Professional Documents
Culture Documents
John Quinones
Dr. Rowley
Honors 1000
12 October 2017
Immigrants are what make up the United States. People from different parts of the world
came as immigrants to the United States from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Those that came
from Asia would come through the West Coast of the United States while those from the Europe
would enter through the East Coast. They move from their homeland because of the economic
opportunity, and essentially a better life, that America had to offer. Not everything came easy
though, there were many hardships and risks taken when coming to the new world and leaving
everything behind. The risk to reward was worth it though, as many migrants during this time did
find better lives once they settled in and became accustomed to the new way of American life.
Hans Neumann is 20 years old. He has a fianc and a daughter that will come with him to
America. Hans and his family are Germans that will be traveling across the Atlantic Ocean to
New York, then will take a train to Detroit. Hans job of just another farmer in Germany was not
supporting his family the way that he wanted to, so he comes to Detroit for the economic
opportunities. They are leaving Germany for the City of Detroit in search for a better life. Hans
chose Detroit because of the good employment that Henry Ford offers through the Ford Motor
machines and engineering that helps him earn that job. He will go through a lot of obstacles in
trying to achieve the American Dream, but at the end, he and his family will have a better life,
will be Americanized, and will spend leisure times differently than they would back in Germany.
Hans perspective will change as Detroit changes him for the better.
Coming to America for Hans was not out of the ordinary. His family will become just the
few out of the million and a half Germans that came to America in the late 1880s.1 Many other
Germans left during this time because of economic opportunities, like Hans, or even for political
or religious freedom. Hans does face a setback though. Just before they leave for the America,
Hans mother becomes extremely ill with smallpox, so they stay a couple more years.
Thankfully, she recovers, but sadly they must leave her behind. Leaving Germany for Hans
means leaving many traditions that he grew up with to come to a very unfamiliar place. It took
about a couple weeks from Berlin, Germany to Ellis Island, New York. They finally arrive at the
The Immigration Act of 1891, which Congress passed for more secure inspections and
effective enforcement of immigration law, was another huge setback that the whole Neumann
family must face. Under this law, Hans was qualified to enter, but not his fianc and daughter.
They were not allowed to enter because there was no concrete proof that they are part of Hans
family. This law was strictly enforced on them because smuggling among Germans was well-
known by officials of the immigration center. Hans and his fianc must marry first before
entering the United States, so they were sent back to Germany.2 They had to stay a little more
than a decade back in Germany to raise enough money to come back to the United States. They
It is now 1909 and they are on their way back to Ellis Island. The whole Neumann family
gets approved to enter the United States and this is a beginning of their new life. While New
York during the time was bustling and a center of many new jobs that was available to Hans, like
building new subways or skyscrapers, his mind was still set on Detroit. Hans still had Detroit on
his mind because of the many great things he has heard about Ford and the Ford Motor
Company. He wanted to work for Ford, and the future looked bright for the automobile industry.
The streamlined assembly process of producing a car in just over an hour and a half was very
promising to him.3 Hans and his family arrived by train in Detroit in the spring of 1910. They
begin their living in tenement houses while Hans searches for a job to work under Ford. In April
5th, of 1910 he finds a classified advertisement which reads Toolmakers and millwrights
wanted; good wages. Apply Timekeeper, Ford Motor Co., Highland Park plant.4 Hans applies
and gets the job easily, but sadly doesnt speak English well so communication between
coworkers is difficult. Hans is stable with his job as a millwright, his wife gets a job at a local
flower shop, and their daughter goes to a local school. Five years later, Ford introduces a plan
that will benefit the Neumann family greatly and will help Hans finally learn English, it is called
the Ford Manual. He will attend special free classes that will help him acquire the average
In addition to learning English, Ford also introduced the five-dollar a day for eight hours
workers pay. This drastically helps the Neumann family get out of their tenements and into a
safer, cleaner, and a more spacious apartment on the corner of Woodward Avenue and Fort
Street. Through the window of this apartment, a bustling center of what would be later called
Campus Martius Park can be seen, as well as people who are dressed very differently, cars,
Quinones 4
streetcars, businesses, billboards, and many other buildings that are old and new.6 They
experience the special feature that the United States offers, which is democratic social space.
Once World War I ended on November 11th, 1918 there was still a strong presence of
Germans in Michigan that mainly worked in manufacturing centers. Hans was one of those
treated unfairly after the war, but the pressure from industry leaders to encourage assimilation
with Germans happened in industrial cities like Detroit and put WWI in the past. The Germans,
including Hans, just wanted to blend into American society as quickly as possible.7
Hans Neumann and his family came to Detroit in search for a better life, but not before
facing very difficult hardships along the way. Hans now has a well-paying job, his wife is
working and not following traditional practices of staying at home, and their daughter is getting
education early so she can go to college and have a better life than her parents. Detroit changed
Hans for the better as he and his family become Americanized. Their leisure times are spent
differently due to the advancements of technology that led to the enjoyment of silent films,
radios and baseball games. Hans perspective, or way of seeing, of the city will never be taken for
granted since he knows how lucky he is and how more practicable living in the city is versus
living in a rural setting, like Germany. Hans will always work hard and never give up.
Quinones 5
Endnotes
America, edited by Thomas Riggs, 3rd ed., vol. 2, Gale, 2014, pp. 207-223. Gale Virtual
p=GVRL&sw=w&u=lom_waynesu&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CCX3273300078&asid=
2. "AT UNCLE SAM'S GATES." Detroit Free Press (1858-1922), Jul 08, 1894, pp. 8,
http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.wayne.edu/docview/562520323?accountid=14925
William A. Darity, Jr., 2nd ed., vol. 1, Macmillan Reference USA, 2008, pp. 217-224.
p=GVRL&sw=w&u=lom_waynesu&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CCX3045300143&asid=
4. "Classified Ad 1 -- no Title." Detroit Free Press (1858-1922), Apr 05, 1910, pp. 12,
http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.wayne.edu/docview/325023281?accountid=14925.
5. Helpful Hints and Advice to Ford Employes. Ford Motor Company, 1915, pp. 31
www.shorpy.com/node/7136?size=_original#caption.
7. Kilar, Jeremy W. pp. 42. Germans in Michigan, Michigan State University Press, 2002.