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Introduction While Germans have been a part of American history for generations, with early German settlement to the United States beginning as soon as the seventeenth century, this book focuses on the second half of the nineteenth century, as that is when the greatest influx of newcomers to Illinois from what we now call Germany took place. Aside from the French who had made homes in southwestern colonies such as Kaskaskia, Prairie du Roche, Fort de Chartres, and Cahokia, as well as Fort Crevecoeur (the future Peoria), the Illinois country experienced few outsiders throughout the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The region was known for cholera outbreaks, clashes with native tribes, slow population growth, and little else. A strong centralized government was lacking as well, and landownership presented its own set of challenges. The only others to colonize the American Bottom as well as a region known as the Shawnee Hills during this period were migrants primarily from the southern United States, such as Kentucky, the Carolinas, and Tennessee. But suddenly, around 1830, that all changed. Migration, both foreign and domestic, began to pick up, and before long, a flood of people was pouring into Illinois, a flood that didn’t ease until the early twentieth century. German-speaking Europeans made up a significant portion of these nineteenth-century migrants. By 1850, there were approximately 35,000 Germans in the state out of a total population of 851,470 (about 4 percent of the population). As German settlements grew, so, too, did the idea that Illinois was a promising place to live. Observers agree that the success of earlier immigrants was vital in bringing about the swell in numbers of those who came later. By 1860, the census reports that 1.301 million Germans lived in the United States, with more than half living in the Upper Mississippi and Ohio Valleys, particularly in Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Missouri. Illinois’ German population now surpassed 130,000 (just over 7 percent of the total population). Centers of growth in the Midwest continued, and by 1890, 338,000 Germans lived in Illinois (just under 9 percent of the population). Germans continued to comprise the largest single foreign-born group in the United States in 1910, with more than 2.5 million calling America home. The vast majority—more than 85 percent, to be precise—lived in the Middle Atlantic region and in the Midwest. These statistics represent German-born immigrants only; just think what that meant in terms of children and grandchildren born of German ancestry. To understand why German immigration to Illinois exploded when it did, it helps to consider what was happening in both countries at the time. What was it about Germany that made people so eager to leave, and what was it about America, Illinois in particular, that was so appealing to newcomers? Historians often refer to rea-sons for why people emigrate, or leave a country, as “push” factors and those for why people immigrate, or come to live permanently in another country, as “pull” factors. Both push and pull factors for immigration to the United States are explored in this book, and the timing of these factors was opportune. Along the way, we illustrate major waves in immigration, pointing to some well-known German communities in Illinois as well as answering some broad questions about everyday life in these communities. For example, what were some of the earliest actions German settlers took? In other words, what did they care about the most or hope to achieve in their adopted homeland? And, perhaps most importantly, how did those actions play out in public discourse and debate? A group whose status in the nineteenth century has been likened to that of Latinos today, Germans made up the largest segment of non-English speakers in the United States at the time. They were diverse in many ways, and scholars have rightly drawn attention to the fact that their assimilation into mainstream American society was neither quick nor effortless. They strongly identified with German culture and commonly claimed that it was superior to Anglo-American culture. Moreover, important institutions, such as religious congregations, schools, and the German press, enabled and supported the use of the German language for decades, with many immigrants and their descendants remaining monolingual years after mass migration had ended. This is, of course, at striking odds with what most people have come to believe about the Germans, which, in turn, has led to mistaken comparisons between earlier immigrant groups—touted as having acquired English almost immediately upon arrival—and contemporary ones, such as Spanish-speaking immigrants (who are, in fact, acquiring English at astonishing rates). Despite all this, it may come as a surprise to learn that Germans constructed and even embraced American identities. In other words, being German was not incompatible with being American, particularly when it came to civic and political engagement. The aim in making the above observations is to explain from the outset that the story of German settlement and assimilation is multifaceted and less absolute than “folk wisdom” would have you believe. Though some like to think of Germans today as “model” immigrants, they were not always revered as such in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century America. Foreign immigration spurred nativist fears and politics, with immigrant identity often under attack. This is not unlike the divisive situation with regard to present-day immigrants and refugees. With that in mind, perspectives from history, cultural studies, and linguistics inform this book. Though Germans settled across the state of Illinois, some areas, particularly those considered to be German heritage centers, garner more coverage than others. One example is southwest Illinois (i.e., St. Clair County and surrounding region), which comprised the earliest and one of the largest German migration clusters in Illinois. The same goes for situations and people, with the political refugees of the 1830s and 1848 era—owing to their education, leadership, and achievement—dominating the narrative on more than one occasion. To a large extent, these choices of focus reflect limitations of space and, in select cases, limited source material rather than relative importance, though we did attempt to cover those that would attract widespread levels of interest. For convenience, this book is organized in such a way that chapters are stand-alone and topical. Yet, if read sequentially, they create a fluid narrative of German life in Illinois. That is not to say that this book is exhaustive. How could it be, when a great many books and articles devote themselves to single episodes in history—for example, the role of German Americans in political affairs, particularly during the pre- and post-Civil War years, or the effects of World War I on German American cultural life? What this book does do is present readily accessible information on a set of issues, pared down to the following: Chapter 2 describes the leading reasons on both sides of the Atlantic that motivated Germans to head en masse to Illinois, a migration flow that surged in the mid- and late nineteenth century and resulted in distinct settlement patterns across the state. Chapter 3 details the reliably unpleasant, if not hazardous, journey to Illinois. Here we have first-person descriptions that reveal to us the experiences and impressions of transatlantic life. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 collectively address how German settlers adjusted to, yet also profoundly transformed, nineteenth-century Illinois. The first generation to arrive set up farms in rural areas, profiting from the cheap land prices and fertile soil, while those who came later and in much larger numbers found opportunity in Illinois’ emergent urban and industrial centers, the topic of chapter 4. The economic success and perceived fortitude of both groups made them worthy newcomers in the eyes of the host culture, but their imported language and customs set them apart and, as chapter 5 explains, made them the subject of nativist bigotry and politics. This chapter goes on to probe the role and perception of Germans in major events and conflicts, including Chicago’s Lager Beer Riot, the American Civil War, and the American labor movement, which not only throws light on ideological and cultural differences between Germans and Anglo-Americans but between different groups of Germans and on the evolution and formation of Illinois more broadly. To be sure, Germans took pride in their cultural heritage and ethnic identity, with chapter 6 tracing important institutions and organizations of the era that fostered German language and culture. Chapter 7 centers on the first decades of the twentieth century when American perceptions of Germany hit an all-time low. In this chapter, the focus is World War I, which is covered alongside integration and “Americanization” efforts. Bringing us full circle, the final chapter, chapter 8, describes traces of German culture found in the Illinois landscape today. We also treat the complex and ever-evolving meaning of German American identity. Firsthand accounts, including excerpts from newspapers and letters, are peppered throughout, whereas events and personal narratives of special interest tend to be presented as side stories at the end of chapters. And if any major topics in this book spark particular interest, the select annotated bibliography provides notes on major source material. We draw inspiration from these immigrants and their stories, marveling at their bravery, complexity, and accomplishments. If nothing else, this information is relevant not only for the people of Illinois but for all Americans. “The German ingredient flavors the whole American pie,” as Frederick Luebke, a prominent German American historian, voices it.10 Before we can really dive in though, it is worth acknowledging some basic issues and ways to think about ethnicity and scholarship on immigration. What constitutes “German” ethnicity is not wholly intuitive. Germany did not exist as a nation until 1871, after a great many migrants had arrived in the United States. This meant that while language was a unifying factor, many German-speaking immigrants identified themselves as coming from specific duchies, principalities, regions, or states, such as Bavaria or Baden, as often documented in census data recording place of birth. The next three figures (1.2, 1.3, and 1.4) should provide a general idea. The first highlights one St. Clair County resident as documented in the 1870 census, while the second shows the member states of the German Confederation, a loose federation of some thirty German states (as compared to some 360 before the rise of Napoleon) as formed in 1815, which replaced the earlier Holy Roman Empire. Nearly fifty years later, in 1871, political unification was realized as displayed in the third figure. As the maps illustrate, geopolitical boundaries can shift over the course of history. Much of what belonged to Germany in the 1800s, for example, is now part of present-day Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Russia. Germany’s cultural and political center of gravity, as Sinnhuber puts it, was oriented eastward, meaning that numerous Russians, Poles, Hungarians, and folks of other national origins emigrated from German-speaking settlements scattered across Central and Eastern Europe in the nineteenth century. Indeed, German eastward expansion left in its wake many distinct German-language communities, traditionally called “speech islands” (from German Sprachinseln). In the historical records, references to immigrants of “German” extraction are often indicative of these German-speaking minorities. Also significant are the immigrants who came to the United States from countries like Austria and Switzerland, each having a German-speaking majority. Enumerators, or census takers, tended to group them together under the category of “German.” Though we tend to think of these countries individually, it’s important to remember the historical setting at the time. It was not until 1871 that Austria was ousted from unified “lesser Germany,” which was under Prussian rule. Even in the years thereafter, Austrians often considered themselves German, at least up until the end of World War II, decades after mass migration to the United States had ended. Lastly, we should add that German Jewish immigration coincided with (and contributed to) the much larger German immigration patterns of the middle decades of the nineteenth century. While comparatively much smaller in number, German Jews came from the same regions and classes as other German-speaking immigrants of this period and, barring some exceptions, had similar motives for leaving. Their strong association with German culture and civilization, which was overall held in esteem, aided in their acceptance and success in America. In short, our observations in the course of subsequent discussions only highlight German Jews—who made up a very slim 1 to 1.5 percent of Germany’s population at the time—in instances where their experiences sharply contrasted from the broader experience of non-Jewish German immigrants and the streams in which they participated.
