German and Anglo-American culture

The German cultural practices differ from Anglo-American cultural practices differed in, to many, a very important way. Through the Sunday laws, Anglo-Americans managed to protect Sundays as the day of rest and religious exercise. They equated having their Sundays be days of rest with civic duty. European immigrants including Germans and Irish people generally opposed these laws, and resisted these regulations. Germans viewed Sundays as a day of recreation and pleasure, and wanted to be able to enjoy their days. They did not see it as a day of rest- they saw it as a day to do what they pleased. The Anglo-Americans did not appreciate this, and didn’t think it was acceptable at all. In 1852, The Fourth of July fell on a Sunday, so the Anglo-Americans waited to celebrate until Monday, the fifth, while German Americans celebrated on the fourth. Anglo-Americans were outraged by this. Back in Germany, the German immigrants were used to having pubs closed only during church service hours, and they could still drink on Sundays, so this was very new to them. Some Germans accepted the Sunday laws, but many didn’t believe in them. Anglo-Americans were furious when Germans broke Sunday laws, and demanded criminal prosecution.

The article I found about the Sunday laws is extremely opinionated, and is a prime example of the aggressiveness which Anglo-Americans felt towards Germans who opposed the Sunday laws. The author uses unnecessarily unkind language, and the reader immediately knows the author’s feelings about this matter. They refer to them as “a Sunday-breaking, beer-drinking rabble”, and says “the German race among us”. The article makes a clear separation between Germans and Anglo-Americans, by referring to the Germans as a separate race altogether. The author doesn’t want Anglo-Americans and German Americans to be grouped into one category, and makes that clear. The language used makes it incredibly clear that the author is not a fan of German Americans altogether, perhaps not even a fan of the Germans who agree with the Sunday laws. The language which the author claims describes German Americans also proves their opinion, and the descriptions of what Germans do, and their curated image of Germans altogether. I don’t believe there is a single sentence in the article depicting German Americans in a positive way, and that seems to accurately represent a common sentiment of Anglo-Americans during this time.