German Americans

German Americans

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The German-Americans form the biggest ethnic group in the United States. The German-Americans who immigrated to the United States of America are close to twelve million; this is established according to statistics of the U.S. Census Bureau. Currently there are almost 60 million German-Americans. German-Americans represent the section of the population that is of German descent, but this whole part of the population does not speak German, accounting for only eight million German-speaking Americans.

There is no other ethnic crowd in the U.S. of America can equal these numbers. By the year of 1995, the German-Americans had a heritage dating back 388 years of American life. The German-Americans have participated in every major event in the history of American (Luebke, 1999). The German decent has also generated exceptional citizens who have deeply influenced the U.S. in both culture and politics. The German-Americans have continuously been loyal to America while preserving their cultural legacy during stormy and stressful times like the World Wars.

Conferring to the Germanic tale, the very first German to ever set foot on U.S. soil was Tyrker. He was the adoptive father of Leif Erickson, the famous Norse leader who had his ships reach the American in the era of 1000 A.D. Though, the first Germans whose incidence on American soil can be confirmed, dates back to the year of 1607 at Jamestown, Virginia. These individuals make up the number of the first German-Americans to manufacture soap, pitch, glass and tar in America. These products were essential for population use in development activities. This forms an important aspect of their history since the German-Americans provided the craftsmanship and skill necessary for manufacturing these commodities (O'Connor, 1968).

The Germans in America during the period of 1620 among the first people to erect a sawmill using four millwrights from Hamburg in the state of Virginia. The Germans instigated the farming and growing of the earliest tobacco plantations as well. In the period of 1653 some of the Heidelberg Germans started and established vineyards for wine making activities. In the year of 1690, William Rittenhouse, a person of German decent established the first paper-mill factory in America. Using the paper for mill played a major role in the printing of the earliest newspapers and books. In the year of 1735 John Peter Zenger started a leading independent American newspaper, and through doing so promoted the stand against the oppression posed by the British oppression. This bold act subsequently led to the freedom of the press in the United States of America. John Peter Zenger also went ahead innovated the printing of the first arithmetic book in the colonies.