This is a concise survey of the role that America's largest ethnic group, the German-Americans, has played in American history from the 17th century to the present. The term "German-American" in this volume refers to immigrants and their offspring from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and other German-speaking areas of Europe. Hence, the term "German" is used in a linguistic, cultural and ethnic sense to cover the sum of German-speaking immigrants and their descendants. This study is divided into six parts. Part I, "Immigration and Settlement" traces German-American history from the earliest beginnings into the present time, while Parts II and III demonstrate the role German-Americans have played in "Preserving the Union" and "Building the Nation." Part IV gives an overview of the German-American experience. Part V discusses German-American Heritage Month, and Part VI is a select bibliography. Also includes map that shows percentages of German-Americans in each of the United States, a census table and a fullname index.

A history of the German people in the United States.

This book offers a fresh look at the Germans—the largest and perhaps the most diverse foreign-language group in 19th century America. Drawing upon the latest findings from both sides of the Atlantic, emphasizing history from the bottom up and drawing heavily upon examples from immigrant letters, this work presents a number of surprising new insights. Particular attention is given to the German-American institutional network, which because of the size and diversity of the immigrant group was especially strong. Not just parochial schools, but public elementary schools in dozens of cities offered instruction in the mother tongue. Only after 1900 was there a slow transition to the English language in most German churches. Still, the anti-German hysteria of World War I brought not so much a sudden end to cultural preservation as an acceleration of a decline that had already begun beforehand. It is from this point on that the largest American ethnic group also became the least visible, but especially in rural enclaves, traces of the German culture and language persisted to the end of the twentieth century.

Explores the history, culture, and contributions of German-Americans from colonial times to the present.

More than 88 milliion Americans can claim to be of German descent. My maternal great grantparents, Johannes and Katharina Berghöfer, came from Hesse Nassau, Germany, to the United States in 1880 with their five children. This book is both family history and an investigation of my German-American heritage. By the time that I was born in 1942 in Hampton, Iowa, the German culture which shaped my mother and her parents had all but disappeared. This book is written so that their story can be remembered by succeeding generations.

Represents the German-American experience in the United States. Provides a German-American Chronology section to assist with orientation in historical time. Includes some of the key events in the history of Germany.