German Society of Pennsylvania
Founded in Philadelphia in 1764 with the purpose of protecting new immigrants, the German Society of Pennsylvania evolved slowly into an organization for the preservation of German culture in the United States.
The membership of the society seldom exceeded 1,000, yet it has often served as a leader in integrating Philadelphia’s disparate organizations of Germans.Founded in the schoolhouse of the German Lutheran church in Philadelphia, the German Society declared as its mission the relief of the German “redemptioners,” who were often exploited by ship captains who sold their indentures. The first meeting of the society sought legislation from the Pennsylvania Assembly to enforce better conditions on immigrant ships. In 1781 the society received a charter from the new Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The charter named the organization the “German Society Contributing to the Relief of Distressed Germans in the State of Pennsylvania.” The society continued to use the Lutheran schoolhouse as its meeting place until 1806, when it constructed a building of its own.
Immigration to the United States declined considerably during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars (1789-1814). When the flow of immigrants revived after 1815, the traffic in indentured servants had virtually disappeared, rendering the original purpose of
the German Society less necessary. Although the society continued to welcome new immigrants, it began to turn inward in its activities. In 1817 it established a library, which would develop over the next century as an important collection of German- language materials. But the membership fell below 200 and remained stagnant during the years from 1820 to 1850. The second generation of German immigrants and their offspring began to dominate the society’s affairs, and the use of German as the society’s official language declined.
In the growing tide of German immigrants after 1848, the German Society began once again to tend to the needs of newcomers, and the membership was augmented by new first-generation immigrants. In 1859, the society began again to use German as its official language. After the Civil War, new federal and state agencies began regulating immigration, which made the society’s work of aiding new immigrants less necessary. Increasingly, the society focused upon the preservation and celebration of German culture. It developed its library and archival collections and sponsored language classes both in English and in German. It began to foster festivals in celebration of German culture and, to some extent, to coordinate the activities of Philadelphia’s numerous German organizations. In 1888 the society moved to a new spacious three-story building, still in use, housing meeting rooms, an auditorium, and the expanded library. The membership reached a peak of 1,040 in 1878, then leveled off at 700 to 800 for the rest of the century. On the eve of World War I (1914), the society’s members numbered 624.
In 1900 Charles James Hexamer, a fierce advocate of German nationalism and culture, became president of the German Society. During his tenure he led the effort to organize the National German- American Alliance, which sought to organize all German organizations within its structure. In its early years, the alliance devoted itself mostly to fighting liquor-prohibition laws. By the advent of World War I, however, it had become an advocate of the German view of European affairs. When the United States entered the war in 1917, the alliance suffered from its previous activism, as did the German Society and many other German organizations.
The society emerged from the war diminished in numbers. It now avoided political involvement and turned its efforts to postwar relief projects in Germany. By the time of the Great Depression, it devoted itself mostly to social and cultural events for its members.
There were few newcomers in the 1920s and 1930s to offset the declining membership. When World War II arrived, the society contributed to various relief and charitable activities but generally kept a low profile. By 1945, the membership was 350. The second half of the twentieth century saw some slow revival of the society, but it clearly now was a heritage organization devoted to preserving the German cultural tradition. It hosted social events, concerts, and lectures and took part in folk festivals like the annual “Steuben Day.” Perhaps most significant was the project undertaken in the 1990s to restore the library. Assisted by contributions from European foundations, the library’s physical facilities were renovated, many rare books and manuscripts were preserved, and the holdings were catalogued anew.James M. Bergquist
See also German Society of the City of New York; Hexamer, Charles J.; National German-American Alliance; Pennsylvania
References and Further Reading
Kazal, Russell A. Becoming Old Stock: The Paradox of German-American Identity. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004.
Miller, Randall M. “German Society of
Pennsylvania.” Invisible Philadelphia: Community through Voluntary Organizations. Eds. Jean Barth Toll and Mildred S. Gilliam. Philadelphia: Atwater Kent Museum, 1995, 86—88.
Pfund, Harry W. A History of the German Society of Pennsylvania: Bicentenary Edition, 1764—1964. Philadelphia: German Society of Pennsylvania, 1964.
Seidensticker, Oswald, and Max Heinrici.
Geschichte der Deutschen Gesellschaft von Pennsylvanien, 1764—1917. Philadelphia: Graf and Breuniger, 1917.