Title: German Americans - History, Modern era, The first germans in america
Headings: German americans
German americans
by La Vern J. Rippley
Overview
HISTORY
MODERN ERA
THE FIRST GERMANS IN AMERICA
SIGNIFICANT IMMIGRATION WAVES
SETTLEMENT
Acculturation and Assimilation
TRADITIONS, CUSTOMS, AND BELIEFS
HOLIDAYS
Language
Family and Community Dynamics
EDUCATION
Religion
Politics and Government
LABOR UNIONS
RELATIONS WITH GERMANY
Individual and Group Contributions
BUSINESS
MUSIC
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
SPORTS
STAGE AND SCREEN
VISUAL ARTS
Media
PRINT
Amerika Woche.
Der Deutsch-Amerikaner/German American Journal.
German Life.
IGAR News.
Nordamerikanische Wochen-Post.
Society for German-American Studies— Newsletter.
RADIO
Organizations and Associations
German American Information and Education Association (GIEA).
German American National Political Action Committee (GANPAC).
Museums and Research Centers
Sources for Additional Study
User Contributions:
Ron Bremer
ALEXANDRIA
Callie
philicia
Andrew
brooky
steven craft
calvin williams
Angie Poe
NDS
RCS
Sandy
Lilly
Itaia Favae
Kenneth lange
JaimeHaw

Content: THE FIRST GERMANS IN AMERICA
Since their arrival at Jamestown in 1607 along with the English, Germans  have been one of the three largest population components of American  society. When Columbus arrived in America in 1492, he did so in the name  of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, that is, with the entitlement of the  Habsburgs who also ruled Germany as part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was  a German cosmographer, Martin Waldseemüller, who suggested that the  New World be designated "America." German immigration began in the seventeenth century and continued  throughout the postcolonial period at a rate that exceeded the immigration  rate of any other country; however, German immigration was the first to  diminish, dropping considerably during the 1890s. Contrary to myth, the  first German immigrants did not originate solely in the state of Pfalz. Although emigrants from Pfalz were numerous from 1700 to 1770, equally  high percentages came from Baden, Württemberg, Hesse, Nassau, and the  bishoprics of Cologne, Osnabrück, Münster, and Mainz. During the  American pre-Revolutionary War period, immigrants came primarily from the  Rhine valley, an artery that gives access to the sea. German emigration  during this period was almost exclusively via French or Dutch ports like  LeHavre or Rotterdam. SIGNIFICANT IMMIGRATION WAVES
Between 1671 and 1677 William Penn made trips to Germany on behalf of the  Quaker faith, resulting in a German settlement that was symbolic in two  ways: