The Trial of Frederick Eberle: Language, Patriotism and Citizenship in Philadelphia's German Community, 1790 to 1830
"This is microhistory at its best. Baer has selected a single event and brilliantly used it to explore the larger culture and society of the time. With great clarity and insight Baer has investigated multicultural issues of language and the assimilation of immigrants that are as relevant for us today as they were to Americans two centuries ago. This is a very important and timely book."-Gordon S. Wood,Brown University"Vividly recreates this fascinating inter-ethnic group controversy about the meaning of language for culture and citizenship in the early republic."-American Historical Review,“This case study is fascinating in part because of the richness of its sources.”-The Journal of American History,“Baer presents the larger history of the congregational conflict, which began long before the trial and continued long afterwards. She also exposes the thick complexity of the conflict, which involved competing understandings of citizenship in the new American republic. Hers is at once a social, cultural, and religious history.”-Lutheran Quarterly,