From Europe to North Dakota: From Europe to North Dakota: German-American legacy Part2

Where they settled, what they did.

Germans, like other immigrant groups, settled with other speakers of their language from the area of their birth, where they felt at home away from home. They settled in areas where farm land was reasonably priced, and where churches and schools already existed. While there were attempts to form a new German state in the colonies, such as in Texas in the 1840s, none came into fruition. The majority of Germans in the 19th century settled in the states of Ohio Missouri, Michigan to North Dakota through Nebraska. Craftsmen went to the cities of Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Louisville, St. Louis and Chicago, as well as the already well-established cities of New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. The southern states held no attraction for German immigrants following the Civil War, though several state governments had established agencies to attract immigrants.

Skilled craftspeople formed the largest group of German immigrants in any given period. Germans became high profile businessmen and shopkeepers, skilled laborers in rural and urban settings. Fields such as breweries, watchmakers, distillers, and land surveyors were almost exclusively filled by Germans. They also became bakers and butchers, cabinet makers, shoe makers, tailors blacksmiths, typesetters, and printers. Young women from Germany often worked as domestic servants in English-speaking households, which also led to greater assimilation.