Every sixth American has German ancestors [1]
In 2000 census, approximately 43 million Americans (15.2% of population) were reported to have German ancestors. Germany was the most frequently announced country of origin at that time, followed by Ireland (10.8% of population) and African (8.8% of population). In 1990 even 23% Americans were reported to be German origin. This change from 23% in 1990 census to 15.2% in 2000 census, can be explained by the fact that many Americans in 2000 census chose the categories of North-European or West-European, instead of declaring German as their exact origin.
The first American immigrants from Germany followed an invitation from William Penn [2] in 1683. They came from Krefeld [3] in Rheinland and took 73 days long travel to found the city of Germantown (now a part of Philadelphia) [4]. Between 1850 and 1934, 5 million people came to the USA via Hamburg, including many Germans. With the help of Hamburger internet initiative “Link to your roots”, the descendants of many emigrants can find Information on the emigration of their ancestors.
[1]. Translated by me from: p. 358. Jeder sechste Amerikaner hat deutsche Vorfahren. Stationen. Ein Kursbuch für die Mittelstufe. 3rd Edition. Prisca Augustyn & Nikolaus Euba. Cengage Learning. USA. 2015
[2]. William Penn. 10/24/1644 – 8/10/1718. Writer, religious thinker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Penn
[3]. Krefeld. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krefeld
[4]. Germantown. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germantown,_Philadelphia
