German-American Day (german: Deutsch-Amerikanischer Tag) is a holiday in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, observed annually on October 6 under . It celebrates

German-American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

heritage and commemorates the founding of

Germantown Germantown or German Town may refer to: Places Australia * Germantown, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region United States * Germantown, California, the former name of Artois, a census-designated place in Glenn County * Ger ...

, Pennsylvania (now part of Philadelphia) in 1683.

History

The founding of Germantown on October 6, 1683, was to provide the date for German-American Day, though "a number of" the first thirteen

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

and

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

families in Germantown came from the Netherlands; until 1710, according to linguist Nicoline van der Sijs, "Germantown remained predominantly Dutch". The town was nevertheless named Germantown, as the direct vicinity of the settlement was inhabited by fifty-four German families who had accompanied

Johan Printz Johan * Johan (given name) * ''Johan'' (film), a 1921 Swedish film directed by Mauritz Stiller * Johan (band), a Dutch pop-group ** ''Johan'' (album), a 1996 album by the group * Johan Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada * Jo-Han, a manu ...

to the Swedish settlement on the Delaware several years earlier and had resettled themselves. These families subsequently founded Germantown, Pennsylvania, which, due to greater numbers, would subsequently be dominated by Germans within a generation, thanks in part to the efforts of

Caspar Wistar Caspar Wistar may refer to: * Caspar Wistar (glassmaker) (1696–1752), Pennsylvania glassmaker and landowner * Caspar Wistar (physician) Caspar Wistar (September 13, 1761January 22, 1818) was an American physician and anatomist. He is sometim ...

. In 1688, the inhabitants organized the first petition in the English colonies to abolish slavery. Originally known under the rubric of "German Day", the holiday was celebrated for the first time in Philadelphia in 1883, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the founding; similar celebrations developed later in other parts of the country. The custom died out during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a result of the war, but the holiday was revived in 1983 in

joint resolution In the United States Congress, a joint resolution is a legislative measure that requires passage by the Senate and the House of Representatives and is presented to the President for their approval or disapproval. Generally, there is no legal differ ...

108. Senator

Richard G. Lugar Richard Green Lugar (April 4, 1932 – April 28, 2019) was an American politician who served as a United States Senate, United States Senator from Indiana from 1977 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republica ...

( R–

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

) introduced the bill on April 8, 1987.

Observances

In 1983, President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

proclaimed October 6 as German-American Day to celebrate and honor the 300th anniversary of German immigration to and culture in the United States. On August 6, 1987, Congress approved S.J. Resolution 108, designating October 6, 1987, as German-American Day. It became when President Reagan signed it on August 18. A proclamation (# 5719) to this effect was issued on October 2, 1987, by President Reagan in a formal ceremony in the

White House Rose Garden The White House Rose Garden is a garden bordering the Oval Office and the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C., United States. The garden is approximately 125 feet long and 60 feet wide ( by , or about 684m²). It balances the Jacquel ...

, at which time the President called on Americans to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. Presidents since then have continued to make proclamations to observe German-American Day.Alt URL
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References

Citations

Sources

External links

German-American Heritage Foundation of the USA in Washington, DCGerman-American National CongressMotion picture film of ceremonies
held in Hindenburg Park in Los Angeles, California, on German Day, 1936, from the Hoover Institution Archives. {{Authority control German-American culture German-American history Public holidays in the United States Recurring events established in 1986 October observances Germantown, Philadelphia