Introduction

The Germans were the largest non-English group in colonial America. . . . Pennsylvania alone had 100,000 Germans by 1776, and many thousands more had settled on the frontiers of Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. . . . By 1709 some 13,000 destitute German Palatines had arrived in England. But England was only a temporary stopping place, and nearly half of them went on to New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

The first wave of German immigrants brought mostly German Quakers; Mennonites; Baptist Brethren, or Dunkers; and other small sects. . . . A second wave after 1730 consisted largely of Lutherans and Calvinists. . . .

Most German immigrants were poor, and families were often broken up by purchasers of their indentures. 1

A primary objective of this research paper is to describe some of the eighteenth century governmental policy of England in regard to the thousands of immigrants who came from the general area of Germany known as the Palatinate. The approach to be used herein will be to identify the geographical location of the Palatinate, summarize some of the major historical events preceding early eighteenth century emigration from Germany, describe some the political and social conditions which existed as Palatines left their homeland, identify some of England's official reaction to German immigration, and to generalize some conclusions relating to motivations which inspired so many human beings to take a dangerous journey toward an uncertain future in a new part of the world--a journey immortalized by John Greenleaf Whittier in "The Palatine," a poem which describes the fate of a ship by the same name: "Into the teeth of death she sped: . . ."

Geographical Location of the Palatinate

In German history, the Palatinate included those lands which were governed by a "count palatine--a title held by a leading secular prince of the Holy Roman Empire."2 Boundaries of the Palatinate varied depending on the political powers and military successes or defeats of its rulers. Usually identified in terms of an "Upper" and "Lower" Palatinate, the Palatinate includes territories on both sides of the Rhine River between the Main and Neckar tributaries and on both sides of the Naab River.

A Brief Political History of the Palatinate

The Holy Roman Empire existed primarily from the ninth through the eighteenth centuries. It originally included territory in what is now known as "Germany, Austria, western Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, eastern France, the Low Countries, and parts of northern and central Italy."3 Its main component was Germany and German speaking territory. The Germanic area of Central Europe in the year 1700 was a patchwork of some three hundred loosely organized sovereign territories wherein the delusionary concept of the divine right of kings was accepted, rulers reigned supreme within their own borders, and an emperor prevailed overall. The Empire was further structured into nine districts which were under jurisdiction of governors or "electors" who chose the emperor. "Originally allied with the papacy, the empire became involved in a long struggle with the popes for the leadership of Christian Europe."4

Beginning with the sixteenth century impact of Martin Luther and the Reformation, serious conflict erupted between the Roman Catholic Emperor and numerous German rulers, in the various territories, who became Protestants. A compromise was established "in the Peace of Augsburg of 1555 and confirmed and expanded in the Treaties of Westphalia of 1648. . . . This gave each sovereign the choice of one of the three churches as the official faith in the area over which he ruled."5 The three established churches in the Holy Roman Empire were Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed (Calvinist). Dissenters such as Anabaptists, who objected to infant baptism, and separatist Pietists, who looked to the Bible (rather than to a church, creed, or hierarchy) for 4 authority, were not tolerated. Therefore, the history of official religion in the Palatinate has been described as follows:

The Electoral Palatinate had become Lutheran in 1556, and then Reformed in 1560. From 1576 to 1583 a new elector reintroduced Lutheranism, only to have this faith replaced by the Reformed until 1620. During the Thirty Years' War, the Spanish and Bavarian Catholics were twice dominant, but the treaties of Westphalia placed a Reformed Elector on the throne. After each change, the new party attempted to repress completely the other faiths. In other words, within the space of one hundred fifty years the official religion had been changed eight times!6

Seventeenth century military confrontations included the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), which began "when the future Holy Roman emperor Ferdinand II, in his role as King of Bohemia, attempted to impose Roman Catholic absolutism on his domains, and the Protestant nobles of both Bohemia and Austria rose up in rebellion."7 In 1685 France's Roman Catholic king, Louis XIV, revoked the Edict of Nantes, which had given safety to the Huguenots; protestant refugees began to leave France for England, Holland, and the Palatinate. Then followed the War of the Grand Alliance (1689-1697) which was precipitated by Louis XIV when in 1688 his armies marched into the Palatinate. The Palatinate was again devastated as the armies of both sides plundered the area:

In February, 1689, . . . [General] Melac, blew up the walls of Heidelberg and its castle towers, and laid half the city in ashes. . . . Such of the inhabitants as tried to rescue their goods were slain. Every where were found the corpses of wretched men frozen to death. The citizens of Manheim were compelled to assist in destroying their fortifications, and were then driven out, hungry and naked, into the winter cold, and their city was burned. . . .

. . . At the peace of Ryswick, October 30, 1697, . . . the famous Ryswick clause was included, by which the churches were to stand as they had been during the hostile occupation. . . . The Protestants . . . lost their churches, and the Catholic service was restored in entirely reformed communities.8

Lord (Thomas Babington) Macaulay described the devastation in the Palatinate this way:

The French commander announced to near half a million of human beings that he granted them three days of grace, and that, within that time, they must shift for themselves. Soon the roads and fields, which then lay deep in snow, were blackened by innumerable multitudes of men, women, and children flying from their homes. Many died of cold and hunger; but enough survived to fill the streets of all the cities of Europe with lean and squalid beggars, who had once been thriving farmers and shopkeepers. Meanwhile the work of destruction began. The flames went up from every market-place, every hamlet, every parish church, every country seat. . . . The fields where the corn had been sown were ploughed up. The orchards were hewn down. . . . The magnificent Cathedral of Spires perished, and with it the marble sepulchres of eight Ceasars. The coffins were broken open. The ashes were scattered to the winds.9

The eighteenth century began with the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714). In 1707 a French army under Marshall Claude-Louis-Hector Villars marched through the Palatinate spreading terror and death. Along with oppressive taxation and religious turmoil, life for Palatines was once again filled with suffering. Then came a blow which broke the native spirit of many a Palatine; it was delivered by the wrath of nature when the winter of 1708-09 was extremely harsh and long.

Mass Migration

In the spring of 1709 thousands of Palatines left their families and homelands, boarded small boats on the Rhine River, and traveled to Rotterdam, Holland. From there the journey for one of those refugees ended this way: "Early in the morning of June 13, 1710, the ship Lyon drew into New York harbor. . . . On board the Lyon were 402 ‘poor Palatines,' among them thirteen-year-old Conrad Weiser."10 Weiser wrote in his autobiography:

In . . . 1709 my Father moved away from Great Aspach on the 24th of June, and took eight children with him. My eldest sister, Catrina, remained there with her husband, Conrad Boss, with whom she had two children. My father sold them his house, fields, meadows, vineyard and garden, but they could only pay him 75 gulden, . . . so it was made a present to them. In about two months we reached London in England, along with several thousand Germans whom Queen Ann, of glorious remembrance, had taken in charge, and was furnishing with food. About Christmas day we embarked, and ten shiploads with about 4,000 souls were sent to America.11

The first objective of the departing Palatine was simply to escape from the Palatinate, but the ultimate goal was to find a new life somewhere else on the earth. By taking one journey at a time, hopeful Palatines yielded themselves and their families to the promises and schemes of others, as well as to the obvious risks of travel. Although through the years Palatines did immigrate to other countries, England offered a specific welcome. There is no doubt Queen Anne's assistance was humanitarian in nature, but it is also true that England's empire hoped to gain materially by advantageous use of the Palatine sojourners.

Queen Anne, whose husband (the Prince of Denmark) was of German stock and a Lutheran, was personally concerned about the distressed Protestants of Germany, as was England's Parliament. England regarded itself as the champion of the Protestant cause in Europe. Besides, England could use these people to protect its American frontier. In 1708 an "Act was passed . . . for the naturalisation of all foreign protestants"12 for the purpose of encouraging newcomers. Transport ships were provided to bring the Palatines to England, where they waited for disposition by the government. In 1709, as Palatines were arriving in Rotterdam, the British Resident at the Hague, James Dayrolle, wrote to London:

Upon the continuation of H. M. [Her Majesty's] Bounty or any other encouragement, you may have half Germany if you please, for they are all flying away not only from the Palatinate, but from all other countrys in the neighborhood of the Rhine. . . . The expenses may be great but are necessary, if you are in want of these people for the plantations, as my Lord Townshend seems to be of opinion you are, otherwise they must perish where they come to lye at Briel.13

Problems and Solutions

The following is a description of what the English people became quickly aware when thousands of Palatine immigrants arrived in London:

The citizens of London were astonished to learn, in May and June, 1709, that 5,000 men, women and children, Germans from the Rhine, were under tents in the suburbs. By October the number had increased to 13,000, and comprised husbandmen, tradesmen, school teachers and ministers. These emigrants had deserted the Palatinate, owing to French oppression and the persecution by their prince, the elector John William, of the house of Newburgh, who had become a devoted Romanist, though his subjects were mainly Lutherans and Calvinists.14

Of course, in the English Parliament,there was political reaction and controversy as to what to do with the Palatines:

The Tory mind was, at the outset, affected against the cause of those refugees and opposed to the assisting hand of the government. . . .

. . . The blame for the wholesale immigration was laid on the Naturalization Act of 1708, a measure passed by the Whigs after the arrival of Kockerthal with the first company from the Palatinate. . . . It is a curious fact that, though . . . people came in crowds during the next year, yet it is doubtful whether the act had anything to do with that popular movement. Very few of the Palatines sought to be naturalized in London, and probably a still smaller number of them were attracted thither by a knowledge of that act. The bait which drew them was in the tidings of the kindness shown to Kockerthal and his companions, and in the prospect of being sent to America.15

England's public records and documents relative to the colonial history of New York provide numerous examples, through written accounts which clearly record the story, as to conditions and events of the time, during the early part of the eighteenth century, wherein so many Palatines chose to leave Germany.

April 20, 1708:

1442. i. . . . Joshua de Kocherthal to the Queen. Most Serene, and Most Potent Queen, Most Gracious Princess and Lady! Your Royall Majesty will most graciously be pleased to have laid before you, in all humility, in what manner a number of the people that dwelt in High Germany upon the Rivers Rhine and Neckar, have, by the present warr, but particularly by the French ravages in those parts, 1707, been ruined and utterly spoyled, in such manner that, according to the judgement and opinion of man, they cannot possibly attain unto sufficient means of livelyhood during the hard times, which still continue in those parts; in which their miserable condition, after many consultations had on that account, they have lastly, in the name of the Great God, taken the resolution, to committ themselves to your Majesty's most generous protection, and to seeke for shelter and assistance under your most glorious and all the world renowned Government. . . . The whole Colony consisting of 41 persons, and in the name of all of them, their Evangelical Minister . . . Joshua De Kocherthal.16

April 22, 1708:

1445. Council of Trade and Plantations to Mr. Secretary Boyle. Having discoursed Mr. Kocherthal . . . , we must take notice that we find their persons are reduced to such a necessity that they are not able to subsist themselves without H.M. immediate relief.17

April 28, 1708:

1456. i. . . . Council of Trade and Plantations to the Queen. Report upon the petition of Joshua de Kocherthal. These 41 poor Lutherans are in the utmost want, not having at present anything (but what they get by charity) to subsist themselves; they have been reduced to this miserable condition by the ravages committed by the French in the Lower Palatinate, where they lost all they had; . . . therefore we humbly propose that they be sent to settle upon Hudson's River in the province of New York, where they may be usefull to this Kingdome, particularly in the production of Naval Stores, and as a frontier against the French and their Indians. . . . And in case your Majesty shall approve of their going to New York, we humbly represent that the cheapest way of transporting them will be in the man-of-war and transport ship that shall be ordered to go with Lord Lovelace. . . . And we further humbly offer that they be supplyed here with the necessary tools for agriculture, to be sent with them, to enable them to begin and make settlements. . . . We further offer that before their departure they may be made denizens of this Kingdom.18

May 10, 1708:

1472. Order of Queen in Council. The poor Lutherans . . . are to be made free Denizens of this Kingdom.19

June 10, 1708:

1533. Copies of Mr. Popple's and Mr. Kocherthal's receipts . . . being 50 days' allowance for 40 poor Protestant Refugees from the Palatinate.20

June 23, 1708:

1568. W. Popple, jr., to Wm. Lowndes. Since my letter of June 16, the Council of Trade and Plantations have discoursed with several persons about the transportation of the Lutherans to New York. . . . Col. Nicholson and Mr. Micajah Perry, who have been versed in these matters, are willing, if required, to undertake the buying the tools and necessaries for the said Lutherans, so soon as my Lord High Treasurer shall please to issue the mony.21

May 3, 1709:

485. The Earl of Sunderland to the Council of Trade and Plantations. The Queen being informed that some hundreds of poor German Protestants are lately come and more are coming from the Palatinate with intentions to settle in H.M. Plantations in America, H.M. being convinced that it would be much more for the advantage of Her Kingdoms if a method could be found to settle them here in such manner as they might get a comfortable livelyhood. . . . They are for the most part husbandmen and labouring people, which renders it the easier to dispose of them to the advantage of the publick.22

May 5, 1709:

491. The Earl of Sunderland to the Council of Trade and Plantations. H.M. being graciously disposed to relieve the necessities of the German Protestants . . . , you are forthwith to . . . report to H.M. . . . what it may be necessary for their present support, till they be either settled here or sent to H.M. Plantations.23

May 9, 1709:

495. John Tribbeko and George Ruperti to the Council of Trade and Plantations. According to your Lordships' order, we have made a particular enquiry into the condition of the poor Protestant Palatines. . . . These poor distressed people, who most humbly implore H.M. most gracious protection, have desired us to represent, (1) That those of 'em who had some substance when they left their country, have during their journey been obliged to assist the others who had nothing by which means all of 'em (except some few) are now reduced to great want. (2) That they finding themselves under great straits and having already some sick among 'em for want of necessary sustenance, and many of 'em going allmost naked, they pray some speedy relief, lest the vigorous young men might lose their health and strength, and so not be serviceable in the Plantations. . . . (4) That your Lordships would be pleased to order that they might not be overcrowded in the ships in their voyage to the Plantations, they having been in great misery, and had severall children died in their passage from Holland for want of room. (5) That about 100 more of their countrymen having been obliged to stay behind at Rotterdam, they cannot pay their transport hither, and leave it to your Lordships' generosity. . . .

495. i. . . . A great many of the poor Palatines begin to be very sikly, and several are dead here already, because (1) they are pakt up in such great numbers, we having found very often 20 to 30 men and women together with their children in one room; (2) when they fall sick they are destitute of all comfortable assistance, and many really want bread. Pray for some speedy relief for their great necessity.24

May 23, 1709:

527. Mr. Taylour to Mr. Popple. My Lord Treasurer desires the opinion the Council of Trade and Plantations, in what manner the German Protestant Refugees may be most properly disposed of. . . .

527. i. Mr. Coleby to the Lord High Treasurer. There are 1100 more of the German Protestants come over, and 600 more lye at Rotterdam for passage. They are very poor and sickly, and if they are not quickly disposed of, will breed a sickness in the City, etc.25

June 1, 1709:

553. Council of Trade to the Earl of Sunderland and the Lord High Treasurer. As to the settlement of the poor Palatines here, ‘tis certain that . . . many hands contribute to the increase of trade, and the increase of trade naturally tends to the increase of wealth. And of this we have a famous instance in Queen Elizabeth's reign, when many Dutch and Walloon families, to avoid the persecution of the Duke of Alva etc., were seated at Norwich etc. But then ‘tis to be observed these families brought with them considerable stocks to set up a new manufacture of bays, says, stuffs and serges; which England till then was unacquainted with. The case of the poor Germans is quite different: they have neither stock nor manufacture, most of them women and children; a great many of them, through age and infirmities past their labour, others (not a small number) not come to it; some of them more fit for alms-houses than work-houses; there are 2000 already arrived, besides others that are expected, and many more that will probably follow, unless some discountenance be given to the transporting of them hither, until those already arrived be disposed of.26

Obviously, in the Spring of 1709 arrival of people into Rotterdam and then into England was immediate and massive. The stream flowed on until, by July, it had become a flood that alarmed London. Even though hundreds of tents were immediately provided, overall accommodations could not be arranged fast enough. Disease threatened. The labor market was glutted. The government became alarmed. By the end of the year, plans were made to transport thousands of Palatines to New York.

November 11, 1709:

842. i. Earl of Sunderland to the President of the Council of New York. The Queen having thought fit to order the sending of 3000 of the poor Palatines to New York, has commanded me to tell you that they are to sail from hence about Dec. 15, to the end that you may consult with H.M. Council there upon the proper measures to be taken for providing for these poor people at their arrival in your parts, both as to lodging and provisions.27

November 30, 1709, Colonel Robert Hunter to the Lords of Trade:

The number to be transported being 3000 and housing for 'em at their landing being very uncertain, and no cover to be expected where they are to be planted untill they build themselves Hutts, I presume your Lordships will think it necessary that there be 600 tents at least sent along. . . .

The stores formerly sent to New York being exhausted by the intended Expedition to Canada, and that People being to be planted on the Frontiers it will be absolutely necessary they be armed with 600 Firelocks & Bayonetts at least, from Her Majesty's Stores here, and a proportionable quantity of powder and shott, and other ammunition stores according to custome. Having upon this occasion particular reasons for managing the Indians it will be necessary that what Presents at least have been heretofore made to them, may be at this time renewed, as well for their good will in parting with these Lands that we may possess, as to ingage their assistance for the Defence of our Infant Colonies.28

December 1, 1709, Colonel Hunter to the Lords of Trade:

When your Lordships have determined in what place the Palatines are to be planted, You would be pleased to consider in what manner the lands are to be granted them, in what proportions and under what reservations, or whether it be not advisable that they be servants to the Crown for a certain Term, or at least 'till they have repaid the Expences the Crown is at in setting them to work, and subsisting them whilst they can not subsist themselves.29

December 5, 1709, report of the Board of Trade on the plans for settling the Palatines:

That the Province of New Yorke being the most advanced Frontier of Your Majesty's Plantations on the Continent of America, the Defence and Preservation of that place is of the utmost importance to the Security of all the Rest; And if the said Palatines were seated there they would be an additional strength and Security to that Province, not only with regard to the French of Canada, But against any Insurrection of the Scattered Nations of Indians upon that Continent, and therefore we humbly Propose that they be sent thither.

By the best Information we can gett, the most proper Places for the seating of them in that Province, so as they may be of benefit to this Kingdom by the Production of Naval Stores, are in the Mohaques River, and on Hudson's River, where are very great numbers of Pines fit for Production of Turpentine and Tarr, out of which Rozin and Pitch are made. . . .

That the Governor be likewise Directed to grant . . . 40 Acres per head to each family, after they shall have repaid by the produce of their labour the charges the publick shall be at in settling and subsisting them there. . . .

Lastly We humbly offer that the said Palatines upon their arrival there be Naturalized, without Fee or Reward, that they may enjoy all such Privileges . . . of that Province.30

Palatine Baptists

In the above example of Palatinate German Protestants whom England allowed to sail to America, specific attention is given to a group of Lutherans. As noted in the opening paragraph of this paper, one of the other religious groups (classified among the separatists and pietists) which left the Palatinate during the early eighteenth century was the German Baptists (also known as Brethren, Dippers, Dunkers, Dunkards, Church of the Brethren). Of them, Brethren historian Donald F. Durnbaugh writes:

Our fathers were labeled heretics early in their history because they rejected the dogma, the teaching, and the practices of the established order. As such they were objects of bitter persecution by the provincial governments and the state churches of Germany. Forced to leave that country almost en masse, they left nearly everything behind--including practically all records of their beginning.31

Among the original eight founders of the Brethren were five men and three women:

Finally, in the year 1708, eight persons agreed together to establish a covenant of a good conscience with God, to accept all ordinances of Jesus Christ as an easy yoke, and thus to follow after their Lord Jesus . . . as true sheep in joy or sorrow until the blessed end. These eight persons were five brethren and three sisters, as follows: first, George Grebe, from Hesse-Kassel; second, Luke Vetter, also from the state of Hesse; the third was Alexander Mack, from Schriesheim in the Palatinate between Mannheim and Heidelberg; the fourth was Andrew Boni, from Basel in Switzerland; the fifth, John Kipping, from Bareit in the state of Wurttemberg; the three sisters were: first, Joanna Nothiger, or Boni; second, Anna Margaret Mack; and third, Joanna Kipping. These eight persons united with one another as brethren and sisters in the covenant of the cross of Jesus Christ as a church of Christian believers.32

The chosen Brethren leader was Alexander Mack who baptized the other seven near Schwarzenau. Because of his newly found religious enthusiasm, Alexander Mack and his immersionist followers journeyed to Marienborn in the Ysenburg territory of Count Charles August who was of the Reformed faith. The following is an example of persecution upon those who dared differ from the religion of the ruler, as recorded in official court minutes:

Inasmuch as Eva Elizabeth Hoffmann allowed her daughter to be baptized by Alexander Mack on the twenty first of last month in the river at Dudelsheim, according to the reports submitted by the honorable Pastor Rosa and Deputy Administrator Winter, the above mentioned women were summoned today. After they had appeared, the illegality of their action was made clear to them. Then the official . . . told the mother that because of the above-mentioned situation, . . . the [count's] protection was withdrawn by virtue of the decree of His Grace of July 14, 1710. She must therefore betake herself from the territory. It shall also be made clear to Alexander Mack that he should avoid this territory. To this end, all of the villagers were ordered that no one is to shelter him, under penalty of arbitrary punishment.33

Under constant threat of being banned and imprisoned as others of the Brethren were, in 1720 Alexander Mack led his Baptist followers to Holland where he resided until he chose to join those of the Brethren already in America. He arrived in England's colony of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia on September 27, 1729, aboard the ship Allen which also carried four others of the first Brethren congregation. Another of the original eight was Lucas Vetter. He arrived on September 21, 1731, aboard Britannia. The following is a typical account recorded for new arrivals:

At the Courtho. of Philadia, Sept. 21st 1731. Present: The Honble PATRICK GORDON, Esqr., Lt. Govr. . . .

A List was presented . . . of One hundred and Six Palatines, who with their Families, making in all Two hundred & sixty nine Persons, were imported here in the Ship Britannia, of London, Michael Franklyn, Mr., from Rotterdam, but last from Cowes, as by Clearance from that Port. The Master being Examined said that he had no particular License for their Transportation. They were then called in, & having declared that their Intentions were to settle & live Peaceably in this Province, the several persons whose Names are subjoyned, did repeat and sign the Declaration inserted in the Minutes of the 21st of Septr., 1727, & likewise took and subscribed the Declaration of Fidelity & Abjuration.34

Summary

The above examples of Palatine emigration merely provide a few particulars in this brief review of the total Palatine story. Pennsylvania historian Wayland F. Dunaway writes:

The earlier German immigration to Pennsylvania is largely the story of those German sects who came to America in search of religious liberty. . . . The vast majority of German immigrants after 1727, however, came as indentured servants in extreme poverty.35

Thus, untold are many stories about the risks taken, including tragic tales of death and human bondage. Nevertheless, through the grace of England, eighteenth century Germans came to America. They came on ships, sailing ships. As Edwin C. Guillet writes:

The slowness of navigation made the Atlantic crossing unpleasant even for those who could afford the best accommodations; while the poor and wretched made the passage in vessels generally unsanitary, verminous, and unseaworthy. But many came with health and high resolve, and tales of heroism and devotion stand out amidst the murky background.

The conditions under which the great mass of emigrants left the Old Land were a reflection of the times. Famine, unemployment, poverty, and the brutal arm of the law hastened the exodus, and the unwary were exploited and cheated at both ends of the journey and frequently bullied and starved aboard ship as well. But there is a sense of racial destiny in the march from the Old World to the New.36

While there can be little doubt about the major motivations which describe the great emigration from eighteenth century Germany, including the matter of religious freedom, just how significantly did the existence of the promise and hope for religious freedom in America influence German emigrants? At least, as Marcus Lee Hansen writes, "it was the all-important fact to those congregations and sects which sought relief from ecclesiastical domination."37 Moreover, there is strong support for the position taken by historian S. H. Cobb:

These men were men of principle, who had suffered much for principle and stedfastness therein. The very poverty, which to some critics seems suggestive only of opprobrium [disgrace], had come upon them for such steadfastness. Their story rightly told must tell of statecraft and church polity, of the movements and campaigns of armies. It must speak of sufferings which approach to martyrdom, of the dark crimes possible to kings and priests, of the oppressions wrought by unbridled power and the passive resistance offered by a steadfast adherence to truth. The Pilgrim Fathers were not the only company who sought in this western world "Freedom to worship God." The fact is that, if ever a body of emigrants came to America from under the hand of the oppressor, such were these Palatines; and if ever the thought of religious liberty constrained men to leave their native land for hoped-for freedom in America, such hope was powerful with these children of the Palatinate.38

Further, in 1876, C. Z. Weiser wrote:

With liberty for our watchword, we must give notice to the world that the German race here on this Western Continent will not permit or countenance any measures that interfere with a man's rights of conscience, that every man shall have the right to pursue any honorable calling and to worship God in any form of religion without prejudice to his civil or political rights. In other words, let the world know that the blood of the German race is to-day what it was in the forests of Germany before Europe knew what liberty was--free--that they are now in favor of Constitutional Liberty, and are determined that this shall be in deed the land of freedom, restrained only by law.39

If there was one certain motivation which described the yearning of many of the poor Palatines who braved the Atlantic, it was the desire to be free from the religious tyranny of their birthlands. For example, many of the first Palatines to immigrate into America were Quakers who came due to the seventeenth century invitation and encouragement of William Penn; and later, when C. Z. Weiser wrote "the land of freedom, restrained only by law," he specifically acknowledged the "Constitutional Liberty" stipulated in the 1787 Constitution for the United States of America which clearly states that "no religious test shall ever be required."40

NOTES

1 Richard B. Morris, The Life History of the United States (New York: Time-Life Books, 1963), 120-121.

2 The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th ed., s.v. "Palatinate."

3 Ibid., s.v. "Holy Roman Empire." 4 Ibid.

5 Donald F. Durnbaugh, European Origins of the Brethren (Elgin, Il.: The Brethren Press, 1958), 28.

6 Ibid., 30-31. 7 Britannica, s.v. "Thirty Years War."

8 Charlton T. Lewis, A History of Germany (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1883), 462-463.

9 Lord Macaulay, The History of England (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1900), 3:121.

10 Paul A. W. Wallace, Conrad Weiser (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1945), 1.

11 C. Z. Weiser, The Life of (John) Conrad Weiser (Reading, Pa.: Daniel Miller, Publisher, 1876), 441.

12 Thomas Pitt Taswell-Langmead, English Constitutional History (London: Sweet & Maxwell Ltd., 1946), 757.

13 Walter Allen Knittle, Early Eighteenth Century Palatine Emigration (Philadelphia: Dorrance & Company, 1937), 56.

14 Donald E. Smith, ed. The New Larned History for Ready Reference Reading and Research, (Springfield, Mass.: C. A. Nichols Publishing Company, 1924), s.v. "Palatines," by A. D. Mellick, Jr.

15 Wolfgang Menzel, Germany from the Earliest Period, trans. Mrs. George Horrocks (New York: Peter Fenelon Collier & Son, 1902), 3:196-198.

16 Public Record Office, Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series, America and West Indies, 1706-1708, June, ed. Cecil Headlam (London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1916), 720-721.

17 Ibid., 721. 18 Ibid., 723-724. 19 Ibid., 727.

20 Ibid., 745. 21 Ibid., 757.

22 Public Record Office, Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series, America and West Indies, June 1708-1709, ed. Cecil Headlam (London: HMSO, 1922), 290.

23 Ibid., 295. 24 Ibid., 295-296. 25 Ibid., 307.

26 Ibid., 322-323. 27 Ibid., 515.

28 John Romeyn Brodhead, Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New-York, ed. E. B. O'Callaghan (Albany, NY: Weed, Parsons and Company, Printers, 1855), 5:113.

29 Ibid. 30 Ibid., 117-120.

31 Durnbaugh, 9. 32 Ibid., 121. 33 Ibid., 161.

34 Samuel Hazard, ed., Colonial Records of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg: T. Fenn & Co., 1831-1840; reprint, Philadelphia: Jo. Severns & Co., 1852), 3:414.

35 Wayland F. Dunaway, A History of Pennsylvania (New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1948), 67.

36 Edwin C. Guilett, The Great Migration (New York: Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1937), vii.

37 Marcus Lee Hansen, The Great Migration 1607-1860 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1940), 161.

38 Sanford H. Cobb, The Story of the Palatines (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1897), 11-12.

39 Weiser, 439.

40 Constitution, art. VI, sec. 3.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Primary Sources

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Durnbaugh, Donald F. European Origins of the Brethren. Elgin, Il.: The Brethren Press, 1958.

Hazard, Samuel, ed. Colonial Records of Pennsylvania. Harrisburg: T. Fenn & Co., 1831-1840; reprint, Philadelphia: Jo. Stevens & Co., 1852.

Taswell-Langmead, Thomas Pitt. English Constitutional History. London: Sweet & Maxwell Ltd., 1946.

U.K. Public Record Office. Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series, America and West Indies, 1706-1708, June. Edited by Cecil Headlam. London: HMSO, 1916.

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Dunaway, Wayland F. A History of Pennsylvania. New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1948.

Guillet, Edwin C. The Great Migration. New York: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1937.

Hansen, Marcus Lee. The Atlantic Migration 1607-1860. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1940.

Knittle, Walter Allen. Early Eighteenth Century Palatine Emigration. Philadelphia: Dorrance & Company, 1937.

Lewis, Charlton T. A History of Germany. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1883.

Macaulay, Lord. The History of England. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1900.

McHenry, Robert, ed. The New Encyclopedia Britannica, Fifthteenth Edition. Chicago: Encyclopedia, Inc., 1993.

Menzel, Wolfgang. Germany From the Earliest Period. New York: Peter Fenelon Collier & Son, 1902.

Morris, Richard B. The Life History of the United States. New York: Time-Life Books, 1963.

Smith, Donald E. ed. The New Larned History For Ready Reference Reading and Research. Springfield, Mass.: C. A. Nichols Publishing, 1924. S.v. "Palatines," by A. D. Mellick, Jr.

Wallace, Paul A. W. Conrad Weiser. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1945.

Weiser, C. Z. The Life of (John) Conrad Weiser. Reading, Pa: Daniel Miller, Publisher, 1876.

Copyright 1999 Gene Garman