German Immigration to America by Zina Abbott

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many of us are aware of the great Irish immigration to North America, particularly in the 1840s when the potato famine raged in Ireland. Gauging by the number of Irish who were recruited by both the Union and Confederacy as they stepped off boats from Europe, a large number were still coming then. What many Americans, including readers of American historic fiction, are not aware of is that there was another group of immigrants which, from about the 1830s through the end of the century, came to America in even larger numbers than the Irish: Germans.

A Brief (brief for me) History of Germany

Western Europe 1700- Holy Roman Empire in Yellow

Julius Caesar was the first to give the German people their name as a separate group from the Guals (France). He referred to the unconquered area east of the Rhine River as Germania. The victory of the Germanic tribes in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD prevented the Roman Empire from annexing this region. Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Franks conquered the West Germanic tribes. When the Frankish Empire was divided up among Charles the Great’s heirs in 843, the eastern part became East Francia. In 962, Otto I became the first Holy Roman Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, which lasted until 1806, about the time Napoleon rose to power. A lot happened in that area during that time, but that is not the topic of this post.

As if Napoleon’s march through the German states on his way to Russia was not disruptive enough, the old feudal system fell away due to the clash with the growing movement for liberalism and nationalism.

Prussia (Preusen) in 1806 when Holy Roman Empire dissolved

 

Prussia, originally a small nation land-wise, grew in power as it exerted its governance over more and more German states. In 1815, it formed the deutscher Bund, or German Confederation.

 (deutscher Bund) German Confederation 1815-1866

As the population grew, there was not enough land to provide a living for many of the working class. The young men, without a means of supporting a family, were unable to marry. With much of the northern part of Germany being Lutheran or one of the other Protestant faiths, and Bavaria, Austria, and a few other states being Roman Catholic, there were also religious conflicts. Due to frequent conflicts, many men were forced into the armies of their local states. Many Germans looked to the United States as a place where they might obtain land, avoid the military draft, and practice their religion as they chose.

The German revolutions of 1848-49 failed. Many who supported the cause of  unification of German-speaking people, were discontent with traditional, autocratic rule, sought liberal principles, better living and working conditions, and greater freedom, fled to the United States. A large number of those Germans were middle-class and well-educated.

1864 saw the Second Schleswig War, also known as the Prusso-Danish War.

In 1866, a seven weeks war was fought between the Kingdom of Prussia and its German allies and the Austrian Empire and its German allies. When Prussia prevailed, it established its dominance over the other German states.

In 1870, after France sought to regain its dominance in continental Europe, Germany and its southern German allies found themselves engaged in the Franco-Prussian War, resulting in more disruption and forced military service.

(deutscher Reich) German Empire 1871-1918

 

In 1871, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck succeeded with the unification of the German Empire which included almost all the German-speaking states excluding Austria and the German-speaking areas of Switzerland. With Berlin as its capitol city, Wilhelm 1, King of Prussia became the first German Emperor.

All these factors drove many Germans to seek new homes—the vast majority choosing the United States as their destination.

Germans coming to the United States

Germans have been in North America since Colonial times, most of them settling primarily in Pennsylvania, New York, and Virginia. Immigration slowed in the 1770s due to war both in North America and the European continent.

Starting in the 1830s, German immigration to the Americas began in increase. Once German settlers were established in their new home, they wrote to family and friends in Europe describing the opportunities available in the United States. These letters were circulated in German newspapers and books, prompting "chain migrations." By 1832, more than 10,000 immigrants arrived in the U.S. from Germany. By 1854, about 200,000 German immigrants arrived.

In the last half of the nineteenth century, several factors aided and encouraged immigration. Part was due to conditions at home. In addition to those already mentioned, including the failed German Revolution of 1848, typical working people in Germany were forced to endure land seizures, unemployment was high, and there was increased competition from British goods.

Coupled with that, as restrictions on emigration were eased, it became easier to leave Germany. Steamships replaced sailing ships, so the transatlantic journey became, not only more accessible, but more tolerable.

Also, as steamships delivered their cotton, tobacco, and other raw goods from America to European ports, including Hamburg and Bremerhaven, their owners sought a profitable “cargo” for the return trip. They hired agents to aggressively solicit sales to those interested in emigrating from Germany. Many steamship had cabins for those who chose to travel first or second class. However, those who traveled steerage rode in the cargo space to America.

German passenger ticket

Between 1820 and 1870, almost a third of all immigrants to the United States came from Germany—about the same number as from Ireland. During the peak period from roughly 1860-90, there were only three years in which Germans were not the largest nationality among new arrivals in America. All told, five million Germans came to the United States in the nineteenth century. Today, more Americans consider themselves of German ancestry than any other group.

I am one person who, with my Prussian maiden name, appreciates her German ancestry. My other German ancestors came from Württemberg and Bern, Switzerland.

1872 map showing distribution of German immigrants in America

In the decade from 1845 to 1855 alone, more than a million Germans fled to the United States to escape economic hardship and the political unrest caused by riots, rebellion, and eventually the 1849 Revolution in 1848. The Germans had few choices other than the United States since very few nations allowed German immigration. In one respect the Germans differed from the Irish was that many of them came with enough money to journey away from the port-of-entry cities either to search for farmland in the Midwest or work in one of the large cities with large German settlements. Some cities with large German populations were New York City, Baltimore, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Omaha, and Milwaukee.

Although New York was a popular port of entry for German immigrants, many arrived in New Orleans. Because most Germans chose to live within German communities where they were able to continue speaking their native language, practice their customs, and take pride in their “Germanism,” they often lived in German neighborhoods within cities or predominantly German townships on Midwestern farms. Due to the locality of many German communities, after disembarking from the ocean steamship, the trip was continued up the Mississippi River system on a river steamboat.

Part of the opposition was political. Most immigrants living in cities became Democrats because the party focused on the needs of commoners.

German emigrants boarding ship in Hamburg - 1874

Like with the Irish, German immigrants arriving in the mid and late 1800s were not welcome by all Americans whose families had established themselves here earlier. Most Americans of English descent were Protestant. Like the Irish, a large portion of the German population were Roman Catholic.

Many German Jews, who suffered persecution in former homelands, including Austria-Hungary and Russia as well as Germany, also arrived on North American shores. Interestingly enough, once in the United States, German Jews, proud of their German heritage, usually spoke German rather than Yiddish. They preferred to live together with Catholics and Lutherans within existing German American communities rather than form their own.

 

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - home to many ethnic Germans

Many German communities continued to stay close-knit, speaking German, with German language schools, and continuing their German traditions. Much of that changed with the onset of World War I. At that time, because of the anti-German sentiment, many Germans chose to Anglicize their names and adopt English as their primary language.

Americans with German Ancestry by State - 2019

Today, more people have German ancestry than many probably realize. A 2019 U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey shows the distribution of Americans with German ancestry.

 

My next book to be published is Bee Sting Cake by Brunhilde, Old Timey Holiday Kitchen series, Book 12. Most of my characters are Germans, some to came to the United States in 1849 after the failed revolution in Germany, and Brunhilde’s immediate family who immigrates in 1873, shortly after the unification of Germany—the same year my great-great grandmother immigrated to the United States.

To find the book description and pre-order link, 

please CLICK HERE

 

 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Germany

https://www.ushistory.org/us/25f.asp

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_revolutions_of_1848

https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/german/new-surge-of-growth/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Americans

https://www.pbs.org/destinationamerica/usim_wn_noflash_2.html