In the 1880s, German migration was driven by a combination push factors in Germany and pull factors in the United States.

Push Factors from Germany

• Economic Hardship: Poverty, unemployment, low wages, high taxes, and increased competition from British goods squeezed livelihoods.

• Lack of Opportunity: Limited land availability, feudal restrictions, and scarce social mobility pushed people to seek independence elsewhere.

• Political Unrest: The failure of the 1848 revolutions led educated Germans to flee persecution by the new government.

• Military Service: Universal conscription for Prussian military service was a major deterrent, leading many to emigrate to avoid it.

• Religious & Social Persecution: Harassment for practicing minority religions (Catholicism, Judaism) and conflicts like Bismarck's Kulturkampf (1872-1878) prompted emigration.

• Agricultural Changes: Mechanization of farming and displacement from land (like river valley floods) pushed rural families out.

Incentives in the United States

• Economic Opportunity: The promise of owning land, especially cheap farmland in the Midwest, attracted many farmers, while industrial growth created factory and railroad jobs in cities.

• Land Availability: Vast, affordable land offered opportunities for financial security and property ownership not available in Germany.

• Freedom: The U.S. offered greater political and religious freedom compared to the stricter German states.

• Established Communities: Existing German communities and letters home (read in taverns) provided social support and practical information about opportunities.

• Industrial Boom: Rapid industrialization and railroad expansion created jobs in construction and factories, pulling immigrants into urban centers like Cincinnati and St. Louis.
  

Steamship Company Promotions

Steamship companies offered “immigration packages", which were essentially low-cost, basic tickets for steerage passage, offering minimal amenities, cramped quarters (often shared bunks in dark holds), and basic rations. Steamships dramatically cut travel time from months to weeks, making transatlantic journeys feasible for millions, with major steamship lines competing fiercely, even offering prepaid tickets and rudimentary onward train travel to attract the massive influx of Southern, Eastern, and Northern European migrants seeking new lives in America

Railroad Company Promotions

Railroad companies were major players in recruiting immigrants. They had received large land grants from the government and needed settlers to create viable communities and customers for their rail lines. They offered land for sale on easy credit terms and marketed "attractive family packages" that facilitated the movement of entire families, including their tools, directly to their new farms.

The Homestead Act

Although much desirable land was already claimed by the 1880s, the Homestead Act of 1862 still provided a path to acquire 160 acres of federal land for little more than a filing fee, provided the settler lived on and improved the land for five years.