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Sample Student final exam answers 2018 (2018 final exam assignment) Part 3: Model Research Reports |
LITR 4340
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Carrie Hutton
German Immigrants and Their
Journey to Being German-American
Throughout immigrants’ history the story of the Germans
is a history of strength and perseverance. Germans came to America and
assimilated, but still maintained their cultural heritage. I could not, in this
day and age, imagine uprooting my entire life and moving to the other side of
the world in hopes of a more prosperous life. Germans immigrated to America in
the beginning and throughout history. Germans held a balance of being a model
citizen and assimilating, while also encountering some resistance from the
dominant culture during different parts of history.
The history of
German assimilation has always interested me because of my family’s heritage.
Throughout my childhood, I have always heard bits and pieces of how some of my
ancestors came to America. For the first part of my research, I researched my
lineage further to understand where our family’s background comes from.
According to my mother and Ancestory.com, my Great-Great-Great-Grandfather,
Heinrich Christolph Willms, came to America with his wife from Bremer, Germany
on the ship “Hardee” and settled in Gasconade County, Missouri. They then moved
to Barton, Kansas where he started missionary work South of Ellinwood. He was a
Baptist minister for 56 years. Heinrich and his family assimilated to the
dominant culture by means of religion. His wife died in 1877 and in 1878 he
married Caroline Rohrmann. In 1904, he moved to Hutichson, Kansas where he died
at the home of his son Charles Willms. The history of my family has always
intrigued me and sparked interest into how immigrants made their way throughout
America and assimilated to the current situation.
An article I
discovered, describes German-Americans and how they assimilated so much that you
can barely recognize their heritage anymore because they do not advertise their
backgrounds. The research source I found is titled, “German-Americans The Silent
Minority.” Germans originally did not come to stand out, they came to make a
difference in their lives and help establish America. By helping to establish
American they assimilated to the culture already established. Germans did bring
some of their traditions to America. According to
The Economist, “They imported
Christmas trees and Easter bunnies and gave America a taste for pretzels, hot
dogs, bratwursts and sauerkraut. They built big Lutheran churches wherever they
went” (para. 6). When they came to America, they brought their heritage and
traditions with them that allowed them to assimilate into the fold of the
developing America. In my family there was always a saying, “Put your head down,
do your job, and stay out of the way.” After reading this article, I am more
inclined to think that this saying may have come from our ancestors.
Another example of
a German immigrant successfully assimilating is found in a book titled,
Memoirs of Gustave Koerner,
1809–1896 vol. I.
The excerpt I examined
describes how this immigrant and his family successfully contributed to the idea
of the “American Dream” by owning and farming a piece of land in St. Claire
County. This German immigrant bought land and moved into a farm home previously
owned by a Virginian. These German-Americans established themselves in a world
foreign to them, in search of a better life. They also assimilated into the fold
of American society and covered their German heritage with an American outlook
on life. Although, Germans may not have said it aloud, they may have always
longed for their homeland again. According to McCormack, “During the fall I
received a good many letters from home and from my friends.... All of them more
or less expressed a hope of reunion in America . . . I did not encourage their
ideas of emigration” (para. 9). Longing for a new life in a new land, may have
paid a greater price than being settled in their homeland.
What I have been
wondering and am considerably interested in is, How or why did the German
immigrant assimilate so well? I think the answer is, because they had to for
survival and self-interest. Further research brought me to an article titled,
The Role of German-American Social Groups
in the Assimilation of German Immigrants. This article describes German
immigrants and how they immigrated throughout the eighteenth and ninetieth
centuries. During the nineteenth century, German immigrants usually made the
journey to America alone. This journey and establishment into America left the
immigrant feeling destitute and alone. Donaldson states, “Thus the
nineteenth-century German immigrant, having most likely made the transatlantic
crossing by himself or with his immediate family, actively sought companionship
and association with others upon disembarkation in order to achieve the
community of interests essential to the preservation of his personal and
psychological well-being…” (34). This solitude in America, left the immigrant
feeling the need to interact, which led them to seeking companionship in the
dominant culture.
By the 1800s,
German immigrants had efficiently assimilated to the dominant culture. German
immigration had begun to increase and chain migration was on the influx during
this time period. According to German
Immigrant Influence on American Culture, it wasn’t until the nineteenth
century, that German traditions and cultures became an influence in America’s
society (para.1-2). For example, the introduction of sauerkraut and the
Christmas tree were done so by German immigrants. This is interesting because
the Germans had to assimilate first into the fold of the dominant culture before
allowing their heritage and traditions be introduced. Early generation of German
immigrants assimilated fully before allowing their heritage and traditions to
emerge. German Americans went through a fluid motion from assimilation to
acculturation.
Assimilation and
acculturation of the German-American is an interesting history and a fluid
transformation. As surely as they assimilated to the dominant culture and
progressed into introducing their customs into the culture, they eventually
resulted in assimilating back into the dominant culture and restricting their
heritage. This is demonstrated by a timeline provided by The Library of
Congress. Towards the end of the 1800s, the German language and German
publications were at astounding numbers. According to
The Germans in America Chronology, in
1860 “An estimated 1.3 million German-born immigrants resided in the United
States; 200 German-language magazines and newspapers were published in this
country; in St. Louis alone, there were seven German-language newspapers” (1).
However, by the early to mid-1900s, the German immigrant numbers and
publications declined (1). Resulting in German Americans to assimilate further
into the dominant culture. This trend of assimilation and resistance from the
dominant culture was spurred by the World Wars.
Regardless of how
well the Germans assimilated into their new lives and American culture,
German-Americans received some resistance from the dominant culture in different
parts of history. During the World Wars, Germans who lived in America at this
time received exclusion from the dominant culture.
The Economist states, “During the
first world war, parts of America grew hysterically anti-German. Some Germans
were spat at in the street. The teaching of their language was banned in
schools. Sauerkraut was renamed “liberty cabbage”. German books were burned,
dachshunds kicked and German-Americans forced to buy war bonds to prove their
patriotism” (para. 9). The German way of life was tormented, so instead of fight
back they assimilated further. According to The Economist, “Many stopped
speaking German and anglicized their names” (para. 9). This practice of changing
names is seen throughout America as a way acceptance and assimilation in
America; further covering up the immigrants’ heritage.
Another example of
resistance on German-Americans was during the period of World War II and the
Holocaust. According to The Economist,
“The second world war saw less anti-German hysteria, although some 10,000
German-Americans were interned as enemy aliens… But the Holocaust gave
German-Americans yet another reason to hide their origins” (para. 10). This
piece of history was astoundingly interesting to me because of the difference in
resistance of Germans in America in WWI and WWII. Logically, I thought more
resistance would come to Germans in America because of the Nazis. Throughout
German-Americans time in America, they have quietly moved into a society that
sometimes resisted them. Regardless of how much resistance they encountered they
silently covered up their culture and waited for the storm to pass.
Resistance from the
dominant culture against German immigrants, has been prevalent throughout
history. Although, the individuals resisting the Germans are somewhat
surprising. Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s founding fathers, was one of the
individuals that spoke out against German immigrants through his writings. In a
document titled, OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING
THE INCREASE OF MANKIND, PEOPLING OF COUNTRIES, ETC., written in 1751,
Benjamin Franklin questions, “Why
should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a Colony of Aliens, who will
shortly be so numerous as to Germanize us instead of our Anglifying them, and
will never adopt our Language or Customs any more than they can acquire our
Complexion?” (para. 23). This question demonstrates the dominant culture’s
resistance of German immigrants in America. This question also demonstrates a
color code that was present at this time. This is an interesting piece of
history that demonstrates how individuals throughout history have been resistant
to change and diversity. In some ways, past history and present history mirror
each other.
In my journey for
discovering German immigrants’ quest for being German American, I discovered
many interesting bits of history regarding assimilation and resistance. Germans
assimilated to the dominant culture but were also met with some resistance from
the dominant culture. I now have a better understanding of the fluid
transformation that immigrants had to endure during early immigration.
Assimilation, acculturation, and resistance are key factors that all immigrants
have endured and are currently enduring. This has also opened my eyes to current
issues of immigration presently and how the past and the present tend to mirror
one another.
References:
Chicchi,
Jacqueline. “German Immigrant Influence on American Culture.” 1st
Choice Magazine,
http://1stchoicemag.com/leisure-recreation/76-german-immigrant-influence-on-american-culture.
Franklin,
Benjamin. “OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING THE INCREASE OF MANKIND, PEOPLING OF
COUNTRIES, ETC., .” The
Project Gutenberg EBook of Benjamin Franklin, Representive Selections, with
Introduction, Bibliography, and Notes, by Frank Luthor Mott and Chester E.
Jorgenson,
www.gutenberg.org/files/35508/35508-h/35508-h.htm.
“The Germans
in America.” Chronology :
The Germans in America (European Reading Room, Library of Congress),
www.loc.gov/rr/european/imde/germchro.html.
THE ROLE OF
GERMAN-AMERICAN SOCIAL GROUPS IN THE ASSIMILATION OF GERMAN IMMIGRANTS.
loyolanotredamelib.org/php/report05/articles/pdfs/Report41Donaldson33-42.pdf.
“The Silent
Minority.” The Economist,
The Economist Newspaper, 5 Feb. 2015,
www.economist.com/news/united-states/21642222-americas-largest-ethnic-group-has-assimilated-so-well-people-barely-notice-it.
Vandermolen,
Larry, and Irene Cheung. “Memoirs of Gustave Koerner, 1809–1896 Vol. I.” The
Story of German Immigrants,
www.wwnorton.com/college/history/archive/resources/documents/ch12_02.htm.
