German Americans
By:Mady
What you will learn
In this smore you will learn all about the German Americans.
Why did the Germans come to the U.S.?
The Germans came to the U.S. because a lot of people fought over land and religion. Most people started to look for safer places to live such as North America.
Where did they settle?
A lot of Germans settled in places that look like Germany such as Pennsylvania. Others went to places that weren't like Germany such as Texas and California because they wanted a change. Some didn't even get to pick where they went. They made most of these settlements in the mid 1800's.
What is a tradition that they brought with them?
A tradition that they brought with them is Christmas trees. The first Christmas tree decorated in the U.S. was in 1821. It was in Pennsylvania. They decorated it in food when they had no lights. A German named Thomas Nast the first Santa clause in a cartoon in the 1880's.
Christmas tree
How where their first years in America ?
Their first years in America were not that good because they didn't have much space in houses. They were usually only one room. In the country in the later days they would live in box cars and when not in the so later days they would live in sod houses. In the city they had more money so they bought small houses or appartments.
Fun facts
- German thought education was very important
- Some children work instead of going to school to earn money for the family
- Sometimes where there were a lot of Germans they would teach in German language instead of English
- There are 50 million German people they are the largest ancestry group ahead of Irish Americans, African Americans, and English Americans
- The first arrivals were mostly farmers who would look food good farming land that would pay
My recipe Apfelpfannkuchen (apple pancakes)
- Ingredients
- Flour 2/3 cup
- Sugar 2 tsp
- Salt 1/4 tsp
- Eggs 4 lg
- Milk 1/2 cup
- Apple slices 2 cup
- Butter 3/4 cup
- Sugar 2 tbsp
- Cinnamon 1/4 tsp
- How it's made
- Sift together the flower, 2 tsp of sugar and 1/4 cup of salt. Beat the eggs and milk together. Gradually add flour mixture; beat until smooth. Saute apples in 1/4 cup of butter until tender. Mix 2 tsp of sugar and 1/4 cup of cinnamon together; toss with apples. Melt 2 tsp of butter in a 6 inch diameter, deep frying pan. Pour in the batter to a depth of about 1/4 inch. When set, place 1/4 of the apples on top; cover with more batter. Fry pancake until lightly browned on both sides. Repeat the procedure 3 times, until all batter and apples are used . Serve whenever!