In 1990 the U.S. Census Bureau reported that 57,985,595 people in the
United States claimed some measure of German ancestry. This makes up
almost a quarter of the U.S. population. German immigration started as early
as 1607. The first three Germans to migrate to the U.S. were, F.Unger, H.
Keffer, and F. Volday who were followers of Captain John Smith who settled
in Jamestown, Virginia. They started the first German colony, known as the
"damned dutch." From 1820-1970 they estimated about 6.9 million Germans
came to the U.S. which were 15% of the total immigrants. The peak years of
migration were 1854, when 215,000 people arrived, and 1882, when 250,000
people arrived. Approximately 90 percent of all the people leaving Germany
between 1835 and 1910 came to the United States. World Wars I and II
interrupted the immigration of Germans to America. After World War I
immigration picked up again from bad economic conditions in Germany, but
during World War II there were immigration restrictions placed on Germans.
The Germans emigrated to the U.S. for different reasons being that
German immigrants were the most diverse in background of all major
immigrant groups. The availability of land and the desire for religious
freedom drew the first Germans to America.
Germans were victims of overpopulation in the wine growing regions.
This caused too much competition for land and jobs. Plus the land wasn't too
fertile, and the harsh winter of 1708-1709 forced people to leave. The taxes
were high, and the people couldn't afford to pay. America was often
advertised in Germany as "In America everything is great!" It was true to
people looking for a lot of fertile land for not a lot of money. In 1829, a
German named Gottfried Duden, who had spent three years living in
Missouri, published a report praising the new land, where food and property
were cheap...