In 1683, a group of 13 German families from the Rhineland arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the invitation of William Penn. They established the settlement of Germantown, which became the first permanent German community in North America. These immigrants were the forerunners of the massive wave of German immigration that would transform the American Midwest in the 19th century. Their arrival marked the beginning of a significant German-American presence in the colonies, contributing to the region's cultural and economic diversity.

The arrival of the first German immigrants in 1683 is an important, though often overlooked, theme in American literature. It represents the early diversity of the colonial population, and the community of Germantown features in historical accounts and local folklore. The broader German immigration wave would later inspire works that explore the immigrant experience, including the poetry and prose of German-American writers who chronicled their journey and adaptation to a new world.