Kultur 1: How German Is American

Regarding the German roots of many parts of America is an interesting concept. In the first few pages I quickly found out that my county in Michigan had one of the most densely populated areas of Germanic people per square mile that most of Michigan as a whole. That does explain the fact that I have ancestors originating from Germany. As from the census in 2000, many people can say the same as me.

However, Americans have seemed to lose sight of where they truly originated from. Even though many say they are of German heritage, some of the population is simply making a new standing for their roots as being American. As the booklet describes, many of the German people that came to america were drawn to a certain financial security and the promise of an entire untouched frontier for possibility. The movement into America created a strong culture for the immigrants themselves to prosper in. But throughout this reading, it seems these cultural areas of the united states have been lost in time for true identity of oneself.

One such example of this was the mention of the American Oktoberfest. This fall event isn't about the ethnic pride of Germans, but more of a presentation of the product of German culture in the United States. Another such example of German influence is the city of New Glarus in Wisconsin. This city has roots of German ancestry, but celebrates German heritage as if it is their own, even though many of its residents are not of German (or Swiss) descent. To be completely fair, the German influence on America was great, but people have lost true value of being German decedent, and continue to indulge in what the culture left behind.