German Immigration In The Late 1800s

It was during the mid 1800s that a vast tide of Germans immigrated to the United States of America. This influx of Germans created a large German population to live in what are now called German-Towns or simply as Little Germany. In a single decade alone did hundreds of thousands of Germans arrive, live, and pass through the Little Germany of New York. This vast German population gave New York City the largest German population in the world after the cities of Berlin and Vienna. The difference between German immigrants and many others were that Germans were often educated and skilled craftsmen. More than half of the bakers and furniture crafters at the time happened to be German-American. Many Germans could be found working in the construction business. This education the Germans earned would help them greatly in their achievement in forming and growing trade unions and many Germans were found to be politically active. Germans more often grouped together that other immigrants from Europe to the point that Germans would only live with Germans from their respective regions such as Prussians would only live with Prussians and Bavarians would only live with Bavarians.

During the American Civil War an opportunity for Germans to assimilate into American culture was given and is accurately quoted by a German in 1882: "In this great moment in the history of the United States there were no Irish, no Germans, no Scandinavians, no aliens, but only Americans. . . . All fought like brothers, shoulder to shoulder, for one holy purpose -- the preservation of the Union -- and, with it, for the salvation of the last great bastion of freedom and for all the suppressed and the underprivileged of all nations".