The German Arizonians": Ethnic Identity and Society Formation on a Southwestern Frontier, 1853--World War I
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UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations 1-1-2003 "The German Arizonians": Ethnic identity and society formation on a Southwestern frontier, 1853--World War I Gerhard Grytz University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/rtds Repository Citation Grytz, Gerhard, ""The German Arizonians": Ethnic identity and society formation on a Southwestern frontier, 1853--World War I" (2003). UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations. 2536. http://dx.doi.org/10.25669/45af-zqty This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “THE GERMAN ARIZONANS:” ETHNIC IDENTITY AND SOCIETY FORMATION ON A SOUTHWESTERN FRONTIER, 1853-WORLD WAR I by Gerhard Grytz Bachelor of Arts Unlversitat Augsburg, Germany 1984 Master of Arts Northern Arizona University 1995 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in History Department of History College of Liberal Arts Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas August 2003 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3101565 Copyright 2003 by Grytz, Gerhard All rights reserved. UMI UMI Microform 3101565 Copyright 2003 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Copyright by Gerhard Grytz 2003 Ali Rights Reserved by Gerhard Grytz Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Dissertation Approval The Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas JULY 22 _,20. 03 The Dissertation prepared by GERHARD GRYTZ Entitled "THE GERMAN ARIZONAN" ETHNIC IDENTITY AND SOCIETY FORMATION ON A SOUTHWESTERN FRONTIER. 1853 - WORLD WAR I is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN HISTORY Examination Committee Chair Dean of the Graduate College . A, <4 Examination Committee Member Examination Comminee^ember Q.^koÇ Graduate College Faculty Representative PR/1017-52/1-00 11 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT “The German Arizonans:” Ethnic Identity and Society Formation on a Southwestern Frontier, 1853 - World War I Dr. Hal Rothman, Examination Committee Chair Professor of History University of Nevada, Las Vegas This study discusses the experiences and the acculturation process of German immigrants in Arizona from the Gadsden Purchase of 1853 to World War I. German immigrants with distinct regional identities, Bavarians, Badeners, Wuerttembergers, Rhinelanders, and Prussians, made the transition to a regional New World identity and became Arizonans. Even though their history is ultimately the story of acculturation to a dominant society, it is the process that is important. Based on the analysis of census schedules, letters, newspaper reports, interviews, and other archival materials, this study tries to uncover the forces and mechanisms that determined the processes that formed American Arizonans out of German Arizonans and German pioneers. Germans who came to Arizona beginning in the 1850s encountered a cultural, social, and political environment that was distinctly different from many that their fellow compatriots experienced. During the first decades of their settlement the region was devoid of a dominant “Anglo-American” presence, and iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. in a multi-cultural environment, in the interplay with Hispanics, Native Americans, Americans, and other European immigrants, Germans were able to settle in their new home and participate in the construction of Arizona’s social, cultural, and political structures. In this process they formed ethnic identities for themselves that fostered their accommodation to the environment and reflected their position within the regional society. Early German pioneers became German Arizonans and ultimately, under the pressures of anti-German sentiments during World War I, acculturated into American Arizonans. In this process German immigrants created, invented “Germanness” to help them accommodate in a new environment and filled it with a content that included the German language, ethnic food, internalized American stereotypes about Germans, and ethnic traditions on a lowest common denominator. IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT............................................................................................................iii LIST OF TABLES...................................................................................................vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS....................................................................................... vii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION..................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2 GERMANS IN ARIZONA; A DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE........ 28 CHAPTER 3 THE GERMAN PIONEERS...................................................70 CHAPTER 4 GERMAN ARIZONANS AT WORK......................................109 CHAPTER 5 GERMAN ARIZONANS IN SOCIETY, POLITICS, AND FAMILY..............................................................................150 CHAPTER 6 DUAL IDENTITY: GERMAN ARIZONAN JEWS..................193 CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION: THE END OF AN ERA.............................. 234 APPENDIX MAPS.................................................................................243 BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................................. 250 VITA................................................................................................................... 272 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 First Generation German Immigrants in the United States’ Population ............................................................... 29 Table 2.2 First Generation German Immigrants in Arizona’s Population, 1860-1910 .......................................................................................35 Table 2.3 German and Foreign-born Population in Arizona, 1860-1910........38 Table 2.4 Residence of German Immigrants in Arizona by County, 1870-1910 ................... 42 Table 2.5 Selected Urban Residences of German Immigrants in Arizona, 1860-1910 ...................................................................................... 44 Table 2.6 Age of First Generation German Immigrants in Arizona, 1860-1910 ...................................................................................... 46 Table 2.7 Sex Ratio of First Generation German Immigrants in Arizona, 1860-1910 ...................................................................................... 48 Table 2.8 Marital Status of First Generation German Immigrants in Arizona, 1864-1910 .........................................................................50 Table 2.9 Prior U.S. Residences of German Arizonans, 1880-1910 ..............52 Table 3.1 Major Areas of Occupation of German Arizonans, 1860-1870 ...... 76 Table 3.2 Value of Property Owned by German Arizonans, 1860-1870 ........ 90 Table 3.3 Place of Birth of German Arizonans, 1860-1870 ............................95 Table 4.1 Occupations of German Immigrants in Arizona, 1860-1910 .........111 Table 4.2 Home Ownership Among German Immigrants in Arizona, 1870-1910 .....................................................................................123 Table 4.3 Occupations German Arizonan Artisans, 1870-1910 ...................126 Table 5.1 Spouse Ethnicity of German-born Immigrants in Arizona, 1860-1910 .....................................................................................177 Table 5.2 Living Association of German Immigrants in Arizona, 1870-1910 .....................................................................................184 Table 5.3 Occupations of Female German Immigrants in Arizona, 1870-1910 .....................................................................................189 VI Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS During the process of completing this dissertation, many individuals assisted me in a variety of ways. First, I want to thank the members of my dissertation committee. Dr. Colin Loader, Dr. Willard Rollings, and Dr. Helen Neill for their help, understanding, and patience. I am especially indebted to my committee chair.