Title: Historical Events and Their Impact on German Research • FamilySearch
Headings: Historical Events and Their Impact on German Research
Historical Events and Their Impact on German Research
Content: Emigration after 1800 and the Industrial Revolution: Some influences upon emigration after 1800 were mass production and overpopulation. The Industrial Revolution began in the 1830’s in Germany, though it was not until the 1870’s and 1880’s that it truly succeeded. A population shift occurred in Germany. People who a generation before had earned their living off the land flooded the larger cities to work in factories. Mass manufacturing threatened individually hand crafted items and goods. Political changes also affected internal emigration and immigration. The repeated calls for freedom, democracy and unity from the middle and upper class led to the failed Revolution in 1848. Faced with the choices of imprisonment or death, many of the educated and skilled middle class emigrated from Germany to America and other countries. In the 1700’s in many states in Germany it was illegal to immigrate.