For years leading up to WWI, many Germans began immigrating to the Americas to find land and start building their lives, where they would be able to find great opportunities. “During the year of 1910, an estimated 2.3 million German-born immigrants lived in the United States.” Once WWI began, the amounts of know German immigrants in the U.S. slowly decreased. With America’s late entry into the war, the dynamic between Americans and German immigrants soon became uneasy. Germans struggled with loyalty for both the United States and Germany. This soon caused many issues for immigrants and their great lives they previously lived. There are several reasons as to why true Americans had a fear of German immigrants; I believe the causes of anti-German sentiment in America during WWI was because of immigrants abilities to go against American practices, the lack of control over the Germans, and the belief that Germans were traitors to the land that at that time, were building their lives on.
Germans, especially during the times of WWI, were known to be drinkers. It was seen as something to do while socializing with family and friends. They wanted to luxuriate in a beer while enjoying others company. Americans were either indifferent or very much against acts of
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One very graphic prosecution that Americans used against German immigrants was tar and feathering. Like we read in Kirschbaum Chapter 10, many German-Americans would be pulled out of their homes and tied up in public areas; soon to be covered in hot tar and feathers. It was used as public humiliation and an act of punishment. Those not even in the position of power popularly did these acts against immigrants. Americans didn’t want to lose their jurisdiction over the Germans and stepped up to the plate. They used violence against those who went against America’s traditional