European Immigration to America
English Not the Only People Searching For Revolutionary Freedom
It is a little known fact that 1 in 3 immigrants to America were not English. The next three largest social groups were Dutch, German, and Scots-Irish. The fabric of America was so influenced by these cultures that many of the societal traits they brought with them were, even in those early years, considered uniquely American.
The busy industriousness, fastidious and no nonsense approach to life of the immigrants from Holland has remained to this day. The German attention to detail and sense of belonging fueled the feeling of pride that motivated the upstart colonials to finish what they started in the face of daunting odds. The Scots-Irish brought with them a devil-may-care attitude that inspired a kind of bravery and daring courage that was a legacy of years of being the cultural underdog that could never quite be subdued.
New Amsterdam's Gift
Walking through the streets of Manhattan, John Adams observed the stark efficiency and speed of not only their handiwork but their speech as well. Even in Colonial days the practical result of getting something done far outweighed the time it took to practice the accepted niceties of social courtesy. While just as in our day that might be mistaken for rudeness, it was not meant that way. The attention to detail of the typical Dutch residence was meant to be their gift to society. Their entrepreneurial spirit lent a great deal of strength and imagination that helped to inspire those on the fence to unite behind the cause of Liberty. It would carry this young nation through some very rough periods of time in the coming conflict.
Belonging to America
The German immigrants gave a subtle yet fierce and unswerving confidence to a people who were trying to find that kind of bravery in their own hearts. When Congress found out that King George was sending Hessian mercenaries they were struck with the same fear that the colonists shared: these troops were inhumanly ruthless automatons. The colonial German populations of Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania quickly mustered several German regiments of their own that took pride in saying that they would be able to handle their former compatriots. These were among the bravest soldiers in the Continental Amy. Their commitment to belonging in the new community of America was evident in their zeal to flawlessly execute their duties as freedom fighters, even unto certain death.
An Attitude of Honor
The Scots-Irish populace had almost two millenniums of a historically documented fierce will to remain free. This was a chronicle that included facing impossible odds not only in Scotland but in their temporary homeland of Ulster in Ireland. It also gave them a unique perspective on tyranny that infected the rest of the colonials with an obstinate sense of indignation at the thought of being subjugated to arbitrary power. The audacious attitude they brought to the verbal sparring that brought on the revolution helped to make it crystal clear that it was not logically possible to make any other choice. Like those Scots at in 1320, each of these new immigrant peoples inspired the colonialists with the fortitude of that Declaration of Arbroath:
“It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honors that we are fighting, but for freedom - for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.”
Sources
Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America by James Webb, 2004, Random House
Albion’s Seed, Four British Folkways in America by David Hackett Fischer, 1989, Oxford University Press
The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto, 2005, Random House
