Until like the mid-20th century, American-ness was specifically tied to being "Anglo" and "Protestant". Pre-WW1, German Americans were definitely seen as a little "off", especially if they were Catholic. Those heathens didn't speak English, they drank (remember late 19th century America, good Protestants didn't drink), celebrated Christmas with too much gusto like a bunch of Roman savages, they worshipped their evil Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin,
a demigouge who allowed Socialist rabble-rousers to intimidate him into a welfare state.
Until like the mid-20th century, American-ness was specifically tied to being "Anglo" and "Protestant". Pre-WW1, German Americans were definitely seen as a little "off", especially if they were Catholic. Those heathens didn't speak English, they drank (remember late 19th century America, good Protestants didn't drink), celebrated Christmas with too much gusto like a bunch of Roman savages, they worshipped their evil Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin, a demigouge who allowed Socialist rabble-rousers to intimidate him into a welfare state.