Throughout its existence the National German-American Alliance was not only an important cultural institution in the German-American community but also one of the principal organized opponents, ethnic or otherwise, to those organizations in the state agitating for the control or prohibition of liquor. It is hard to conceive of any history of the political struggles over prohibition and temperance legislation of the time ignoring the efforts of the Alliance in opposition to such legislation. Yet it is surprising how little has been written on the National German-American Alliance and its state and local affiliates. There have been a number of books and articles on either the national organization or one or the other of its local branches. But few of those studies have analyzed closely the significance of the anti-prohibition activism of the Alliance in the minds of its members and supporters and in the minds of its opponents. For many German-Americans the anti-prohibition agitation of the Alliance was the principal justification for its existence. Another purpose of this book is to describe the Weltanschauung of the Alliance leadership and its reaction to the pressures of assimilation, as it endeavored to meet the challenge of preserving German culture in an ethnic community rapidly being assimilated.

In 1861, Union Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon marched through the divided slave state Missouri en route to St. Louis. Lyon was to arrest a state militia unit at Camp Jackson that planned to raid a federal arsenal in the city. Upon capturing the men, Lyon's troops encountered crowds of hostile citizens and, after a gun shot, they fired on the mob, killing at least 28 civilians in what is now known as the Camp Jackson affair, or the St. Louis massacre. In this book, the author describes partisan activities leading to hostilities, promotes awareness about the history of slavery in America, and explores political divisions still evident in American culture. Previously unpublished materials about Governor Claiborne Jackson are included, as well as the role of Montgomery Blair in the fight for Missouri, an analysis of the number of arms in the St. Louis Arsenal and the unknown total number of casualties of the St. Louis massacre.

This comprehensive encyclopedia details the close ties between the German-speaking world and the Americas, examining the extensive Germanic cultural and political legacy in the nations of the New World and the equally substantial influence of the Americas on the Germanic nations. From the medical discoveries of Dr. Johann Siegert, surgeon general to Simon Bolivar, to the amazing explorations of the early-19th-century German explorer Alexander von Humboldt, whose South American and Caribbean travels made him one of the most celebrated men in Europe, Germany and the Americas examines both the profound Germanic cultural and political legacy throughout the Americas and the lasting influence of American culture on the German-speaking world. Ever since Baron von Steuben helped create George Washington's army, German Americans have exhibited decisive leadership not only in the military, but also in politics, the arts, and business. Germany and the Americas charts the lasting links between the Germanic world and the nations of the Americas in a comprehensive survey featuring a chronology of key events spanning 400 years of transatlantic history.