European Emigration to the U.S. 1861 - 1870



The growing population of Prussia and the independent German states outstripped the available land. Industrialization could not provide decent-paying jobs, and political rights were limited. Dissatisfied with the lack of land and opportunity, many Germans left.

Background
Many Germans were fed up with the lack of opportunity and the denial of political and civil rights in some German states, particularly after the failure of the revolutions of 1848. During the peak period from roughly 1860-90, there were only three years in which Germans were not the largest nationality among new arrivals in America. All told, five million Germans came to the United States in the 19th century, and today more Americans consider themselves of German ancestry than any other group.

The Beer King. Adolphus Busch, from Hesse, Germany, set up a brewery in 1866 with his brother-in-law, Eberhard Anheuser.


Source: Destination America by Charles A. Wills