How many total speakers of German were there in pre-WWI USA?

Question

The 1910 US Census enumerates some 2.7 million foreign-born speakers of German in the United States then. That number must be an understatement because there were many communities of heritage German speakers in both rural and urban areas of the US at the time. Do we have any idea how large this language community was in the United States at the time? The census switches over from foreign born speakers to both native and foreign in 1980. The result is a 25% increase of German speakers counted assuming no decline in foreign German speaking population between 1970 and 1980. It is likely that there was a decline between then meaning that even in 1980, the ratio of native to foreign speakers of German was over 25%. In the past it may have been even higher before those communities were subjected to language assimilation during the period from WWI to WWII. I do not know for a fact how much German immigration there was to the US in the early 1900s and in what places, but I am led to believe that German immigration to Texas had largely ceased by 1910. However, a community of around or possibly over 100,000 native German speakers still existed in the state. These people would not have been included in the above 2.7 million foreign born German speakers. (Note that the estimate of Texas German speakers was simply a commonly quoted number I saw in several news pieces via google; I don't know how reliable it is, though the modern population is around 8,000).

Answer 1

I think this is an extremely important question. When we consider the German-born population in the U.S. in 1910, it's critical to remember that, earlier in the 1800s, most immigrants had come from Northern and Western Europe (e.g., the English, Irish, German, and Scandinavians who played a powerful role in settling the frontier and building the cities). These "old immigrants" certainly faced discrimination as they attempted to blend into their new American society; however, the country's rapid growth diminished much of such anti-immigration feelings amongst their fellow countrymen. But in the late 1800s, immigration patterns changed, with large numbers of people arriving from Southern and Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Most of these immigrants did not speak English and practiced diverse religions like Catholicism, Judaism, and Buddhism; therefore, these later groups of immigrants found adapting to life in the U.S. more challenging.

Now - to return to your contention regarding the amount of foreign-born German speakers in 1910/before World War I (which can be considered 1914 given the breakout of hostilities between the Allies and Central Powers, or 1917, if you are basing your response on the U.S.'s entry to the War) - it's important to remember that those "old immigrants" that came from Germany in the early 1800s might no longer be alive or, given the extent of time that they have been living in the U.S., feel very "American" (in how they speak; their cultural practices; and in their national loyalties). While this does not mean that families with German roots still speak German at home and with fellow immigrants/second-generation immigrants while enjoying happy memories of their Fatherland, I would suggest that by 1910 - when the U.S. was well aware that war was brewing between England/France and Germany - but the American population did not yet see an overseas conflict as their problem. (And as a natural Ally to England, Americans did not want to be seen as sympathetic to Germany - at all).

One last point (I swear!) - you've made a wise observation regarding why one should not take the numbers as accumulated in the U.S. Census to be perfect - because I doubt they have ever been. (Look at what COVID did to the 2020 Census!). Your skepticism is healthy; keep it up!