Review of "Germans in Wisconsin," state historical society of Wisconsin

 Review of

Germans in Wisconsin, state historical society of Wisconsin

Five out of five stars

Excellent synopsis of one aspect of immigration

 There are two important points made in this small pamphlet. The first is that the immigration into the United States from Germany took place in three relatively distinct waves, and the point of origin was also largely distinct. The first took place in 1850-1855, the second from 1865 to 1875 and the third from roughly 1880 to 1890. In the first, the primary point of origin was the southwestern section of the German states, for the second, it was the northwest section and the third, the point of departure was the northeast section.

 The second point is that for the first two waves, the modern state of Germany did not as yet exist. It was a very complicated collection of states ruled by a hierarchy of royalty and other privileged classes. The various sections of what was to become the united state of Germany also had quite different backgrounds, customs and dialects of language.

 Much of the rest of the material will be very familiar to people knowledgeable about immigration into the United States from Europe. Some groups left their homeland as a religious community while others came as a result of original emissaries arriving, getting established and then sending for the balance of their group.

 While there is not enough space to go into great detail, this is an excellent primer on the people that left Germany and settled in Wisconsin.