German Immigration
In 2000, people of German descent comprised the largest nationality or ethnic group (group of people who are not from the majority culture in the country in which they live and who keep some part of their former culture, language, and institutions) in the United States. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 46.5 million people, or 15.2 percent of the population, claimed German ancestry. About seven million Germans have immigrated to North America since the eighteenth century. Some left the Old World in response to the many historical events in Europe over the last two centuries. Most Germans came to the United States seeking economic opportunities or religious or political freedom. There were many different motivations behind the mass migrations (the movement of thousands, or even millions, of people from one country to another within a relatively short period of time) from Germany that took place between 1800 and 1920.
Diversity (difference) among the people called German Americans is great. When many of them left the Old World, there was no nation called Germany. They came from nation-states in the large German-speaking area of Western
Europe. German immigrants came from three religious backgrounds: Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish. They moved to many parts of the United States, some becoming farmers and others entering trades in the cities and towns.
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