 The Salzburghers demanded that the rest of Bay City recognize them as Americans first and German-American second; nevertheless, hostility towards them continued.The governor of Michigan at the time, Albert Sleeper, sought support from the German-American community; however, anti-German sentiment in Michigan was so widespread that this proved to be a costly mistake.Even before the declaration of war against Germany, anti-German and pro-British sentiment were dominant in Michigan, as a result, hundreds of young men from Michigan had gone across the border to Canada to join the Canadian Armed Forces so as to be a part of the war effort.