' 7he House on Mango Street and the Poetics of Space."

Cisneros frequently has cited Gaston Bachelard's The Poetics of Space as a catalyst for her first novel, House on Mango Street. In this particular article, Olivares states that Cisneros's depiction of a house differs tremendously from Bachelard's concept of poetic space found in a house. She defines Bachelard's house as a male-centered ideology; he has never conceived a house as a place of confinement. According to Olivares, Bachelard's house is an image of ... felicitous space ... the house shelters daydreaming ... a house constitutes a body of images that give mankind proofs or illusions of stability. "' (1) On the other hand, Cisneros's house is a different reality, a ghetto reality.

The second point Oliveras addresses is the determination of genre for Mango Street. Critics have wrestled with the concept of novel, short stories, prose poems, and vignettes. At this point Oliveras quotes Cisneros who said she wanted to write stories that were a cross between fiction and poetry, stories that were compact, lyrical, and ending with a reverberation. In fact, Cisneros commented that many of the stories were originally intended to be poems. Oliveras remarks she believes the stories are vignettes or literary sketches.

Oliveras then discusses several of the stories and vignettes from Mango Street in order to demonstrate the downtrodden Hispanic women's perspective, the coming of age process for a girl, and the formation of a writer. Oliveras contends that the house on Mango Street is a temporary house, a house that constrains. She sets up two concepts at this point. "Inside" is the house, a place of shame; and "outside' is there, a place of dreams. When Esperanza points to her house, she identifies with the house; they are one and the same.

Another point she makes is in regards to the main character's name. Because of her name, Esperanza traces her sharne to the cultural oppression of the Mexican males' suppression of their women, even in America. She gives several examples from the novel of women oppressed by their Mexican fathers and husbands. Retreating to the concept of "space" referred to earlier in her criticism, Oliveras says Cisneros's space is not one of contentment, but rather it is one of sadness. "The woman's place is one of domestic confinement, not one of liberation and choice" (4).

A third point she discusses is Cisneros's attempt to cite education as the way to freedom. This is consistent with many other immigrant narratives. She chooses to tell about Alicia who has to wake up early with the tortilla star. This space is one of misery and subjugation. Finally, Alicia breaks free from the barrio to study at the university. The tortilla, according to Oliveras, is not a symbol of cultural identity but a symbol of sexual domination. She further states that there are two types of women in this story. The first are those who escape through education; the second are those who remain and leave a father for a domineering husband. Cisneros creates images that only stem from a w6man's perception of reality. The woman's place is in a patriarchal kingdom.

Oliveras continues her article with a brief discussion of the growing up process and how it relates to the concept of leaving one space to enter another. Regarding the formation of the writer, she remarks that writing is another means of escape and also a reaffirmation of life and rebirth. She must return for the others through her writing because, although she has physically left Mango Street, she still carries it with her. It is imbedded in her psyche.

Oliveras ends her article with a rebuttal to Juan Rodriguez's critique which said the book ultimately "sets forth the traditional ideology that happiness, for example, comes with the realization of the 'American Dream,' a house of one's own (8)." He also said Esperanza chooses to become more "Anglicized" and more individualistic. Oliveras says he is ignoring a social class' liberation for a preference for a comforting and materialistic life. She says the house is metaphor for the house of storytelling; Esperanza, attains release through writing. In fact she doesn't really leave Mango Street because it becomes the object of her stories. She transcends her condition as a Mexican woman through the space of literature.

This article is quite useful to the scholar interpreting Te House on Mango Street. It is lucid and the arguments are clearly stated. She also uses numerous quotes from Cisneros to prove her points. Fulthermore, she does not read into the text wl hat is not there. Her closing argument against the traditional ideology of the American Dream is fitting with the text which is a variation of it. Esperanza does not totally leave Mango Street and forget those who live there. Instead she remembers the two sisters and their comment about life being a circle. Finally, it is also helpful that Oliveras is a Hispanic woman writer herself, this gives authenticity to her article.

Harris, Susan K. "Problems of Representation in Tum-of-the-Century Immigrant Fiction."

This article begins and ends with an analysis of Abraham Cahan's "The Imported Bridegroom," which Harris uses as a typical example of turn-of-the-century immigrant fiction. According to Harris, immigrant writers faced a complex problem in finding a voice when creating their stories, but this problem has been erased for modem writers.

The problem immigrant Writers encountered was one of form. The aesthetic and ideological constructions of ethnic characters was always limited to a stereotype prevalent in mainstream culture.. At this point she cites June Howard and Amy Kaplan's discussions of American naturalism, where the reader and the narrator watch a predetermined story unravel and work through its conflicts. Harris contends that this separation fi7om the story by both the narrator and the reader creates a sense of distance from the characters who, in turn, become the Other. It does not allow for empathy with the characters.

Harris examines two reasons for this formalism. One is political and concerns the immigrants and the dominant culture. This is closely related to racism relationship between imm which rejected the presence of non-Westem immigrants. Immigrants were to provide what Harris deems 'Yeatures" to the figures they represented. This highlights the tension between assimilation and multiculturalism. The assimilationists were proponents of the melting pot theory based on Israel Zangwill's play. On the other hand, the multiculturalists supported the salad bowl theory. Immigrant writers had to choose sides. For those who chose assimilation, they lost their Old World flavor due to implicit superiority assumed by mainstream narrators. For the multiculturalists, traditional narrative forms hindered their desire to illustrate a ethnic reality that was separate but equal. At this point Harris gives an example from Mark Twain.

The second reason for formalism is rooted in the literary history of the dialect tale. The tradition of the vernacular short story was being challenged by realism, a theory by William Dean Howells. By the 1890s, these two had blended in such a way as to further limit the 1-1immigrant writers' choices of narrative strategies. Here, Harris defines and elaborates on regionalism and American dialect stories. She criticizes Howells for not being able to see beyond his white, male, middle-class construction of reality and realizing that the dialect sounds were really a voice that was different but equal. She further chastises him for insisting characters be "typed." She states, "'Howells insisted that the 'best' kind of ethnic writing portrays its given subject within the confines of preexisting molds (135)." Dialect writing was a way to distance readers from the characters by making the characters objects for ridicule. In fact, the problem for immigrant writers became one of voice, states Harris. Immigrant writers needed to speak for themselves, out of their communities instead of mainstream values. The ultimate goal of this would be to alter the readers' values and raise their consciousness. Harris asserts that turn-of-the-century writers "adopted rather than adapted the majority language (135)." They wrote in the traditi~-6nal forms which inherently pitied the immigrant and were biased against sympathetic illustrations of them. Harris provides several examples of immigrant writers who consciously imbedded mainstream mythology into their texts.

She concludes her article by saying the immigrant narrator's job is to translate the culture as well as to tell the story. By doing this, the readers' perceptions will change. Harris contends that the arrival of modernism allowed this to occur. The development of stream-ofconsciousness freed the immigrant voice. She states that the multiculturalists have prevailed for the time being, and this will eventually alter the canon of literature and broaden the mind.

Because this article is limited in scope to a particular time period, it would be helpful to only those studying novels from the tum-of-the-century. It is insightful as to the differences between old immigration narratives and the new immigrant narrative, making it beneficial for the student interested in comparing the two and exploring the differences. However, for a class that studies only the modem immigrant narrative, this article is interesting as a footnote.

Sengupta, Somini. "Young Immigrants Find a Hard New Life." New York Times. Vol.CXLVIII

in this particular article, the author portrays a new type of immigrant, one who is young, alone, and desperately hopes for an education, but with little opportunity. This is not the first time the United States has encountered young, uneducated immigrants. A century ago, the wave of immigration brought such people to America's shores. However, they had opportunities to get decent paying jobs for life and did not have to face constant fear of deportation. Today's young immigrants, according to the author, do not have such opportunities.

Sengupta recounts that over the past several years a growing number of teenage boys have arrived in the United States, many illegally. Their reasons for coming are very much the same as immigrants in years past. Many are trading one hard life for another with options. Most come for education. However, they spend so much time working, that eventually for some the formal education they seek never transpires. The main obstacle for them, according to Sengupta, is learning to speak English. Many never even venture out of their neighborhoods. The jobs available to non-English speakers are limited. The author supports this with a quote by David Reimers, a historian at New York University, who believes these immigrants will not improve that much.

Loneliness is another battle. Due to the extraordinary number of hours they work, most of these immigrants never know the meaning of socializing. Homesickness is bred from loneliness. One boy who was interviewed had $200.00 phone bills regularly. Often, in his conversations, he discusses his future with his parents, and they debate whether or not he should return to his homeland, a reverse immigration. But, just like centuries of immigrants, he never tells them how much he really works. He wantsmaintain the American Dream for them.

The author interviewed Brother Joel Magalian, who is a liaison to Mexican immigrants for the Catholic Church. He called these boys the "lost generation." They have come to the United States looking for a better life; however, due to their lack of education and English, they will be destined to a life of low-paying dead-end jobs. Sengupta claims it is not because the immigrant has changed, but because the United States has changed.

For this article he interviewed a great number of young immigrant boys, making it very honest in its presentation. This article serves to point out several lessons. One is that education is the key for anyone, not just immigrants, to be successful in life. Well-paying jobs for the uneducated are dwindling. Secondly, America is still a better place to live. So many Americans take their liberty for granted. After hearing these young boys' stories, who perceive the United States as better than their own countries, it should make Americans grateful for the opportunities their forefathers have provided.

My family's immigration history is fascinating to me; I was always the one at family reunions sitting with the patriarchs of the family, listening to their stories. My father's relatives came over to the United States in the late nineteenth century. On the other hand, most of my mother's relatives have been in America since the seventeenth century. From my father I am German and Italian. The English, Irish, Dane, Dutch, and French come from my mother. 4 - < , '

The earliest any relative came over to America was in 1616 when Deacon Samuel Chapin came from England. I am related to him through my mother's father. He came from Peignton, England and first settled in Boxbury, Massachusetts. Later he helped found Springfield, Massachusetts where he lived until he died on November 11, 1675. In fact, there is a statue of him in Springfield. When he came, he brought his family, including his father, John Chapin, with him. As best as I can discover, he came because of religious persecution. This side of my family has been Baptist as far back as anyone can remember. While I am positive Deacon Samuel was not a Baptist himself, it is apparent that he did not agree with what the Church of England was doing and had to leave. It is not known whether or not he brought members from his congregation with him from America. However, it would not be surprising if he did. Samuel and his wife, Cicely Penny, had seven children who all lived fairly long lives. It is through his oldest son, Japhet, that my family is descended.

It is not until the fifth generation that there is any migration of my family line out of Springfield, Massachusetts. Jeremiah Chapin and wife Caroline Fowler, who was also from Springfield, moved to Grandby, Massachusetts and later to Whitestown, New York where he died on November 7, 1811. His eight children were all born within a fifteen year span during the founding of the United States between 1770 and 1785. Although, technically it would be their children who would be the first born in the United States of America. Jeremiah's son Ashbel married Tirzah Sanderson and moved to Brighton which was near Rochester, New York. Later he moved with his family near Ceresco, Michigan, which was how my family ended up in Michigan. It was his son Ashbel, the seventh generation, who moved to Stevensen Road in Stanton, Michigan which is near Marshall. It is here that the family lived for the following generations until my grandparents moved to Walled Lake, Michigan.

I am a twelfth generation Chapin. When the family tree was being compiled, it became evident that Samuel Chapin was the only Chapin to enter America, leading to speculation that

every Chapin in the United States is in some way related. If that is true, then I have some famous relatives--everyone from Mary Chapin Carpenter to President Taft! One remarkable story was told to my by my Great-Uncle Edwin. When the family members who were tracing the family tree went to England to learn more about Deacon Samuel, they ran into a woman on the bus who looked remarkabl like my Great-Aunt Esther. Upon conversing with this lady, they learned that she was also a 7apin who had come to England to visit. How extraordinary!

My maternal grandmother is also from Stanton, Michigan. She is an Anderson. Her father, Henry, and his brother w&e Danish, and they came to the United States in order to have a better lifestyle. It is interesting to note that they both spelled their last names differently. Henry spelled it with an "o" at the end, but his brother spelled it "Andersen." My grandmother believed this was an accident at the immigration office when they came. They decided to settle in Stanton because it was a small farming community inhabited with many people from the Denmark and the Netherlands. Michigan was also a great place to trap for furs, my great-grandfather's hobby I vividly can remember. My grandmother's mother, Evelyn, was from Stanton, but her family has been in America for almost as long as the Chapins. She was a Gates. They were originally from New York, and I think they came to America from England for economic reasons. Why then would a girl from an established family marry a young man of the boat? Based on the stories I heard, he was the handsomest man in all of Stanton and was considered quite a catch! I am probably a tenth generation Gates. Currently, several relatives are busy completing a Gates family tree.

The French and Irish married into the family. My grandfather's mother was a DeYoung (French), and my grandmother's grandmother was a Galliger (Irish). Because my mother's side of the family has been in America for so long, it is inevitable that my relatives have fought in every war America has been involved.

My father's family came to the United States around the turn-of-the-century. His mother, Irene, was a Krentz. She was one hundred percent German. The Krentz family came from Germany first in 1896 when Herman and Augusta (Bucholtz) Krentz settled somewhere in Pennsylvania. Later they moved to Michigan, which has several German Lutheran communities. In 1911 Herman's parents, Carl and Maria (Stein) Krentz, also immigrated to the United States. They came during a time period of tremendous German immigration due to propaganda and the opportunity to own land. In the United States, Herman and Augusta had eleven children and one foster child. Of those children, three died as infants or small children, and Uncle Harold died in 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge in World War H; he and his wife had no children. One of Herman and Augusta's children was my Great-grandfather, Frederick Krentz.

The Krentz family was able to purchase land near Midland in Michigan for farming. However, many of the children went to Detroit for work, which is how Frederick ended up living in the Downriver area. My father can remember going to the farm, but it was sold when I was a small child. The family was hard working and made enough money to survive, but they never became wealthy. I am a sixth goineration Krentz.

Many of the Krentz boys fought in World War H, and I thought it would be interesting to learn their perspectives on the war. After all, they were fighting Germans when their family had only been in the United States for a brief period. My Great-uncle Bill wrote his memoirs, which makes up one-half of the book Orchids in the Mud, about his time fighting in the Pacific. Although he was fighting the Japanese, he had the same attitude as his brother Alfred who was fighting in Europe. Both stated that they were Americans, not Germans. They felt no ties to the country where their Grandfather was bom. In fact, none even spoke German; apparently their grandfather learned English and did not speak in his native tongue after coming to America. The Krentzes, consequently, assimilated quickly. They are proud to be Americans; so much so, that my brother who reenacts with a German World War H troop is not even allowed to tell them. (His group reenacts the Germans who were fighting for their land, not the Nazis. If they even say '"' Hitler," they are kicked out of the troop!)

As stated, the other side of my father's family is Italian. My great-grandfather, Salvatore Difatta, came from Sicily to the United States with his brotherjR sometime between 1915 and 1925. Originally I thought they came to the United States for political reasons, but after investigating I discovered that their reasons were strictly economical. Salvatore and his brother were born in Sicily to a peasant man who was lucky enough to have married the landowner's daughter. She continued to live with her parents, though, because she refused to live in a house with the livestock. Both Salvatore and his brother came to America and settled immediately in the Italian-Catholic community in Chicago. Salvatore was quite the entrepreneur, and apparently earned the favor of one of the wealthy Italian businessmen in the community. This man was from Louisiana and had a daughter Consuela (or Constance) who was still attending school there. A marriage was arranged between the two despite the fact that Consuela was in love with a man named David. After their marriage, they settled in Chicago. They had three children: Salvatore, Lucy, and Patrick. Salvatore Jr. joined the Navy during World War H. Somehow he met my grandmother who was living in Michigan, and they were married on September 15, 1945. At the wedding, Lucy and Alfred (my grandmother's brother) met and later got married. Unfortunektely, Salvatore was less than a husband and left in 1950. Aunt Lucy has preserved all of the stories about the Difatta's for us. She is a second generation Difatta in the United States and has in many ways rejected her parents without forgetting her duties to them. First, she never eats Italian food anymore. If anyone~ wants spaghetti, she gets it from ajar even though she Is 4 fantastic Italian cook. Secondly, she grew up in a home that spoke Italian, but she never speaks it herself I think she has forgotten most of it. Third, she became Lutheran. This was quite a shock to her parents, but they dismissed this because they really liked my grandmotherjwho was also Lutheran. I only met my great-grandparents a few times because they lived in Chicago until they were too old to care for themselves. Both moved in with Aunt Lucy and Uncle Al until they died when I was a little girl. I can only remember his thick accent and their dark, olive skin.

My father is a third generation Difatta, and it is his generation that has thoroughly assimilated. They do not speak the language or know the customs. Many of them have moved out of the Chicago area, making it hard to keep track of them all. Nor do they feel any tension because of this. I believe, though, that some feel somewhat nostalgic and wish they had known a more ethnic upbringing. The only thing Italian I have inherited is genetic. In fact, it is my mother who created in us a love for Italian food. My father never had a passion for it. Now that I am married, my children will carry this history with them. Slovak will be added to their list of immigrant heritage as well as a healthy dose of German. My husband's family all immigrated to Illinois around the same time period as my father's family. One interesting story that we do know about them is that his mother's sister who was Slovak Lutheran had a rough time when she married a German Lutheran. However, by the time his mother married his f4ther, who was also German Lutheran, it was acceptable. I think it would be terrific if we could trace his family tree so that our future children could know more about his heritage.

The German presence in America has created the one of the largest ethnic groups in the United States. German-Americans consist of more people than the English-Americans or the Irish-Americans. The first settlement by Germans was in 1683 when thirteen Quaker and Mennonite families moved to Germantown, modem day Philadelphia. By the time of the American Revolution over 75,000- people had come to America's shores. This is a large percentage considering the total population of the colonies. Most of them came on merchants' boats that brought the immigrants when they were trading with colonists. The immigration climaxed in the 1740's- I 750's after which it slowed due to the French and Indian war. Many of these settlers lived in Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, or Virginia. They were farmers, shopkeepers, or artisans. Most were Lutheran. Continuing to speak German, even after immigrating, they retained their heritage, which allowed them to preserve their faith. They did speak English in public when needed. It was a blending of the German and English language which evolved into Pennsylvania Dutch. By the first census in 1790, eight to nine percent (about four million) of Americans were descended from Germany.

The second wave of German immigrants took place between 1830 and 1854. During this period many more German Catholics came. Between 1830-1840 approximately 20,000 Germans a year made the trip. In the 1840's the number increased to 60,000 a year, and from 1850 to 1854 it soared to 150,000-215,000 German immigrants per year. After this the immigration slowed dramatically due to an economic depression and the U.S. Civil War. Why did so many come? A variety of reasons prompted them. Political unrest, crop failures, overpopulation, strict marriage laws, religious persecution, and economic deprivation from a decline in linen weaving all spurred those Germans into action. The famous Forty-Eighters came during this period. It was the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and a failed revolution in Germany caused those who had hoped to reshaped the German State to leave. Most of the immigrants who came during this second wave settled in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, or Texas. After the Civil War, the immigration began in earnest and fluctuated up and down for the rest of the century. The new steamships also allowed for a new type of immigrant. Many young German boys came to America to work for a few years; they would then return to German to live or go back for a bride and return to America.

By the beginning of the twentieth century, ten percent of the population was from German origins. The pattern of their settlement is interesting. Families from the same region would settle in the same location in America. The concentration of them is due to the influence of propaganda. In the 1830's and 1840's a book by Gottfried Dunden influenced many to come to the Midwest. Railroad companies, clergymen, and the "chain of migration" (over 100 million letters home urging family members to come) all brought Germans to America. They worked in both the city and the country. Their religious associations were diverse. Catholics, Lutherans, Mennonites, Amish, Evangelicals, Jews, and Reformed all found a home in the U.S.

The twentieth century has brought a mixed bag for German immigration. When World War I occurred, anti-German sentiment against the language and culture began. Foods, streets, towns, and even people were renamed to remove the German stigma. Vandalism, beatings, arrests, and even one lynching transpired at this time. Even German newspapers and worship services were switched to English. An increase in German immigration happened after 11itler came to power in 1933. Many educated, urban, and highly skilled people moved to America along with over 100,000 refugees. Eighty percent were Jewish. More would have come save for the U.S. immigration restrictions in place at the time. The final wave of German immigrants was following World War H. Most of these were scientists, technicians, well educated, brides of U.S. soldiers, and refugees from Eastern Europe.

The German-Americans have contributed greatly to the melting pot. Overall they are quite conservative and believe strongly in work, family, and schools. These values have been illustrated in their voting patterns, the strong Lutheran school system, and in the number of auxiliary organizations they have created over time.

German immigrants have been prolific writers since their first arrival in America. Up until the twentieth century, most of their writings were in German. Many immigrants wrote books and reports about life in the new land. Over 100 million wrote letters to their families back home. Their purpose was to advertise. Later, education became a key element in creating new communities. Because they could not purchase textbooks in German, they wrote texts themselves. Eventually the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod created Concordia Publishing Company (CPH) in 1869; this company is still in operation. In addition to writing textbooks, many wrote scholarly works, poetry, journals, reviews, novels, and newspapers. H.L. Mencken was a famous writer for the Baltimore Sun. He wrote a four volume set entitled Ae American Language that discussed modem American English. Theodore Dreiser is another German immigrant writer known for Sister Carrie and An American Tragedy. A few other famous German-American writers are Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Charles Schultz, and Dr. Seuss (Theodore 414a Geisel). Due to the number of writers from German descent in America, the German immigrants eventually formed their own national literary association. One final note is regarding the Jewish Germans. They, too, have composed many pieces of literature. Known as the "People of the Book," they have voracious appetites for reading and learning. This, however, is not limited to only German Jews. It appears that most of the German immigrants had a penchant for reading and writing.

In 1839 a group of Germans from Saxony left Germany in protest to the forced unification of the Lutheran and Reformed church in that area. Under the direction of Martin Stephan, they arrived in New Orleans and by way of the Mississippi River came to Missouri. Forty-five percent of the group was female; the average age of the group was twenty-five. Eight pastors, eleven candidates for ministry, five teachers, and other professional people were part of the group. The rest were craftsmen/mechanics (61%) and peasants (14%). Together they pooled their money and had $80,000 in a common treasury for use in America. After settling near St. Louis, Stephan was banned from the congregation for adultery, and C.F.W. Walther, who had a vivacious personality and plenty of abifity, took over as leader. In order to communicate with other conservative Lutheran churches in America, this group published a newspaper called Der Lutheraner. In 1847 the congregations in Missouri~ Ohio, and a few other states created the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, which recently celebrated its 150th anniversary. Their main goal was to preserve doctrinal purity. This was maintained through their extensive school system. By 1900, two seminaries (Fort Wayne, IN and St. Louis, MO) and two colleges were up and running. Currently, the LC-MS sponsors the two seminaries and eight colleges. Presently there are close to seventy high schools and hundreds of grade schools throughout the country. These schools are a reflection of their desire to perpetuate the religious pattern rather than the cultural. Many of the churches and schools studied and worshipped in German until WWI, which slowed their assimilation. In 1860 they created Concordia Publishing House, and in 1853 they created a voluntary association to help with disability and health benefits. This was the forerunner of the Concordia Health Plan. The small group from Saxony has grown into a church body of over a million people!

Franck, Irene M. The German-American Heritage. New York: Facts on File, 1989.

German-American Life. Ed. John D. Zug. Monficello, Iowa: Penfield Press, 199 1.