German Missourians and Sunday Laws
Sunday laws were enacted to promote a day of rest on the Sabbath. In parts of America these laws date to the 1600s. Before the Sunday laws became common throughout the United States, many German Americans retained cultural practices that differed from their Anglo-American counterparts. This difference “became a symbol of both resistance to dominant American culture and solidarity among the German America minority.” To overcome this, many left the city on Sundays to enjoy time with family and friends. These outings included drinking beer, games, theater, and fellowship. Secondly, outside of the old St. Louis City, beer gardens started to become “more sophisticated by the 1850s, as benefactors transformed them into botanical gardens.” Although many German Americans did meet in groups on Sundays, many Anglo-American groups did not meet or even publish a meeting on the Sabbath. Furthermore, “through social meetings in taverns, cultural celebrations in beer gardens, and political resistance to Sunday laws, immigrants from various provinces in the German Confederation forged a lasting ethnic identity in the United States.” In the newspaper La Grange National American from March 26, 1859, the article titled “TRIUMPH OF THE SABBATH” gives a recount of a Missouri legislature bill arguing the Sunday laws. To begin with, one representative in the Missouri House of Representatives argued that the Sunday laws were “political, not a religious Sabbath about which we are speaking”, while others argued that it was already in the Missouri state government. Also, some of the other members of the Missouri government argued and told immigrants to not come here and tell them what to do regarding the Sunday laws. In the recount of the session, the county of Cape Girardeau was asking to be like the city of St. Louis in terms of its policies for the Sunday laws but was met with criticism by other members of the Missouri government. This proposed bill was introduced by Mr. Hines of the Missouri House of Representatives to allow the sale of wine and beer in Cape Girardeau County on Sundays. This bill was supported by other members of the house from St. Louis, but was opposed by other members of the House of Representatives from Saline county. In the end, this bill was rejected. To conclude, this newspaper article from the La Grange National American is written as a first-hand account of the actions in the legislature, rather than taking a stance on the topic of the Sunday laws. The title of the article, “TRIUMPH OF THE SABBATH”, does lead the reader to believe that the author was in favor of Sunday laws. Sunday laws would eventually be also referred to as Blue laws.
Bibliography
Howe, Charlton H. “TRIUMPH OF THE SABBATH: IN THE MISSOURI LEGISLATURE.” La Grange National American, March 26, 1859.
Ritter, Luke. Inventing America’s First Immigration Crisis: Political Nativism in the Antebellum West. New York, NY: Fordham University Press, 2021.
