United States of America – German American Day 1991 Silver Medal 37mm 0.999 Silver (1.00 oz. ASW) GERMAN AMERICAN DAY 19 91 .999 FINE SILVER OCTOBER SIXTH, German man and woman in traditional garb dancing. GERMAN IMMIGRANTS IN AMERICA SINCE 1683, German state emblem (eagle) overlaid on map of United States.
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German-American Day (German: Deutsch-Amerikanischer Tag) is a holiday in the United States, observed annually on October 6 under Pub.L. 100–104, 101 Stat. 721. It celebrates German-American heritage and commemorates the founding of Germantown, Pennsylvania (now part of Philadelphia) in 1683. The founding of Germantown on October 6, 1683, was to provide the date for German-American Day, though “a number of” the first thirteen Quaker and Mennonite families in Germantown came from the Netherlands; until 1710, according to linguist Nicoline van der Sijs, “Germantown remained predominantly Dutch”. The town was nevertheless named Germantown, as the direct vicinity of the settlement was inhabited by fifty-four German families who had accompanied Johan Printz to the Swedish settlement on the
Delaware several years earlier and had resettled themselves. These families subsequently founded Germantown, Pennsylvania, which, due to greater numbers, would subsequently be dominated by Germans within a generation, thanks in part to the efforts of Caspar Wistar. In 1688, the inhabitants organized the first petition in the English colonies to abolish slavery. Originally known under the rubric of “German Day”, the holiday was celebrated for the first time in Philadelphia in 1883, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the founding; and similar celebrations developed later in other parts of the country. The custom died out during World War I as a result of the anti-German sentiment that prevailed at the time, but the holiday was revived in 1983 in joint resolution 108. The bill was sponsored by Senator Richard G. Lugar (R–Indiana) on April 8, 1987. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed October 6 as German-American Day to celebrate and honor the 300th anniversary of German immigration to and culture in the United States.
On August 6, 1987, Congress approved S.J. Resolution 108, designating October 6, 1987, as German-American Day. It became Pub.L. 100–104, 101 Stat. 721 when President Reagan signed it on August 18. A proclamation (#5719) to this effect was issued October 2, 1987, by President Reagan in a formal ceremony in the White House Rose Garden, at which time the President called on Americans to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. Presidents since then have continued to make proclamations to observe German-American Day.
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