German Influence in the United StatesLike this list

12 items

• Germans in America

  a Concise History

  Kamphoefner, Walter D.,

  Add Germans in America to your for later shelf

  Germans immigrated to the United States in large numbers in the 19th century, bringing their culture and ideas with them. Despite facing persecution in the 20th century, their influence continues to be felt in the United States today.

• Indelible Ink

  the Trials of John Peter Zenger and the Birth of America's Free Press

  Kluger, Richard,

  Add Indelible Ink to your for later shelf

  Born in Western Germany in 1697, John Peter Zenger immigrated to New York in 1710. He started publishing The New York Weekly Journal in 1733 and used the paper to voice opinions critical of the colonial governor. He was eventually charged with…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Drillmaster of Valley Forge

  the Baron De Steuben and the Making of the American Army

  Lockhart, Paul Douglas, 1963-

  Add The Drillmaster of Valley Forge to your for later shelf

  Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, also known as Baron von Steuben, was a Prussian Army officer who was appointed Inspector General of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He instituted numerous reforms that greatly improved the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Hessians

  German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War

  Baer, Friederike,

  Add Hessians to your for later shelf

  Hessians were German soldiers hired by the British to fight in several wars, including the Revolutionary War. They were widely known and feared for their discipline and fighting ability. Thousands of Hessians that were either captured or deserted…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• John Jacob Astor

  America's First Multimillionaire

  Madsen, Axel

  Add John Jacob Astor to your for later shelf

  John Jacob Astor was born in Germany in 1763. He immigrated first to England in 1779 and then to the United States 1783. He made a fortune in the fur trade and was the richest person in the U.S. when he died. The Astor family would remain one of the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• H.J. Heinz

  a Biography

  Skrabec, Quentin R.

  Add H.J. Heinz to your for later shelf

  The son of German immigrants, Henry John Heinz was born in Pennsylvania in 1844. At age 25 he began making and selling bottled horseradish using his mother’s recipe, quickly expanding his product line to include ketchup among many other things. By…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Levi Strauss

  the Man Who Gave Blue Jeans to the World

  Downey, Lynn, 1954-

  Add Levi Strauss to your for later shelf

  Born in Bavaria in 1829, Levi Strauss came to the United States in 1847 with his family, where his brother established a successful dry goods store. He was sent to San Francisco to establish a branch of the business in 1853 to capitalize on the gold…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• We Are the Revolutionists

  German-speaking Immigrants & American Abolitionists After 1848

  Honeck, Mischa, 1976-

  Add We Are the Revolutionists to your for later shelf

  The Forty-Eighters were Europeans who fled one of the numerous failed revolutions that swept the continent in 1848 and 1849. German Forty-Eighters settled in the United States in large numbers in Texas, Ohio, and Wisconsin, establishing an…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Transatlantic Kindergarten

  Education and Women's Movements in Germany and the United States

  Allen, Ann Taylor, 1944-

  Add The Transatlantic Kindergarten to your for later shelf

  The concept and practice of caring for and educating young children was first developed in Germany and brought to the United States and other countries by German immigrants. The word “kindergarten” itself is a German one, loosely translated at…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• An Infuriating American

  the Incendiary Arts of H.L. Mencken

  Crowther, Hal,

  Add An Infuriating American to your for later shelf

  Descended from German immigrants, Henry Louis Mencken spent most of his life in Baltimore’s German-American community and primarily spoke German as a child. He would work variously as a journalist, newspaper editor, linguist, and cultural critic.…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Hannah Arendt

  Hill, Samantha Rose,

  Add Hannah Arendt to your for later shelf

  Born in Germany in 1906, Hannah Arendt came to the United States in 1941 after escaping the Nazi occupation of France, where she had lived since 1933 after fleeing the growing antisemitism in Germany. She became one of the most influential…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Operation Paperclip

  the Secret Intelligence Program That Brought Nazi Scientists to America

  Jacobsen, Annie

  Add Operation Paperclip to your for later shelf

  After World War II ended, the United States brought over 1,000 German engineers, scientists, and technicians to the country to work for the U.S. government on Cold War initiatives. This secret intelligence program was code named Operation Paperclip…Read moreRead more of this annotation