Teacher's Guide for COBBLESTONE ^® German Americans

sects * Holy Roman Empire * flax * dialect * tributaries * secular * synod * linguistic * freethinkers * entrepreneurs * game * naturalist * millwright * bilingual * abolitionists * martial law * partisan * vandalizing * battalion * Anglo American * retribution * husking * courting * crocks * assimilated * alien * barbaric * Huns * treasonous * laud * naturalized * interned * redress * libel * dry goods * patent

Since 1608, when several Germans settled at Jamestown, Germans have been an important group in American history. Have students create a timeline of the Germans in America. Depending on the layout of your classroom, you may wish to have the students write their information on index cards and use clothes pins to attach the cards in chronological order to a length of clothesline, yarn, or ribbon stretched between two hooks or use masking tape or poster putty to affix their cards in chronological order to a wall. A chronology of the Germans in America is available online at http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/european/imde/germchro.html or in some books about German Americans.

Today German Americans are the largest single immigrant group in the United States. More Americans can claim German ancestry than any other ethnic heritage. Have students explore the first German community in your state.

1. Who founded the community?
2. When was it founded?
3. Why was it settled?
4. Have the names of the founders lived on and in what way?
5. Does the area remain German today?

The German American Events Calendar available online at www.germancorner.com/events may help you and your students locate festivals and German American activities and communities in your area.

Have students imagine that they are German immigrants who have settled in the United States, perhaps in the first German community in your state.

1. Where have they chosen to settle?
2. Why there?
3. What is the year?
4. How are they making their living?
5. What is important to them as Germans in America? For example, some Germans farmed, others ran breweries and bakeries. Many Germans came to America for religious freedom.

Have students write a letter sharing news of their new home in America with their friends and family in Germany.

Can your students identify any German influences in your own community, town, city or state today?

Many of the Germans who came to America valued religious freedom. Although the Peace of Augsburg (1555) recognized both Lutheranism and Catholicism, other religious groups remained the subject of prejudice and persecution. The Thirty Years' War (1618 - 1648) made life in Germany intolerable for many who were not Catholic or Lutheran. An overview of the German religious groups who came to America is available online at http://anabaptists.org/history/ss8001.html.

Have students learn more about one of the religious groups who immigrated to America from Germany in search of religious freedom. These groups include: the Amish, Mennonites, the Moravian Church, the Schwenkfelders, and the Brethren. You and your students may find the May 1999 issue of CALLIOPE^® Martin Luther (Reformation Europe) 1483 - 1546 and the November 1987 issue of COBBLESTONE^® The Amish helpful.

You may wish to have students compare the German religious groups by filling out the following chart.

• Information on the Brethren can be found online at http://etext.virginia.edu/~jkh8x/soc257/nrms/brethren.html
• Information about the Amish is available online at www.religioustolerance.org/amish.htm and http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/amish.html
• The following web site provides information about the Mennonites: http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/mennonites.html
• Information about the Moravian Church is available online at www.moravian.org/history/, http://users.erols.com/fmoran/morav.html, and http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/Moravian.html
• The following web sites provide information about the Schwenkfelders: www.centralschwenkfelder.com/history.htm and www.schwenkfelder.com/who_are_the_schwenkfelders.htm

	The Brethren	Amish	Mennonite	Moravian Church	Schwenk-felders
Founder
Year Founded
Where Founded
Other Names
Emphasis
American Settlement
Year of American Settlement
Nickname
Contact with Outside World
Dress
Principle Language
Education
Current Divisions
Sacred Texts
Number of Members
Principle Beliefs
Role of Women

What similarities do your students see in the German religious groups? What conclusions can they draw about Germany and how Germans viewed America?

In addition to seeking religious freedom, a number of German immigrants sought to develop ideal communities that stressed what was best for humanity and did away with the evils of society like poverty. These communities were primarily agricultural with the land sometimes being held by the community rather than the individual. You and your students may wish to learn more about these German communities.

Ephrata, Pennsylvania began as a religious community called the Cloisters in the early 1700s. Information about Ephrata and the Cloister is available online at www.phmc.state.pa.us/bhsm/toh/ephrata/ephratacloister.asp?secid=14 and www.ephrataboro.org/ataglance.

Harmony, Pennsylvania was founded by the Harmony Society under the direction of George Rapp. When the Harmonists (or Rappites) could not buy more land in the area and they had trouble with their neighbors, Rapp and several others set off to find a new town. They found it in Indiana in another community they named Harmony. Later they returned to Pennsylvania and founded a town named Economy. They sold Harmony, Indiana to Robert Owen who changed its name to New Harmony. A number of "firsts" occurred in New Harmony: the country's first kindergarten, first free public school, and first school with equal education for boys and girls. Information about these communities are available online at www-lib.iupui.edu/kade/newharmony/oldeconomy-pa.html and www-lib.iupui.edu/kade/newharmony/harmony-pa.html.

Zoar, Ohio began as a religious refuge that operated as a community of common goods and earnings. Your students can learn more about this village at www.zca.org/history.html.

The Community of True Inspiration established the community of Ebenezer, New York. All property was held in common. The community prospered and grew. Leaders searched for new land and founded the new community of Amana, Iowa. Six more villages followed. Each had its own school, and industries that made it self-sufficient. The communal way of life ended in 1932 when the people voted to create the Amana Church Society to direct their faith and the Amana Society to oversee their business ventures. Information about Amana, Iowa is available online at www.jeonet.com/amanas/historical/low_historical.html and www.amanaheritage.org/history.html.

Have students work in small teams to design their own utopian communities.

1. How will they organize their communities?
2. Will the people own the land and buildings in common or will each person own separate land and houses?
3. Will the people in these communities share a common history, background, and religion?Will religious be a major component of these communities?
4. How will people in these communities make their livings?
5. How can these communities stay viable in the future?

Have students design a brochure to entice friends and relatives back in Germany to join them in their ideal community.

Many different religious groups immigrated to eastern Pennsylvania. Those settlers who were more worldly than the Amish and Mennonites were called "fancy." They placed painted signs on their homes and barns. These signs are referred to as Hex Signs. Have students create their own Hex Sign by drawing a design on a paper plate and then filling it in with markers. They can design their Hex Sign by taking into consideration the meaning of the colors and shapes typically used by the Pennsylvania Dutch. Explanations of these colors and shapes are available online at http://folkart.com/hex/make.htm.

Home

Back

Print

Updated: 11/21/09 01:06 am
Log In