I'm interested in knowing the Southern state in the USA that contains the largest amount of people that claim German ancestry.
Any feedback will be much appreciated.
I'm interested in knowing the Southern state in the USA that contains the largest amount of people that claim German ancestry.
Any feedback will be much appreciated.
In answering your question, look up "THE GERMAN TEXAN" on the net..Outstanding that they state that 17% of the people living in Texas claim German as their nationality with the census...What state can beat that?Originally Posted by Bollwerk
„Friend of Germanics”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_AmericanCalifornia and Texas have the largest populations of German origin
I also found a map with percentages, although it's a bit blurry:
„Friend of Germanics”
Remember, not all of those German-Americans are 100% German. I show up as German on these maps but my German ancestry is only about 16-17%. California would have the most persons claiming German ancestry. Texas, which is just as much Western as Southern, would have the highest number in the South. The states in the North-Central region are much more psarcely populated, Minnesota & Wisconsin having about 5 million each, North Dakota & South Dakota each having less then 1 million.
True. So which is the question? The title says 'Southern State With Most Germans' but the question in the OP is which state in the USA contains the largest amount of people that claim German ancestry. The two are not equivalent. Don't confuse German-American for German. Some German-American societies accept Negroes with a German-speaking ancestor.
I'm curious why are Russian-Germans and Pennsylvania Germans excluded from the German-American label. I can see why Austrians, Swiss and Luxemburgers are excluded, even though they have German culture and language, because they come from different countries. But Russian-Germans and the Pennsylvania Germans originally came from Germany, didn't they?
I'm assuming because they're individualized groups. The Pennsylvania Germans have their own dialect and customs which differ from others and they identify as an isolated group. They should be considered subgroups though. And some people confuse them for Dutch.
That depends on which source you read some say that Pennsylvania Germans are not Germans but Dutch which is incorrect. Many Pennsylvania Germans are in fact Swiss decent. There are whole communities were the people are of German decent. In the past people in America did not marry outside their own ethnic group. Now it seems just the opposite and those German, Swiss, Dutch, Swedish, etc are becoming homogenized.
There are other factors as well besides the "Great Melting Pot" slogan. During the Great Depression and after WWII there was a huge shift in America from the rural areas to urban areas. IMO I believe that it is easier and more accepted for people to mix with different ethnic groups in a large urban environment. Thus people end up not identifying with their ethnic groups.
Last edited by SpearBrave; Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 at 11:29 PM. Reason: spelling
Thanks to all of the forum members that replied so quickly.
Even though the Austrian, Swiss, Volga Germans, Transylvanian Germans, etc... living in America are not from Germany proper, should they not still be classed as German ancestry, since they speak German dialects and have a Germanic culture ?
Since you put it that way, yes what I meant to ask was more properly what Southern State has the largest percentage of people belonging to the German-Ancestry category.True. So which is the question? The title says 'Southern State With Most Germans' but the question in the OP is which state in the USA contains the largest amount of people that claim German ancestry. The two are not equivalent. Don't confuse German-American for German. Some German-American societies accept Negroes with a German-speaking ancestor.
Can I change the wording of the thread to reflect this ?
Netherlands & Flanders
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