German American Food

Because Germany was not a unitary country until the 1870s, German American identity has historically been defined by language rather than by national origin. German speakers emigrating from many different countries have been counted as German Americans, whereas English-, French-, and Spanish-speaking immigrants have been divided and subdivided by national origin, religion, and even regional identity. Since the early eighteenth century, German Americans have been the largest non-British group in America. Between 1790 and 1910, more than 10 percent of all Americans spoke German.