Matt Richards

German-American Immigrants:  why they came to America and when

            As I wrapped up my last research posting, I began to think about all of the things that I had learned simply by looking at one group of German Immigrants.  I later decided that what I had found was only a small piece of the whole German Immigrant story. I decided to find out if the other Germans who came to America instead of newly independent Texas had a different story to tell.  After all one of the main objectives in this course is to compare the narratives or stories of Immigrants.  I felt that I would not be able to truly understand both my grandfather and my German heritage until I had learned the story of the German Americans and how they as an entire group influenced the American culture.

            I started with two questions.  Why did the Germans choose to immigrate to America and when did they start coming to this nation?  I again started my search with the MLA International Bibliography and JSTOR.  I also searched the Lake Jackson public library, but didn’t seem to find a good place to start.  So once again, Wikipedia helped me find the terms and questions to ask in order to gain the information that I was looking for.  The website also helped me think of quite a few more questions that I wanted to know the answers to.  Questions such as, who/what was behind the Germans leaving their homeland for America, where in America did they settle first, what states did the German Immigrants find most inviting or popular, what reasons did they have for leaving Germany, and what type of impact did their immigration have on the culture of the United States?

            Now that I had the questions that I wanted answered in mind; I used the search engines Google, Yahoo, and Ask.com.  I then was quickly able to find quite a few articles that answered my questions.  According to Wikipedia, “The first English settlers arrived at Jamestown in 1607; the first German, in 1608.  Germans were present in the American colonies from the very beginning of settlement” (Wikipedia).  Although the first Germans came in 1608, “The first significant numbers arrived in the 1680s in New York and Pennsylvania” (Wikipedia).  So why did the German Americans first come to America?  According to the article “the Germans Come to North America” by Mark Roth, “During the 1600s and 1700s, wars ravaged Germany.  Marching armies trampled down fields of grain, stole cattle, and burned down farmsteads.  In their wake, famines spread over the land.  Taxes, levied to pay for the war, added to the people’s plight (Roth). 

            Roth goes on to say later that, “Religious disputes also drove people to leave their homes.  In Europe the rulers chose what church they wanted in their lands.  Many pious Germans of strong convictions found this hard to bear.  North America, especially Pennsylvania, offered them religious freedom” (Roth).  What types of religious groups came to North America in the 1700s?  Groups such as the Quakers, Mennonites, Puritans and the Lutherans.  When did these groups come to America and where did they settle?  According to the article “Immigration Trends are Divided into Three general Periods,” “The First Period; 1683-1710.—Like the Pilgrims, the Pennsylvania Germans had their own ship, for in the year 1683 the “Concord” landed at Philadelphia with a small number of German and Dutch Mennonites, who came from Crefeld and Kriegsheim.  It is with this group that the interesting story of the Pennsylvania German people begins.”  In other words, due to religious oppression, famine, and war; Germans started coming to the New World as quickly as they could.  Religious freedom was the main reason that they came to America.

            Did this research help me to answer my questions?  Yes, I believe that now I have a more complete picture of the German immigration to the New World.  I feel that it is very interesting how much a society can change in just a couple centuries.  The German-Texans came for opportunity and a new life, which is something that the German-Americans also came to this land for as well.  The major difference between the two groups is that the Germans who came to Texas were handed a new life and didn’t have much of a choice when it came to assimilation.  The dominant culture had already been established and they took to this new life with out any regrets.  They now had a good life in Texas away from the horrors that they left behind in their mother country.  The German Americans came for religious freedom and ended up bringing the culture from their homeland over to America.  When they came there wasn’t an established dominant culture so they were able to run things how they wished.  They did face some resistance from the Native Americans because the settlers wanted these people to adapt to the culture that they were bringing over.  This is a reverse of what immigrants today are asked to do.

Conclusion

            I feel that I now understand the German immigrant culture better.  Because of this I feel that I now understand the things that my grandfather spoke to me about as a child.  I now know more about my German heritage and in seeking this knowledge I now have a greater understanding of American culture.

Works Cited

Grether, Donald

Interview

Roth, Mark.

The Germans Come to North America

www.anabaptists.org/history/ss8001.html

June 30, 2008

German Americans

www.spartacus.school.net.co.uk/USAEgermany.htm

June 30, 2008

Immigration Trends are Divided Into General Periods

www.sacred-texts.com/ame/elpg/elpg02.htm

Wikipedia

Germans Americans

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/german-american

June 30, 2008