racial diversity in AMERICA
germans on the frontier
Summary
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, about 15.2% of the total U.S. population identified themselves of being of German ancestry. From 1800 until present-day, over 7 million Germans emigrated to the U.S., and settled in the Upper Midwest states, an area known today as the "German Belt." According to the map to the right, Germans were heavily concentrated in major cities as well as various country -side areas. Numerous German communities established German schools, churches, and theaters. However, today, the decedents of these immigrants are less likely to identify themselves with their German heritage, and instead identify themselves as "American." These Germans were motivated to move to the U.S. and establish a new life on the frontier for a variety of reasons, including the periodic socioeconomic distresses in Central Europe and the new opportunities America had to offer. The biggest "pull" factor of all, however, was the abundance of land. Once settled on the land, Germans remained on their same plot of land and were less likely to move relative to old-stock Americans. The third image on the left of the log cabin was placed on a card and distributed in order to attract Germans to north Wisconsin by romanticizing life on the American frontier. Numerous other government acts, most notably the Federal Land Grant Program, spurred the expansion of the frontier in the North. Connection to the Thesis This artifact connects to the thesis statement because it portrays the fusing of German heritage and culture into America and becoming less "German" and more "American" with each successive generation. According to the U.S. Census, as the decades passed, German descendants claimed to be "American," rather than German. This is decisive evidence that supports the claim that the frontier was one of the major homogenizing forces in early America. On the frontier, all families were given the bare basics, and had no choice but to melt together into one culture. Yet, despite this apparent homogeneity of American society, racial diversity persisted. In a way, there was a balance between these two forces. This is due to the fact that a fragment of "American" includes "German," as "American" is numerous other cultures molded into one. |