Gottfried Duden

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Gottfried Duden (born May 19, 1785 in Remscheid ; † October 29, 1855 there ) was a German doctor , farmer and justice of the peace in the USA and a writer . His experience report was one of the reasons for the German emigration to North America that began in 1830 .

Life

From October 1807 Duden studied law at the University of Heidelberg and became a member of the Corps Guestphalia Heidelberg . In 1810 he moved to the University of Göttingen .

He emigrated to Baltimore ( Maryland , USA) in 1824 , moved from there to St. Louis ( Missouri ) and bought a farm sixty miles west of it near the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers ; today this place is called Dutzow and is located near the city of Hermann (Missouri), which was later founded by Germans . It was his concern to personally explore the conditions for a German settlement movement in the United States. He described his experiences in exclusively positive letters to Germany, which went from hand to hand there.

Duden returned to Germany in 1827, where he settled in Bonn , and in 1829 published a book entitled Report on a trip to the western states of North America and a stay of several years on the Missouri from 1824 to 1827 (Elberfeld 1829) . This book is considered to be an important impetus for the massive German emigration to the USA that began around 1830. The reasons for Duden's early return to Germany and the abandonment of his supposedly flourishing farm are not known and are not mentioned in his book. The farm essentially consisted of arable land that was tilled by hired workers; Duden is said to have lived in a small hut near Lake Creek and mainly wrote. He had no special knowledge of agriculture .

reception

Around 1830, Duden was not the only author of German “emigration literature”, but he was one of the best-known. From today's perspective, his book is viewed by historians as an embellished and deliberately positively colored representation of the living conditions in the USA and especially in Missouri. Its publication was not only intended as a travel report , but was also intended to encourage his compatriots to emigrate to the USA. Duden was convinced that Germany was overpopulated and that the social problems of its time could be solved by emigration. He expresses this view in the preface to his book. His report and its tendencies should be seen against this background. With his writing he did not reach farmers and workers, but members of the educated classes. One consequence of his propaganda was the founding of the Giessener Emigration Society , which wanted to establish its own German state in northern Missouri; However, the plans to found the state remained, even though thousands of Germans actually emigrated to the USA for Missouri.

In the foreword of the English translation of Dudens book it says: “(...) a masterpiece of promotional literature. Duden's adroit pen wove reality with poetry, experience with dreams, and contrasted the freedom of the forests and democratic institutions in America with the social narrowness and political confusion in Germany. He glorified the routine of pioneer existence (…) ”(Eng .: (…) a masterpiece of propaganda literature. Dudens pen interwoven reality with poetry, experiences with dreams and compared the freedom of the forests and democratic institutions in America with the social narrowness and political confusion in Germany. He glorified the everyday life of pioneers).

literature

Fonts

  • Report on a trip to the western states of North America ... S. Lucas, Elberfeld 1829 (online) .

Web links

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Enrollment as a stud. jur. from Remscheid on October 14, 1807, see Gustav Toepke, Die Matrikel der Universität Heidelberg (5th part): From 1807 - 1846 , Heidelberg 1904, p. 8
  2. ↑ Das Kloßsche Schmollisbuch in Einst und Now special issue 1963, p. 84 ff. (P. 89 No. 62)
  3. ^ Enrollment in Göttingen on June 23, 1810
personal data
SURNAME Duden, Gottfried
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German doctor, farmer in the USA and publicist
DATE OF BIRTH May 19, 1785
PLACE OF BIRTH Remscheid
DATE OF DEATH October 29, 1855
Place of death Remscheid