Period+9+German-+Who+and+Why

[[image:cooltext497038750.png width="800" height="172"]]

 * In the mid 1800s most of the immigrants who came from Germany were small farmers and their families. Then after, artisans, household manufacturers, day laborers and agricultural workers characterized German immigrants.


 * These German immigrants were very devoted to their religion. Many were Protestant, Catholic and Jewish.


 * Although many German immigrants were farmers and laborers, many intellectuals also immigrated to America.


 * During the Civil War, many German Immigrants to the New England and Pennsylvania joined the Union Army to fight against slavery and assimilate into American culture.

== ==
 * Many of the immigrants were industrialists and industrial laborers looking for the American dream of a job and prosperity. Some sought employment in factories and mills and looked forward to the development of mechanized manufacturing of goods.


 * To start businesses and express their freedoms of innovation.

With the population increasing in Germany, resulting in less land opportunities and thus more expensive property, some individuals were forced to look elsewhere for less expensive land that they could afford.


 * After multiple failed democratic revolutions in Germany in 1848, stricter regulations influenced individuals to immigrate to avoid the restrictions. Political dissidents pursued refuge in the United States. While the passage of the Homestead Act in the United States which promised a free 160 acres of land on the frontier encouraged immigration. [[image:gema_02_img0095.jpg width="219" height="349" align="right"]]


 * A financial strain on numerous individuals as a result of an increase in taxation made ideas of American life enticing.


 * After the Napoleonic Wars (1796-1815), Germans sought freedom from military involvement and political oppression. Also, due to the wars, the economy suffered, too many goods were being imported while the industry was also being flooded by foreign products. Continually, the potato famine affected the population due to their dependence on the potato.


 * Religious and political refugees

Home