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German immigrants in the Chicago area

This might be the case because they were caught in the conflicts between Prussia and Denmark in , Prussia and Austria in and Germany and France in Up until most of the Germans came from northern Germany. In Prussia held by far the highest percentage of German immigrants.


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The population totaled 24, which represented After the decision to emigrate from Germany, the travelers were confronted with many problems. The fact that they had to leave their family and friends, their customs and their home was hard enough on those who decided to leave. Had they known how fatiguing the trip to the United States would be, they might have decided differently.

The price of admission to the U. The trip was horrible, especially before the invention of the steamboat in the s. Before that, the trip lasted between 40 and 60 days. With the use of steamboats the length of the trip was reduced to about 17 days. The duration was not the only problem. Many people died because the ships were overcrowded.

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When the mortality rate became too high to ignore, Congress enforced some laws for the protection of the immigrants in One law included the stipulation that at least two tons of space had to be available for every immigrant and that companies had to give them food and ventilation.

After the mortality rate sank drastically but it still was very high. After the arrival by ship the problems for the immigrants did not stop. To get from the seaport to, for example, Chicago they had to travel on immigrant trains, which, of course, were overcrowded. On the way, the immigrants were financially exploited because the train had many unnecessary stops, making it necessary for them to stay at hotels.

Even railroad officials often made some money on them by making them pay very high ticket prices, baggage charges and unfair exchange rates. The only help they could get was from the German Aid Society, which was founded to protect immigrants from exploitation. The Society became very successful and helped thousands of people by helping them to find jobs and housing. Today the group tries to preserve the German- American culture. Many immigrants never found the life that they had hoped for. Some decided to return to Germany, to their old lives in poverty but with their family and friends.

Especially during the Depression in the s many decided to emigrate. The actual figures for these years are that 14, immigrated but 17, emigrated. Another reason, named mainly by the newspapers was the Prohibition Law. They did not all emigrate voluntarily. Some had to leave because they had committed crimes or there were other reasons as to why the U. Geschichte Europa - and. Politics - International Politics - Topic: Politik - Internationale Politik - Thema: Public International Law and Human Rights.

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I Went to Chicago with Germans!

The Pig and the Skyscraper. The Germans of Chicago. Welche gesellschaftlichen und historischen Wurzeln hat der Euroskep Chancen und Risiken des Brexit. Die Masseneinwanderung hochqualifizierter Immigranten aus der ehema Polish Immigrants in the USA. Immigration Policy in the USA. Those of German descent were the largest ethnic group of Chicago from until the turn of the century. German immigration decreased in the 20th century due to increases in the German economy and new restrictions on immigration.

In there were , people born in Germany living in Chicago; this was the peak number of German-born people in Chicago. The lower numbers were because of a reluctance to report German ancestry due to anti-German sentiment from World War I and because of reduced immigration from Germany.

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After this percentage decreased. Historically the bulk of Chicago's Germans lived in the North Side with the center of the German population being Lakeview. There were smaller numbers in the South Side that worked mainly in meatpacking.


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Heinen and Susan Barton Heinen, authors of Lost German Chicago , stated that in the s some "vestiges" of the South Side German community remained but otherwise it had "quickly dispersed" in the 20th century. In the s and s most of Chicago's German immigration originated from the estates in rural northeast Germany in places such as Mecklenburg , Pomerania , and Prussia. Most German immigration in the s and s came from the middle part of the country.

The Protestant population was smaller. According to Christiane of the Encyclopedia of Chicago , they "were more outspoken on political and community issues. The Goethe-Institut Chicago is located in downtown Chicago and offers cultural programs, German language courses and exams. In the 19th century many Chicago Germans became involved in antislavery abolition movements.

Germans in Chicago - Wikipedia

In the late 19th century Chicago many Germans were involved in anarchist-radical politics. At that time German Americans were the primary leaders of the Socialist Labor Party and by it was essentially a German-speaking group. German was one of the organization's two official languages used in its meetings. German Americans disproportionately made up a those who did the Haymarket Riot. Several factors caused German American involvement in radical politics to cease by the 20th century. In the s and s the living standards of German Americans had improved, making them better than those in Germany.

In addition, agitators and radical emigrant editors stopped coming to Chicago because Bismarck repealed Germany's anti-socialist laws. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

German immigrants in the Chicago area

Retrieved on May 4, The German Forty-Eighters in America. University of Pennsylvania Press, ; pg. Southern Illinois University Press,