Citizens in a Strange Land

“Broadside scholars, move over! This book by Germany’s leading Americanist is the capstone of the Göttingen University survey of German-language printing in the United States in its first century (1730–1830). Wellenreuther’s meticulous textual analysis of the American German broadside corpus, paired with relevant European background materials, vividly reconstructs both the secular and the religious worlds of America’s pioneer German-speaking population. His insights into the motivations and expectations of the producers, consumers, and peddlers of these ephemeral prints spotlight in new ways the complex printing network in early America. The book’s masterful use of political broadsides before and during the Revolution, as well as in the Federal era, accents the often underrated role German speakers played in middle states politics. We come away with an impression of the very particular American identity of the Pennsylvania Germans and their linguistic kinsmen in the South, the Midwest, and Canada. Thank you, Professor Wellenreuther, for a fascinating transatlantic read!” —Don Yoder, University of Pennsylvania

“This confident, rigorous study makes real progress toward illuminating a deeply puzzling aspect of our emotional involvement with literature.” —Garry L. Hagberg, Bard College

“Wellenreuther’s masterful and meticulous examination of popular printed works provides a nuanced perspective on the culture of German-speaking settlers in colonial America. What interested them? What worried them? What did they desire? Often reprinted texts resonated with the German-speaking public in a way that rarely printed texts couldn’t. These broadsides show that German-speaking settlers did not simply replicate the religious and political structures they had left behind but created a new German-American culture.” —Craig Atwood, Moravian Theological Seminary

“Citizens in a Strange Land offers fascinating insight into the material conditions of early German settlers in southeastern Pennsylvania. By analyzing broadsides, a means of communication previously disregarded by many scholars, Wellenreuther is able to vividly evoke the religious and political world of German settlers, their expectations and concerns, their anxieties and joys, and their ideals and ideas.” —Paul Peucker, Director and Archivist, Moravian Church Archives

“In this systematic and thorough study of German-language broadsides in early America, Hermann Wellenreuther works the magic of a master historian. First, through a meticulous analysis of hundreds of broadsides, he brings to light the details of the broadsides’ production and distribution as well as the motivation behind their creation. Then, drawing on his deep knowledge of German-speaking communities in America, Wellenreuther shows how these simple one-page documents enrich our understanding of German life and culture and reveal a people intent on defining for themselves their place in American society.” —Philip Otterness, author of Becoming German: The 1709 Palatine Migration to New York

“Based on close to 1,700 German-language broadsides produced in North America between 1730 and 1830, Hermann Wellenreuther explores the perceptions and visions of their creators, distributors, and consumers. He describes a dispersed network of printers, peddlers, booksellers, and merchants that supplied these documents to German customers throughout Pennsylvania and surrounding areas. The broadsides covered a surprising range of secular and religious topics, which Wellenreuther explores through careful and nuanced textual analysis. By approaching each broadside as the product of and a reaction to a particular historical setting, he is able to shed new light on the distinct needs and concerns of Germans in America. Wellenreuther's detailed study of a unique and substantial body of printed records produced by and for German Americans greatly enhances our understanding of German society in colonial and early national America.” —Friederike Baer, Penn State University