German Immigration: A Warning for Travelers to Colonial Pennsylvania
Students will read excerpts from a primary source, Gottlieb Mittelberger’s Journey to Pennsylvania in the Year 1750 and Return to Germany in the Year 1754, a detailed travel account of a German musician from Wurtemberg to Philadelphia. Students will learn about the length of a trans-Atlantic journey, the conditions on the ship, the people who journeyed together, and their reception in Philadelphia. Students should also think about why Mittelberger may have presented such a negative view of immigration to Pennsylvania and about the difficulties in making the decision to leave one’s home. By reading Mittelberger’s first-hand account of his journey from Germany, students will understand the hardships faced by early immigrants, the rewards they looked for, and the tragedies that could occur along the way. This activity should take one or two class periods and includes the option for a longer research assignment.