Proud heritage.

Now I don't want to reinforce exisitng stereotypes, but I have to share something with you. I am reading a book about American history at the moment which chronologically covers everything from the colonial times to the present. Well I bought this book a few years ago so it only goes up until Clinton's second term. I think I will copy the additional chapters from the latest edition at the library once I get done. It's a pretty good book not only focussing on political aspects, but cultural developments as well. But it's in German, so a lot of you guys will have some trouble reading it. To anyone else I recommend it. It's called "Geschichte der USA" and written by Jürgen Heideking. The publisher is A. Francke Verlag Tübingen und Basel. Gots to cover the legality of this enterprise.
Anyway, I have made it through the wars for independence and arrived in the early 19th century. The book is now talking about continuing democratization and reform movements, specifically the 1820s. And here is the German quote, which I will translate below:

Im starken Alkoholkonsum glaubten viele Reformer die Quelle zu erkennen, aus der die schlimmsten Übel wie Verbrechen, Armut, Mißhandlung von Frauen und Prostitution flossen. Die Initiative ergriff der presbyterianische Pfarrer Lyman Beecher aus Boston, der seit Mitte der 1820er Jahre in Neuengland die totale Abstinenz predigte. In der Folgezeit traten mehr als eine Million Menschen, die meisten von ihnen Arbeiter, lokalen oder regionalen Temperance Societies bei und legten das Gelübde ab, keinen Alkohol oder zumindest keinen "hard liquor" mehr zu trinken. Der Kampf für Prohibitionsgesetzte führte aber nur in wenigen Staaten zum Erfolg, weil sich irische und deutsche Einwanderer vielerorts heftig gegen den Zwang zur Nüchternheit wehrten. (Heideking, S.126)

This really doesn't need commenting, so here's the translation:

Many of the reformers believed that massive consumption of alcohol was the seed from which the worst evils, like crime, poverty, mistreatment of women and prostitution grew. The presbyterian minister Lyman Beecher from Boston took the initiative, and preached complete abstinence in New England since the mid-1820s. Over a million people then joined local or regional Temperance Societies and swore an oath not to drink alcohol, or at least no hard liquor. But the fight for prohibition laws was succesful only in very few states, because Irish and German immigrants vehemently resisted the obligation of being sober in many places.

I hope my translation makes enough sense for you. Well, like I said before, it doesn't really need commenting. All Americans, please drink a beer and a shot to honor the proud achievements of German (and Irish) immigrants in your country.