A small Midwestern city certainly has a made lasting impression not just on the local culture, but on a national level.

German immigrants flocked to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in search of cheap farmland in the early 1900’s.  With this desire to escape the problems in the homeland, they brought with them delicious food, highly refined beer, language, and more importantly cultural standards that leaked out of the small town and into the mainstream ways of America.  Their influence goes beyond bratwurst, mustard, pretzels, hefeweizen- it has changed the school system, impacting every single American.  This culture insisted on kindergarten for young children, sports programs at all levels of schooling, and the inclusion of music and art curriculum again for all levels of schooling.  These influences, which were incubated in the large amount of German immigrants who settled in Milwaukee, are largely taken for granted, assumed that this is the way this it always has been.  A small city, and a small movement, creates vibrations that goes far beyond the initial intent.