Transnational Identities: Perspectives on the Nation in Regard to Immigration 1845-1855 December 2010 Scott Abel The nineteenth century

witnessed immigration on an immense scale with millions of the disaffected and poor departing for new lands across the sea. The immigrants who departed Europe in between 1845 and 1855 to the United States altered their national identity to no longer being quite European, but also not fully American yet. The immigrants transnational identity reflected their willingness to forsake their old national identity yet recognize that elements of their identity remained tied to their old homeland. This essay will examine the lack of nostalgia and the formation of new identities by going through primary accounts of immigration while using the framework of Peter Fritzsches Stranded in the Present by examining multiple ethnic identities as Americans. The Irish felt little pride in their role as British subjects or nostalgia for their old lives because of famine forced them out of their home. Germans departing their homeland for the United States in the aftermath of 1848 felt little nostalgia for some fanciful perception of their old nations past through history or folk stories like Grimms fairytales. The United States gave asylum to many immigrants seeking a new home, altering it into a more pluralistic society. The French migrs, nostalgic about their former glory, were the exception, not the rule in regard to immigrants, whereas most emigrants held few nostalgic or nationalistic feelings toward living in their old country. Ultimately, the German and Irish immigrants from 1845 to 1855 who remained in the United States held little nostalgia for the history of their old states and simply wanted to start a new life in the United States, forging a new national identity in the process.

From the shores of Ireland came the starving Irish Catholics no longer willing to be subjects of the English Queen Victoria. A written report known as the Longford Letter to John OConnell, Member of Parliament for Kilkenny, revealed the devastation to Ireland and emaciation of the Irish resulting from the dreadful famine. The author, Alexander Somerville, toured Ireland to report on the crushing poverty experienced by the Irish people summing up his experiences in a letter dated March 5, 1847. Somerville focused on the humanitarian aspects of the suffering of the Irish people but also the failings of utilitarian ideals. Seven men worked a field of three acres but were so hungry and weak, yet doing the work of one healthy man. Somerville followed one of the men to his hovel, finding him so weak he could barely stand on his feet and realized that the oldlooking man was middle-aged man suffering from malnutrition.1 Somerville depicted the failure of utilitarianism through this man by showing that even when men worked for his food, the deficiency of nutrition received in exchange for his labor. The amount of suffering farm tenants experienced certainly resulted in many Irish departing home. Somerville discovered that the man was a husband and a father living with his family in a small impoverished hovel. The family of eight lived in squalor with barely enough food to survive and was far too hungry to work. This family was among the best paid on the estate but spent all their money on food, leaving no money left for fuel to their home. The situation must have been worse for the rest of the estate given that the rent was the same for all the families on the estate. Somerville criticized the Protestant landlords for exploiting the hapless tenants, while the tenants listen about the politicians

"The Longford Letter," Immigration and Multiculturalism: Essential Primary Sources, Ed. K. Lee Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, and Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner (Detroit: Gale, 2006), 40-43. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 Dec. 2010.

who condemned their oppression, yet acted on no feasible plan to tackle the poverty. In the Irish Parliament, the landowners neglected the needs of the poor tenants for fear of damaging their own interests. The Protestant landowners legislated against the Catholic tenants as part of a policy of religious persecution.2 The impoverished Irish tenants had little reason to remain in Ireland given the apathy of their government, religious persecution, and the extreme starvation. Given the condition of the Irish farmers and the insufficient response by the government, the famine nearly destroyed the cohesiveness of Irish society, forcing many Irish individuals and families to depart. Migrating to the United States provided religious rights as part of the constitution, along with the possibility of getting fairer wages. In Poor Pat Must Emigrate, an anonymous poet wrote in 1847 about leaving Ireland and placed blame directly on England for Irelands troubles. Low wages coupled with the high rent and taxes forced the starving Irishman off his land to the life of a beggar. Once the horrors of the famine of struck, people died en masse and decomposed without burial shrouds or coffins given the extreme poverty. Although the poet respected Ireland itself, he believed that being a part of Great Britain and oppressed its government caused the suffering of its people. He specifically cited 1189 as the year Ireland fell to the Normans, as the root of the Irishs misfortunes and believed that an independent Ireland would not have such problems. Despite such respect for the island, the author noted that men and women gladly departed for America in hope for a better life with little intention of returning.3 Having witnessed the death of many people and not being able to
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"The Longford Letter," Immigration and Multiculturalism, 40-43. "Poor Pat Must Emigrate," Immigration and Multiculturalism: Essential Primary Sources, Ed. K. Lee Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, and Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner, (Detroit: Gale, 2006), 36-38. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 Dec. 2010.
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feed themselves forced many Irishmen and women to depart Ireland in search of a new life. The migration, though driven by the famine, certainly had a political aspect to it that drained any nationalistic nostalgia toward Great Britain and rather led to a level of animosity toward their former kingdom. The bards mournful poem emphasized the loss of hope toward a better life in Ireland, choosing instead to abandon Ireland for the United States. Fritzsche cited the Irish and Scottish bard as the preserver of their identity for their own cultures from before occupation to hope for autonomy or the establishment of a collective British identity.4 The anonymous bard mentioned earlier did not glorify pre-conquest Ireland, nor did he place an epic solidifying the United Kingdom. The poem showed an author drained of any hope for a better Ireland, leaving such improvement to divine forces. Instead, the poet and many other Irish left the docks in search of a new life in America with little will to return to their native land.5 The departing Irish possessed little nostalgia for living under the thumb of landlords and emigrated for a new life distant from the historic landmarks of Great Britains past. The bard remembered the suffering of his native land and expressed willingness to transit the Atlantic toward a new and unfamiliar home in America. Having lost hope in Ireland the poet could be apart of a new national identity. Even if Fritzsche made a better argument regarding historic preservation and the glorification of the nation, it would not have been sufficient regarding the feelings of Irish emigrants toward Great Britain. Stranded in the Present neglected Great Britains greatest Napoleonic naval hero and his effect on British nationalism, which would have strengthened his argument greatly. Fritzsche noted the effect of soldiers marching and
4

Peter Fritzsche, Stranded in the Present: Modern Time and the Melancholy of History, (Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2004), 133-135. 5 "Poor Pat Must Emigrate," Immigration and Multiculturalism, 36-38.

drilling in Great Britain on nationalism,6 but neglected the long term consequences of the Napoleonic Wars on the nation or give sufficient mention to the nations naval heroes. Fritzsche stated that the historical perspective developed concepts of the relationship between the individual and the nation spurred by the loss of historical monuments and institutions.7 The death of Viscount Horatio Nelson at Trafalgar in battle and other naval heroes in the war against the Napoleonic forces resulted in the glorification of the Age of Sail with its heroes. Nelsons flagship, HMS Victory, became a symbol of Great Britain, resulting in its preservation as a historic monument, which contributed to British national pride. The Irish bard stated that despite the numerous Irishmen who served in the royal

military, the crown insufficiently rewarded the Irish people for their military service. The bard specifically mentioned the capture of Delhi and the pursuit of Nenah Sahib to avenge the death of British civilians at his hands.8 The martial accomplishments of Irish in the British monarchs military failed to inspire pride and nationalism within many of the Irish as they felt improperly rewarded for their many years of service to the crown. The anonymous bard implied that despite fighting for Great Britain in many wars, Irish would remain second-class citizens for years to come. Forced to leave Ireland through starvation and poverty, the Irish people placed the blame on the authorities for their suffering. As a result of the death caused by the famine, the sources mentioned revealed the Irish emigrants had few reasons to return to Ireland and hoped to make a new life in America. According to Carl Schurz, even the belligerently anti-England US Senator Shields of Illinois and formerly of Ireland, refused to compromise his zealotry and devotion to the United States because of his pride in his
6 7

Fritzsche, Stranded in the Present, 36. Fritzsche, Stranded in the Present, 7-8. 8 "Poor Pat Must Emigrate," Immigration and Multiculturalism, 36-38.

adopted nation.9 There was little nationalistic nostalgia for the previous years given the disproportionately-less representation of the Irish Catholic peasants interests in the halls of Great Britain. The Irish-Americans, though not willing to forget Ireland, understood their native land in a manner less conducive to nostalgia and British nationalism. The German immigrant became apart of another significant wave of immigration from Europe to the United States during this period directly resulting from unfavorable conditions in Europe and the promise of better conditions in the United States. Bogen, an author of an advice book for Germans in America, offered explanations for the reasons behind the massive migration from German states revolving around the search for political freedom and economic opportunity. The author placed the United States of America as a place for Germans to be free from despotic governments, excessive taxation, and subservience to the nobility or monopolistic firms. The United States, contrary to the German states, was not a police state as people could move freely with undue harassment from the authorities and had the right to express their political opinions regardless of the party in power. Bogen explained that immigrants had a wealth of opportunity given the natural resources and places to live within the United States. Immigrants of various professions could find work within the United States, whether the person be a farmer, an artisan, or a scholar.10 The United States offered a new life for German immigrants with opportunities unavailable for most in the German territories. Germans fleeing for political reasons possessed little reason to remain loyal to their native German states, making political allegiance toward the United States stronger.

Carl Schurz, The Autobiography of Carl Schurz, (New York: Charles Scribners Sons: 1961), 112. F. W. Bogen, The German in America: Advice and construction for German Emigrants in the United States of America, (New York: Koch, 1851), 7, 9.
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Bogen implored the German immigrants to assimilate an extent into American culture given the need to interact with English-speaking Americans. According to the author, to continue living as if one never left Germany was a grave mistake and assimilate to a significant degree permitted an immigrant to become a better citizen and wealthier individual. Bogen called upon Germans to learn the English language to integrate more effectively within the political system and become more economically important. Placing great emphasis on learning English, Bogen implored German immigrants to learn the local language to prevent them from becoming strangers in their own workplace and community. The author used his own personal experiences in an attempt to convince others to master English by explaining the difference between life speaking only German and a bilingual life. He explained that before mastering English, he felt forgotten and unhappy, but upon learning the language became more integrated into American society. The author became wealthier and could participate in national discourse, along with conversation with most Americans.11 Bogens experience and advice to other German immigrants displayed a longing for acceptance into the United States as an equal citizen to any other. The willingness to participate in American civil and social discourse exemplified a form of new nationalism based on appreciation of ideals over language and ethnicity. Integration possessed economic and political incentives that many immigrants refused to ignore. The German immigrant community, though generally appreciative of their new homeland, recognized that being foreign-born they could only integrate into the new society through hard work and learning the local customs. Bogen proclaimed, We are half Germans and half Americans, but no real Germans any more; explaining that the
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Bogen, The German in America, 11, 13, 15.

bonds with the German lands were broken, but Germans were not quite American because they could not understand the English language and therefore could not exercise their full political rights.12 The fusion of the two cultures permitted the German immigrants to maintain much of their heritage, while becoming Americans at the same time. Maintaining aspect of German identities remained important according to the author, who encouraged Germans to remember their mother-tongue.13 Bogen condemned the German political systems where birth determined the rulers and deployed armies to undermine the will of the people, preferring a system where Germans and Americans expressed their political beliefs without the basis of royalty or nobility.14 German immigrants considered themselves to be both German and American, but rarely remained loyal to the old German states while living in the United States as American citizens. The German community often kept its own customs but integrated into American society, creating a new identity with new political loyalties. Learning about American laws and history became an important part of creating new identity based on American history and political ideals. Bogen explained to German immigrants the importance George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, along with translating the US Constitution into German so immigrants could understand the government and their rights. The author glorified George Washington as a farsighted statesman, superb general and benevolent father of the nation. Benjamin Franklin, according to Bogen, was an en exemplifier of industry, honesty, and temperance.15 The promotion of American law and national legends showed an attempt to instill pride among Germans coming to America in their new country, which helped spread American
12 13

Bogen, The German in America, 17. Bogen, The German in America, 21. 14 Bogen, The German in America, 57. 15 Bogen, The German in America, 93, 155, 164.

nationalism to the new arrivals. Bogen used these historical characters to serve as role models for American ideals. The advice book to German immigrants was a part of a process that forged various ethnic groups into a new national identity using idealized historical figures to serve as role models for immigrants coming into the nation. Perhaps the most prominent example of a German immigrant coming to the United States and becoming a prominent patriot was Carl Schurz, who served his adoptive country in government. March 2, 1829 witnessed the birth of Carl Schurz in a castle outside Cologne, the son of teacher and the grandson of a peasant.16 Schurz wanted to become a professor of history with a focus on the Great Reformation, but his attitude changed in February 1848 with the expulsion of Louis Philippe and declaration of a new republic in France. Inspired by the revolution, Schurz became a supporter of a new liberal democratic republic and German unity, switching his focus to the history of the French Revolution. German-speaking people throughout Europe called for reforms and demonstrated in protest against the old order. Schurz took part in an armed uprising against royalist forces.17 Schurz exemplified a generation of Europeans tired of political oppression at the hands of monarchists. Ultimately, the rebellious idealists possessed few powerful friends in a Europe filled with well-established monarchies and illiberal policies, the United States remained one of the few nations where liberal democrats to expressed their ideals freely. Schurz continued the fight for a democratic and united Germany, but stood little chance against the Prussian military machine. Commanding a small ragtag militia unit, Schurz helped consolidate republican control over the Palatinate in the face of

16 17

Schurz, The Autobiography of Carl Schurz, 3, 6. Schurz, The Autobiography of Carl Schurz, 10-13, 17, 31-32.

conservative opposition. Despite initially successes, the Prussian Army trapped Schurz and his comrades during the siege of Rastatt, forcing the surrender of rebel-controlled fortress. Schurz escaped through the sewer systems and eventually made his way to Alsace.18 Without the support of any governments the rebels and their democratic principles had little chance of success regarding the establishment of a united democratic Germany. Having not quite given up on his cause, Schurz traveled throughout Europe studying history and military science. Traveling to Switzerland, Berlin, Edinburgh, London and Paris, Schurz found his cause hopeless and himself in a French jail at the request of the Prussia government.19 Europe gave him few options, becoming a professor was unlikely given his political background as a dissident and a democrat. If Schurz remained in Europe, there was little chance of him being able to a successful living either performing menial tasks or staying in prison. The United States offered him the most ideal place to exercise his political beliefs, while supporting his family. Carl Schurz decided, like many other Germans in those years, to sail to America and started a new life in a land that he had never visited. A month after getting married, Schurz departed Portsmouth, England in August 1852 to New York, the United States of America with intention of making that nation his new home. He traveled throughout the United States, visiting Pennsylvania where he met Quakers in Philadelphia as his first American acquaintances and the Amish, who surprised him by holding onto their German customs and language. When visiting Washington, DC, the lack of public structures and development disappointed Schurz, but nevertheless attempted to learn about the American political system and its various participants with special attention to the

18 19

Schurz, The Autobiography of Carl Schurz, 33, 36-37, 39, 43, 51-51. Schurz, The Autobiography of Carl Schurz, 55, 56, 91, 94, 95.

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senate.20 Although the United States did not meet his expectations in every matter, the politics of democracy certainly fascinated the recent German immigrant given the level of detail given in his autobiography to the various politicians. Assimilating into the new culture became important for immigrants like Schurz given their interest in the democratic process and willingness to become Americans. Traveling throughout the West, Schurz discovered various German communities that assimilated to a great degree into American culture, yet maintained a significant portion of their German heritage. In 1854, Schurz traveled west visiting the various German communities along the Mississippi River and its tributaries, noticing that most Germans were farmers, basic laborers, or tradesmen. He noted that most Germans were on the same socio-economic level with the recent Irish immigrants. In Wisconsin, Schurz found some other fellow refugees from the 1848 revolution, impressing him with their work ethic, along with their enthusiasm and loyalty to their new home. In order to vote for the Wisconsin state government, a good number of immigrants renounced their old political loyalties to become voters. The foreign-born developed their conscious overtime as an American citizen with a new national identity.21 These German immigrants showed a new loyalty to the United States, forging a new identity in the process from their German roots and newfound American conscious. The immigrants often retained their customs and language but forsook old political loyalties. Proclaiming loyalty to the United States was one thing, but Schurz proved his loyalty through his service in the US State Department and Union Army. Schurz campaigned on the behalf of Abraham Lincoln to the German-American community and

20 21

Schurz, The Autobiography of Carl Schurz, 106, 109-111. Schurz, The Autobiography of Carl Schurz, 121-127.

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received the position of US Ambassador to Spain in reward for his political service.22 Returning form his diplomatic post to Washington on March 6, 1862, one day after the Battle of Hampton Roads, he informed President Lincoln of his desire for a commission in the army to fight given. He felt guilty for letting others fight while he lived in comfort. He served in the Union Army, joining an army in the Shenandoah Valley in June 1862.23 Schurz and many other immigrants served their nation with distinction, proving their loyalty to their new homeland beyond any doubt. Years later in a meeting with Otto von Bismarck, Schurz defended democracy and his decision to become an American. Germans not interested in becoming Americans, such as a few of Schurzs friends from 1848, returned to Germany. Schurz explained that democracy was superior monarchy and the martial advantages of a monarchy regarding discipline only lasted for a short while given a democracys ability to adapt with experience. Feeling grateful for the benefits he received as an American, he considered himself an incurable democrat.24 Schurz demonstrated how a German-born immigrant became patriotic for his new nation, not out of nostalgic ideals, but out a consciously developed identity born out of democratic ideals and American traditions. Representing the German community, Schurz displayed his loyalty to his adopted nation through a collective German-American identity. Americans accepted, for the most part, the integration of immigrants as part of the American democracy, along with their general assimilation into American culture. One such advocate of a liberal immigration policy included Edward Everett, Secretary of State from November 1852 to March 1853 with assisting in opening a trade agreement with
22 23

Schurz, The Autobiography of Carl Schurz, 164, 170, 178-1180 Schurz, The Autobiography of Carl Schurz, 194, 195, 198. 24 Schurz, The Autobiography of Carl Schurz, 326-327.

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Japan as one of his most enduring accomplishments.25 Shortly after retiring from the State Department, Edward Everett delivered a speech to the New York Historical Society about the history of colonization and immigration to America. Everett gave a proimmigration speech, making the case for permitting immigrants to come to the United States. He defended the immigrants right to enter the United States and permitted them to seek a better life where they may practice their religion freely and participate in civil discourse.26 Given that a former high-ranking career official from the Federal government voiced his support for the participation of immigrants in the American political system, many within the United States must have supported the formation of new American identities. Everett proclaimed immigration beneficial to the United States and Europe, espousing it as a humanitarian virtue. Noting the mass immigration to the United States, Everett stated his confidence in the immigrants ability to assimilate overtime to US customs and laws. The increased immigration of Irish to the United States and subsequent discrimination against them prompted Everett to defend the Celtic people as a remarkable people who survived centuries of oppression. The immigration benefitted the Irish who remained home by enhancing leverage of their labor, while the immigrants alleviated the lack of labor in the United States. Though Everett admitted the downsides of immigration to America, he explained that immigration opponents exaggerated the overload on social services such as almshouses. The burden of immigration on seaports such as New York was necessary for the good of the nation and humanity. The United States benefitted from the demand created by the new immigrants. He stated that
25

Edward Everett, US State Department, http://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/everettedward, December 18, 2010. 26 Edward Everett, The Discovery and Colonization of America and Immigration to the United States, (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1853), 27.

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Germans lost 15 million US dollars to their economy because of emigration. Confident that proper legislation could ease the problems of poverty within the United States resulting from immigration, Everett proclaimed the importance of generosity toward people by allowing them to start anew in the United States.27 Everetts sympathy toward immigrants and defense of them showed that Americans accepted people of different identities into their nation. His confidence in their assimilation displayed faith in the immigrants willingness to become Americans. Another American named Edward Hale supported immigration by Irish and Germans to the United States while arguing for their integration into American society. Hale promoted allowing the Irish to move the United States, stating that the clannish and localized political consciousness made immigration easier if relatives already lived in the United States.28 In the case of Joseph Davis, a farmer in New Jersey, Hale showed how even humble farmers used German immigrant, also a politically fractious group, to stimulate the local economy. Davis brought immigrants from New York to work on his farm, causing his neighbors to ask for help finding labor for their farms. In bringing Germans to help with his neighbors farms, he eventually set up an employment agency. He brought hundreds of immigrants by rail and supported them until an employer hired them, earning Davis a $4 fee for services.29 The hiring of German immigrants by Davis and other farmers revealed that many Americans required inexpensive labor, not just big business. The work pointed to the tolerance and acceptance Americans had of foreigners, enabling them to integrate with the larger society. The economic value of immigrant labor was far more important than petty cultural differences.
27 28

Everett, The Discovery and Colonization of America and Immigration to the United States, 27-32. Edward Hale, Letters on Irish Immigration, (Boston: Phillips, Sampson, & Co., 1852), 22, 32. 29 Hale, Letters on Irish Immigration, 35.

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Hale supported immigration to the United States, believing that the immigrants would assimilate into American culture if properly dispersed throughout the nation. Placing the Irish surrounded by various native-born Americans, while breaking up the clans in the big cities could help the prime goal of making the children of the immigrants culturally American concluded Hale. If policies allocated immigrants in every community throughout the United States, their assimilation would be much easier according to Hale. He supported immigration to the United States in the belief that having immigrants do basic labor would push the rest of society up the socio-economic ladder. Encouraging the registration of new immigrants for the economic benefit of all, Hale wrote that the American political and judicial possessed the capability to handle the issues of politics and religion regarding immigrants.30 Letters on Irish Immigration argued for an open immigration policy that permitted those suffering from famine, economic stagnation, and political oppression to work in the United States. People like Hale cleared the way for maintaining high levels of immigration into the United States by easing concerns over economic competition with the newcomers and arguing that the immigrants or at least their children would adopt American traditions and customs. The immigrants in the United States from Ireland and Germany during the period from 1845 to 1855 rarely hinted nationalistic nostalgia or loyalty toward their old political leaders or sovereign states. Instead, immigrants who remained in the United States generally appreciated their new home as the center of their political loyalty, assimilating to a necessary degree to become a part of American society. The immigrants held onto some customs and characteristics of their birth nation, while simultaneously becoming loyal Americans. Given that they based such nationalism on gratitude for
30

Hale, Letters on Irish Immigration, 55-58.

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benefits received and the belief in democratic political ideals, the patriotism to their new homeland was stronger in comparison to their previous political loyalties to the princes and monarchs of Europe based on the ancient concept of subject-hood. The starvation in Ireland and rigid societal structure in Germany forced many Europeans to leave for the United States, who became loyal Americans in their own right. The immigrants forged a new identity using their original European heritage combined with a distinct American identity.

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Work Cited Primary Sources: The Longford Letter." Immigration and Multiculturalism: Essential Primary Sources, Ed. K. Lee Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, and Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 Dec. 2010. "Poor Pat Must Emigrate." Immigration and Multiculturalism: Essential Primary Sources, Ed. K. Lee Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, and Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner, Detroit: Gale, 2006. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 Dec. 2010. Bogen, F. W. The German in America: Advice and construction for German Emigrants in the United States of America. New York: Koch, 1851. Everett, Edward. The Discovery and Colonization of America and Immigration to the United States. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1853. Hale, Edward. Letters on Irish Immigration. Boston: Phillips, Sampson, & Co., 1852. Schurz, Carl. The Autobiography of Carl Schurz. New York: Charles Scribners Sons: 1961. Secondary Sources: Fritzsche, Peter. Stranded in the Present: Modern Time and the Melancholy of History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2004. Edward Everett. Office of the Historian, US State Department. http://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/everett-edward. December 18, 2010.

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