Germans The Model Immigrant 19 40 00 07 12 2012 For hundreds of years we didn t even think of these people as immigrants They were our best friends and white from the beginning We liked them at first then with WWI and WWII we sort of become enemies then befriend them again LARGEST IMMIGRANT GROUP An Introduction 58 Million Americans consider themselves of German Descent today 17 of the population and only outranked by the Africans Why are they the largest Because they come in every single wave Formative first second and don t call it a wave wave No such thing as Germany until 1871 unify in one years Before this principalities controlled by princes and most of the people in these areas wouldn t call themselves Germans call themselves Saxon Bavarian etc Diverse groups with Diverse reasons for coming o Push and Pull factors o Religions Protestants Catholics Jews o Numbers Some waves in small numbers some in large numbers 18th Century Immigration Called the Pennsylvania Dutch o Moved to Pennsylvania o Stupid Americans misunderstood Deutsche as Dutch Religion o Protestant Religions Amish Quaker Mennonite Moravians Weird but still Protestant because Pennsylvania is built for religions freedom of protestant religions o Have enough money to bring an entire family in better than Money steerage class Numbers o 45 000 migrated o Have lots of kids and grows to 300 000 7 by 1790 Census Location o Pennsylvania o Religious Toleration o Settle based on Religion Separate a little because they practice different traditions o Immigration of Families or groups Not just family but religion groups o Germantowns Name their town after the town they come from But if they come from different regions then they just call it Germantown Life o Didn t even acculturate Live exactly how they did in their town in Germany WASPs don t can t interfere because they don t even know where these people are in Pennsylvania o Pacifists o Abolitionists Don t believe in war Refuse to fight refuse to sign petitions swear an oath and the only person you should swear your loyalty to is God Against slaves Do not own slaves don t believe in the ownership of other people Actually allow free blacks to join their church and community o Dirt Farmers Make crops only to take care of themselves not to sell ALSO Beautify ugly pieces of empty land by growing crops building nice little communities pretty houses and these become tourist destinations for the WASPs who love these areas and begin to grow jealous of these communities then the WASPs will buy into the community for a LOT of money then the Germans will move westward to keep away from the WASPs and then improve more land and so the cycle continues Stereotypes immigrants pretzels o This first group sets up nice stereotypes for 19th century We love the Germans and adopt their traditions as American Apple Pie Santa Clause Beer White Picket Fences hamburgers Little immigration between 1795 1820 due to wars in Europe 19th Century immigration The first Wave Came in the same time as Chinese and Irish Who came o Largest group to come in during this time 6 million from 1820 1914 o Diverse group Religions Catholic Lutheran protestant and Jewish Classes Money Some are rich some poor some about 33 each middle class Some single immigrants building bachelor societies and Families upper and middle class since it takes money to move your whole family Why do they leave o Political Revolutions of 1848 nobles in the principalities run away form the wars in fear that their related prince would lose and they would lose their money and lives Can get out because they have money Voluntary immigrants conscription laws Even the upper class is forced to be in the army so they leave o Economic More middle and lower class Industrial Revolution Their skills are unappreciated with the industrial revolution so move to America not as industrialized Potato Blight Worked on farms now affected by the Taxes Wars are expensive so these people bear that potato blight burden o Religion Mostly Jewish Lots of Anti semitism in Europe Why did they come to the US Looking for land Gottfried Duden 1829 o German American immigrant o Loved America so much he wrote a pamphlet about America and sends it to Germany telling them they should all come o Promotes land as being extremely cheap the Midwest o There s no WASPs here the land is bountiful and fruitful and whatever o Transcontinental railroad allows for free land the US gives railroad companies 50 acres of land who then gives it away so people will live near the railroads so there are customers and destinations for the railroad s goods and travelers o We d rather hire a German over an African or Irish any day Jobs Immigrants o Catholics Lower class o Protestants Lutherans Middle and upper class o 48ers Group of people with NO religious ties tend to be Atheist but culturally Jewish in a sense that they are non practicing Jews Come over and want people to understand their plight Speak out a LOT against religion and politics Other people call them Jewish even though they don t in Germany practice Tend to be rich and because they re rich they re educated as well Location Settle based on religion class o Most classes share religions Upper Middle Class o Settle in the Midwest build a German triangle spanning multiple states but not yet states with points at Cincinnati Milwaukee and St Louis much larger then the tiny ethnic enclaves of the Chinese Italians and Irish o Germantown o 40 of the population is German Lower Class o Settle where the boats drop them off in NYC and Boston in NYC s Lower east side and in Boston settle next to Southie the Irish 19th Century German American Life Upper Class We don t really notice them o In the Midwest o Dirt Farmers Middle Class Also not really noticed Lower Class o Skilled but didn t own land before o Buy land also in the midwest o Bring their skill to people who don t have them o Bring brewing and pianos to America o Piano is actually more important in America because we had pianos but sounded horrible because we had no one to tune them German build them here making transportation much easier and safer and can tune them o Beer making in America is the same as in Germany but the crops and grown differently and the water is differently o Try their hardest to learn English and is hired at a factory over the Irish and Africans every time o Germans are promoted to higher paying jobs in these factories so they can actually move up in class in
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