diff options
Diffstat (limited to '43939-8.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 43939-8.txt | 9194 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 9194 deletions
diff --git a/43939-8.txt b/43939-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index a242b22..0000000 --- a/43939-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9194 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Scandinavian Element in the United -States, by Kendric Charles Babcock - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - - - - -Title: The Scandinavian Element in the United States - University of Illinois Studies in the Social Sciences, Vol. 111, No. 3, September, 1914 - - -Author: Kendric Charles Babcock - - - -Release Date: October 12, 2013 [eBook #43939] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SCANDINAVIAN ELEMENT IN THE -UNITED STATES*** - - -E-text prepared by Dianna Adair, Fred Salzer, Bryan Ness, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images -generously made available by Internet Archive/American Libraries -(http://archive.org/details/americana) - - - -Note: Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - http://archive.org/details/scandinavianelem33babc - - -Transcriber's note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - Small capitals in the original work are represented here - in all capitals. - - Footnotes have been renumbered and moved to directly - below the paragraph to which they belong. - - Some tables may not line up vertically. - - - - - -University of Illinois Studies in the Social Sciences -Vol. 111. No. 3 September, 1914 - -THE SCANDINAVIAN ELEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES - -by - -KENDRIC CHARLES BABCOCK, Ph. D. - -Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in the University of -Illinois - -Sometime Fellow in the University of Minnesota and in Harvard -University - - - - - - - -PRICE $1.00 - -Published by the University of Illinois -Urbana - -Copyright, 1914 -By the University of Illinois - - - - - TO - HARRY PRATT JUDSON, KNUTE NELSON, - NICOLAY A. GREVSTAD, AND ALBERT BUSHNELL HART - IN GRATEFUL RECOGNITION OF - UNFAILING ASSISTANCE, ENCOURAGEMENT, - AND FAITHFUL CRITICISM - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER I - Introduction--General discussion 7-14 - - CHAPTER II - Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes 15-21 - - CHAPTER III - Early Norwegian Immigration 22-34 - - CHAPTER IV - The Rising Stream of Norwegian Immigration 35-49 - - CHAPTER V - Swedish Immigration before 1850 50-61 - - CHAPTER VI - The Danish Immigration 62-65 - - CHAPTER VII - A Half Century of Expansion and Distribution, 1850-1900 66-78 - - CHAPTER VIII - Economic Forces at Work 79-105 - - CHAPTER IX - The Religious and Intellectual Standpoint 106-129 - - CHAPTER X - Social Relations and Characteristics 130-139 - - CHAPTER XI - The Scandinavian in Local and State Politics 140-156 - - CHAPTER XII - Party Preferences and Political Leadership 157-178 - - CHAPTER XIII - Conclusion 179-182 - - CHAPTER XIV - Critical Essay on Materials and Authorities 183-204 - - APPENDIX I - Statistical Tables of Population 206-216 - - APPENDIX II - Statistics of Three Minnesota Counties 217 - - INDEX 219-223 - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -INTRODUCTION. - - -The history of the United States, according to newer views which have -largely supplanted, or progressed beyond, those of the New England -school of great historians, is the history of the march of a -civilization, chiefly English, across the vast North American continent, -within the short period of three hundred years. It is the story of the -transformation of a wide-stretching wilderness--of an ever-advancing -frontier--into great cities, diversified industries, varying social -interests, and an intensely complex life. Wave upon wave of races of -mankind has flowed over the developing and enlarging West, and each has -left its impress on that area. Across the trail of the Indian and the -trapper, the highway of the pioneer on his westward journey, have spread -the tilled fields of the farmer, or along it has run the railroad. The -farm has become a town-site and then a manufacturing city; the trading -post at St. Paul and the village by the Falls of St. Anthony have -expanded into the Twin Cities of the Northwest; the marshy prairie by -the side of Lake Michigan, where the Indians fought around old Fort -Dearborn, has come to be one of the world's mighty centers of urban -population--and all this transformation within the memory of men now -living. - -The progress of this rapid, titanic evolution of an empire was greatly -accelerated by the desires, the strength, and the energy of multitudes -of immigrants from Europe; and in at least six great commonwealths of -the Northwest the Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes have been among the -chief contributors to State-building. During the eighty years ending in -June, 1906, among the 24,000,000 immigrants who came to the United -States, the Scandinavians numbered more than 1,700,000. Whether viewed -as emigrations on the eastern shores of the Atlantic, or as immigrations -on the western shores, these modern _Völkerwanderungen_ constitute one -of the wonders of the social world, in comparison with which most of the -other migrations in history are numerically insignificant. The -Israelites marching out of Egypt were but a mass of released bond-men; -the invasions of the Goths, Vandals, and Huns were conquering -expeditions, full of boisterous, thoughtless, unforecasting energy. Even -the immigration from Europe to America in the whole of the seventeenth -century scarcely equalled in number the columns which moved westward in -any one year from 1880 to 1890. - -In this flux of humanity, mobile almost to fluidity, various in promise -of utility, shifting in proportions of the good and bad, of pauper, -refugee, and fanatic, or "bird of passage", sweatshop man, and -home-builder, there has been such an interplay of subtle and vast forces -that no just and final appreciation can as yet be reached. But some sort -of tentative conclusions may be arrived at by intensive study of each -immigrant group, following it through years and generations, searching -for its ramifications in the body politic and social. - -The student of this phase of American history must attempt the -scientific method, and exercise the patience, of the student of physical -nature. No geologist, for example, would think for a moment of -generalizing as to the history and the future of a continent of -complicated structure after a few examinations here and there of -cross-sections of its strata. He must know from thoro-going observation -the trend, thickness, and composition of each stratum; he must trace, if -possible, the sources of the material which he finds metamorphosed; he -must be familiar with the physical and the chemical forces at work in -and on this material,--heat, pressure, movement, affinities, gases, -water, wind, and sun. In like manner, the student of immigration as a -whole, or of a section as large as that of the Scandinavians or -Italians, must make careful discriminations as to previous conditions -and influences, and also must notice carefully the differentiation of -peoples, places, and times. - -Too much stress, however, should never be laid on the character of any -one group of immigrants, lest it warp the judgment upon the immigration -movement as a factor in American progress. The ardent political reformer -in New York City, seeing the political activity of the Irish, and the -easy, fraudulent enfranchisement of newly-arrived aliens, cries in a -loud voice for restriction or prohibition of immigration. The California -labor agitator, feeling chiefly the effect of Chinese efficiency in the -labor market, would close the gates of the country to all the eastern -nations. The social worker, knowing mainly and best the degradation of -the Hungarians in the mines, or of the Hebrews in the sweatshops, -prophesies naught but evil from foreign immigration. From an opposite -point of view, when a man travels in leisurely fashion up and down -Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, and the Dakotas, and finds a dozen race -elements--English, German, Norwegian, or Russian--he begins to understand -the real benefit to the nation of the coming of this vast, varied, -peaceful army.[1] The scale of immigrants runs from the pauper or the -diseased alien, awaiting deportation on Ellis Island in New York Harbor, -to the rich Norwegian or German owning a thousand-acre farm in North -Dakota, and to the millionaire Swedish lumberman or manufacturer of -Wisconsin or Minnesota. - - [1] Whelpley, _The Problem of the Immigrant_, I. - -For more than half a century, the United States has been almost a nation -of immigrants, a mixture of races in the process of combination; upon -the exact nature of this combination, whether it take the form of -absorption, amalgamation, fusion, or assimilation, depends future -political and social progress. - -The writer has for years felt a profound conviction of the vital -importance of this whole problem of the alien, and a corresponding -belief in the value of the investigation of each cohort in the national -forces. Hence this attempt at a sympathetic study of the Scandinavian -element in American life and of its contributions to the evolution of -the Northern Mississippi Valley during the last sixty years. - -In such a study, the Norwegians, Swedes, and Danes, like all other -citizens of foreign birth, must be judged by the character and -preparation which best fit men to contribute to the permanent progress -of a self-governing people. What are the signs of readiness for full -Americanization? The fundamentals are manliness--Roman virility--, -intelligence, and the capacity for co-operation, ennobled by "dignified -self-respect, self-control, and that self-assertion and jealousy of -encroachment which marks those who know their rights and dare maintain -them";[2] devotion to law, order, and justice; and a ready acquiescence -in the will of the majority duly expressed.[3] - - [2] J. R. Commons, "Racial Composition of the American People," - _Chautauquan_, XXXVIII, 35. - - [3] R. Mayo-Smith, _Emigration and Immigration_. - -Such qualities in America have been the especial possession of that -sub-race of the Caucasian stock which the later ethnologists call the -Baltic, in contradistinction to the co-ordinate sub-races, the Alpine, -and the Mediterranean or Ligurian. This Baltic race has for centuries -occupied the British Isles, the northern plains of Germany, and the -North European peninsulas, being found in its purest state in Norway, -Sweden, and Scotland. The people of this sub-race, asserts the writer of -an admirable article on racial characteristics, are mentally -"enterprising and persevering, and cheerfully dedicate most of their -time and thought to work.... They are liberally gifted with those moral -instincts which are highly favorable to the creation and growth of -communities, altho not always so favorable to the individual who -possesses them; they are altruistic, fearless, honest, sincere. They -love order and cleanliness, and attach considerable importance to the -dress and personal appearance of individuals."[4] While the other -Caucasian sub-races do not lack these qualities, their most dominating -characteristics are different; for example, one may exemplify the -artistic or the idealistic side of human nature. - - [4] G. Michaud, "What shall we be?", _Century_, LXV, 685. - -As related to the progress of civilization in America, all immigrants -fall into three classes: those who powerfully re-enforce the strength -and virtue of the nation, those who supplement its defects with -desirable elements, and those who lower its standards and retard its -advancement. Hence, those immigrants will be presumably the most -desirable to America who come from the regions where the purest Baltic -stock now exists, that is, north of a line running east and west through -Brussels, and especially in north-central Germany and the Scandinavian -peninsula. - -Measured by character and training, the Baltic race in America stands up -well to the test, not only in the foreign-born alone, but in the second -and third generation born on American soil. If generations of ignorance, -mental inertia, social depression, political passivity, shiftlessness, -and improvidence stretch behind the immigrant, if his religion be -chiefly a superstition or strongly antagonistic to the principles of the -Republic, and if he be physically inferior and long inured to the -hardships of a low standard of living, just so far is he an undesirable -addition to American population. But, on the other hand, if his homeland -show a very low percentage of illiteracy; if his life has been saturated -with the ideas of thrift and small economies; if he hold himself free -from domination by priest, landlord, or king; and if his history be the -story of a sturdy struggle for independence, he should be rated high and -welcomed accordingly, for it is of such stuff that mighty nations are -made. - -The student of Scandinavian immigration in the nineteenth century is not -left to conjecture in his endeavor to estimate the probable result of -the injection into American society of this foreign-born element. Before -the second generation of English and Dutch settlers in America in the -seventeenth century had grown to manhood, the Swedes began a colony upon -the Delaware River; and their descendants are still a distinguishable -part of the population of the lower Delaware valley. This beginning of -Swedish immigration to America is particularly instructive because the -settlements undertaken in the period of the Thirty Years War drew their -recruits from the same classes of Swedish society as the movements of -the nineteenth century, and developed under substantially similar -conditions and along much the same lines. - -The Swede of the seventeenth century and the Swede of the nineteenth -century are essentially one in character, for two hundred years have -wrought less change in him than in his cousins of Germany and England. -The accounts of Stockholm, its people and its surroundings, written in -the early seventeenth century, might serve, with very little -modification, to describe the large features of the Sweden and the -Swedes of today. Great progress has of course been made in two -centuries, but in political wisdom, high moral courage, and benevolent -purpose, Gustavus Adolphus and his advisers were distinctly in advance -of the first two English Stuarts and their courts. - -Perhaps no better illustration of this difference could be found than in -the plans for the beginnings of the colonies on the James River and on -the Delaware River. The scheme for a colony on the Delaware was -originally outlined by the great Gustavus himself in 1624, but sterner -duties took his energies; and after the fatal blow on the field of -Lützen, it devolved on his daughter, Queen Christina, and her faithful -minister, Oxenstjerna, to carry out his plan for establishing a colony -which was to be "a blessing to the common man," a place for "a free -people with wives," and not a mere commercial speculation or a haven for -aristocratic adventurers and spendthrifts.[5] - - [5] _Argonautica Gustaviana_, 3, 16. - -The first company of immigrants arrived in 1638, and year by year -additions were received. So early as the middle of the seventeenth -century, Sweden had a touch of the "America fever," and when an -expedition left Gothenburg in 1654 with 350 souls on board, about a -hundred families were left behind for want of room. Perhaps only the -transfer of the colony, first to the Dutch and then to the English, -prevented the Swedish immigration from attaining large proportions two -and a half centuries ago. The Swedish flag floated over New Sweden -notwithstanding the protests of both the Dutch and the English, until -the conquest of the colony by Governor Stuyvesant in 1655, and then it -disappeared from the map of America. - -In spite of threats, subjugation, and isolation, the prosperity of the -early colony continued, and by the end of the seventeenth century it -numbered nearly a thousand. No injustice in dealing with the Indians -provoked a massacre, for these protégés of the Swedish crown, before -William Penn was born, carefully and systematically extinguished by -purchase the Indian titles to all the land on which they settled. Their -piety and loyalty built the church and fort side by side, and long after -they became subjects of the king of Great Britain they continued to -receive their ministers from the mother church in Sweden. In fact, -pastors commissioned from Stockholm did not cease their ministrations -until they came speaking in a tongue no longer known to the children of -New Sweden. - -This Swedish colony, planted thus in the midst of larger English -settlements, continued for many generations to add its portion of good -blood and good brains to a body of colonists in the New World, which too -often needed sorely just these qualities. The Honorable Thomas F. -Bayard, who lived long among their descendants, wrote in 1888: "I make -bold to say that no better stock has been contributed (in proportion to -its numbers) towards giving a solid basis to society under our -republican forms, than these hardy, honest, industrious, law-abiding, -God-fearing Swedish settlers on the banks of the Christiana in Delaware. -While I have never heard of a very rich man among them, yet I have never -heard of a pauper. I cannot recall the name of a statesman or a -distinguished law-giver among them, nor of a rogue or a felon. As good -citizens they helped to form what Mr. Lincoln called the plain people -of the country,--and I have lived among their descendants and know that -their civic virtues have been transmitted."[6] - - [6] Mattson, _Souvenir of the 250th Anniversary of the First Swedish - Settlement in America_ (1888), 44. - -Their thrift and comfort and sobriety attracted the attention of Thomas -Pascall, one of the Englishmen of Penn's first colony, who wrote in -January, 1683: "They are generally very ingenious people, live well, -they have lived here 40 years, and have lived much at ease having great -plenty of all sorts of provisions, but they were but ordinarily -cloathed; but since the English came they have gotten fine cloathes, and -are going proud."[7] Penn himself declared: "They have fine children and -almost every house full; rare to find one of them without three or four -boys and as many girls; some six, seven and eight sons. And I must do -them right--I see few young men more sober and industrious."[8] - - [7] This letter, printed as a broadside in England about 1683, was - furnished me by Mr. George Parker Winship of the Carter Brown - Library of Providence, Rhode Island. - - [8] Janney, _Life of William Penn_, 246-247. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -SWEDES, NORWEGIANS, AND DANES - - -The common use of the term Scandinavian to describe Swedes, Norwegians, -and Danes in a broad and general way, is one of the products of the -commingling of these three peoples on the American side of the Atlantic. -The word really fits even more loosely than does the word British to -indicate the English, Welsh and Scotch. It was applied early in the -history of the settlements in Wisconsin and Illinois, to groups which -comprised both Norwegians and Danes on the one hand, or Norwegians and -Swedes on the other hand, when no one of the three nationalities was -strong enough to maintain itself separately, and when the members of one -were inclined, in an outburst of latent pride of nationality, not to say -conceit of assumed superiority, to resent being called by one of the -other names; for example, when a Norwegian objected to being taken for a -Swede. Thus the Scandinavian Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, -organized in 1860, included both Norwegians and Danes; ten years later -the name was changed to the Norwegian-Danish Conference; and in 1884 the -differentiation was carried further, and the Danes formed a new Danish -Evangelical Lutheran Church Association, supplementing the Danish -Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which dated back to 1871. - -Vigorous protests were made from time to time against the use of -"Skandinavian" or "Skandinav." "Shall we Norwegians let the Danes -persist in calling us Scandinavians?" wrote "Anti-Skandinavian" to the -leading American Norwegian weekly of 1870.[9] He also quoted the -sarcastic words of Ole Bull: "Scandinavia, gentlemen,--may I ask where -that land lies? It is not found in my geography; does it lie perhaps in -the moon?"[10] But the use and acceptability of the word steadily grew; -the great daily paper in Chicago took the name _Skandinaven_; in 1889, -the editor of _The North_ declared: "The term has become a household -word ... universally understood in the sense in which we here use it (to -designate the three nationalities)."[11] - - [9] _Fædrelandet og Emigranten_, May 12, 1870: "Skulle vi Norske lade - de Danske fremture i at kalde os Skandinaver?" - - [10] "Skandinavien, mine Herrer, tör jeg spörge, hvor det Land ligger? - Det findes ikke i min Geografi; ligger det maaske i Maanen?" Ole - Bull, _Fædrelandet og Emigranten_, May 12, 1870. - - [11] _The North_, June 12, 1889. - -Ole Bull was, of course, right in saying that there is no Scandinavian -language, no Scandinavian nation; but the ordinary reader or student -does not recognize clearly that Sweden, Norway and Denmark have -different spoken languages (though the Danish and Norwegian printed -language is one), different traditions, as well as different -governments. Almost while these words are being written, the coronation -ceremony in the ancient cathedral at Throndhjem completes the process by -which Norway is severed entirely from Sweden and again assumes among the -powers of earth that "separate and equal station to which the laws of -Nature and of Nature's God entitle them." - -The physique and characteristics of the three Scandinavian peoples have -been profoundly affected by the physical features of the northern -peninsulas; the mountains, fjords, and extensive coast lines of Norway, -the level stretches, lakes, and regular coast of Sweden, and the low, -sandy islands of Denmark find a counterpart in the varying types of men -and women of those countries. The occupations which necessarily grew out -of these differences of surface and soil tended to give to all a strong, -sturdy, hardy body; farming naturally claims by far the largest -percentage, though great numbers of the men yield to the call of the -sea. Both Norway and Sweden have large lumbering interests, while Norway -leads in fishing industries, Sweden in mining, and Denmark in dairying. - -Nature is no spendthrift in any part of the Scandinavian peninsulas; -small economies are the alphabet of her teaching, and her lessons once -learned are rarely forgotten. Her children of the North, therefore, down -to the stolidest laborer, mountaineer, and fisherman, are generally -industrious and frugal, and when they migrate to the American West, to -enter upon the work of pioneering, with its stern requirements of -endurance, patience, persistent endeavor, and thrift, they start out in -the new life with decided temperamental advantages over most other -immigrants, and even over most native-born Americans. - -Other characteristics common to these three peoples distinguish them -strikingly from the South European. From their Viking ancestors they -have inherited a love for adventure, a courage in facing the -possibilities of the future. Their hatred of slavery, and their clear, -high ideas of personal and political freedom, are strongly marked, and -their peasantry is ranked highest on the continent.[12] Their -adaptability to changes of clime, of conditions, of circumstance, has -been remarkably demonstrated over and over again, in Normandy in the -11th century, in Sicily in the 12th, and in America in the 19th; yet it -has not degenerated into a facile yielding to moods and whims even under -the rapid changes of New World society. - - [12] N. S. Shaler, "European Peasants as Immigrants," _Atlantic_, - LXXI, 649. - -The typical Swede is aristocratic, fond of dignities, assertive: he is -polite, vivacious, and bound to have a jolly time without troubling too -much about the far future. Yet he is not afraid of hard work; he is -persistent, ofttimes brilliant, and capable of great energy and -endurance. He is notably fond of music, especially the singing of -choruses and the opera, and the poetry of Bellman and the epics of -Tegner belong to the great literature of the world. - -The Norwegian is above all democratic. He is simple, serious, intense, -severe even to bluntness, often radical and visionary, and with a -tendency to disputatiousness.[13] There is an unmeasured quantity of -passion and imagination in him, as there are unmeasured stores of power -and beauty in the snows of his mountains and the waters of his coast. He -has the capacity for high and strenuous endeavor, even verging on the -turbulent, but he rarely has developed the qualities of a great leader. -Like the Swede, the Norwegian is fond of music, but it is of a different -sort. Both in his music and in his literature, the dramatic element is -strong; no names in the realm of literature of the last generation stand -higher than those of Ibsen and Björnson, who are first cosmopolitan and -then Norwegian. - - [13] N. P. Haugen comments on the good and bad features of this - tendency in his Norway Day speech at the World's Columbian - Exposition. _Skandinaven_, May 24, 1893. - -The Dane is the Southerner of the Scandinavians, but still a -conservative. He is gay, but not to excess; the healthiness and jollity -of a Copenhagen crowd are things to covet. He is pre-eminently a small -farmer or trader, honest and persevering, ready and easy-going, and -altho not given to great risks, he is quick to see a bargain and shrewd -in making it. Of self-confidence and enterprise he manifests a decided -lack.[14] His country is small, open on all sides, and near to great -Powers; his interests, therefore, have led him out from his peninsula -and islands, and foreign influences have more affected him than they -have his neighbors across the Sound and the Skager Rack. His best work -in literature and art has been done under strong Romantic and classic -impulses from the South. - - [14] Borchner, _Danish Life in Town and Country_, 3-6; Bille, _History - of the Danes in America_, 1, 7, 8. - -Such being the qualities of the peoples of Sweden, Denmark and Norway, -the conditions of life and society in those countries in the first half -of the nineteenth century seem on close examination quite unlikely to -produce a great emigration, in comparison with conditions in other -countries from which large numbers of men and women migrated to America. -There were no great social, economic, or political upheavals sufficient -to cause the exodus of any class; religious intolerance and persecution -were, with few minor exceptions, neither active nor severe. The -Napoleonic wars did not depopulate these northern lands, nor did they, -like their sister nations to the south, suffer seriously from the -commercial restrictions of the Emperor of the French. Militarism did not -crush them with its weight of lead and steel and its terrible waste of -productive energy. Political oppression and proscription, so marked in -the affairs of central and western European states down to 1850, were -not features of the history of Norway, Sweden or Denmark. Though Norway -protested in 1814 in no uncertain terms against the union with Sweden in -a dual monarchy, she was, under the constitution of that year, one of -the freest nations of Europe, "a free, individual, indivisible kingdom." -In Sweden before 1840, one of the chief restrictions on the individual -was potential rather than actual: a man who wished to leave the kingdom -must have a passport from the king, for which he had to pay 300 kroner -(about $81). He would also be under the close supervision of the state -church, to which he was expected to belong. - -There were, however, conditions in the home-lands as well as in America, -which impelled immigration. Anyone who has travelled over the fertile -prairies of the Mississippi valley and then through Norway or Sweden, -will often wonder that so many people have been content to remain so -long in the older Scandinavia. In Norway there were in 1910, in round -numbers, 2,390,000 people on an area of 124,000 square miles.[15] Of -this population, about 425,000 were gathered in the larger towns, and -250,000 were in the smaller towns, making a total urban population of -29%, over against 21% twenty years before. The remainder were scattered -over the vast mountainous country or along the coast-line of three -thousand miles.[16] Thousands of fishermen's huts are grappled -barnacle-like to the rocks, while behind them along a trickling thread -of water stretches a precious hand-breadth of soil. The greater part of -the interior is one wide furrowed plateau, in whose hollows, by lakes -and streams, thrifty farmers skilfully utilize their few square yards -of tillable land and pasture their cattle on the steep slopes. Save -around Lake Mjösen, the Leir, Vos, and Throndhjem, there can scarcely be -found in all Norway anything like a broad rich meadow. The farm products -are almost literally mined from the rocks. "It is by dogged, persistent, -indomitable toil and endurance, backed up in some cases by irrepressible -daring, that the Norwegian peasant and fisher-folk--three-fourths of the -population--carry on with any show of success their struggle against iron -nature."[17] Yet in spite of such adverse conditions, these people have -ever clung with passionate tenacity to their mountainous storm-beaten -Norway, and by it have been made brave without bitterness, hardy without -harshness, strong yet tender. - - [15] _Statesman's Year-Book, 1914_, 1141 ff. - - [16] In 1880, 20% lived in towns; in 1890, 23.7% lived in towns, and - 76.3% in the rural districts. _Norway_ (English edition of the - official volume prepared for the Paris Exhibition of 1900), 90. - - [17] Wm. Archer, "Norway Today," _Fortnightly Rev._, XLIV, 415. - -In Sweden the physical conditions are decidedly different. The area of -172,900 square miles supports a population of 5,600,000 (1912), of whom -50% dwell in cities of which there are now thirty with more than 10,000, -Stockholm leading with 350,000. The urban population increased 166% -between 1871 and 1912.[18] There are few lofty mountains and no jagged -peaks, majestically dominating the outlook; the crag-set fjords are -replaced by gentler bays and sounds sprinkled with beautiful islands; in -some parts of the country, as in Wermland and Smaaland, are low and -marshy sections, where, according to legend, the Lord forgot to separate -the land and water. Agricultural conditions are less hard and means of -communication are better than in Norway; closer relations exist between -provinces and between parishes; information is more readily diffused, -and gatherings of considerable size are held without particular -difficulty. - - [18] _Statesman's Year-Book, 1914_, 1316. The increase of urban - population was five times the increase of the kingdom. - -Denmark more closely resembles Sweden than Norway, and is in still -better touch with the larger world than either of the others. With an -area of about 15,000 square miles,--Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and -Connecticut, combined--it held in 1911 a population of 2,775,000. -Copenhagen and its suburbs had a population of 560,000. The urban -population was 26%. Unlike the other two, Denmark has several important -colonies in other parts of the world.[19] - - [19] _Statesman's Year-Book, 1914_, 789 ff. - -In all three countries, as in the rest of Europe, changes in commercial, -industrial, social, legal, and religious matters were sure to be slow. -The tenure and succession in lands, the limited market for labor, the -relatively small opportunity for initiative, especially for the younger -members of considerable families,--all of these conditions with the -characteristics already described, lent added attractiveness to the call -of the American West. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -EARLY NORWEGIAN IMMIGRATION. - - - "Arrived last evening" (October 9, 1825). - - "Danish Sloop Restoration, Holland, 98 days from Norway, via Long - Island Sound, with iron to Boorman and Johnson, 52 passengers."[20] - - "The vessel is very small, measuring, as we understand, only about - 360 Norwegian lasts, or 45 American tons, and brought 46 - passengers, male and female, all bound for Ontario County, where an - agent who came over sometime since, purchased a tract of land."[21] - - [20] _The New York Evening Post_, Oct. 10, 1825. - - [21] _The New York Daily Advertiser_, Oct. 12, 1825. - -These ordinary shipping notices in the newspapers of New York City, and -several other similar paragraphs, are the first entries in the -chronicles of the newer Scandinavian immigration to the United States. -From the cessation of Swedish immigration in the seventeenth century -down to 1825, no considerable companies made the long journey from the -Northlands to America, tho adventurous fellows in twos and threes came -now and then, men who misliked the humdrum life in the old parishes, -with its narrow opportunity and outlook, men who found the sea the only -highway to novelty and a possible fortune.[22] Now, at last, the coming -of a company of some size, from Norway, adding one more to the -lengthening list of nationalities which contributed to the complex -population of the United States, attracted more than passing -attention.[23] That the sloop was not Danish, and that there is some -discrepancy in the number of passengers--(and crew?)--and in the number of -days in the voyage, are minor matters and easily accounted for; the New -Yorker of 1825 could hardly be expected to distinguish clearly between -Danes and Norwegians, when the people of the Northwest at the present -time apply the name Swede indiscriminately to Swedes, Danes, Norwegians, -Finns, and Icelanders. But back of the arrival of this little sloopful -of Norwegians, is a story of motive, organization, and movement, more or -less characteristic of Scandinavian immigration during the next two -generations. The two main elements are: conditions in Norway and the -United States, and the personal activities of one of the adventurous -fellows already referred to. - - [22] Interview with Capt. O. C. Lange (who reached America in 1824) in - Chicago, 1890; Norelius, _Svenskarnes Historia_, 1. - - [23] _Niles' Register_, XXIX., 115. Several extended quotations from - newspapers in New York, Boston, and Baltimore, for the month of - October, 1825, relating to this company of the sloop - "Restoration", indicating the interest created by its coming, are - printed in Anderson, _Norwegian Immigration_, 69-76. - -In the region about Stavanger, in southwestern Norway, in 1825, there -had been for some time a feeling of discontent with the religious -conditions of the country, and a tendency to formal dissent from the -established church. The direction of this tendency and the definition -of the movement were vitally influenced by certain zealous and -philanthropic Quaker missionaries from England, Stephen Grellet and -William Allen, who visited Norway in 1818. Grellet was a French nobleman -who sought refuge in the United States during the French Revolution, and -there united himself with the Quakers or Friends. After residing in -America for twelve years, he began making tours through Europe to -propagate Quaker ideas, even obtaining an interview with the Pope, which -he describes in his diary. The visit to Norway was in furtherance of his -general plan. While his account of his stay in Norway does not make any -mention of America, it is impossible to believe that no reference to -America and to the conditions of the Friends in that part of the world, -where he himself found refuge, crept into the conferences which he held -around Stavanger, and that no seeds of desire to seek the New World were -sown in the slow-moving minds of the Norwegian peasants whom he met.[24] - - [24] Grellet, _Memoirs_, I, 321 ff. - -As dissenters from the established church, these Quakers were -continually subject to actual or threatened pains and penalties, in -addition to those troubles which might arise from their refusal to take -oaths and to render military service. Their children and those of other -dissenters must he baptised and confirmed in the Lutheran Church; they -must themselves attend its services and pay taxes for its support, or -suffer fines or other punishment for failing so to do. Tho prosecutions, -or persecutions, were really few before 1830, an episode now and then -showed the dissenters what might be in store for them if they persisted, -as when one of the Quakers was arrested in 1821 for burying his children -in unconsecrated ground, and fined five specie dollars a day until he -re-bury them in consecrated ground, and agree to follow the outward -ceremonies and customs of the state church.[25] Two years before one of -the Friends wrote: "There are no laws yet made in favor of Friends, so -that those who stand firm in their principles act contrary to the laws -of the country. Friends must be resigned to take the consequences."[26] -With signs of persecution, with an increase of discontent, and with the -leadership of a man possessed of first-hand knowledge about the United -States, it is not surprising that emigration was decided upon. - - [25] Richardson, _Rise and Progress of the Society of Friends in - Norway_, 37. - - [26] _Ibid._, 23. - -Kleng Peerson, called also Kleng Pederson and Person Hesthammer, was a -man of dubious character, who has been variously described. One has -called him the "Father of the Newer Norwegian Immigration" and as such -entitled to a chapter by himself; another has written him down as a -tramp.[27] A softer characterization, however, makes of him a "Viking -who was born some centuries after the Viking period."[28] He appears to -have been a sort of Quaker, either from conscience or convenience. His -leaving his home parish of Skjold near Stavanger, and his emigration to -the United States in 1821 in company with another Norwegian, are -attributed to motives ranging from a commission from the Quakers to find -a refuge for them in America, to a desire to escape the rich old widow -whom he married, and who was tired of supporting him in idleness.[29] -Certain it is that upon his return to Norway in 1824, after three years -of experience in the New World, the sentiment favoring emigration from -Stavanger soon crystallized. - - [27] R. B. Anderson, "En Liden Indledning" in the series of articles - "Bidrag til vore Settlementers og Menigheders Historie," - _Amerika_, April 4, 1894. Bothne, _Kort Udsigt over det Lutherske - Kirkearbeide bladnt Normændene i Amerika_, 822. - - [28] O. N. Nelson, "Bemerkning til Prof. Andersons Indledning", - _Amerika_, May 2, 1894. - - [29] Nelson, _History of the Scandinavians_, I, 134 B-C. - -By midsummer of 1825 a company of fifty-two persons, mostly Quakers from -the parish of Skjold, was ready to journey to America. They purchased a -sloop and a small cargo of iron which would serve as ballast and which -might bring them profit in New York, tho this was probably a secondary -matter.[30] On the 4th of July, 1825, they set sail from Stavanger, and -after a somewhat circuitous voyage of fourteen weeks, which was not very -long, as such voyages went, they made their landing in New York, October -9th, numbering fifty-three instead of fifty-two, for a daughter was born -to Lars Larson on shipboard.[31] This landing of the "Sloop Folk" of the -"Restoration," whose story is a favorite and oft-told one with the older -Norwegian immigrants, is occasionally likened to the Landing of the -Pilgrim Fathers who fled to a wilderness to escape persecution and to -seek social and religious freedom; but on close examination the -comparison breaks down at almost every point,--motive, objective, method -and result.[32] - - [30] Langeland, _Nordmændene i Amerika_, 11. - - [31] C. A. Thingvold gives a list of the names of the "Sloop Folk," - save four, which he obtained from one of the survivors, in - "The First Norwegian Immigration to America," _The North_, - Aug. 10, 1892. - - [32] J. B. Wist, _Den Norske Invandring til 1850_, published about - 1890, ventures to question seriously whether such a company ever - came to the United States! His reason is that the clearance - records of Stavanger show no such name as the "Restauration," - and American statistics give the total Scandinavian immigration - as 35, of whom 14 are credited to Norway. - -In New York the captain and mate of the "Restoration" were arrested for -having more passengers than the Federal law allowed--two passengers to -each five tons of the vessel. Having an excess of twenty, the sloop was -legally forfeited to the United States.[33] However, for some unknown -reason, the offenders were released and allowed to dispose of their -cargo. The original cost of ship and cargo appears to have been about -$1950, but both were sold for $400. This inadequate sum was supplemented -by the generosity of the Quakers of New York, whose contributions and -assistance enabled the "Sloop Folk" to proceed inland to Western New -York. - - [33] _Statutes of the United States, 1819_, Act of March 2. - -They took up land in Kendall and Orleans County on the shores of Lake -Ontario, about thirty-five miles northeast of the new town of Rochester -in which two of the families decided to remain. The price of the land -was $5 per acre, and each man was to take about 40 acres; but as they -were without cash, they agreed to pay for their farms in ten annual -instalments. The reasons for selecting this region are not difficult to -surmise, tho there is no direct proof of the motive. The country around -Rochester was, in 1825, in the midst of a sort of Western "boom"; the -Erie Canal was just finished, and the prospects of Rochester were very -promising.[34] Its population grew quite marvelously; in September, -1822, it was 2700; in February, 1825, 4274; and in December of the same -year, nearly 8,000.[35] - - [34] "Rochester is celebrated all over the Union as presenting one - of the most striking instances of rapid increase in size and - population, of which the country affords an example." Capt. - Basil Hall, _Travels in North America_, I, 153. - - [35] _Ibid._, I, 155. - -The first five years of the little colony were full of hardships and -suffering. It was November of 1825 when they reached their destination; -the country was all new and thinly settled; their own land was wild and -could be cleared only with difficulty; and nothing could be grown upon -it before the following summer. Just one man among them, Lars Larson, -understood any English. By united efforts several families built a -log-house, where the winter was spent in a most crowded condition, worse -even than the three months in the close quarters of the "Restoration". -The only employment by which they could earn anything was threshing with -a flail in the primitive fashion of the time, and the wages consisted of -the eleventh bushel threshed. With these scanty earnings and the help of -kindly neighbors, they passed the dismal winter in a strange land. "They -often suffered great need, and wished themselves back in Norway, but -they saw no possibility of reaching Norway without sacrificing the last -mite of their property, and they would not return as beggars."[36] But -at length time, patience, and their own strength and diligence gave them -a foothold. The land was cleared and produced enough to support them. A -five years' apprenticeship made them masters of the situation; and when -at last they had the means to return to the parish of Skjold, the desire -had gradually faded out. Instead of re-migration, they were persuading -others to join them in the New World. - - [36] Langeland, _Nordmændene i Amerika_, 15. - -But the New Norway, or the New Scandinavia, was not to be located in the -Middle Atlantic States, though a beginning was made in Delaware and in -New York. Land was too dear around the older settlements even at $5 per -acre; the promised land was shifted to northern Indiana and northern -Illinois, where fine prairie tracts which needed no clearing could be -had for $1.25 per acre and upwards. And into these newer regions went -the settler and the land speculator, sometimes in one and the same -person. Schemes for internal improvement sprouted on every side, and -canal-building was much discussed as the best means of providing cheap -transportation.[37] One of these projects was for a canal from Lake -Michigan to the Illinois River, for which a land grant was made in 1827. -This canal would bring great prosperity to northern Illinois, it was -argued, just as the Erie Canal had developed central and western New -York; the price of land would go up, markets would be accessible, and -speculator and farmer would reap rich rewards. - - [37] Ackerman, _Early Illinois Railroads_ (No. 23, _Fergus Hist. - Ser._), 19, quoting an editorial from the _Sangamo Journal_, - Oct. 31, 1835: "We rejoice to witness the spirit of internal - improvement now manifesting itself in every part of Illinois." - -Nor was this argument based entirely on theory, for halfway to the East, -in Indiana, this progressive realization was in full blast. Harriet -Martineau travelled through this part of the West in 1836, and noted -with the eye of an acute and experienced observer, the rapid rise in -values of farms. She estimated that a settler, judiciously selecting his -land in the Northwest, would find it doubled in a single year, and cites -the case of a farmer near LaPorte, Indiana, whose 800 acres, costing -him $1.25 per acre three years before, had become worth $40 per -acre--probably not a unique example of prosperity.[38] With these visions -before them, many men moved from western New York, and along the line of -the proposed canal in Illinois grew up hamlets bearing the names -familiar along the great Erie Canal,--Troy, Seneca, Utica, and Lockport. - - [38] Martineau, _Society in America_, I, 247, 259, 336. - -Among those attracted thither, was Kleng Peerson, who again served, -perhaps without deliberate planning, as a scout for his Quaker -friends.[39] On his return to the Orleans County settlers, he convinced -them that a better future would open to them in Illinois, and in the -spring of 1834 some of the families moved into the West and began the -so-called Fox River settlement in the town of Mission near Ottawa, La -Salle County, Illinois. By 1836 nearly all the Norwegians of the New -York colony had removed to the West, and several tracts of land were -taken up in the towns of Mission, Miller, and Rutland. The sections -located seem to have been unsurveyed at the time of the first -settlement, for no purchases are recorded until 1835.[40] Henceforth -most of the immigration from Norway was turned toward the prairie -country, and whole companies of prospective settlers after 1836 went -directly to the Fox River nucleus, for the region thereabouts had the -double advantage of being at once comparatively easy of access and in -the most fertile and promising region in which government land could be -had at the minimum price. - - [39] "I have complete evidence that he visited La Salle County, - Illinois, as early as 1833." Anderson, _Norwegian Immigration_, - 172. - - [40] _Ibid._, 174, 176 ff. - -In its new location, the twice transplanted colony of "Sloop Folk" was -reasonably prosperous from the start, tho the panic of 1837 made -impossible any realization of Miss Martineau's roseate estimate of -probable profits. No further move of the original immigrants was made, -and the Fox River Valley is still occupied by the well-to-do descendants -of the Norwegian settlers of the thirties. - -As a preliminary to further immigration from the three countries of -Northern Europe, a definite knowledge of America and its opportunities -must be developed among the peasants, and a desire to remove themselves -thither must be awakened and stimulated. To whole communities in Norway, -made up of simple, circumscribed people, America about 1835 was an -undiscovered country, or at best a far-off land from which no traveller -had ever come, and from which no letters were received; the name itself, -if known at all, was a recent addition to their vocabulary. Ole -Nattestad, one of the early immigrants, who was decently educated for -his time and more experienced in the world than the majority of his -neighbors, relates how he first heard of America in 1836, when he was a -man thirty years old.[41] - - [41] _Billed Magazin_, I, 83. - -The leavening process went on but slowly from 1825 to 1836, for the -story of the early experiences of the little company of dissenters, -obscure persons from an obscure parish, if known at all, was not likely -to inspire others to follow in large numbers. With increasing prosperity -in the Rochester, and later in the Fox River, colony, the tone of -letters sent back to friends in Norway took a new ring: America came to -mean opportunity, and now there were men speaking the Norwegian tongue -to whom newcomers might go for instruction, advice, and encouragement. -Old settlers still bear witness to the great influence of these letters -of the thirties telling of American experiences and of American -conditions. Among the most influential of these semi-conscious -propagandists of emigration was Gjert G. Hovland, who came to the -Rochester settlement with his family in 1831, and bought fifty acres of -land, which after four years of cultivation he sold at a profit of $500. -Writing to a friend near Stavanger in 1835, he spoke in terms of high -praise of American legislation, equality, and liberty, contrasting it -with the extortion of the Norwegian official aristocracy. He counseled -all who could to come to America, as the Creator had nowhere forbidden -men to settle where they pleased.[42] Of this and other letters by -Hovland, copies were made by the hundred and circulated in the Norwegian -parishes, and many of the early immigrants have stated that they were -induced to emigrate by reading these letters.[43] Another man whose -words prompted to emigration, was Gudmund Sandsberg, who came to New -York in 1829 with a family of four.[44] - - [42] Translated from Langeland, _Nordmændene i Amerika_, 16n. This - writer summarizes a letter of which he saw a copy as a young - man in Norway. - - [43] _Ibid._; Anderson, _Norwegian Immigration_, 147. - - [44] Anderson, _Norwegian Immigration_, 133. - -These letters scattered through western Norway from 1830 to 1840, were -as seed sown in good ground. Times were hard; money was scarce and its -value fluctuating.[45] The crops were often short, the prices of grain -were high, and the demand for the labor of the peasants was weak; the -economic conditions of the lower classes, especially in the rural -districts--much the greater part of the country--were growing worse rather -than better.[46] Even the oldest son, who was heir to his father's -homestead, was likely to find himself possessed of a debt-burdened -estate and with the necessity of providing for the mother and numerous -younger children.[47] The younger sons, being still worse off, were -forced to try their hands at various occupations to earn a bare living. -Ole Nattestad, already mentioned, was by turns before his emigration -farmer, peddler, blacksmith, and sheep-buyer.[48] To many a man with a -large family of growing children the possibility of disaster in the -United States was less forbidding than the probability of ultimate -failure in Norway. - - [45] _Billed Magazin_, I, 18-19. Of the year 1836, one writer asserts: - "En Daler ei gjældt mere end to norske Skilling," and that many - lost all their property. - - [46] In Anderson, _Norwegian Immigration_, 133-135, is a translation - of a letter written in Hellen in Norway, May 14, 1836: "If good - reports come from them (certain emigrants about to sail) the - number of emigrants will doubtless be still larger next year. - A pressing and general lack of money enters into every branch of - business, stops, or at least hampers business, and makes it - difficult for many people to earn the necessaries of life. While - this is the case on this side of the Atlantic, there is hope of - abundance on the other, and this, I take it, is the chief cause - of this growing disposition to emigrate." - - [47] _Billed Magazin_, I, 6 ff. - - [48] _Ibid._, I, 83. - -But not to occasional letters alone was the peasant,--and the emigration -movement--to be left for information and inspiration. Young men who had -prospered in the new life returned to the homesteads of their fathers -and became, temporarily, missionaries of the new economic gospel, -teaching leisurely but effectively by word of mouth and face to face, -instead of by written lines at long range. One such man was Knud A. -Slogvig, who returned to his home in Skjold in 1835 after ten years in -America, not as an emigrant agent nor as a propagandist, but as a lover -to marry his betrothed,--an early example which thousands of young -Scandinavians in the years to come were to follow gladly.[49] Whatever -may have been the results of his visit to Slogvig personally, they were -of far-reaching importance to the emigration movement in western Norway. -From near and from far, from Stavanger, from Bergen and vicinity, and -from the region about Christiansand, people came during the long -northern winter, to talk with this experienced and worldly-wise man -about life in New York or in Illinois--or, in their own phrase, "i -Amerika." There before them at last, was a man who had twice braved all -the terrors of thousands of miles of sea and hundreds of miles of -far-distant land, who had come straight and safe from that fabulous vast -country, with its great broad valleys and prairies, with its strange -white men, and stranger red men. The "America fever" contracted in -conferences with Slogvig and men of his kind, was hard to shake off.[50] - - [49] Anderson, _Norwegian Immigration_, 148. - - [50] Langeland, _Nordmændene i Amerika_, 18; _Billed - Magazin_, I, 83. Langeland writes: "Tre af Nedskriverens - Paarörende, som reiste fra Bergen i 1837, var blandt dem, som i - Vinteren 1836 besögte ham, og kom hjem fulde af Amerikafeber." - -The accounts of America given by this emigrant visitor were so -satisfactory, that when he prepared to go back to the United States in -1836, a large party was ready to go with him. Instead of the fifty-two -who slipped out of Stavanger, half-secretly in 1825, there were now -about 160, for whose accommodation two brigs, _Norden_ and _Den Norske -Klippe_, were specially fitted out.[51] The increased size of this party -was doubtless due in some measure to discontent with the religious -conditions of the kingdom, but more to the activity of Björn Anderson -Kvelve, who desired to escape the consequences of his sympathy with -Quakerism, and of the marriage which he, the son of a peasant, had -contracted with the daughter of an aristocratic, staunchly Lutheran -army officer.[52] Being, as his son admits, "a born agitator and -debater"--others have called him quarrelsome,--he persuaded several of his -friends to join the party, and he soon became its leader.[53] The -greater part of the two ship-loads, after arrival in New York, went -directly to La Salle County, Illinois, a few stopping in or near -Rochester. For several years after the arrival of this party, the -immigrants from Norway generally directed their course towards the -Illinois settlement, which, as a result, grew rapidly and spread into -the neighboring towns of Norway, Leland, Lisbon, Morris, and Ottawa. - - [51] Langeland, _Nordmændene i Amerika_, 18; _Billed - Magazin_, I, 83, 150 (Nattestad's account). - - [52] Anderson, _Norwegian Immigration_, 157 ff; _Madison - Democrat_ (Wis.), Nov. 8, 1885. - - [53] Anderson, _Norwegian Immigration_, 155. - -The actual process of migration from Norway to Illinois or Wisconsin was -full of serious difficulty, and to be entered upon by those only who -possessed a strong determination and a stout heart. The dangers, -discomforts, and hardships which everywhere attended immigration before -1850, were made even more trying, in prospect, by the weird stories of -wild Indians, slave-hunters, and savage beasts on land and sea, all of -which were thoroly believed by the peasants. Moreover, the church took a -hand to prevent emigration, the bishop of Bergen issuing a pastoral -letter on the theme: "Bliv i Landet, ernær dig redelig." (Remain in the -land and support thyself honestly.)[54] Until a much later time, no port -of Norway or Sweden had regular commercial intercourse with the United -States, and only by rare chance could passage be secured from Bergen or -some southern port direct to New York or Boston. The usual course for -those desiring passage to America was to go to some foreign port and -there wait for a ship; it was good luck if accommodation were secured -immediately and if the expensive waiting did not stretch out two or -three weeks. The port most convenient for the Norwegians was Gothenburg -in Sweden, from which cargoes of Swedish iron were shipped to America; -from that place most of the emigrants before 1840 departed, tho some -went by way of Hamburg, Havre, or an English port. - - [54] Langeland, _Nordmændene i Amerika_, 22. He naïvely remarks - that the Scandinavians have preferred to follow that other text: - "Be fruitful ... replenish the earth." - -Long after 1850, the immigrants came by sailing vessels because the -rates were, on the whole, cheaper than by steamer; those men who had -large families were especially urged to take the sailing craft.[55] -The days of emigrant agents, through-tickets, and capacious and -comparatively comfortable steerage quarters in great ocean liners were -far in the future; the usual accommodations were poor and unsanitary; -the danger from contagious diseases, scurvy, and actual famine were very -real, especially if the voyage, long at the best, was prolonged to four -and perhaps five months.[56] The cost of passage varied greatly -according to accommodations and according to the port of departure. -Sometimes the passage charge included food, bedding, and other -necessaries, but usually the passengers were required to furnish these. -One company of about 85 in 1837 paid $60 for each adult, and half fare -for children, from Bergen to New York.[57] In the same year another -company of 93 paid $31 for each adult from Stavanger to New York, -without board; still another, numbering about 100, paid $33 1-3 for each -adult passenger from Drammen in Norway to New York; the Nattestad -brothers paid $50 from Gothenburg to Boston.[58] In 1846, a large party -went to Havre, and paid $25 for passage to New York.[59] The extreme -figures, therefore, seem to be about $30 and $60 for passage between one -of the Scandinavian ports and New York or Boston. When the cost of -transportation from the Atlantic seaboard to Illinois and Wisconsin is -added to these figures, it will be plain that a considerable sum of -ready cash, as well as strength and courage, was necessary for -undertaking the transplantation of a whole family from a Norwegian -valley in the mountains to an Illinois prairie. - - [55] _Billed Magazin_, I, 123-124. - - [56] Interview with the late Rev. O. C. Hjort of Chicago, July, 1890, - whose party spent five months on the sea. - - [57] Langeland, _Nordmændene i Amerika_, 25--"saavidt nu erindres." - - [58] _Billed Magazin_, I, 9, 94. - - [59] _Ibid._, I, 388. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE RISING STREAM OF NORWEGIAN IMMIGRATION. - - -The second period of Norwegian immigration, extending from 1836 to 1850, -is marked by the strengthening and deepening of the emigration impulse -in Norway and by its spread to new districts, and also by the deflection -of the course of the rising stream in the United States. Not merely in -the vicinity of Stavanger, from which a second party, made up of 93 -persons from Egersund, followed the wake of the first and reached -Illinois in 1837, but from Bergen and in the districts near it, the -"America fever" was spreading. The letters of Hovland circulated there, -and at least three men journeyed to interview Slogvig. Knud Langeland, -whose little book on the Northmen in America is frequently quoted in -these pages, relates how, as a young man of sixteen, his imagination was -fired by reading a small volume written by a German and entitled -_Journey in America_, which he discovered in the library of a friend in -Bergen in 1829; how he read eagerly for several years everything which -he could lay hands on relating to America; and how he gathered all -possible information about the emigration from England, during a visit -to that country in 1834--and then became himself an immigrant.[60] - - [60] Langeland, _Nordmændene i Amerika_, 20-21. See Cobbett, _The - Emigrant's Guide_ (London, 1829), a typical English guide book - of the period. - -By 1837 a goodly number were determined to emigrate, and had disposed of -their holdings of land. A way opened for them to make the long voyage -under especially favorable circumstances. Captain Behrens, owner and -commander of the ship _Ægir_, on his return to Bergen in the autumn of -1836, learned that a large party wanted transportation to America. In -New York he had seen vessels fitted up for the English and German -immigrant traffic; he had learned the requirement, of the laws of the -United States on the subject; two German ministers who returned to -Europe in his ship, gave him further information. He therefore fitted up -his vessel for passengers, and carried out his contract to transport to -New York the party which finally numbered 84, being mainly made up of -married men each with "numerous family," at least one of which counted -eight persons.[61] From New York the company proceeded to Detroit, where -they were joined by the two Nattestad brothers from Numedal, and from -thence they went by water to Chicago. - - [61] Langeland, _Nordmændene i Amerika_, 25 ff. - -Their original intention was to go to the La Salle County settlement, -but in Chicago they met some of the Fox River people, Björn Anderson -among others, who gave such an unfavorable account of conditions in that -colony that the majority determined to seek another location. At the -instigation of certain Americans, presumably land speculators, a -prospecting party of four, including Ole Rynning, one of the leading -spirits of the company, went into the region directly south of Chicago -and finally chose a site on Beaver Creek. Thither about fifty immigrants -went, and began the third Norwegian settlement, which proved to be the -most unfortunate one in the history of Norwegian immigration. Log huts -were built and the winter passed without unusual hardships, tho it was -soon evident that a mistake was made in settling so far from neighbors -and from a base of supplies at that time of the year when the soil -produced nothing. Serious troubles, however, developed with the spring, -and grew with the summer. The land which appeared so dry and so -well-covered with good grass when it was selected and purchased in -August or September, proved to be so swampy that cultivation was -impossible before June. Malaria attacked the settlers, and as they were -beyond the reach of medical aid, nearly two-thirds of them died before -the end of the summer. The remnant of the colony fled as for their -lives, regardless of houses and lands, and scarcely one of them -remained on the ground by the end of 1838.[62] - - [62] Langeland, _Nordmændene i Amerika_, 30 ff; Anderson, _Norwegian - Immigration_, 195 ff. - -One of the victims of these hard experiences was Ole Rynning, who -succumbed to fever in the autumn of 1838. Tho in America scarcely a year -and a half, he is one of the uniquely important figures in the history -of Norwegian immigration. The son of a curate in Ringsaker in central -Norway, and himself dedicated by his parents to the church, he passed -the examinations for entrance to the University of Christiania, but -turned aside to teaching in a private school near Throndhjem for four -years before his emigration.[63] He is invariably spoken of as a man of -generous, philanthropic spirit, genuinely devoted to the human needs of -his fellow immigrants. - - [63] Anderson, _Norwegian Immigration_, 203-205; Langeland, - _Nordmændene i Amerika_, 31. Much information regarding - Rynning was derived from the Rev. B. J. Muus, of Minnesota, - a nephew of Rynning. - -Having learned by personal observation in America the answers to many of -the questions which he, as a man of education, had asked himself in -Norway, he took advantage of the confinement following the freezing of -his feet during a long exploring tour in Illinois, to write a little -book of some forty pages, to which he gave the title (in translation): -"A true Account of America, for the Instruction and Use of the Peasants -and Common people, written by a Norwegian who arrived there in the Month -of June, 1837."[64] The manuscript of this first of many guidebooks for -Norwegian emigrants was taken back to Norway by Ansten Nattestad and -printed in Christiania in 1838.[65] It plays so large a part in a great -movement, that a detailed analysis is worth presenting. - - [64] Sandfærdig Beretning om Amerika til Veiledning og Hjælp for - Bonde og Menigmand, skrevet af en Norsk som kom der i Juni - Maaned, 1837. - - [65] _Billed Magazin_, I, 94. - -The preface, bearing the author's signature and the date, "Illinois, -February 13, 1838," is translated as follows: - -"Dear Countrymen,--Peasants and Artisans! I have now been in America -eight months, and in that time I have had an opportunity of finding out -much in regard to which I in vain sought information before I left -Norway. I then felt how disagreeable it is for those who wish to -emigrate to America to be in want of a reliable and tolerably complete -account of the country. I also learned how great is the ignorance of the -people, and what false and ridiculous reports were accepted as the full -truth. In this little book it has, therefore, been my aim to answer -every question which I asked myself, and to clear up every point in -regard to which I observed that people were ignorant, and to disprove -false reports which have come to my ears, partly before I left Norway, -and partly after my arrival here."[66] - - [66] Anderson, _Norwegian Immigration_, 207-208. In making this and - the following translations, Mr. Anderson used the copy of - Rynning's book belonging to the Rev. B. J. Muus, the only copy - known to be in America. This copy is now in the library of the - University of Illinois. - -The body of the book is made up of thirteen chapters devoted to these -questions and their answers: - - 1-3. The location of America, the distance from Norway, the nature - of the country, and the reason why so many people go there. - - 4. "Is it not to be feared that the land will soon be - overpopulated? Is it true that the government there is going to - prohibit immigration?" - - 5-6. What part of the land is settled by Norwegians, and how is it - reached? What is the price of land, of cattle, of the necessaries - of life? How high are wages? - - 7. "What kind of religion is there in America? Is there any sort of - order and government, or can every man do what he pleases?" - - 8-9. Education, care of the poor, the language spoken in America, - and the difficulties of learning it. - - 10. Is there danger of disease in America? Is there reason to fear - wild animals and the Indians? - - 11. Advice as to the kind of people to emigrate, and warning - against unreasonable expectations. - - 12. "What dangers may be expected on the ocean? Is it true that - those who are taken to America are sold as slaves?" - - 13. Advice as to vessels, routes, seasons, exchange of money, etc. - -Rynning assured his readers, in the seventh chapter, that America is not -a purely heathen country, but that the Christian religion prevails with -liberty of conscience, and that "here as in Norway, there are laws, -government, and authority, and that the common man can go where he -pleases without passport, and may engage in such occupation as he -likes."[67] Then follows this strong, significant paragraph, -intelligently describing the slavery system, which undoubtedly had a -powerful influence on the future location, and hence on the politics, of -the immigrants from Scandinavia: - -"In the Southern States these poor people (Negroes) are bought and sold -like other property, and are driven to their work with a whip like -horses and oxen. If a master whips his slave to death or in his rage -shoots him dead, he is not looked upon as a murderer.... In Missouri the -slave trade is still permitted, but in Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin -Territory it is strictly forbidden, and the institution is strictly -despised.... There will probably soon come a separation between the -Northern and Southern States or a bloody conflict." - - [67] Rynning, _Sandfærdig Beretning_, 23, 24. Translated in Anderson, - _Norwegian Immigration_, 214-215. - -From the account given thirty years afterwards by Ansten Nattestad, it -appears that a chapter on the religious condition of Norway was omitted -by the Rev. Mr. Kragh of Eidsvold, who read the proofs, because of its -criticisms of the clergy for their intolerance, and for their inactivity -in social and educational reforms.[68] This has led some writers like R. -B. Anderson to attribute large weight to religious persecution as a -cause of emigration. While religious repression was a real grievance -and affected many of the early emigrants, the cases where it was the -moving or dominant cause of emigration after 1835 are so few as to be -almost negligible.[69] At best, it re-enforced and completed a -determination based on other motives. For most Norwegian dissenters, the -Haugians for example, lack of toleration was rather an annoyance than a -distress, save, perhaps, for the more persistent and turbulent -leaders.[70] It is hardly fair, therefore, to compare them, as a whole, -with the Huguenots of France.[71] - - [68] _Billed Magazin_, I, 94. - - [69] Letters of R. B. Anderson and J. A. Johnson, _Daily Skandinaven_, - Feb. 7, 1896. - - [70] Brohough, _Elling Eielsens Liv og Virksomhed_, 10-11, 20-21, - 30-36. - - [71] Anderson, _Norwegian Immigration_, 50. - -In the years immediately following 1838, the "America Book," distributed -from Christiania, went on its missionary journeys and reached many -parishes where the disaster at Beaver Creek and the untimely death of -Ole Rynning had never been heard of. By its compact information and its -intelligent advice, it converted many to the new movement. The diary of -Ole Nattestad, printed in Drammen in the same year, seems to have -exerted very little influence, but the visit of his brother Ansten to -his home in Numedal, in east-central Norway, a hitherto unstirred -region, awakened keen and active interest in America, and again men -travelled as far as 125 English miles to meet one who had returned from -the vast land beyond the Atlantic.[72] - - [72] _Billed Magazin_, I, 94. - -The first party from Numedal left Drammen in the spring of 1839, under -the leadership of Nattestad, and went directly to New York. It numbered -about one hundred able-bodied farmers with their families, some of them -being men with considerable capital. From New York they went to Chicago, -expecting to join Ole Nattestad at the Fox River. At the latter city -they learned that he had gone into Wisconsin after his brother left for -Norway in 1838, and that he had there purchased land in the township of -Clinton in Rock County, thus being probably the first Norwegian settler -in Wisconsin. Accordingly the larger part of the Numedal party followed -him to the newer region, where better land could be had than any -remaining in La Salle County, Illinois, at the minimum price, and took -up sections near Jefferson Prairie. Thus the current of Scandinavian -settlement was deflected from Illinois to Wisconsin, and later comers -from Numedal, in 1840 and afterwards, steered straight for southeastern -Wisconsin. In 1839 and later other recruits for the growing and -prosperous settlement of Norwegians in Rock County and adjoining -counties came from Voss and the vicinity of Bergen. Possibly the -difference of dialects had something to do with drawing people from the -same province or district into one settlement, but in a general way the -same reasons and processes operated among the Norwegian emigrants as -among those from Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia who settled -in various States in sectional groups, sometimes dividing a county by a -well-defined line. - -Closely connected with this settlement, begun under the leadership of -the Nattestad brothers, were other settlements in adjacent townships,--at -Rock Prairie or Luther Valley, comprising the present towns of Plymouth, -Newark, Avon, and Spring Valley in Rock County, Wisconsin, and Rock Run -in Illinois. Through these settlements many new comers filtered and -spread out rapidly toward the West and Northwest, reaching in a few -years as far as Mineral Point, more than fifty miles from Jefferson -Prairie. - -Other sections of Norway than those already mentioned began to feel the -effects of the emigration bacillus after 1837, and the processes -illustrated by the movements from Stavanger, Bergen, and Numedal were -repeated--the emigration of two or three, letters sent home, the return -of a man here and there, the organization of the party, the long -journey, and the selection of the new home. Thelemark, the rugged -mountainous district in south central Norway, was in a condition to be -strongly moved by stories of freer and larger opportunities. Long before -1837, great tracts of land in Upper Thelemark became the property of two -wealthy lumber men, and the tenant-farmers were drawn more and more into -work in the lumber mills, to the neglect of farming and grazing. -Consequently, when logging was suspended in the hard times, and the -wages, already low, were stopped altogether, great distress resulted, -and emigration seemed about the only means of escape. "With lack of -employment and with impoverishment, debt and discontent appeared as the -visible evidences of the bad condition. That was the golden age of the -money-lenders and sheriffs. So the America fever raged, and many crossed -the ocean in the hope of finding a bit of ground where they could live -and enjoy the fruits of their labors without daily anxiety about -paydays, rents, and executions."[73] - - [73] Translated from _Billed Magazin_, I, 18 ff. - -A company of about forty, representing eleven families from Thelemark, -failing to get accommodations with the Nattestad party at Drammen, went -on to Skien and thence to Gothenburg, where they secured passage in an -American vessel loaded with iron, and made the voyage to Boston in two -months.[74] Three weeks more were consumed in the circuitous journey to -Milwaukee by way of New York, Albany, the Erie Canal and the Great -Lakes. Like several other parties of that year they originally aimed at -Illinois.[75] But their boat "leaked like a sieve," and the stop at -Milwaukee was probably precautionary. Instead of proceeding further, -they were persuaded to send a committee, under the guidance of an -American, into the present county of Waukesha, where they selected a -tract about fourteen miles southwest of Milwaukee, on the shore of Lake -Muskego.[76] Here each adult man took up forty acres at the usual -minimum price of $1.25 per acre, and so began the Muskego colony -proper, the name, Muskego, however, being later applied to the group of -settlements in Waukesha County and to several towns in Racine -County.[77] Like the colony in Rock County, the Muskego group grew -rapidly in spite of malarial troubles, and for ten years it was an -objective point for immigrants from Thelemark, and a halting place for -those bound for the frontier farther west in Wisconsin or in Iowa. - - [74] _Ibid._, 6-7. - - [75] A shipping notice in the _Boston Daily Advertiser_, Aug. 1, - 1839 reads: "Passengers,--in the "Venice" from Gothenburg, 67 - Norwegians on their way to Illinois." - - [76] An oft-repeated story tells how the company was persuaded to - remain in Wisconsin by some enterprising Milwaukee men who - pointed out to the immigrants a fat, healthy-looking man as - a specimen of what Wisconsin would do for a man, and a lean, - sickly-looking man as a warning of what the scorching heats - and fever of Illinois would quickly do to a man who settled - there. See _Billed Magazin_, I, 7. - - [77] _Billed Magazin_, I, 10. - -As the emigration movement from Norway increased, the planning of -settlements and the organization of parties took on a more definite and -business-like air. The process is well illustrated in the case of the -town of Norway in Racine County, Wisconsin, which was one of the most -successfully managed settlements in the Northwest. In the fall of 1839, -two intelligent men of affairs, Sören Bakke, the son of a rich merchant -of Drammen, and John Johnson (Johannes Johannesson), came to America on -a prospecting tour, for the purpose of finding a place where they might -invest money in land as a foundation for a colony, which they may -possibly have intended to serve as a new home for a sect of dissenters -known as Haugians.[78] After visiting Fox River in Illinois, and various -locations in Wisconsin, they found a tract that suited them--good land, -clear water, and abundance of game and fish, enough to satisfy the most -fastidious. This they purchased, building a cabin on it and awaiting the -coming of their friends to whom they sent a favorable report.[79] The -party arrived in the autumn of 1840, under the leadership of Even Heg, -an innkeeper of Leir, who brought still more money, which was also -invested in land. Altogether, the money which Bakke brought with him, or -received later, amounted to $6000.[80] It was all used for purchasing -land, which was either sold to well-to-do immigrants, or leased to new -comers. This business was supplemented by a store kept in the first -cabin. Upon the death of Johnson in 1845, Bakke went home and settled -upon an estate owned by his father in Leir, one of the first of the very -small number of men who have returned to permanent residence in Norway -after some years spent in America.[81] Even Heg became the real head of -the colony at Norway, Wisconsin, after the departure of Bakke, whose -interests he continued to look after, and under his management a steady -development followed. This settlement became the Mecca of hundreds of -immigrants arriving in Milwaukee in the late forties, and "Heg's barn -was for some months every summer crowded with newcomers en route for -some place farther west."[82] - - [78] _Ibid._, I, 12. - - [79] _Ibid._, I, 18. - - [80] _Ibid._, I, 12. - - [81] _Ibid._; Anderson, _Norwegian Immigration_, 280 ff. - - [82] Langeland, _Nordmændene i Amerika_, 44; _Billed Magazin_, I, 13. - -Another important and highly prosperous group of settlements, called -Koshkonong after the lake and creek of that name, sprang up in 1840 and -1841, in the southwestern corner of Jefferson County, Wisconsin, and the -adjacent parts of Dane and Rock Counties. The beginning was made by men -who removed thither from the Fox River and Beaver Creek localities after -investigating the lands in Wisconsin. In 1840 there were nine entries of -land by Norwegians in the present townships of Albion, Christiana, and -Deerfield, the usual purchase being eighty acres; the next few years saw -the spread of the colony to the townships of Pleasant Valley and -Dunkirk, from the influx of immigrants from Illinois and from -Norway.[83] After the stress and hardship of the first pioneer years, -the fortunate choice of location in one of the best agricultural -sections of Wisconsin told very promptly, and Koshkonong became "the -best known, richest, and most interesting Norwegian settlement in -America, the destination of thousands of pilgrims from the fatherland -since 1840."[84] Many of the farms are still in possession of the -families of the original settlers, whose children are prominent in -business, professional and political circles. - - [83] Anderson, _Norwegian Immigration_, 326 ff. Anderson quotes in - full a letter from the United States Commissioner of Land Office - giving date and extent of each entry by Norwegians. - - [84] M. W. Odland, _Amerika_, Jan. 15, 1904. - -The movement of the stream of Norwegian immigrants after 1845 was -distinctly in a direction westward from the Wisconsin settlements; the -land farther out on the prairies was better, tho it did not have the -combination of timber and stream or lake which the early settlers -insisted on having, often to their detriment, since land chosen with -reference to these requirements was apt to be marshy. The fresh -arrivals, after a few weeks or months in the friendly and helpful -communities of early immigrants, were better prepared by a partial -acclimatization, by knowledge of the steps necessary for acquiring -citizenship and land-ownership, and by the formation of definite plans -of procedure, for the next stage in the western course of their empire. -Occasionally a shrewd farmer of the older companies took advantage of -the rise in the value of his farm, sold out, and bought another tract -farther out on the frontier, perhaps repeating the process two or three -times.[85] John Nelson Luraas, for example, was one of those men who -first spent some time in Muskego, then bought land in Norway, Racine -County; after improving it for three years, he sold it in 1843 and moved -into Dane County.[86] Here he lived for twenty-five years, and then -moved into Webster County, Iowa, taking up new land. After a few years -he went back to his Dane County property, where he spent another -thirteen years; finally, as an aged, retired, wealthy farmer, he died in -the village of Stoughton in 1890.[87] - - [85] Langeland, _Nordmændene i Amerika_, 44-45; _Billed Magazin_, - I, 13. - - [86] It may be well to note that the name of Dane county has no - relation to Scandinavian settlement, but was given in honor - of Nathan Dane of Massachusetts, author of the Northwest - Ordinance of 1787. - - [87] Anderson, _Norwegian Immigration_, 276. - -Provision for religious instruction and ministration was one of the -early concerns of the Norwegian immigrants, as would be expected from a -people essentially religious, who moved by whole families. Nor was there -much distinction between the more orthodox and the dissenters. After -their magnetic center shifted to the west in 1835 and the settlements -and population multiplied, a good deal of lay preaching of one sort and -another went on,--Lutheran, Methodist, Haugian, Baptist, Episcopalian, -and Mormon. Lay services, in fact, were the rule all along the westward -moving frontier, and services conducted by regular clergymen the -exception. One of the Norwegians wrote: "We conducted our religious -meetings in our own democratic way. We appointed our leader and -requested some one to read from a book of sermons.... We prayed, -exhorted, and sang among ourselves, and even baptised our babies -ourselves."[88] - - [88] A letter of John E. Molee, February, 1895, quoted by Anderson, - _Norwegian Immigration_, 320. (See also, _ibid._, 396-399.) - -Cut off by language from much participation in English worship--a man -must know an alien tongue long and thoroly to make it serviceable for -religious purposes--the men from Numedal, Vos, and Drammen, felt keenly a -great need for some one to instruct their children in the Norwegian -language and in the Lutheran religion after the Old World customs. In -1843, two hundred men and women in the flourishing group of settlements -around Jefferson Prairie, Wisconsin, signed a petition addressed to -Bishop Sörenson in Norway asking him to send them a capable and pious -young pastor, to whom they promised to give a parsonage, 80 acres of -land, $300 in money, and fees for baptisms, marriages, and the like.[89] -Tho this petition itself seems not to have been answered, it was not -long before a properly ordained clergyman arrived. - - [89] Anderson, _Norwegian Immigration_, 255. - -Claus Lauritz Clausen, a Danish student of theology seeking employment -as a tutor in Norway, was persuaded, probably by the father of Sören -Bakke in Drammen, to heed the call from America.[90] On his arrival in -the West in 1843, he found the need for a pastor and preacher more -urgent than for a teacher, and accordingly he sought and received -ordination at the hands of a German Lutheran minister, October, -1843.[91] He proceeded to organize, in Heg's barn at Norway, the -first congregation of Norwegian Lutherans in the United States, and so -began a career of useful ministration which lasted nearly half a -century. Not long after his ordination, its validity was called in -question by strict Lutherans. The question was finally submitted to the -theological faculty of the University of Christiania, which decided that -"the circumstance that an ordination is performed by a minister and not -by a bishop, cannot in itself destroy the validity of the ministerial -ordination."[92] At any rate, Clausen's activity, general helpfulness, -staunchness of convictions, and length of service, if not his -ordination, make him one of the typical pioneer preachers.[93] - - [90] Nelson, _Scandinavians in the United States_, (2d ed.) 387 ff. - - [91] Bothne, _Kort Udsigt_, 835 ff. - - [92] Jacobs, _Evangelical Lutheran Church_, 411. - - [93] Bothne, _Kort Udsigt_, 835; Jensson, _American Lutheran - Biographies_, "Clausen." - -Another clergyman of the same class as Clausen, was Elling Eielsen, a -Haugian lay-preacher who went from place to place in the Northwest from -1839 to 1843, holding services with his countrymen. He was ordained in -the same month as Clausen, and, like him, in a semi-valid fashion, by a -Lutheran clergyman, not a bishop.[94] Like Clausen, also, his term of -labors as a Haugian apostle, passed forty years.[95] - - [94] Brohough, _Elling Eielsens Liv og Virksomhed_, ch. II, and App. - - [95] Nelson, in his _Scandinavians in the United States_, 388, is - probably mistaken in stating that Eielsen built the first - Norwegian church and organized the first congregation in 1842 - at Fox River, confusing the fact that Eielsen had built a log - house on his own land, and held religious services in the loft, - with the possibility of the formation of a congregation. - Eielsen's biographer makes no mention of his organization of - a regular congregation. Brohough, _Elling Eielsens Liv og - Virksomhed_, 61. - -Whatever irregularities in the ordination of Clausen or of Eielsen may -have disturbed the consciences of the stricter of the Lutheran sect, -nothing of the sort attached to the Rev. Johannes Wilhelm Christian -Dietrichson, who arrived in 1844, fresh from the University of -Christiania and from the ordaining hands of the Bishop of Christiania. -He was a diligent, aggressive, zealous young man of about thirty, sent -out as a kind of home missionary in foreign parts at the expense of a -wealthy dyer of Christiania. For two years, summer and winter, he went -back and forth in southern Wisconsin ministering to the Norwegians of -all ages and beliefs,--and all for the stipend of $300 yearly.[96] One of -the results of these labors, was a little book, _Reise blandt de norske -Emigranter i "de forenede nordamerikanske Fristater,"_ in which -Dietrichson gives the earliest detailed account of the settlements in -Wisconsin and Illinois before 1846. He described the origin, numbers, -conditions, and prospects of each community in his wide parish. At Fox -River, he says he found about 500, who were of all creeds, mostly -dissenters, including 150 Mormons. - - [96] _Minde fra Jubelfesterne paa Koshkonong_ (1894), 54 ff; Bothne, - _Kort Udsigt_, 839-842. - -Three church edifices were erected in 1844-5, and dedicated within a -short time of each other. Dietrichson dedicated one at Christiana, Dane -County, Wisconsin, December 19, 1844, and another at Pleasant Valley a -little further west; Clausen dedicated his church at Muskego on March -13, 1845.[97] All were simple structures, as would be expected; a plain -table was the altar, and the baptismal font was hewn out of an oak log. -But they served none the less as effective and inspiring centers of the -religious life of the settlements. For the Muskego church, Even Heg gave -the land, and Mr. Bakke of Drammen, whose protégé Clausen was, gave $400 -towards construction. Dietrichson left his two churches in Koshkonong in -1845, and returned to Norway where he remained about a year. Aided by -benevolent friends and by the Norwegian government, he came back to his -prairie parishes in 1846 for a final stay of four years.[98] But his -ways were not altogether ways of pleasantness, nor entirely in the paths -of peace. The records of the church, and his own story, show that he had -more than one stormy time with his people.[99] He departed for Norway -in 1850, and never again was in America.[100] - - [97] Dietrichson, _Reise blandt de norske Emigranter_, 45 ff; _Minde - fra Jubelfesterne paa Koshkonong_. - - [98] _Nordlyset_, Sept. 9, 1847. - - [99] Dietrichson, _Reise blandt de norske Emigranter_, 57-67. Some - of the church records are printed in _The Milwaukee Sentinel_, - July 21, 1895. - - [100] The following year he published a second book, _Nogle Ord fra - Prædikestolen i Amerika_. - -The preceding account of the beginnings and progress of the earliest -Norwegian settlements in Illinois and Wisconsin has been given in some -detail, for the reason that the course of these settlements, in a very -broad sense, is typical of all the Norwegian colonization in the -Northwest, and of the Swedish and Danish as well. In the later chapter -on economic conditions, the causes which led these people to settle upon -the land rather than in the cities will be discussed at length. Suffice -it here to say that the average immigrant brought only a small amount of -cash, along with his strong desire for land, and he consequently went -where good land was cheap, in order the more speedily to get what he -wanted. This meant that he would push out on the newly accessible -government land in Iowa, Minnesota, and the Dakotas in turn. So the -transformation of the frontier has witnessed the continual repetition of -the experiences of the early Norwegian immigrants in Illinois and -Wisconsin in the years from 1835 to 1850, as they are described in this -and the preceding chapters. At the present time, in the remoter parts of -the Dakotas, Montana, Washington, Oregon, and Utah, the same story is -being retold in the same terms of patience, hardship, thrift, and final -success. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -SWEDISH IMMIGRATION BEFORE 1850. - - -When the Swedish emigration of the nineteenth century began, it is -doubtful if many persons in Sweden knew of the existence of the -descendants of their compatriots of the seventeenth. The last Swedish -pastor of Gloria Dei Church in Philadelphia died in 1831, and there is -no evidence that any immigrant after 1800 turned his steps toward -Philadelphia or the valley of the Delaware expecting to join the third -or fourth generation of Swedes there.[101] Before 1840, in New York, -Philadelphia, and a few other places, a Swede might now and then be -found. One of these adventure-seeking young fellows was Erick Ålund, who -reached Philadelphia in 1823; another was O. C. Lange who arrived in -Boston in 1824, and by 1838 found himself in Chicago, probably the first -of that mighty company of Swedes which has made Chicago the third -Swedish city in the world.[102] Olof Gustaf Hedström, who left Sweden in -1825, and his brother Jonas, were influential early arrivals.[103] But -the number of such men could not have been large, for ignorance as to -America was quite as dense in Sweden as in Norway, the name being all -but unheard of in parts of the kingdom.[104] - - [101] Winsor, _Narrative and Critical History of America_, IV, 488. - - [102] Interview with Capt. O. C. Lange in Chicago, March, 1890. He - stated that he was the only Swede in Chicago in 1838, but that - there were thirty or forty Norwegians "who were doing anything - for a living, even begging,"--but Capt. Lange was an ardent Swede - and despised Norwegians! - - [103] Norelius, _Svenskarnes Historia_, 23-26. - - [104] Mikkelsen, _The Bishop Hill Colony_, 26. - -Sixteen years elapsed after the "Sloop Folk" landed in New York, and -five years after they located in their second American home, in -Illinois, before the Swedish immigration really began. The first party, -or regular company, of Swedes, consisting of about twelve families, -arrived in 1841 under the leadership of Gustav Unonius, a young man who -had been a student at the University of Upsala.[105] It was made up of -the "better folk", and included some, like Baron Thott, who were -entitled to be called "Herr."[106] The immigration does not appear to -have been induced by any religious persecution or discontent, but was -purely a business venture of a somewhat idealistic sort, into which the -immigrants put their all, in the hope that they could get a more -satisfactory return than they could from a like investment in Sweden. - - [105] Norelius, _Svenskarnes Historia_, 2 ff. The early history of the - Swedish immigration is treated in a much more complete and - scholarly fashion than is the Norwegian, in the works of - Unonius, Norelius, and Peterson and Johnson. For this reason, - and because of the similarity of the early Swedish and Norwegian - movements, the Swedish settlements are not followed up in this - study with the same detail as the Norwegian. - - [106] Unonius, _Minnen_, I, 5 ff; _History of Waukesha County, Wis._, - 748. - -From New York the party went by the water route to Milwaukee, following -in the wake of parties of Norwegians. There they met Captain Lange, who -seems to have persuaded them to select a location near Pine Lake--a name -that would certainly attract a Swede--in the neighborhood of the present -town of Nashotah, about thirty miles west of Milwaukee. Here they were -later joined by a variegated assortment of characters attracted by -letters which Unonius wrote to newspapers in Sweden,--noblemen, ex-army -officers, merchants, and adventurers,[107] so that the colony took on -almost as motley an air as that at Jamestown in the first years after -1607. While they hardly could have succeeded under more favorable -circumstances, they were particularly unfitted by their previous manner -of living to become farmers or to undergo the deprivations and hardships -of pioneering. The winter of 1841-2 was severe, and their poorly-built -houses gave inadequate protection against the cold of January and -February in Wisconsin; their land was badly tilled, tho they labored -earnestly; and their first crop fell short of their necessities. Their -hope of leading an Arcadian life in America was rudely shattered. -Captain von Schneidau, late of the staff of King Oscar, was a farm -laborer, and Baron Thott became a cook for one of the settlers in order -to get a bare living.[108] Sickness, misfortune, want of labor, and lack -of money led to almost incredible suffering at the first, and some of -the settlers, like Unonius and von Schneidau, went to Chicago, where the -former became pastor of a Swedish congregation, and the latter prospered -as "the most skilful daguerreo-typist, probably, in the whole -state."[109] - - [107] "and a large proportion of criminals," Nelson, _Scandinavians in - the United States_, II, 117. - - [108] _History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin_, 749. - - [109] Bremer, _Homes of the New World_, II, 214-217. Miss Bremer - relates how Mrs. von Schneidau "had seen her first-born little - one frozen to death in its bed," and how Mrs. Unonius "that gay, - high-spirited girl, of whom I heard when she was married at - Upsala to accompany her husband to the New World ... had laid - four children to rest in foreign soil." - -Frederika Bremer, the famous Swedish traveller, visited both the -Norwegian and the Swedish settlements in Wisconsin in 1850, and has left -a very graphic and sympathetic account of the Pine Lake colony where she -spent a few days.[110] She found about a half dozen families of Swedes. -"Nearly all live in log-houses, and seem to be in somewhat low -circumstances. The most prosperous seemed to be that of the smith; he, I -fancy, had been a smith in Sweden ...; he was a really good fellow, and -had a nice young Norwegian for his wife; also a Mr. Bergman who had been -a gentleman in Sweden, but who was here a clever, hard-working peasant -farmer."[111] At one of the houses she met twenty-one Swedish settlers. -The failure of the colony, to Miss Bremer's mind, was not altogether due -to circumstances; the settlers at first "had taken with them the Swedish -inclination for hospitality and a merry life, without sufficiently -considering how long it could last. Each family built for itself a -necessary abode, and then invited their neighbors to a feast. They had -Christmas festivities and Midsummer dances."[112] - - [110] _Ibid._, 225-235. - - [111] _Ibid._, 225; Unonius, _Minnen_, II, 6 ff. - - [112] Bremer, _Homes of the New World_, II, 214. - -Notwithstanding the hard life of the first years at Pine Lake, the -letters from well-educated and well-known men like Unonius, especially -those published in the Swedish newspapers, helped to stimulate a desire -for emigration in Sweden. A company of fifty, from Haurida in Smaaland, -left in the autumn of 1844, part of them going to Wisconsin, and at -least one family going to Brockton, Massachusetts, and beginning the -considerable Swedish settlement in that city.[113] In the following -year, five families were influenced by letters from a Pine Lake settler, -to leave their homes in Östergötland, and to set out for Wisconsin. At -New York, however, they were persuaded, probably by Pehr Dahlberg, to go -to Iowa, then just admitted to the Union, where land was supposed to be -better than at Pine Lake, and could be had at the same price. The route -followed was an unusual one for Scandinavian immigrants,--from New York -to Pittsburg, down the Ohio River, and up the Mississippi. The location -finally chosen was in Jefferson County, Iowa, about forty-two miles west -of Burlington; and the settlement was christened New Sweden. To it many -immigrants from the parishes of Östergötland found their way in later -years. The second rural settlement of the Swedes thus established was, -quite in contrast to the first one, distinctly successful from the -start.[114] - - [113] Norelius, _Svenskarnes Historia_, 27. - - [114] G. T. Flom, "Early Swedish Immigration to Iowa," _Iowa Journal - of History and Politics_, III, 601 ff. (Oct., 1905); Norelius, - _Svenskarnes Historia_, 27. - -The first Swedish settlements in Illinois, may be traced to the efforts -of the brothers Hedström already mentioned. Olof visited his old home in -1833, after an absence of eight years, and on his return to New York he -was accompanied by his brother Jonas.[115] These two men influenced the -course which Swedish immigrants were to take in America down to 1854, -in much the same way as the Nattestad brothers had earlier affected the -Norwegians. After several years, spent presumably in New York, Jonas -moved into Illinois and settled in the township of Victoria, in Knox -County.[116] Olof Hedström was converted to Methodism in America, and -became a zealous minister of that church; in the history of Methodism in -New York City and in the chronicles of Scandinavian immigration, his is -a unique figure. The needs of the multiplying hosts of immigrants of all -sorts, who were flocking to New York, were thoroughly understood by the -Methodist authorities of that city, and Hedström was put in charge of -the North River Mission for Seamen. His "Bethel Ship" work began about -1845, a time when there was great need for a helping hand to be extended -to the Scandinavians, among other immigrants, for whom agents, -"runners," and "sharks" were lying in wait. The Rev. E. Norelius, the -cultivated and scholarly pastor and historian, who had personal -experience of the kindly offices of Hedström, declares that the -missionary was a father to the Scandinavian people who came to America -by way of New York.[117] - - [115] Norelius, _Svenskarnes Historia_, 21. - - [116] _Ibid._, 24-26; Johnson and Peterson, _Svenskarne i Illinois_, - 286. - - [117] Norelius, _Svenskarnes Historia_, 21, 23-26. - -With Olof Hedström offering friendly greeting, help, and advice in New -York, and working in connection with his brother Jonas in Illinois, no -prophetic instinct was needed to foretell the goal which would be -ultimately sought by those who came under the benevolent ministrations -of this Swedish Methodist preacher. The path to Illinois became a -highway for multitudes of Swedes, and that State was to the Swedish -immigration what Wisconsin was to the Norwegian. - -Swedish settlement on a large scale began in 1846, with the founding at -Bishop Hill, in Henry County, Illinois, of the famous Jansonist colony, -whose history is exceedingly interesting and, at times, highly pathetic. -Not only were there many hundreds of Swedes and some Norwegians grouped -together in a single county, but the colony was also an experiment in -communism, based on peculiar religious tenets.[118] - - [118] The history of this Swedish settlement, with its numerous - peculiarities, its prosperity and its misfortunes, has been - so often written up with considerable detail, that only the - outlines of it are given here. See Bibliography. - -The Jansonist movement in Sweden, which must not be confused with the -Jansenist school or system of doctrine of another time and place in -Western Europe, began about 1842 in Helsingland, in the prosperous -agricultural province of Norrland.[119] For fifteen years there had been -an undercurrent of dissent in the Established Church in that province, -led by Jonas Olson, who called his followers "Devotionalists." The -agitation was carried on primarily against the general ignorance of the -people and the sloth of the clergy, but not until Eric Janson appeared -on the scene did any organization of the dissenters take definite form. -When he moved from Wermland to Helsingland in 1844 and published the -high claim that he represented the second coming of Christ and was sent -to restore the purity and glory of Christianity, he was received with -great enthusiasm by the restless peasants, and accepted as a divinely -appointed leader who should gather the righteous into a new theocratic -community.[120] - - [119] Mikkelsen, _The Bishop Hill Colony_, 19 ff. - - [120] _Ibid._, 25. "The glory of the work which is to be accomplished - by Eric Janson, standing in Christ's stead, shall far exceed - that of the work accomplished by Jesus and his Apostles,"--quoted - in translation by Mikkelsen from _Cateches, of Eric Janson_ - (Söderhamn, 1846), 80. - -The progress of the dissenting sect was so rapid that the Established -Church, backed by the civil authorities, took stern measures to suppress -the heresy. It must be confessed that the dissenters continued to show a -fanatical spirit, and gave the ecclesiastical officers special cause for -alarm. In June, 1844, for example, the Jansonists made an immense -bonfire near Tranberg, and burned as useless and dangerous, all the -religious books which they could lay their hands on, with the exception -of the Bibles, hymn-books, and catechisms. As if one offense of this -kind were not enough to shock the pious Lutherans and everywhere stir -up the zeal of the Lutheran clergy, a second burning of books followed -in October, in which the Bible alone was spared.[121] - - [121] Mikkelsen, _The Bishop Hill Colony_, 22; Norelius, _Svenskarnes - Historia_, 63. - -Janson was repeatedly arrested and imprisoned; his followers were -subjected to the same treatment; and finally, a price was put upon the -head of the pestilent arch-heretic. It was these persecutions, -supplemented by letters from a Swedish immigrant in America, which -turned the thoughts of the Jansonists towards the United States. So it -happened that when Janson was rescued by his friends from the crown -officer who had him in custody, he was spirited off over the mountains -to Norway, and thence to Copenhagen, where he embarked for America. In -New York he met Olof Olson, the "advance agent," who was sent out by the -new sect in 1845 to spy out the better country where there was no -established church, no persecution for conscience's sake, and no -aristocracy.[122] Olson met Olof Hedström on landing in New York, and by -him was directed to his brother Jonas in Illinois, who gave the -new-comer a hospitable reception, and assistance in a prospecting tour -of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Olson decided on Illinois as the State -in which to plant the proposed colony. On the arrival of Eric Janson in -1846, the exact site in Henry County was selected, and the name Bishop -Hill given it after Biskopskulla, Janson's birthplace in Sweden.[123] - - [122] Mikkelsen, _The Bishop Hill Colony_, 24. - - [123] Johnson and Peterson, _Svenskarne i Illinois_, 26; _History of - Henry County, Illinois_. - -Janson appointed leaders for the would-be emigrants,--captains of tens -and of hundreds--before he left Sweden, and under their guidance several -parties made their way to Henry County in 1846, usually going by way of -New York, the Erie Canal, and the Great Lakes. Nearly 1100 persons were -ready to emigrate, but, like the early Norwegians, they experienced -great difficulty in securing passage, being compelled to go in companies -of fifty or one hundred in freight vessels, usually loaded with -iron.[124] The greater number sailed from Gefle, though some went from -Gothenburg and some from Stockholm.[125] - - [124] Swainson in _Scandinavia_, Jan., 1885. - - [125] Mikkelsen, _The Bishop Hill Colony_, 28. - -The greater part of these emigrating Jansonists were poor peasants, -unable from their own means to bear for themselves and their families -the great expense of the long journey from Helsingland to Illinois. In -addition to other difficulties some of them had to purchase release from -military service. It was to solve these problems of poverty and expense, -that Janson followed the example of other leaders of religious sects, -even of the early Christian leaders, and instituted community of goods -for the whole sect. The pretext seems to have been religious, but from -this distance it is clear that the motive of the leader was essentially -economic and philanthropic. Nothing could better attest the tremendous -earnestness of these uneducated enthusiasts than their implicit -obedience to the commands of Eric Janson, for they gave all they had -into his care and discretion--their property, their families, and -themselves. The amounts contributed to the common treasury after the -sale of individual property varied greatly, of course. Some turned in -almost nothing, while others gave sums reaching as high as 24,000 -kroner, or about $6,500.[126] - - [126] Johnson and Peterson, _Svenskarne i Illinois_, 28. - -The methods and practices of the sect are revealed, in unsympathetic and -perhaps exaggerated fashion, in a printed letter, dated at New York, May -23, 1847, written by one who found himself unequal to the high demands -of the new faith and its self-appointed apostle.[127] This backslider, -who emigrated with the rest, tells a story that sounds strangely like -accounts of the action of more recent sects and their "divinely -ordained" prophets and priestesses. Janson and all his works are -denounced in very bitter terms. After a five-months voyage not more -than fifty out of three hundred, says the writer of the letter, were -well, and many were suffering from scurvy; but Janson's "prophets" came -aboard and "tried to work miracles and heal the sick," even damning -those who did not believe they were well when they were raised up. He -further says that the Jansonists were warned in Illinois to use medicine -or the government would take a hand in their affairs. The letter closes -with a statement that more than a hundred had already left the society. - - [127] This account is contained in a small pamphlet, signed O. S., - which was unearthed in the Royal Library in Stockholm while the - author was searching there in 1890 for material on Swedish - emigration. - -The colony had a homestead at the outset, for Janson and his co-workers -purchased for $2000 a tract of 750 acres, part of which was under -cultivation. By the end of 1846, new recruits brought the number in the -settlement up to about 400 souls, who were accommodated in log-houses, -sod-houses, dug-outs, and tents. A church was improvised out of logs and -canvas, and services were held daily at half past five in the morning -and in the evening. In spite of the community of goods, the first year -with its crowding brought much suffering; the funds of the society were -depleted by the expenses of the great journey for so many people, and by -the expenditures for land. - -With the coming of spring in 1847, the settlement became a hive of -industry. Adobe bricks were made, a new saw-mill was erected, better -houses were built, and more land was bought to accommodate the new -arrivals. By 1850 the community owned fourteen hundred acres of land, -nearly free from debt. The religious or economic attractiveness of the -colony is evidenced by the fact that its population in 1851 reached the -considerable figure of about eleven hundred,[128] nearly one-third of -the total population of Henry County, notwithstanding a schism in 1848 -whose centrifugal force drove upwards of 200 from the fold, and -notwithstanding the epidemic of cholera in 1849 which claimed 150 -victims. Among these hundreds were representatives of almost every -province in Sweden. - - [128] Swainson puts the number of seceders at 250, and asserts - that they were drawn off by Jonas Hedström, the Methodist. - _Scandinavia_, Jan. 1885. Mikkelsen, _The Bishop Hill Colony_, - 33, 35, 37. - -The communistic principle worked well, at least in the first years, in -spite of the severity of the religious discipline. The land was -thoroughly cultivated. The growing of flax became a prominent factor in -the prosperity of the colony, and from this crop were made linen and -carpeting which found a ready market, the product of the looms reaching -30,579 yards in 1851.[129] - - [129] Johnson and Peterson, _Svenskarne i Illinois_, 335. - -The death of Eric Janson by the hands of a Swedish adventurer, John Root -(or Rooth), with whom he had a quarrel of long standing, removed the -prophet and builder of this New Jerusalem, but did not seriously -interrupt its development. In fact it might be said to have been a -benefit to the colony, for Janson was not a careful and skilful man of -business, and he had involved the community in debt. To relieve this -pressure of obligation, Jonas Olson, Janson's right-hand man, was sent -out with eight others, in March, 1851, to seek a fortune in the -California gold fields.[130] - - [130] _Ibid._, 39. - -The period of which this chapter treats ends with 1850; but inasmuch as -that year marks no break in the history of Bishop Hill, it will be well -here to finish the sketch of the development of that colony. On learning -of the death of Janson, Olson returned at once from California and -became the head of the colony after February, 1851. Improvements -immediately followed; the government, which had been autocratic or -theoretically theocratic, became more and more democratic under Olson. -Finally, as a completion of this broadening evolution, an act of the -Illinois legislature of 1853 incorporated the Bishop Hill Colony, and -vested the government in a board of seven trustees who were to hold for -life or during good behavior, their successors to be elected by the -community.[131] - - [131] Act of January 17, 1853. The Charter and Bylaws are reprinted in - Mikkelsen, _The Bishop Hill Colony_, 73 ff. (App.). - -The trustees were from the first afflicted with a speculative mania, and -invested in all sorts of enterprises--in grain, in lumber, in Galva town -lots, in railroad and bank stock, and in a porkpacking establishment. -Disaster after disaster followed between 1854 and 1857, when a general -panic prostrated the industries of the country. The climax of the -reckless mismanagement of the Colony came in 1860, and the corporation -went into the hands of a receiver, only to get deeper and deeper into -financial and legal troubles. Individualization of property took place -in 1861, when $592,798 was distributed among 415 shareholders, and other -property to the value of $248,861 was set aside to pay an indebtedness -of about $118,000.[132] The last traces of communism were gone, and with -the disappearance of communism went also the old religious tenets -peculiar to the faith. The majority of the Jansonists joined the -Methodist communion; even Jonas Olson deserted and became "an -independent Second [Seventh?] Day Adventist."[133] - - [132] Johnson and Peterson, _Svenskarne i Illinois_, 44 ff. - - [133] Mikkelsen, _The Bishop Hill Colony_, 71. - -Difficulties continued, however, for Olof Johnson, the chief offending -trustee, secured his appointment as one of the receivers. Assessment -followed assessment, and when the totals were footed up the chicanery of -trustees and receivers was made clear: to pay an original debt of -$118,403, these ill-fated people of the Bishop Hill Colony actually -expended in cash $413,124, and in property $259,786, or an aggregate of -$672,910.[134] Of course a lawsuit was begun, and the "Colony Case" -dragged along in the courts for twelve years, to be finally settled by -compromise in 1879, nine years after the death of Olof Johnson.[135] - - [134] Johnson and Peterson, _Svenskarne i Illinois_, 49-52. - - [135] The special master in chancery found in 1868 that Olof Johnson - was indebted to the Colony in the sum of $109,613.29. Mikkelsen, - _The Bishop Hill Colony_, 68. - -Besides the numerous companies which went to Bishop Hill, many others -between 1846 and 1850 sought different localities in the United -States.[136] Some remained in Chicago; some built homes in Andover, -Illinois; others began the large Swedish settlement in Jamestown, New -York; while still others were persuaded to go to Texas, thus beginning -the only considerable permanent settlement of Scandinavians in the -Southern States before 1880, with the exception of settlements in -Missouri. During these years, knowledge of the prosperous condition of -the immigrants was spreading, in the usual fashion, into every province -of Sweden; Småland, Helsingland, Dalarne, and Östergötland, were -especially affected. Not merely were Jansonists and dissenters moved to -emigrate, but men of the Established Church as well; a Jansonist's word -in matters of faith, Scriptural interpretation, and religious practice -was worse than worthless to staunch Lutherans, but there was no reason -to doubt the accuracy of his statements regarding land, wages, prices, -and opportunities in Illinois or Iowa. Even Lutheran clergymen began to -lead little companies of their adherents to the "States," and no one -considered it a mortal sin or eternal danger to follow in the footsteps -of worldly-wise heretics.[137] - - [136] Norelius, _Svenskarnes Historia_, 30-38. - - [137] Norelius, _Svenskarnes Historia_, 34. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE DANISH IMMIGRATION. - - -The Danish immigration began much later than the Norwegian and Swedish, -and its proportions were inconsiderable until after the Civil War. Not -until 1869 did the annual influx of Danes reach 2,000. Tho the -population of Denmark was and is somewhat greater than Norway's, yet the -Danish immigration has never in any one year equalled the Norwegian, and -in but seven years has it been more than one-half. As against Norway's -total of nearly 600,000 from 1820 to 1905, Denmark's is only about -225,000.[138] In calculating the immigration, however, a large allowance -must be made. Since the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein were acquired -by Prussia in 1864 and 1866, their emigrants have of course been -recorded as German. Nevertheless, taken as a whole, the movement from -Denmark has lacked momentum; its proportions are relatively small; and -the influence of the Danes in the United States is much less important -than that of either of the other Scandinavian nationalities. - - [138] See the tables in Appendix. - -The causes of the smaller emigration from Denmark are to be found in the -nature of the people and in the conditions of the kingdom itself. -Generally speaking, the Danes are not highly enterprising, adventurous, -or self-confident; instead of daring all and risking all for possible, -even probable, advantage, they remain at home, for, - - "Striving to better, oft we do mar what's well." - -Want is practically unknown in Denmark outside the slums of Copenhagen. -The condition of the common people has steadily improved since the -beginning of the nineteenth century, when nearly all the land was in the -hands of the nobility; at the present time, six-sevenths is owned by the -peasants. While this change has been going on, another, of even greater -significance, has taken place. Improved methods of cultivation, in the -course of a hundred years, have multiplied the productive power of the -land by ten, which is equivalent to increasing tenfold the available -area of the kingdom. No nation, except the United States and Canada, has -in recent times had such agricultural prosperity.[139] - - [139] Bille, _History of the Danes in America_, 8 n2, summarizing H. - Weitemeyer, _Denmark_, 100. - -As already noted, the activity of the Mormon missionaries drew off into -the wilderness of Utah nearly 2000 Danes between 1850 and 1860, and -nearly 5000 more in the next decade. In the two Prussian duchies after -1866, the discontent of Danes who preferred emigration to German rule -drove a large number to the United States; and as these were far from -being sympathizers with Mormonism, they found homes in the middle west. -Settlements sprang up after 1870 in Wisconsin, at Racine; in Iowa, at -Elk Horn in Shelby County and in the adjoining counties of Audubon and -Pottawatomie; and in Douglas County (Omaha), Nebraska, just across the -line from Pottawatomie County, Iowa. It should be noted in this -connection that all the Danish settlements save those in Utah, were well -within the frontier line, and hence are not to be classed as pioneering -work, for which the Danes have shown little inclination. - -The efforts of the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, -organized at Neenah, Wisconsin, in 1872, have been several times -directed deliberately to the organization of new Danish colonies, -always, of course, with a view to strengthening the church or to -carrying out some of its peculiar ideas. Of the four colonies,--in Shelby -County, Iowa, in Lincoln County, Minnesota, in Clark County, Wisconsin, -and in Wharton County, Texas,--that in Iowa is the most noteworthy and -successful. Soon after 1880, the church secured an option on a tract of -35,000 acres in Shelby County from a land company. In return for 320 -acres to be given by the company to the church for religious and -educational purposes when one hundred actual settlers were secured, the -church promised to use its influence to secure settlers for the whole -tract. The company agreed for three years time to sell only to Danes at -an average price of $7 per acre, for the first year, with an advance not -exceeding $.50 per year for each following year. The end of the first -year found more than the required number of settlers, the church -received its grant, and still maintains its worship, a parochial school, -and a high school, in a community which numbers about 1,000 Danes. The -other colonies have been less successful.[140] - - [140] Bille, _History of the Danes in America_, 26-28; A. Dan, - "History of the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America," - in Nelson, _History of the Scandinavians_, I, 166-171. - -The Danish element in America has always lacked unity and solidarity. -Even in their European home the Danes possess no strong national -ambition, and no national institution claims their enthusiastic and -undivided support. The Danish church, or churches, has gripped its -immigrant sons and daughters less closely than similar organizations -among the Swedes and Norwegians. It is estimated that only one out of -fifteen of the Danes in the United States belongs to some church, while -one out of five of the Swedes, one out of three and one-half of the -Norwegians, and one out of three of the total population of the country, -is connected with an ecclesiastical organization.[141] - - [141] Nelson, _History of the Scandinavians_, II, 49. - -One reason for the low ebb of church influence among the Danes is -undoubtedly the wranglings of the clergy over matters of theology and -polity, a continuation of the factional differences between the -followers of Bishop Grundtvig and the anti-Grundtvigians or Inner -Mission people in the years 1854-1895. In its beginning, the Danish -Lutheran Church in America unanimously adopted this resolution: "We, the -Danish ministers and congregations, hereby declare ourselves to be a -branch of the Danish National Church, a missionary department -established by that church in America."[142] The government of Denmark -recognized this relation; graduates of the University of Copenhagen, -who received calls to churches in America, were ordained by a bishop in -Denmark, and were appointed by the King as regular ministers in the -Danish Church; and since 1884 the Danish Government has made a small -annual appropriation for the education of ministers for the American -branch of the Danish Church. This allowance was at first spent in -Denmark, but since 1887, in the United States.[143] But with all this -effort at maintaining unity and continuity, the American branch has not -been united, peaceable or effective. - - [142] Bille, _History of the Danes in Amerika_, 18. - - [143] Bille, _History of the Danes in America_, 18n. The appropriation - was $840 per year. - -If the test of supporting educational institutions for their own people -be applied to the Danes, the same deficiency of interest and -contributions as in matters ecclesiastical, will be revealed. The -attempt of the Grundtvigians to set up the peculiar "high schools" which -they maintained in Denmark, for instruction of the common people in -Scandinavian history, mythology, religion, language, and literature, all -in Danish, was doomed to failure.[144] The first of these schools was -located at Elk Horn, Iowa, in the midst of the largest Danish settlement -in the United States, yet in the fifteen years after its establishment -in 1878 the average attendance never reached forty. Four other schools, -in Ashland, Michigan, in Nysted, Nebraska, in Polk County, Wisconsin, -and in Lincoln County, Minnesota, all established between 1878 and 1888, -suffered from like indifference and lack of financial help; not one -averaged thirty pupils per year. Aside from tuition, the contributions -of the Danes for educational purposes did not reach fifty cents per -communicant during any consecutive five years up to 1894.[145] This is a -poor showing alongside the three dollars per communicant contributed by -the Norwegians when they were building Decorah College in 1861 to -1865.[146] - - [144] _Ibid._, 21; _Kirkelig Samler_, 1878, 320. - - [145] Bille, _History of the Danes in America_, 16. - - [146] Bille, _History of the Danes in America_, 15; Estrem, - "Historical Review of Luther College," in Nelson, _History - of the Scandinavians_, II, 24. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -A HALF CENTURY OF EXPANSION AND DISTRIBUTION, 1850-1900. - - -While the immigration movement from Norway and Sweden was -well-established by 1850, and certain to expand, it was numerically -unimportant when compared with that from some other countries of Europe. -In 1849 the influx from all Scandinavia was slightly more than one -per-cent of the total immigration from Europe. Yet the rising stream -had, by 1850, worn for itself a clear and definite channel from eastern -ports like New York and Boston to such gateways to the Northwest as -Chicago and Milwaukee; and through these it continued to flow out over -the wilderness of the upper Mississippi Valley extending north of the -Missouri and Illinois Rivers and west of the Great Lakes. For more than -a half century there have been relatively few variations from this -course, tho in the later decades, with an increase in the proportion of -skilled laborers among the incoming thousands, certain eastern cities -have detained a considerable percentage. - -No other marked change in the character and quality of the immigrants -has developed since 1850, nor have any new motives appeared, except in -the case of the Danes, to be discussed later. In a word, the -Scandinavian immigration since 1850 is simply the earlier Scandinavian -immigration enlarged in numbers, with broader and deeper significance. -The areas of interest in emigration in Europe gradually extended to -every part and every class of the three Northern kingdoms; and the -localities attractive to Scandinavians in the United States, expanded -until eight contiguous States in the Old Northwest and the Newer -Northwest showed each a foreign-born population of Northmen numbering -more than thirty thousand. In the State of Minnesota they now reach -close to a quarter of a million.[147] - - [147] After 1850 the book of Frederika Bremer, _Homes of the New - World_, is credited with large influence in Sweden among - the better classes. See McDowell, "The New Scandinavia", - _Scandinavia_, Nos. 5-8. - -The total recorded Scandinavian immigration, according to the statistics -of the United States, from 1820 to 1912, is in round numbers 2,200,000. -According to the statistics of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, which may be -disregarded for inaccuracy before 1850, the total falls about 142,000 -short of this figure, a difference which may be easily enough accounted -for by persons leaving those countries for a more or less indefinite -stay in other parts of Europe, before starting for America.[148] The -American statistics in later years have sometimes shown larger numbers -than the Swedish, but the discrepancy is accounted for by the fact that -a great number of emigrants from Finland have passed through Sweden on -their way to America and therefore are counted as Swedes.[149] The -totals by decades with the percentages of the whole immigration for the -decades, is as follows:[150] - - Per cent - Denmark Norway Sweden Total Sc. of immig. - - 1820-1830 189 91 280 .2 - 1831-1840 1,063 1,201 2,264 .4 - 1841-1850 539 13,903 14,442 .8 - 1851-1860 3,749 20,931 24,680 .9 - 1861-1870 17,094 109,298 126,392 5.2 - 1871-1880 31,771 94,823 115,922 242,516 8.6 - 1881-1890 88,132 176,586 391,733 656,451 12.5 - 1891-1900 52,670 95,264 230,679 378,613 9.8 - 1901-1910 65,285 190,505 249,534 505,524 5.7 - - [148] Nelson in his _History of the Scandinavians_, I, 253 ff., gives - some careful and excellent tables of statistics compiled from - official publications of the United States and of the three - Scandinavian kingdoms. Too much reliance should not be put upon - the earlier figures derived from either source. It will also be - noted that the European figures are in many cases given in even - fifties and hundreds, which savors of estimates rather than of - exact statistics. Nelson, p. 244, declares that these foreign - statistics, so far as they go, are more reliable than the - American. - - [149] Sundbärg, _Sweden_ (English Translation), 132; Sundbärg, - _Bidrag till Utvandringsfrågan från Befolkningsstatistisk - Synpunkt_, 34 ff. - - [150] The statistics of Norwegian and Swedish immigration were - combined down to 1868, but for convenience here the combination - is continued to the end of the decade. Statistical Abstract of - the U. S. (1912), 110. - -The fluctuations of the annual immigration have been very great, as an -inspection of the accompanying chart and the tables in Appendix I, will -readily show. The addition of other lines to this chart indicating the -fluctuations in the numbers of immigrants from Germany and Ireland, -demonstrates that these rather striking variations were chiefly caused -by conditions and prospects in America, rather than by circumstances in -Europe. In 1849 the total immigration of Norwegians and Swedes passed -2,000, and even reached 3,400, but the terrible scourge of cholera in -that year under which so many of the Scandinavians in the West fell, -caused a falling off of more than half in 1850. After the panic of 1857, -the Danish immigration fell from 1,035 to 252 in one year, while the -total from the Northern lands fell steadily from 2,747 to 840 in 1860. - -The Civil War disturbed comparatively little the conditions favoring -Scandinavian immigration, for the Northwest was never in danger of -invasion, and nominal prices for farm produce ranged higher and higher. -Furthermore, the Homestead Act of 1862 gave new and cumulative impetus -to the immigration which sought farming lands.[151] So from a total of -850 in 1861 (the statistics of Norway show 8,900 emigrants for that -year, and those of Sweden, 1,087), the numbers gradually increased, in -spite of the war, to 7,258 in 1865. The panic of 1873 did not affect the -Scandinavian movement so immediately and seriously as might at first -thought be expected, probably because the Northmen were seeking farms in -the West, and also because the farmers as a class are about the last to -feel the effects of financial crises like that of 1873. As the -depression deepened, letters from America to Northern Europe lost their -tone of buoyancy and enthusiasm; the eastward flow of passage-money and -prepaid tickets almost ceased. At the same time a series of good crops -in the three Scandinavian countries caused a rise of wages about 1873, -doubling them in some instances.[152] Consequently the current of -immigration lost force and volume for several years, the totals -dropping, in round numbers, from 35,000 in 1873, to 19,000 in 1874, and -to 11,000 in 1877. - - [151] _United States Statutes at Large_ (1861-2), 392 ff. - - [152] Young, _Labor in Europe and America_, 676,--quoting and - summarizing from a report to the Secretary of State - by C. C. Andrews, United States Minister to Sweden, - Sept. 24, 1873. - -After the high-water mark of 105,326 in 1882, reached during the revival -of business from 1879 to 1884, the totals did not again fall below -40,000 Scandinavian immigrants per year, until after the industrial and -financial stagnation of 1893 to 1896; 62,000 in 1893 became 33,000 in -1894, and 19,000 in 1898. With the prosperity of the first years of the -new century in the United States, the number again passed 50,000, -reaching another climax in the 77,000 of 1903. - -In general, the variations of the curves for the three nationalities -under discussion have been nearly co-incident, as for example the high -points in 1873 and 1882, and the low points in 1877, 1885, and 1898. The -Danish immigration did not rise proportionately with the other two, -especially in 1903, probably because of the democratizing of -land-ownership in Denmark, and because of the remarkable improvement in -methods of cultivation in the course of the nineteenth century.[153] No -such decided improvements took place in the other peninsular kingdoms. - - [153] J. H. Bille, "History of the Danes in America", _Transactions of - the Wis. Acad. of Sciences, Arts, and Letters_, IX, 8 n., citing - H. Weitemeyer, _Denmark_, 100. - -Another feature of the fluctuation is entitled to some consideration. In -proportion to the population of those nations, the emigration from -Norway and Sweden since 1870 has been very large, and such drafts as -were made in the years 1882 or 1903 could not be expected to keep up. -The periodicity of the ripening of a good "crop" of eligible emigrants -for the great American West seems to have been since 1877 from five to -eight years. In this connection it is a noteworthy fact that the -population in each of the Scandinavian kingdoms, notwithstanding the -great emigrations, has steadily tho slowly increased since 1850.[154] -For the last decade of the nineteenth century, the figures for the -increase were, Denmark, 16.6%, Norway, 10.6%, Sweden 7.3%, United States -20%.[155] In this statistical distribution, account must also be taken -of the Scandinavians of the second generation, born in this country of -foreign-born parents, since this element, racially speaking, is just as -much an alien stock, with its inheritance of tendencies, temperament, -and passions, as were the original immigrants. The census of 1910 -enumerated among the foreign-born and the native-born of specified -foreign parents:[156] - - Native white having - Foreign-born both parents born Total - white in specified country - - Danes 181,621 147,648 329,269 - Norwegians 403,858 410,951 814,809 - Swedes 665,183 546,788 1,211,971 - --------- --------- --------- - 1,250,662 1,105,387 2,356,049 - -To these must be added still another group, made up of those persons -having a father born in Norway, Sweden, or Denmark, and a mother born in -one of the other two countries, in other words, persons of pure -Scandinavian descent. The number of such in 1910 was 72,152. It does not -include, be it noted, those persons of equally pure Norse blood whose -parents, one or both, were born in the United States. The minimum number -of Scandinavians, then, in the United States in 1910, who must be taken -into account in all calculations and estimates of power and influence -exercised by that factor of the population, is 2,428,201. If it were -desired to bring the estimate up to date, the immigration of 1910-1913 -and an approximation of the increase of the native-born, would have to -be included, and the grand total of persons of pure Northern stock -would not be far from 2,700,000 at the present time (1913). - - [154] For Denmark, the increase has been about 1% per year since 1870; - Sweden shows a slightly smaller increase, falling as low as - ¼% in 1890; Norway has a still smaller average increase than - Sweden, estimated by Norwegian authority "1865-1890, .65%". The - same writer adds: "The Norwegian race, in the course of the - fifty years from 1840 to 1890 must have about doubled itself, - which is equivalent to an annual growth of about 1.4%." Norway, - 103; _Statesman's Year-Book, 1900_, 491, 1047, 1050. - - [155] _Supplementary Analysis of 12th Census_, 31-33. - - [156] These figures are drawn from the tables in the _Census Reports, - 1910, Population_, I, 875 ff. The statistics generally deal - only with white persons, thus excluding blacks and mulattoes - of the Danish West Indies. - -The distribution of this vast company to the different States of the -Union is a consideration of primary importance. The detailed analysis of -the motives, processes, and results of the occupation of the -Northwestern States by the children of the Northlands, belongs in later -chapters.[157] The reasons why the stream flowed to the north of Mason -and Dixon's Line are a combination of climate and a fear and hatred of -slavery. If the movement from Scandinavia had begun fifty years earlier, -before the anti-slavery agitation became acute, the New Norway and the -New Sweden of the nineteenth century, would doubtless still have been in -the North and probably in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, for very much the -same reason that the Western Reserve was a New Connecticut. - - [157] See chapters VIII-X. - -Desiring ownership of good agricultural land above all else, and finding -after 1835 that the best and cheapest was to be found along the -advancing frontier west of a north-and-south line drawn through Chicago, -the men from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark followed their distant cousins -of New England and the Middle States in the great trek into the -Any-Man's-Land of the fertile upper Mississippi Valley.[158] For more -than two decades after the Civil War, tho slavery no longer existed in -the South, that region was still in the depression and uncertainty of -the post-bellum industrial disorganization, and hence unattractive to -immigrants of any class. So the tide continued to run high in the -Northwest and spread wider and wider because of the traditions of two -generations, and because of the attracting power of the Scandinavian -mass already comfortably and solidly settled there. - - [158] The "line which limits the average density of 2 to a square - mile, is considered as the limit of settlement--the frontier - line of population". _Eleventh Census, Report on Population_, - I, xviii. See R. Mayo-Smith in _Political Science Quarterly_, - III, 52. - -The first States of the Northwest into which the Norwegians and Swedes -penetrated, as has been described above, were Illinois and Wisconsin; -and in the censuses of 1850 and 1860 Wisconsin held first place in the -number of these aliens, showing an increase from 8,885 to 23,265.[159] -In 1850, Iowa, in the "far west," ranked fourth, with 611. Minnesota, -which then stretched away to the Rocky Mountains, had 4 Swedes, 7 -Norwegians, and 1 Dane.[160] By 1860 Iowa was passed by Minnesota which -then had 11,773, and thenceforward the Scandinavians were to keep close -step with the westward march of the frontier. In 1870 Minnesota took -first place, with 58,837, a position which the State has continued to -hold. In 1890 she had within her borders 236,670 foreign-born Northmen, -and enough of the second generation to make her Scandinavian population -466,365, or about one-fifth that of Denmark or Norway. The order of -Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa held good for 1870 and 1880, -but Wisconsin and Illinois changed places in the reports of 1890 and -1900. The Dakotas, as one Territory, received their first Norse settler -in 1858, but when the census of 1880 was taken there were 17,869, and in -1890, when the Territory was divided into two States, the Scandinavian -contingent was more than 65,000 strong.[161] Nebraska illustrated in a -similar manner the widening overflow of the steady stream out of the -European North; her population of Scandinavian birth which numbered only -3,987 in 1870, grew by direct entry of immigrants, and by the secondary -movement of early immigrants out of the middle Northwest, to 16,685 in -1880, and to 40,107 of foreign-born in 1900. According to this last -census, Nebraska counted 38,914 native persons of foreign-born -Scandinavian parents, showing that the second generation did not fall -much behind the first in the habit of frontier-seeking.[162] - - [159] For the tables illustrating this discussion, see Appendix. - - [160] Gronberger, _Svenskarne i St. Croixdalen_, 3 ff. - - [161] Sparks, _History of Winneshiek County, Iowa_, III. - - [162] See Appendix I. - -In the rush of gold-seekers into California after 1848 were many Danes -and Swedes, who gave that State in 1860 fifth rank as to the number of -Scandinavians; by 1890 these numbered about 42,000, of whom the greater -part were of the two nationalities just named. Another frontier region -which gained from the Danish immigration between 1850 and 1860 was the -Territory of Utah, for the Mormon missionaries seem to have been -particularly successful in Denmark, and nearly every convert became an -immigrant. Quite in advance of their invasion of Dakota, more than 2,000 -Danes had settled in the Mormon Territory, and ten years later Utah -counted nearly twice as many Scandinavians as Nebraska, seven-tenths -being Danes. - -The increasing density of this Scandinavian population in certain -localities,--what might be called its vertical distribution--is strikingly -illustrated in both urban and rural communities. Chicago had barely -emerged from the Fort Dearborn stage when the first Scandinavians walked -its streets. Yet within two generations there were found inside of her -wide-stretching borders more than 100,000 Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes -of foreign birth, and enough of the second generation to give her more -than 190,000, so that the city at the head of Lake Michigan was next -after Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Christiania,--the largest Scandinavian -city in the world.[163] By a similar calculation, Minneapolis would rank -sixth or seventh. - - [163] _Svenska Folkets Tidning_, Jan. 1, 1896, estimated the totals as - follows: Swedes, 100,000, Norwegians, 62,000, and Danes, 35,000! - -Rockford, Illinois, received the first of its signally prosperous -Swedish colony about 1853; by 1865 the city had 2,000 Swedes.[164] The -census of 1910 credits Rockford with 10,000 foreign born Swedes, and a -total of Swedish parentage reaching close to 19,000. One of the -west-central counties of Minnesota, Otter Tail, counted (1900) more than -half of its 45,000 population of pure Scandinavian blood of the first -and second generation of immigrants. Polk county, newer and farther -north in the same State, reveals almost sixty per-cent of the same sort -of population in a total of 35,000. For some of the still newer and more -sparsely settled counties even larger percentages might be obtained. - - [164] Kæding, _Rockfords Svenskar_, 27, 35. - -A closer analysis of the tables of population reveals some further facts -as to the distribution of the different nationalities. The Swedes are -the most numerous in Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, and -Kansas; the Norwegians predominate in Wisconsin, North Dakota, and South -Dakota, and nearly equal the Swedes in Minnesota where each passes -200,000. The Danes are strongest--they can hardly be called a very -important factor in any State--in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, -and Nebraska; in each State they have more than 25,000. Another feature -of this varying density of the three groups has to do with the cities. -Chicago, Rockford, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Duluth account for a large -proportion of the Swedes of Illinois and Minnesota, and represent the -later rather than the earlier stages of distribution. Outside of the -cities mentioned, the Norwegians in Minnesota outnumber the Swedes by -some 52,000. In North Dakota, the Norwegians are 72% of the foreign-born -Scandinavian population, in South Dakota, 56%, and in Wisconsin, 60%, -while in Illinois the Swedes are about 70%, and in Michigan and -Nebraska, 63% and 59% respectively. The Danes reach their highest -percentages of the Scandinavian foreign-born in Utah, 50%, in Nebraska, -34%, and in Iowa, 23%. Large numbers of the later immigrants, especially -of the skilled Swedish laborers, have found occupation in New York and -Brooklyn, Boston and Worcester, Hartford and Providence. These have -raised the proportion of the Swedes in the United States living in -cities of more than 25,000, to 36%, while only 28% of the Danes, and 19% -of the Norwegians were similarly located in 1900.[165] - - [165] _Census Reports, 1900, Population_, I, Tables 33 and 35. - -Climate, particularly the mean temperature, has also played considerable -part in the choice by the immigrants from Northern Europe of the sites -for their new homes, though it is an open question whether they would -not have been established where they were and when they were even if -the climate were different. Certain it is that the few Icelandic -settlements are situated in the extreme northern part of Minnesota and -North Dakota, and in Southern Manitoba.[166] South of them come, in -order, the zones of densest Norwegian population, 49° to 42°, of the -Swedish, 48° to 40°, and of Danish, 44° to 38°. The three nationalities -thus occupy relatively the same latitudinal position in America as in -their homes in the Old North.[167] - - [166] These are of course enumerated as Danes. Pembina County, in the - extreme northeast corner of North Dakota had in 1900 1588 Danes - (Icelanders). The movement from Iceland began about 1870. See - R. B. Anderson in _Chicago Record Herald_, Aug. 21, 1901. - - [167] G. T. Flom, "The Scandinavian Factor in the American - Population", _Iowa Journal of History and Politics_, III, 88. - -Summarizing the matter of location, the great bulk of the Scandinavian -immigrants went into the Northwest, 78% of them during the first fifty -years of the movement, and about 70% of the total. Out of the -immigration of the different nationalities, 81% of the Norwegians are in -the Northwest, 60% of the Danes, and 59% of the Swedes, the percentage -of the last being brought down, in comparison with the Norwegians, by -the fact that nearly 100,000 Swedes are found in Massachusetts, New -York, and Pennsylvania.[168] - - [168] _Statistical Atlas of the Twelfth Census_, Plates 69, 71, 73, - 76; _Iowa Journal of History and Politics_, III, 76. - -The Civil War occurred before the numbers and expansion of the Norse -element of the country's population had much passed a promising -beginning; the 75,000 present in 1860 could not be expected to play any -large and leading rôle. Yet the one dramatic and heroic chapter in the -whole story of the progress of the Scandinavians in America is that -dealing with their part in that great struggle, in which many hundreds -of them gave their strength and their lives for the unity and safety of -their adopted country no less bravely and no less cheerfully than did -the native-born American. The men from Thelemark and Smaaland and the -sons of Massachusetts and Michigan were inspired by the same fine and -pure motives; they hated slavery and loved the flag under whose folds -they realized their hopes and dreams.[169] By temperament, by religion, -by education, by tradition, men of Norse parentage were fitted to -participate in upholding a cause so essentially right and high. - - [169] Mattson, _Story of an Emigrant_, 60, 94. Here is printed, in - translation from _Hemlandet_, a stirring appeal "To the - Scandinavians of Minnesota!;" _Fædrelandet og Emigranten_, - September 29, 1870. - -In the short space of this volume, details of the loyal services of -companies made up wholly or in large part of Swedes and Norwegians must -be omitted, and the laurels won by such men as General Stohlbrand, who -was made a brigadier by President Lincoln himself,[170] Colonel H. C. -Heg,[171] Colonel Mattson,[172] and Lieutenant Colonel Porter C. -Olson,[173] must be passed by with mere allusions. - - [170] Osborn, "Personal Memories of Brig. Gen. C. J. Stolbrand", - _Year-Book of the Swedish Historical Society of America_, - 1909-10, 5-16. - - [171] Dietrichson, _Det Femtende Wisconsin Regiments Historie_, 26. - - [172] Mattson, _Story of an Emigrant_, 59-93. - - [173] Anderson, _Norwegian Immigration_, 112-127. - -The Fifteenth Wisconsin Regiment of Volunteers, consisting of about 900 -men, whose organization was decided upon at a mass meeting held in the -Capitol at Madison, in September, 1861, was made up almost entirely of -Norwegians and Swedes, some of whom had been in the United States less -than a year. Hans C. Heg, one of the early leaders of the Norwegian -immigration into Wisconsin, was appointed colonel of the regiment and -began organization at Camp Randall, near Madison, in the following -December.[174] The roster of officers indicates plainly their origin, -including such names as Rev. C. L. Clausen, Thorkildson, Hansen, -Grinager, Skofstad, Ingmundson, Tjentland, and Solberg.[175] The -regiment left for the front in March, 1862, and participated in the -operations of the next three years in Kentucky, Tennessee and northern -Georgia. It was mustered out at Chattanooga in February, 1865, having -lost about 300, quite one-third of its total enlistment, from deaths in -battle or in the hospitals, including Colonel Heg, who was killed at -Chickamauga.[176] Its record is summed up by the military historian of -Wisconsin who states that it was "one of the bravest and most efficient -regiments that Wisconsin sent to the field."[177] - - [174] Enander, _Borgerkrigen i de Forenede Stater_, 106; Dietrichson, - _Det Femtende Wisconsin Regiments Historie_, ch. i. - - [175] Dietrichson, "The Fifteenth Wisconsin, or Scandinavian, - Regiment," _Scandinavia_, I, 297 ff. - - [176] Nelson, _History of Scandinavians_, I, 166. - - [177] Quiner, _The Military History of Wisconsin_ (ch. xxiii, - "Regimental Histories--15th Infantry"), 631. - -Besides this Scandinavian regiment, there were several others in which -the Norse element was large. Company C of the 43d Illinois Regiment was -made up of Swedes, serving under Captain Arosenius. It was organized in -the spring of 1862 and mustered out in the fall of 1865, with -an honorable record of services faithfully and uncomplainingly -performed.[178] Company D of the 57th Illinois Regiment, which served -from the autumn of 1861 to July, 1864,[179] and Company D of the 3d -Minnesota Regiment, which was mustered in at about the same time,[180] -were composed of Scandinavians. A sprinkling of Swedes, Norwegians, and -Danes appears in the lists of many of the regiments of Illinois, -Wisconsin, and Minnesota, and many of these men rose to the ranks of -commissioned officers.[181] The Adjutant General of Minnesota in 1866 -estimated that of the enlistments from that State, at least 800 were -Norwegians, 675 Swedes, and 25 Danes. "In numerous instances the -nativity of the soldiers is omitted; and it is not easy to count -correctly all the names in such publications; hence it is fair to -estimate that 2,000 Scandinavians from Minnesota enlisted under the -Stars and Stripes.... One-eighth of the total population of the State -enlisted under the Union flag; while at the same time one out of every -six Scandinavians in Minnesota, as well as in Wisconsin, fought for his -adopted country."[182] - - [178] Johnson and Peterson, _Svenskarne i Illinois_, 143-149. - - [179] _Ibid._, 155-161. - - [180] Mattson, _The Story of an Emigrant_, 59-93. - - [181] _Ibid._, 62. - - [182] _Annual Report of the Adjutant General of Minnesota_, 1866, II; - Nelson, _History of the Scandinavians_, I, 303-304. Similar - figures for Iowa are in Nelson, II, 67. - -Everywhere the story of their services in the army is creditable, and it -is not strange that the survivors are proud of their war records as the -badge of loyal Americanism. They did not go into the war for mere love -of adventure, nor for love of fighting, for men in large numbers do not -leave their families and their half-developed farms for flimsy and -temporary reasons. They loved the new country they had made their own, -with a love that was measurable in the high terms of sacrifice, even to -the shedding of blood and to death. The stock out of which Gustavus -Adolphus made brave and effective soldiers had not degenerated through -lapse of time nor through transplanting. - -Though John Ericsson was in no wise connected with the regular Swedish -immigration movement, nor with Swedish settlement in the Northwest, the -United States owes him too large a debt for what has sometimes been -called the salvation of the Union through the agency of his "Monitor", -to warrant the omission of his name from among those Swedes who served -American freedom during the Civil War.[183] - - [183] Church, _Life of John Ericsson_. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -ECONOMIC FORCES AT WORK. - - -In the many monographs and more pretentious works dealing with various -phases of the economic history of the United States, much attention -has been given to the tariff, manufacturing, banking, currency, -transportation, and public lands. Only recently have the economic -results of immigration begun to receive the attention which their -importance deserves. For a long time the excellent work of Professor -Richmond Mayo-Smith, _Emigration and Immigration_ (1890), notable for -the strength and breadth of its general treatment, was quite alone in -its field. Mere statistical studies no longer suffice, and just as the -census-taking of the Federal Government has changed from the simple, -old-fashioned inventory of numbers--so many heads, black and white, -native-born and foreign-born--to an elaborate investigation of the life -problem of the population, so the meaning of immigration as a whole, and -of Scandinavian immigration in particular, requires a discussion -extending beyond annual and decennial statistics and maps of the density -of settlement. - -In the economic development of the Northwest, as compared with the -history of the Eastern, Middle, or Southern States during the nineteenth -century, the three principal topics are immigration, the Federal land -policy, and improvements in transportation. In a peculiar manner the -last two subjects are interwoven with the story of the Norwegians, -Swedes, and Danes in America. When people by the hundreds of thousands -were settled in the West, when commerce and manufacturing arose upon the -sound basis of a prospering agriculture, then and not till then, -protection, currency, and bimetallism might be accepted as real and -immediate issues. - -The Scandinavian immigrants along the frontiers, like the other pioneers -all through the prairie west, were from the first vitally interested in -securing some form of cheap transportation of the produce of the farms -to a good market; railroads were indispensable to the development of the -agricultural areas of the Great West. Western Pennsylvania might find -profit in 1794 in shipping the quintessence of its agriculture across -the mountains in demijohns; the cattlemen of the South and Southwest -might drive their products to market on the hoof; but at the very best -these were exceptional, inelastic, and primitive methods. Many pioneer -Norwegians and Swedes in Minnesota and Iowa were obliged to carry their -wheat and corn forty and fifty miles to have it ground for their -families, but they could not hope to haul any great amount of ordinary -farm produce over the abominable roads of the West for a distance -greater than forty miles and make a profit.[184] Without the hope of -railroads, the vast stretches of cereal-producing land in the -trans-Mississippi would long have remained virgin soil. Yet without -assurance that population would rapidly increase in numbers and in -complexity of life, thus giving a large traffic in both directions, no -railroad company would build out into the thinly settled area.[185] - - [184] _Fædrelandet og Emigranten_, July 21, 1870; interview in 1890 - with the Rev. U. V. Koren, the first Norwegian Lutheran minister - permanently located west of the Mississippi. Miss Bremer in - October, 1850, described the road over which the early settlers - in Wisconsin went 30 and 40 miles to market: "the newborn roads - of Wisconsin, which are no roads at all, but a succession of - hills and holes and water pools in which first one wheel sank - and then the other, while the opposite one stood high up in - the air.... To me, that mode of travelling seemed really - incredible.... They comforted me by telling me that the - diligence was not in the habit of being upset very often!" - _Homes of the New World_, II, 235-236. - - [185] It was on faith in the future of the northern zone of the - Northwest, based upon observation, that the Great Northern - Railroad was built without any land-grant or subsidy such as - the Northern Pacific and other roads demanded and got. - -Broadly speaking, then, the real problem of the Northwestern frontier -after 1850 was: how to put more and ever more men of capacity, -endurance, strength, and adaptability into the upper Mississippi and Red -River valleys, men who first break up the prairie sod, clear the brush -off the slopes, drain the marshes, build the railroads, and do the -thousands and one hard jobs incident to pioneer life, and then turn to -the building of factories and towns and cities. Not every sort of man -who could hold a plow or wield a hoe would do: Chinese coolies, for -example, would hardly be considered desirable, even with all their -capacity for hard work, persistence, and patience. Furthermore, it is -plain now, that the West could not have looked to the Eastern States -alone to send out an industrial army sufficient in numbers and spirit -for the conquest of the new empire and the extraction of its varied -resources at the desired speed. The demands were too severe, the rewards -too remote and uncertain for the average prosperous native-born citizen. -The aliens from the western side of the Atlantic, as it were by -regiments and battalions, must re-enforce the companies westward-bound -from the older States; in such a situation the Scandinavians were all -but indispensable to rapid material progress in the Northwest after the -middle of the last century. - -It is not easy to realize how attractive to the Northland immigrants -were the broad, level lands of the West, to be had from the United -States Government on the easiest of terms, both before and after the -passage of the Homestead Act of 1862. Scarcely in their dreams had they -conceived of soil so fertile, so readily tilled, and so cheaply -acquired. To speak to a Norwegian from Thelemarken, to a Swede from -Smaaland, or to a Dane from the misty, sandy coast of Jutland, about -rich, rolling prairies stretching away miles upon miles, about land -which was neither rocky, nor swampy, nor pure sand, nor set up at an -angle of forty-five degrees, about land which could be had almost for -the asking in fee simple and not by some semi-manorial title--this was to -speak to his imagination rather than to his understanding. The letters -from immigrants to their old friends in Europe continually dilated on -these advantages, sometime with a curious mingling of humor and pathos. -One of these communications, which was printed as a small pamphlet in -1850, sets forth in large letters, that the land was so plentiful that -the pigs and cattle were allowed to run at will.[186] What more could -be asked of Providence by a poor peasant or "husmand," owing to his -landlord, for the little strip of land on which he lived, the labor of -two or three days each week?[187] - - [186] A copy of this interesting little pamphlet, without signature, - was found in the National Library in Stockholm. - - [187] Young, _Labor in Europe and America_, 696. Laing, _Journal of a - Residence in Norway_ (1834), 151, describes the conditions in a - parish, Levanger, near Throndhjem. There fifty estates were - entered to pay land tax. Out of a population of 2465, 124 were - proprietors cultivating their own land; 47 were tenants leasing - lands, and 144 were "housemen" or tenants owing labor for their - land. - -These strictly economic advantages of soil and price were not the only -attractions for the sons of the Northlands. Both the traveller and the -prospector for a site for a settlement were deeply impressed by the -general appearance of the rolling country of the Northwest with its -abundance of streams and lakes. During her visit to Wisconsin and -Minnesota in the fall of 1850, Frederika Bremer saw with quite prophetic -vision, the possibilities of the region: - -"What a glorious new Scandinavia might not Minnesota become! Here would -the Swede find again his clear, romantic lakes, the plains of Scania -rich in corn, and the valleys of Norrland; here would the Norwegian find -his rapid rivers, his lofty mountains, for I include the Rocky Mountains -and Oregon, in the new kingdom; and both nations their hunting fields -and their fisheries. The Danes might here pasture their flocks and -herds, and lay out their farms on richer and less misty coasts than -those of Denmark.... Scandinavians who are well off in the old country -ought not to leave it. But such as are too much contracted at home, and -who desire to emigrate, should come to Minnesota. The climate, the -situation, the character of the scenery, agrees with our people better -than that of any other of the American States, and none of them appear -to me to have a greater or a more beautiful future before them than -Minnesota. Add to this that the rich soil of Minnesota is not yet bought -up by speculators, but may everywhere be purchased at government -prices.... There are here already a considerable number of Norwegians -and Danes."[188] The Swedish air-castle took material shape rapidly; -during forty years the name Minnesota, even more than Iowa, or -Wisconsin, was a name to conjure with among the laborers and would-be -farmers of the old kingdoms.[189] - - [188] Bremer, _Homes of the New World_, II, 314-315. - - [189] The charm of this name was illustrated in a curious way during - the journey of the writer and another American through the - mountains of central Norway in the summer of 1890. One early - evening they came to the cabin of a _sæter_, or summer pasture, - high up on the side of Gaustafjeld, and asked to be lodged for - the night. It appeared that the only room available for - strangers was already occupied by two young men from - Christiania; but when the conversation developed the fact that - both the late-comers were from America, and one from Minnesota, - the woman of the house hastened off into the next room, ordered - out the two Norwegians, and announced on returning that the room - was at the service of the foreigners! - -Of the peculiar fitness of the Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes for this -promotion of economic progress in a great section of the country, there -is practically a unanimous opinion. A dispassionate, mature estimate is -expressed officially by an agent of the British Government sent out to -study the question of immigration in the United States. "It is generally -admitted," he states, "that physically, morally, and socially, no better -class of immigrants enter the United States. In some respects they are -the most desirable of all."[190] A first-hand observer of their work as -western farmers wrote in 1868 concerning the settlers in a Norwegian -township in Minnesota, "They open their farms quicker, raise better -stock than most any other class, and quickly become wealthy."[191] In a -hearing before the Industrial Commission in 1899, Hermann Stump, a -prominent German, testified that the Scandinavians "are really the best -immigrants who come to the United States."[192] - - [190] _Report of the Board of Trade of Great Britain on Alien - Immigration to The United States_, 211, 212. - - [191] Goddard, _Where to Emigrate and Why_, 247. - - [192] _Report of the Industrial Commission_, XV, 22. - -While the Scandinavians were admirably fitted to become substantial -citizens and to develop their own properties, and while the prospect of -possessing a farm was the most potent and pervading influence affecting -their movements after about 1850, the very high rate of wages paid in -the United States, as compared with the wages in Europe, was everywhere -an important factor among the immediate attractions. All of the western -States, in the first decade of their growth, were exceedingly anxious to -secure settlers who should take up and improve the vacant square miles, -thus adding to the population and to the taxable values of the -commonwealth. At the same time there was a large and steady demand for -wage-labor; the farmers needed helpers; the construction of internal -improvements, begun and projected, like the rapidly expanding railroad -systems, could be carried on only by the aid of an abundance of -laborers.[193] - - [193] Mattson, _The Story of an Emigrant_, 29 ff. - -These needs could not be met by any considerable migration of laborers -from the eastern States, for there the development of manufacturing and -of transportation by land and by sea would operate to keep up wages and -so to hold the laborers. The hard labor of the Far West, therefore, must -be done, if done at all, by those who had not already found places for -themselves in the industrial system of the United States, and for such -services a good rate of wages would be paid, or at least a rate -sufficient to draw the desired labor. In 1851 the $15 per month received -by some Swedes working as farm hands near Buffalo, New York, was -considered "big wages."[194] At the same time laborers on railroad -construction in the West were receiving $.75 and $1 per day. Whether -measured as real or nominal wages, these rates were certainly higher -than even the average skilled laborer could earn in Norway or -Sweden.[195] Tho the wages in the peninsular kingdoms rose considerably -from 1850 to 1875, there was still at the later date and afterwards a -large differential in favor of the American scale, whether for skilled -or unskilled laborers. The experienced agricultural laborer in the -fields of Illinois or Wisconsin received two or three times as much as -the corresponding worker in Norway and Sweden, while in new States like -Minnesota the multiple was even greater.[196] Still more marked were the -differences between skilled laborers, such as carpenters and smiths, in -America and Europe even after the panic of 1873.[197] - - [194] Mattson, _The Story of an Emigrant_, 17. - - [195] _Ibid._, 29. For work on the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad, - Mattson received $.75 per day, and paid for board $1.50 a week, - but the determination of the real wages, per month, requires a - liberal deduction from these day-wages, for the process of - acclimatization was severe in such malarial districts as that - in which Mattson worked, and few men at first worked more than - fifteen or twenty days in the month. - - [196] The following tabulation is drawn from the statistics of Dr. - Young, _Labor in Europe and America_, to illustrate the - differences of wages. Personal inquiries among men from all - parts of Northern Europe confirm in a general way these figures - reported from Europe. The European rates are reduced to gold - values, while those for the United States are in paper money - values, and should be discounted 10% or 12% to put them on a - par with the other rates. - - Summer Winter - - Experienced agric. With Without With Without - laborers, per day Board Board Board Board - - Sweden, 1873 $ .66 $ $.46 $ - Norway, 1873 .28-.43 .42-.55 .21-.31 .55 - Denmark, 1872 .54 .80 .40 .60 - U.S. (Western), 1870 1.34 1.84 .97 1.40 - Minnesota, 1870 1.60 2.50 1.17 1.67 - U.S. (Western), 1874 1.15 1.58 .93 1.35 - Minnesota, 1874 1.00 1.50 .75 1.25 - - [197] _Ibid._ - - Mechanics and skilled - laborers, per day Blacksmiths Carpenters - - Sweden, 1873 $.80 $.80 - Norway, 1873 .90 .85 - Denmark, 1873 .85 .65-.85 - U.S. (Western), 1870 & 1874 2.88 & 2.66 2.98 & 2.72 - Minnesota, 1870 & 1874 3.03 & 3.00 2.92 & 2.50 - Domestic servants, female, per month - Sweden, 1873 $2.14-8.00 - Norway, 1873 (cooks) 2.42-3.59 - U.S. (Western), 1870 & 1874 9.43 & 9.28 - Minnesota, 1870 8.98 - -The eloquence of these figures, and of the conditions behind them, was -not left to do its work by chance in the private letters of immigrants -or in the occasional pamphlet. States and counties, as well as railroad -corporations disseminated very widely and systematically the knowledge -of the opportunities open to the laborer in the great West. If he were a -man who would progress from a temporary tho necessary factor in -construction or in the field, to a permanent settler taking up vacant -land, so much the better for the State and the corporation. Fortunately -for those great railroads, which were pushing construction and receiving -large subsidies in public lands, they found just such men in the Swedes -and Norwegians. As the Rock Island railroad pushed across Illinois and -Iowa, as the Northern Pacific built out through Minnesota and Dakota, -and as the road now known as the Great Northern carried its lines from -St. Paul into the Red River valley, and on across North Dakota, the -Scandinavian and the Irishman supplied the demand for labor front 1850 -to 1890, in precisely the same way as the Italian, Pole, Mexican and -Greek have been doing in later years. - -When construction of a railroad ended, the demand for immigrants merely -changed its form and became cumulative. The dividends of any railroad -running out into a new country depend on the development of the -tributary territory, and this is especially true of the land-grant roads -which owned half of the land within ten miles of their tracks. Thus it -came about that the Scandinavians were doubly valuable, first as -laborers for wages, and second as independent farmers in the townships -made accessible by the new lines.[198] It was, indeed, faith in human -nature, and especially Swedish and Norwegian human nature, which led to -the construction and profitable operation of hundreds of miles of new -roads in Minnesota and Dakota after 1880. One prominent railroad man -estimated that each settler (presumably each head of a family) meant in -the long run from $200 to $300 a year for the railroad.[199] - - [198] Personal interviews with a large number of Swedes and Norwegians - in northwestern Minnesota, in May, 1890, brought out the fact - that many of them worked in the construction of the Northern - Pacific and Great Northern railroads, and then invested their - savings in railroad lands in the Red River valley, where they - were prosperous farmers. - - [199] Mr. Powell. General Immigration Agent of the Chicago, Milwaukee - & St. Paul Railroad, in the _Milwaukee Sentinel_, Dec. 30, 1888, - p. 10. - -The fulfilment of the expectations of the builders of railroads and -commonwealths was often surprisingly prompt. The prophetic insight of at -least one "captain of industry," President James J. Hill of the Great -Northern Railway Company which built its transcontinental system without -land-grant, was as sure a reliance for capital as the subsidy of the -federal Government. Speaking in 1902 at Crookston, in the center of the -great Scandinavian region in northwestern Minnesota, he described in -striking terms the growth of farm values, and of the railroad business -in some of the towns in Minnesota and North Dakota: "I took the best -towns [of the Red River valley] outside Crookston [for comparison with -towns in North Dakota].... I will give you the annual business. Warren's -last year's railroad business with our company was $86,000; Hallock, -$94,000,--a respectable sum; Stephen, $87,000; Ada, $81,000.... Langdon -[in North Dakota] ... away up towards the boundary, upon Pembina -Mountain, $210,000; Osnabrock, I hardly know where it is myself, -$101,000; Park River, $170,000; ... Bottineau, away at the west end of -the Turtle Mountains, where a few years ago people said it was too far -away; could not live there and could not raise anything if they did live -there, $258,000.... Land up there [around Bottineau], worth $3, $5, and -$8 an acre, and a few pieces $10 an acre, a few years ago, is worth -today $25 and $30 per acre."[200] - - [200] _Northwest Magazine_, XX. 7, 11 (1902). - -The railroads left nothing undone to stimulate the economic desire of -the Scandinavians to migrate to their particular sections of land and to -the adjoining government sections. Several companies maintained for -years regular immigration or land agents, besides a considerable and -variable corps of sub-agents, port agents, and lecturers; some of them -paid the expenses of men representing groups of prospective immigrants, -who desired to visit and report upon a particular locality. The St. -Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railroad advertised in "Facts about -Minnesota" (1881): "The settler--his family, household goods, live stock -and agricultural implements--will be carried from St. Paul to any point -on either of our lines at one-half the regular price." - -Besides these efforts and inducements, the railroad companies prepared -handbooks in different languages, distributed them widely throughout the -East and West, and circulated them systematically in Norway, Sweden and -Denmark.[201] A few of the companies even sent special representatives -to Europe to work directly with the people of those countries. The Hon. -Hans Mattson left the office of Secretary of State in Minnesota in 1871 -to become the liberally paid European agent for the Northern Pacific -Railroad whose resources he was to advertise from his headquarters in -Sweden.[202] He was not, however, to organize regular parties of -emigrants. A high official of one of the northwestern roads summed up -the matter by saying, "There is as much competition among the railroads -desiring to attract immigrants, as among dry-goods stores in aiming to -attract customers." - - [201] Such pamphlets were issued by the Wisconsin Central, the Chicago - & Northwestern, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, and the - Northern Pacific railroads. Some of them were printed in - Swedish, Norwegian, German, Dutch, and Polish. - - [202] Mattson, _The Story of an Emigrant_, 118 ff. - -The northwestern State governments were hardly less interested in -inducing immigrants to help fill up the vacant square miles and -townships than were the railroads, for developed farms meant towns, -diversified industry, and greater assessment values, which, being -translated, meant much-needed public buildings, institutions, and -improvements. The competition of the States, for immigrants such as the -Norwegians, re-enforced and parallelled that of the railroad and land -companies. Wisconsin appointed a Commissioner of Emigration in 1852, -who resided in New York, and employed a Norwegian and a German -assistant.[203] The following year another Act created a Traveling -Emigrant Agent, and prescribed that he should "travel constantly between -this State and the city of New York," to advertise "our great natural -resources, advantages and privileges, and brilliant prospects for the -future."[204] Pamphlets by the thousand in German, Norwegian, and Dutch -were sent out in America and Europe. The office was abolished in 1855, -but in 1867 another Act created an unpaid Board of Immigration and -appropriated $2,000 for printing pamphlets in English, Welsh, German, -and the Scandinavian languages.[205] The State even went so far, in a -later Act, as to authorize the Board, in its discretion, to help with -money, "such immigrants as are determined to make Wisconsin their future -home."[206] - - [203] _Laws of Wisconsin_, 1852, ch. 432; Ibid., 1853, ch. 53; - _Wisconsin Documents_, 1853, 1854, Reports of Commissioner - of Emigration. - - [204] _General Acts of Wisconsin_, 1853, ch. 56. - - [205] _Ibid._, 1855, ch. 3; 1867, ch. 126; 1868, ch. 120; _Governor's - Messages and Documents_, 1870, 11. - - [206] _General Acts of Wisconsin_, 1869, ch. 118. - -The Board was succeeded by a Commissioner (Ole C. Johnson) in 1871, -whose office was in turn abolished in 1874. The story of Wisconsin's -later organizations for promoting immigration ought almost to go into -the chapter on politics--a new Board in 1879, abolished in 1887, renewed -for two years in 1895, and revived for another two years in 1899.[207] -In 1880, at the request of the president of the Wisconsin Central -Railway Company, K. K. Kennan, agent of the land department of that -company, was also appointed agent for the State in Europe, without -expense to the State.[208] - - [207] _Ibid._, 1871, ch. 155; 1874, ch. 238; 1879, ch. 176; 1887, ch. - 21; 1895, ch. 235; 1899, ch. 279. The abolished Commissioner of - 1874 declared the repeal was "conceived in vindictiveness and - brought about by third-rate politicians, and followed my refusal - to appoint to place in my office" certain incompetents. _Report - of Commissioner of Immigration_, 1874, 2. - - [208] _Annual Report of Board of Immigration_, 1880, 6. - -For the same purposes, and with the same methods, Iowa had a -Commissioner, 1860-1862, and a Board (of which the Rev. C. L. Clausen -was a member), 1870-1874, which sent agents to Norway, Sweden, and -Denmark, where they published articles in the newspapers and stirred up -emigration sentiment.[209] - - [209] _Laws of Iowa_, 1860, ch. 81; 1862, ch. 11; 1870, ch, 34. - -Minnesota, likewise, in 1867 created a Board of Emigration, and Hans -Mattson was appointed secretary. He proved a very efficient officer, and -not the less so because at the same time, as he admits, he acted as land -agent for one of the great railroad companies, whose line went through -Wright, Meeker, Kandiyohi, Swift and Stevens counties.[210] Of the work -of the Board, Mattson gives a convincing summary: "In the above-named -localities there were only a few widely scattered families when I went -there in 1867, while it is now (1891) one continuous Scandinavian -settlement, extending over a territory more than a hundred miles long -and dotted over with cities and towns, largely the result of the work of -the board of emigration during the years 1867, 1868, and 1869.... Our -efforts, however, in behalf of Minnesota brought on a great deal of envy -and ill-will from people in other States who were interested in seeing -the Scandinavian emigration turned towards Kansas and other States, and -this feeling went so far that a prominent newspaper writer in Kansas -accused me of selling my countrymen to a life not much better than -slavery in a land of ice, snow, and perpetual winter, where, if the poor -emigrant did not starve to death, he would surely perish with cold. Such -at that time was the opinion of many concerning Minnesota."[211] - - [210] Mattson, _The Story of an Emigrant_, 97, 99, 101. - - [211] Mattson, _The Story of an Emigrant_, 100-101. - -The secretaries or commissioners of immigration were usually men of -alien birth or extraction, and therefore intelligent and sympathetic in -their labors for succeeding immigrants.[212] Probably no State gave -better care, guidance, and protection to foreigners coming as settlers -than did Minnesota, and naturally, with a Swede as commissioner, the -Scandinavians were "preferred stock." The work of the Minnesota -commission included the appointment of interpreters to meet immigrants -at New York, Montreal, and Quebec and accompany them to Minnesota; -provision for temporary homes for the new-comers until they went to -their chosen locality; and wide publication of newspaper articles in -different languages. Pamphlets containing maps and detailed descriptions -of States and counties were distributed at railroad stations and on -steamers, in America and in foreign countries.[213] It would be -stretching the truth a little to say that these circulars sent out by -States, counties, and railroad companies were always strictly accurate -and ingenuous, but they brought the desired results, not in one campaign -alone, but year after year. Taken as a whole the energies of the State -and railroad agents, were honorable, well-managed, and highly beneficial -to both the States and the immigrants. The best evidence for this -statement lies in the figures of the censuses of 1880, 1890, and 1900 -for the population of Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and the Dakotas.[214] - - [212] _Ibid._, 99, 102; _Wisconsin Legislative Manual_, 1895, 133. - - [213] See Bibliographical Chapter, under the names, Hewitt, Listoe, - and Mattson, for Minnesota. - - [214] See Statistical chapter, tables 5, 6, 7. - -The value of so many tens of thousands of immigrants added to the assets -of western commonwealths,--so many scores of thousands of "hands," to -make use of the colloquial term for labor units,--is at once great and -difficult to measure or estimate. In economic terms, how much is a -full-grown, healthy, intelligent, literate young man worth to a -community into which he drops himself, for is he not as much a finished -labor-performing machine as a new traction engine or a span of mules, -either of which the assessor would set down in his books? The risks and -pains and costs of up-bringing through unproductive years, of educating, -of training for occupation, have all been borne by another community; -the increment of wealth arising from his labor, providence, and skill -will enrich the United States. - -Yet it is not a fair test of the value of an immigrant to this country -to measure it by the cost of his bringing up and education, either by -the standards of his old home or by the American standards. Professor -Mayo-Smith pointed out the fallacy in the oft-quoted estimate of Kapp, -made up on this basis, that "the capital value of each male and female -immigrant was about $1,500 and $750 respectively, making an average of -$1125."[215] Dr. Young, formerly Chief of the United States Bureau of -Statistics, chooses as a basis the "market value" rather than the "cost -of production," and estimates the approximate yearly addition made by -each immigrant to the realized wealth of the country in the form of -farms, buildings, stock, tools, and savings, to be about $40, which, -capitalized at 5%, gives $800 as the value of each immigrant.[216] An -interesting German calculation in 1881, made in much the same way as Dr. -Young's, put the capital value of each immigrant at $1,200.[217] Another -method of gauging the amount contributed to the earnings of the country -by each immigrant, is to multiply the average daily wage of $1 by -one-fifth the total number of immigrants, and that by 300, the number -of working days in the year.[218] Taking the values of the immigrant -over fourteen years of age and under forty-five, as $1000, and -estimating conservatively that 80 per-cent of the foreign-born -enumerated in the census of 1900 reached the United States between those -ages, the Scandinavians so enumerated represented a capital value of -about $850,000,000, to which the immigration from the North countries in -the next five years added not less than $230,000,000. Viewed from one -point, this capital was just so much given by the gods of plenty to -accelerate the development of the West. - - [215] Kapp, _Immigration and the New York Commissioners of - Emigration_, 146; Mayo-Smith, _Emigration and Immigration_, - ch. vi. - - [216] Young, _Special Report on Immigration_ (1871), vii-ix. - - [217] "According to other statistics, the average annual earnings of a - workman amount to $625, and one may safely presume that every - able-bodied workman contributes every year 1/5 of his earnings - to the increase of national wealth. Taking into consideration - the period of time of a full working capacity of emigrants - according to their age, and considering the much less working - capacity of females, and the cost of raising the children which - they bring with them, one may fairly presume that, during the - last few years, not only considerable cash capital has been - taken to the United States by emigrants, but that every one of - them carries to that country, in his labor, a capital which may - be estimated at $1200. The total value of the labor thus - conveyed to the United States during the last five years, may - therefore be estimated at about $700,000,000. No wonder that the - United States of America prosper." _Hamburger Handelsblatt_, - March 18, 1881, quoted in translation from this "leading trade - journal of Germany", in _Annual Report of the Wisconsin Board - of Immigration_, 1881, 14. - - [218] J. B. Webber, in _North American Review_, CLIV, 435 (1892). - -Another phase of the economic advantages of Scandinavian immigration has -to do with the cash capital brought by the incoming thousands. While the -first Norwegians were of the poorest class of the community, who escaped -from unfavorable conditions almost empty-handed, squeezed out from the -bottom of society, as it were through cracks and crevices, and while -many of the later arrivals have had no other capital than strong hands -and equally strong determination, the great proportion of adults have -brought with them average sums variously estimated from $22 to $70 each. -G. H. Schwab of New York, whose firm was general American agent for the -North German Lloyd Steamship Company, estimated the average money or -money equivalent brought by the Scandinavians, at $22 per head, probably -including children in the calculation.[219] W. W. Thomas, Jr., -Commissioner of Immigration for Maine, and later minister to Sweden, -states that 900 Swedes who came to Maine in one year, besides clothing, -tools, and household goods, had $40,000 in cash; and elsewhere he puts -the average at $50 per head.[220] The figures from Wisconsin, which -received better material than the average, would naturally run higher; -in 1880 the official estimate of cash brought by each immigrant was -"from $60 to $70."[221] Assuming an average of 50,000 Scandinavian -immigrants per year for the last thirty years,--a safe minimum--and an -average of $50 cash per capita, the annual addition to the cash capital -of the country would be at least $2,500,000. - - [219] _Forum_, XIV, 810. - - [220] _Report of the Board and Commissioner of Immigration of Maine_, - 1872, 6; F. L. Dingley, "European Emigration," _Special - Consular Reports_, II, No. 2, 1890, 260. - - [221] _Annual Report of the Board of Immigration of Wisconsin_, 1880, - 4. A writer in the _Milwaukee Sentinel_, Sept. 10, 1889, states, - "Many of them (Germans and Scandinavians) bring abundant means - to secure large farms and stock them well." - -Whatever may be gained in this way is, however, offset by the steady -stream of remittances flowing from America to Northern Europe, -especially during the last quarter of a century, and by the large sums -spent by the thousands of erstwhile immigrants returning to their old -homes for a winter or for a vacation.[222] Many a son, prospering in -America, has contributed regularly to the support or added comfort of -his parents or family in the fatherland; every holiday season swells the -mail sacks with letters containing money-orders and drafts. During 1902 -at least $1,000,000 was sent to Norway alone.[223] In the last two -months of 1903, it is estimated that $3,000,000 went from the United -States to the Scandinavian countries in these personal remittances.[224] -Another sort of remittance which does not immediately take the form of -cash, is the prepaid ticket for passage to an American port, sent to -friends and relatives to assist them to emigrate. The United States -consuls at Bergen and Gothenburg reported that about one-half of the -emigrants from Norway and Sweden in 1891 made the journey on tickets -sent from America.[225] In this connection, it should be noted that the -money thus spent by immigrants is not in the nature of a permanent -investment of hoarded earnings; it is not the remittance of "birds of -passage" like some Italians, for example, who will shortly follow it. In -comparison with the millions of dollars sent home by Italian immigrants -in an average year, the Scandinavian remittances and spendings are -almost insignificant.[226] - - [222] Brace, _The Norsefolk_, 146; _Harper's Weekly_, Sept. 1, 1888; - _Gamla och Nya Hemlandet_, Jan. 14, 1903 (Malmö correspondent). - - [223] _Special Consular Reports_, XXX, 116 (1903, Christiania). - - [224] _Amerika_, Jan. 8, 1904. - - [225] _Letter of the Secretary of the Treasury, etc._, 1892, 45, 50, - 65. - - [226] "In an average year the Italian bankers of New York City alone - sent to Italy from $25,000,000 to $30,000,000. This is said - to have an appreciative effect upon the money market." - _Lippincott's Magazine_, LVIII, 234 (1896). - -From the first, great numbers of the immigrants have come with no other -capital than strong and willing hands, stout hearts, and an unchanging -land-hunger. They served for a time as laborers on the older farms, in -town, in the lumber camps, or in railroad construction, saving their -money, learning American ways, and acquiring some English, but as soon -as money enough was saved, perhaps in a year, to buy forty or eighty -acres of government land at the minimum price, a yoke of oxen or a team -of horses, and a few necessary farm tools and implements, the -prospective farmer moved upon new land and started out for himself. -Under the Homestead Act of 1862 the amount of capital required for the -beginning of operations was greatly reduced, and it was under this act -that the lands of the northwestern States beyond the Mississippi were so -rapidly taken up.[227] - - [227] "An Act to secure Homesteads to Actual Settlers on the Public - Domain," _U. S. Statutes at Large_, 1861-2, 392. - -A typical illustration of the process described is found in Levor -Timanson, who came with his father in 1848, at the age of eighteen, to -Rock County, Wisconsin, where he worked for several years as farm -laborer, carpenter, and mason. He visited Iowa and Minnesota in 1853 in -search of satisfactory land; finding it at Spring Grove, in the latter -State, he settled down there as a grain and stock farmer. In 1882 he -owned 840 acres of land of which 550 acres were under cultivation.[228] -A study of the histories of counties and townships in eastern Iowa and -Minnesota, and of the biographies which usually accompany them, reveals -clearly the fact that the larger part of the Scandinavian farmers -resident in those counties in the sixties and seventies spent from one -to five years in Wisconsin or Illinois before moving into the Farther -West.[229] They were in turn apprentices and journeymen, and finally -attained to the full dignity of masters of their own estates. - - [228] _History of Houston County, Minnesota_, 481. - - [229] _History of Goodhue County, Minnesota_; _History of Houston - County, Minnesota_; Sparks, _History of Winneshiek County, - Iowa_. See the numerous biographies in Nelson, _History of - the Scandinavians_, I, II. - -The economic as well as the social importance of the tendency of the -Scandinavian immigrants to settle upon the unoccupied farm lands of the -West, can scarcely be over-emphasized. It gains still more striking -significance when the figures showing such settlement are compared with -those of some other races which have more recently contributed largely -to the immigrant population; for the man who owns and develops a farm -necessarily makes a permanent, long-time investment of himself and his -family in a reproductively extractive industry; while the wage-earner in -the mines or in lumbering is quite likely to be a "bird of passage," -engaged in destructively extractive industries, with only vague notions -of, or longings for, citizenship and its responsibilities. Professor -John R. Commons, perhaps the best statistical authority on this subject, -gives some striking figures illustrative of the farm-ward tendencies of -different alien elements, showing the percentage of total number of -males in 1890 engaged (1) on farms, (2) as farmers and planters, and (3) -as laborers not specified:[230] - - (1) (2) (3) - Farm Labor Farmers Laborers - - Danes 40.78 27.41 13.30 - Swedes and Norwegians 38.26 27.12 14.95 - Germans 27.04 21.14 11.58 - English 18.53 14.82 7.47 - Irish 14.71 11.60 25.16 - Russians 13.19 11.03 10.96 - Italians 5.81 3.91 34.15 - Hungarians 3.92 2.13 32.44 - -From calculations based upon the reports of the censuses of 1870, 1880, -and 1890, it appears that one out of four of the Scandinavians was in -the last year engaged in agriculture; of the Americans, one out of five; -of the Germans, one out of six; and of the Irish, one out of -twelve.[231] - - [230] _Report of the Industrial Commission_, XV, 301-302. Mr. R. C. - Jones, assistant superintendent of Castle Garden, New York, - estimated, according to an interview in the _Milwaukee - Sentinel_, Dec. 30, 1888, that about one Swede out of a - hundred went to a city. - - [231] See Nelson, _History of the Scandinavians_, I, 246. - -One of the very natural consequences of the tendency of the Norse -immigrants to seek agricultural locations, and to seek them along the -advancing frontier, is the township and even the county, particularly in -Minnesota and the Dakotas,[232] peopled almost solidly with the men and -women of one nationality. The names of post-offices and townships, and -the assessment rolls of the counties, bear witness to the density of -these settlements which were made up of immigrants in both the first and -second stages, composed in part of people coming from the older colonies -like those in Dane County, Wisconsin, or Henry County, Illinois, or -Goodhue County, Minnesota, and in part of newcomers direct from their -Old World homes. About 1880, the names of those whose land abutted upon -the two railroads traversing Houston County, Minnesota showed plainly -this process of massing. Taken in order, the first twenty-two names were -those of American, Irish, and German settlers; then followed nineteen, -all Scandinavian save two.[233] Fillmore County, Minnesota, one of the -older counties, largely Norwegian from its beginning, and Chisago -County, on the eastern border of the same State, a stronghold of the -Swedes from its first settlement, are excellent examples of the economic -contributions made to the State by the Scandinavian element through its -development of the wilderness into cultivated fields and prosperous -villages. Of the transformation of Dakota before 1890, and the part of -the sons of the North in it, a writer says: "Most of them came with just -enough to get on Government land and build a shack.... Now they are -loaning money to their less fortunate neighbors.... Every county has -Norwegians who are worth from $25,000 to $50,000, all made since -settling in Dakota."[234] - - [232] _History of the Upper Mississippi Valley_, 281, 312, 416, 440, - 511; _History of Fillmore County, Minnesota_, 344, 346; - _Northwest Magazine_, Oct., 1899. - - [233] _History of Houston County, Minnesota_, 286. - - [234] _The Northwest Magazine_, Oct., 1889, p. 32. - -In comparing statistics of such counties as Fillmore and Chisago, -showing their growth in wealth and productivity, as reported in the -decennial census, two facts regarding the nativity and parentage of the -population must be kept clearly in mind if the full significance of the -work of the men of alien stock is to be appreciated: first, that the -increase of the foreign born is largely made up of adults; second, that -the increase of the native-born is in reality an increase of the purely -Norwegian or Swedish element, the sons and daughters, grandsons and -granddaughters of foreign-born parents, for the census-taker, even in -1900, did not penetrate beyond the first degree of ancestry. - -The tabulation given in Appendix II illustrates the economic progress of -three Minnesota counties in which the Norse factor has been strong from -the early days of their settlement: Fillmore, Chisago, and Otter Tail, -one of the newer counties in the west-central part of the State. From -these figures some conception of the influence of the North European in -one American commonwealth may be obtained. These are not unique cases, -but rather they are what might be called normal counties of their class, -counties whose population is made up more or less of good native-born -settlers from the older Eastern States. - -Several processes already discussed will be easily and forcibly -illustrated by these tables. In Fillmore County, for example, the oldest -of the three, the increase of the foreign-born element was most rapid in -the decade 1870-1880, while during the next ten years there was a -distinct falling off, due beyond any doubt to the rise in the price of -lands in that county and to the opening up of new counties like Otter -Tail where just as good land was to be had at the minimum rate. This -falling off was paralleled in the same decade in Chisago County, while -both the rise and decline in the number of foreign-born Norwegians -going into Otter Tail County occur in the two later decades, 1880-1890 -and 1890-1900, when the Dakotas were filling up. - -The continuing additions to the acreage of farm lands and the steady -transformation of unimproved areas into improved areas, indicate the -extent to which the labor of alien hands was enhancing the value of the -prairies even down to 1900, and presumably since that date. The figures -for the increase of the cash values of the farms, including fences, -etc., but not improvements, have been chosen because the increases in -the total valuations of counties is not infrequently due to the rise of -considerable villages and cities, and to the building of railroads, and -to these enterprises in contrast with the evolution of agricultural -values, the Scandinavian is a comparatively insignificant contributor. -The extent to which this development of rural areas may go, is curiously -evidenced in the names of the subdivisions of the relatively new Otter -Tail County. Of its sixty-two townships in 1900, not less than thirteen -bear unmistakable Scandinavian (Norwegian) names--Aastad, Aurdal, -Norwegian Grove, St. Olaf, Tordenskjold, Throndhjem, etc. - -The price which the immigrant-agriculturist was willing to pay for his -coveted free-hold farm was not measured in dollars and cents alone. In a -very real way, the land was to become the property of the highest -bidder, tho each one paid $1.25 per acre; the land was sure to go to -him who would in the long run put the most of himself into the -bargain--muscle, courage, patience, pride in his family, and the future -of himself and his family as over against the present. It was due in no -small degree to the composite nature of this individual investment by -the man from Europe's Northwest, that he so promptly and intelligently -succeeded in acquiring free of debt his farm and home in the American -Northwest.[235] - - [235] See the testimony of John Anderson, editor of _Daily - Skandinaven_, before the Select (Congressional) Committee - on Immigration and Naturalization, 1891. _House Reports, - No. 3472_, 51 Cong. 2 Sess., 679-683. - -Another reason for his nearly uniform success lies in the fact that he -was brought up to a more careful and intensive system of farming than -his average American neighbor. Perhaps, too, he works harder than the -American, but hard work, long and unflinchingly continued, is a -fundamental condition of the success of a farmer whatever his -nationality. From the Scandinavian immigrant's point of view, he does -not work so hard in the United States, in order to gain a given -result,--ownership of his own farm, for illustration,--as he would have -had to work in the land of his birth. Personal interviews with scores of -men in various parts of the Northwest confirm the opinion expressed to -Miss Bremer in Wisconsin so far back as 1850, when pioneering was as -hard as at any time since the "Sloop Folk" landed in New York: "About -seven hundred Norwegian colonists are settled in this neighborhood, all -upon small farms.... I asked many, both men and women, whether they were -contented; whether they were better off here or in old Norway. Nearly -all of them replied, '_Yes_, we are better off here; we do not work so -hard, and it is easier to gain a livelihood.'"[236] - - [236] Bremer, _Homes of the New World_, I, 242. - -In a discussion of the competition of the immigrants with American -laborers, an eminent scholar maintains that the Scandinavians of the -West have succeeded where the American with a better start has -failed.[237] He questions if this success is a survival of the fittest, -if it has not been purchased at the expense of American labor which is -forced elsewhere, because the Americans will not endure the hard work -and live on the coarse fare, through which the immigrants win their -success.[238] However true this might be as a generalization about -immigrants as a whole, it can hardly be true of the Swedes and -Norwegians, except in so far as they have been more willing than the -native American to live the life of a pioneer and to stick to the soil. -But this cannot fairly be called forcing out American labor, or driving -the American to the wall; immigrant labor went in where there was no -labor of any kind. Furthermore, up to 1890, there was certainly plenty -of land for all the American, or native-born, laborers who desired to -devote themselves to that sort of work by which the Scandinavians were -gaining their independence. If the agricultural land of the vast West be -looked upon as a national asset, to be held for cautious and -discriminating distribution to examined and approved settlers, then it -may be that the foreigner has occupied land which might have sometime -fallen to a better man. - - [237] Mayo-Smith, _Emigration and Immigration_, 146. - - [238] _Ibid._, quoting a letter from Fargo, Dakota, July 24, 1887, to - the _New York Times_. - -The standard of living among the Scandinavian settlers, whether on the -frontier or in the towns, has not been very different from that of their -American neighbors. It cannot vary much in a sod-house on the prairie, -in a cabin on a claim, or in a log-hut in a clearing, whether the -occupant be of Viking or Puritan descent.[239] The food was Indian corn, -sometimes ground in a coffee-mill, occasionally wheat, milk, fish, wild -fowl, pork, and common vegetables; the clothing was often primitive and -always rough, and in the early days, at least, "men in wooden shoes and -home-made woolen jackets were no uncommon sights at their religious -meetings, or even when they were locked in holy matrimony before the -altar."[240] But with prosperity, Americanization, and the settling up -of the region about them, they took to comforts and luxuries just as -soon as they could afford them. During the autumn of 1886 the writer -spent more than six weeks in the family of a well-to-do Danish farmer in -central Minnesota, and made frequent calls at the homes of Swedish and -American neighbors; very little perceptible difference could be observed -in the standards of living, whether judged by furniture, dress, or food. -In the gradations up to the wealthy families of the larger towns and -cities, the same statement would be true. If any modifications were to -be made, it would be that Scandinavians set a more bountiful table, and -give more attention than the Americans to festivals and celebrations. - - [239] Langeland, _Nordmændene i Amerika_, ch. xi; Strömme, _Hvorledes - Halvor blev Prest_,--an excellent picture of life among the - Norwegians in Wisconsin and Minnesota; Foss, _Tobias: a Story - of the Northwest_. - - [240] _Scandinavia_, I, 142. - -The men of Scandinavian stock have by no means devoted themselves -exclusively to agriculture, tho it has already been shown how dominant -with them is the desire for the possession of land and the independence -which that possession brings. In business--trade, manufacturing, and -finance,--and in the professions, in all that differentiates the village -or urban community from time rural, they have, especially since 1890, -played an active part. A rising percentage of skilled laborers and of -those who had in the Old World experience with business affairs, marked -the immigration from Northern Europe after 1880. The accumulated wealth -of the earlier immigrants sought investment in the thriving towns of the -newer commonwealths of the Northwest. Villages which sprang up along -railroads, became cities with the advent of other lines; water power has -developed fast; the forests were to be turned into lumber and its -further manufactured products. The Scandinavian villages and wards of -great cities evolved their own stores, shops, factories, and banks just -as they did their churches, lodges, and other social organizations, -manned by men of ambition, ability, skill, and resourcefulness. - -Both in the cities like Chicago, Minneapolis, Rockford, and Madison, and -in the more homogeneous villages of the solidly Scandinavian counties, -Norwegian and Swedish merchants and tradesmen, catering to Americans as -well as to persons of their own nationality, rapidly achieved success -and fortune. Seven years after landing, a Swedish immigrant is -reported in 1873 to have built up in Anoka, Minnesota, the largest -grocery establishment in that section, doing an annual business of -$100,000.[241] In the city of Minneapolis one of the largest department -stores west of Chicago, and probably the greatest Scandinavian business -house in the country, is that of S. E. Olson & Co., which does a yearly -business of about $2,000,000, and in the height of the season employs -more than 700 persons.[242] Scattered over the Northwest are scores of -enterprising Scandinavian individuals and firms engaged in business as -merchants, grain-dealers, contractors, etc., whose annual business -passes $100,000.[243] - - [241] _History of the Upper Mississippi Valley_, 228. - - [242] Söderström, _Minneapolis Minnen_, 204; Nelson, _History of the - Scandinavians_, I, 466. - - [243] _Ibid._, I, 504, 467; II, 160, 164, 193, 229, 233, 248, 261; - Söderström, _Minneapolis Minnen_, 202, 203. - -The manufacturing industries in which the Swedes and Norwegians play the -more active part are those closely related to agriculture and the -forest--the cutting and sawing of lumber, the manufacture of furniture, -and the manufacture of agricultural implements. By foresight and shrewd -investments in timber lands in Wisconsin and Minnesota, a certain -Norwegian immigrant accumulated nearly a million dollars; a Swedish -immigrant in like manner built up the C. A. Smith Lumber Company of -Minneapolis, one of the great manufacturers of the upper Mississippi -Valley, with works occupying seventy acres, employing upwards of 800 -men, and with branch lumber yards situated in western Minnesota and in -the Dakotas.[244] - - [244] S. A. Quale, a Norwegian immigrant of 1869, and C. A. Smith, a - Swedish immigrant of 1867. _The North_, May 21, 1890; - Söderström, _Minneapolis Minnen_, 191. - -The manufacture of furniture is the chief occupation of the Swedes of -Rockford, Illinois, who comprise fully one-third of that city's -population of 30,000. In 1875 fifteen Swedes organized the Forest City -Furniture Company, with a capital of $50,000; ten years later, Rockford -was the second city in the country in the production of furniture, and -in 1893 there were more than twenty furniture companies with a capital -varying from $50,000 to $200,000. Nearly all of these companies were -organized on the co-operative basis, nearly all were composed of Swedes, -and nearly all were earning a clear profit of 20 per-cent and -upwards.[245] Other notable instances of successful Scandinavian -manufacturers are John A. Johnson, whose works for making agricultural -implements in Madison, Wisconsin, employed about 300 men; the great -printing and publishing house of John Anderson & Company of Chicago, -from which are issued the daily and weekly editions of "Skandinaven," -and the Swedish-American Publishing Company of Minneapolis, publishing -the widely circulated "Svenska Amerikanska Posten."[246] - - [245] Kæding, _Rockfords Svenskar_, 67, 95; _The North_, Jan. 8, 1890, - July 12, 1893. - - [246] Nelson, _History of the Scandinavians_, II, 209; Söderström, - _Minneapolis Minnen_, 181-189. - -The economic progress of the immigrants from the Northlands may well be -gauged by the number of public and private banking establishments in the -Northwest controlled by them. Surprisingly numerous are the men who, -after gaining a competency as merchants, grain-dealers (one of these -built twenty-five elevators along the Great Northern Railway), land -speculators, and lumbermen, have turned to banking as their communities -developed. The market for capital was active, ready to absorb large or -small amounts; rates of interest ran from ten to twenty per cent.; the -thrift and honesty of the Norse folk were equivalent to a bond. Hence -small banks with $25,000 and $50,000 capital multiplied, not always on -the soundest basis, it should be said, though this does not imply -dishonesty. In Minneapolis, between 1874 and 1900, the names of no less -than six Scandinavian banks appear, the largest becoming the strong -Swedish American National Bank with a capital of $250,000.[247] Smaller -cities like Sioux City and Boone, Iowa, have developed similar sound -banks capitalized for $100,000. Not all Scandinavian bankers, however, -have escaped the temptations of "high finance," though the total of -failures is comparatively small. One of the most notorious and shameful -examples of bank-wrecking in recent years occurred in Chicago in 1906, -when Paul O. Stensland, for years the trusted and honored and admired -president of the Milwaukee Avenue State Bank, the depository of hundreds -of working men and small tradesmen, wrecked the bank through -speculations in real estate, fled to Africa, and was brought back and -placed in the Joliet prison for a term of fifteen years.[248] - - [247] Söderström, _Minneapolis Minnen_, 206; Nelson, _History of the - Scandinavians_, II, 164, 228. - - [248] The Chicago papers for August, September, and October give full - details of the wrecking of the bank and the career of its - president. See _Chicago Tribune_, August 9 ff., 1906. - -As the regions into which the Scandinavian immigrants have gone so -determinedly as agricultural settlers have gradually become more complex -in their economic structure, these men and women have once more -illustrated their notable capacity to adapt themselves to the new -conditions and to share in new advantages. The second and third -generation will probably develop much the same tendency city-ward which -the Americans of the same class show so markedly; and they will take -their share of the honors and emoluments of business, manufacturing, -banking, the technical professions, and the so-called learned -professions. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE RELIGIOUS AND INTELLECTUAL STANDPOINT - - -The social results of the settlement of a body of aliens in any country, -as compared with the economic, are far more undefinable and elusive, -even when the settlement is compact and homogenous, like that of the -Dutch in New York or the French in Louisiana. But when a particular -element, like the Irish or the Scandinavian, in a complex population, is -distributed over a wide area, with accessions running through -three-quarters of a century, the problem of its social influence and -importance becomes vastly more difficult. No study or observation of -such a well-established racial group, outside of the purely statistical, -at best can reach far beyond an impression or an individual opinion; it -cannot arrive at a convincing and conclusive scientific deduction.[249] -Looked at in its length and breadth, the question of social results of -Scandinavian immigration takes various forms. Have the foreign-born -citizen and his immediate descendants adapted themselves rapidly and -vitally to the best American customs in business, politics, education, -and religion? Have they learned English quickly? What has been their -attitude towards such questions as intemperance, slavery, and public -honesty? Are they re-enforcing the best standards of public and private -morality prevailing in the communities into which they come? - - [249] Hall, _Immigration_, ch. viii. - -Fundamental to this discussion, is the general effect of the process of -immigration and new settlement, upon the physical and intellectual state -of the immigrant and his offspring. It has already been pointed out that -the immigrants of the nineteenth century, like those hardy souls of the -sixteenth, who left England, Holland, France, or Sweden, were the more -adventurous and determined men and women of their parishes, and that the -incidents and anxieties of settling up affairs in their old homes and of -getting off for America, would stir to quicker thinking the minds of -even the slow and inert. Then came the influence of adjustment to the -ways of a new and larger world, with its greater distance, its more -rapid communication, its more strenuous activities, its new language, -and its different climate and diet; all these re-enforced the original, -quickened impulse, and of necessity affected both subtly and powerfully -the mind and body of two generations. - -The change has in general been for the better, tho some observers think -they see a retrogression, especially in physical respects. A Norwegian -physician who spent about nine months in the United States in 1892, -wrote for a Christiania medical journal an article in which he declared: -"That the Norwegian race in the United States is declining physically, -every one, I think, who has spent some time among our emigrated -countrymen there must admit. But the change is a slow one." The causes, -as he saw them, were the unwholesome climate of the Northwest, the -unsuitable food of the farmers, the cold, damp houses of the prairies, -and the abuse of alcoholic liquors and tobacco. By way of final summary -of opinions, he states that "the general rule is that, these dark sides -to the contrary notwithstanding, the social conditions in America and -its democratic institutions are conducive to individual thinking thereby -contributing to the development of individual talent, great or small as -that may be."[250] - - [250] Dr. E. Kraft, "The Physical Degeneration of the Norwegian Race - in North America," _The North_, Jan. 3, 1893,--translation from - _Norsk Magazin for Lægevidenskaben_; Ch. Gronvald, "The Effects - of the Immigration on the Norwegian Immigrants," appendix - to the _Sixth Annual Report of the State Board of Health of - Minnesota_, (1878), II, 507-534. - -The views of Dr. Kraft were more or less disputed by several Norwegian -physicians in the United States, in _The North_ for January and -February, 1893. Dr. Harold Graff, writing to the periodical in which Dr. -Kraft's article originally appeared, says: "With astonishing rapidity, -the wide mouth and ungainly nose of the specific Norwegian peasant type -become modified and disappear, the difference between the physiognomy -and facial expression of parents and children being often bewilderingly -great.... I have interviewed some of the oldest and most experienced -physicians practising in this country, and also other intelligent -Norwegians who have travelled among their countrymen in the States, -without as yet having heard any divergent opinion whatever. All agree -that the Norwegian race in every respect is progressing in both mind and -body."[251] Others, who were not so sure of the physical improvement, -agree as to the intellectual quickening. In a word, if the transplanting -of the tree has not certainly produced an improved trunk or foliage, it -has bettered the quality of the fruit. The next logical step is to -attempt to estimate the value of such fruit in the American market. - - [251] _The North_, Jan. 18, 1893, translating the article mentioned. - -The two obvious ways of determining the influence of a foreign element, -are to compare it with some other foreign-born constituent longer and -better known, and to compare it with the native American. The latter is -the fairer criterion, but it is not easy to ascertain and define what -are the purely American characteristics with which comparison is to be -made. Statistics on social matters are so incomplete that reliance must -be placed upon the consensus of opinion of thoughtful, sympathetic -observers and students of American life, whether they be statesmen and -philosophers bred in the United States, or scholarly, penetrating -foreigners like James Bryce and Alexander de Toqueville.[252] Such men -of insight agree that the American ideal comprises love of freedom, -independence, and equality; respect for law, government, education, and -social morality (including reverence for the family and the home); and -lastly a willingness to share the common burden and, if need be, to make -a common sacrifice for the permanent welfare of the commonwealth. - - [252] Bryce, _American Commonwealth_ (3rd ed.), ch. lxxx; Matthews, - _American Character_, 20-34; Roosevelt, _American Ideals_, ch. - i, ii. - -In acquiring the use of English and in maintaining high standards of -education, the Scandinavians have an unimpeachable record which no other -foreign, non-English-speaking element can equal. Illiteracy in Norway -and Sweden is almost unknown. Taken together, these two kingdoms have -less than one per-cent of illiteracy, and among the recruits in Sweden -in 1896 only .13% were unlettered, and only .63% were unable to -write.[253] Personal acquaintance with many hundreds of Scandinavians, -on both sides of the Atlantic, has failed to reveal to the writer a -single adult who was unable to read and write. - - [253] _Statesman's Year Book, 1900_, 1049; Kiddle & Schem, _Dictionary - of Education_, 452. In the latter work, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, - and Switzerland are marked with asterisks, signifying that they - are practically without illiteracy. The contrast of these - figures with the percentages of illiteracy of some other - European countries is very striking. In 1890 the percentage of - illiterates in Austria was 40%, in Hungary, 54%, in Italy, in - 1897, among conscripts, 37.3% (reduced from 56.7% in 1871), and - among those persons marrying, males, 32.9%, females, 52.13% - (reduced respectively from 37.73% and 76.73% in 1871). For - Russia the percentage is probably about 80%, perhaps as high as - 90%. See _Statesman's Year Book, 1900_, 374-375, 392, 744-745. - Statistical returns relating to German army recruits indicate - that in 1896-7 only about .11% could neither read nor write. - _Ibid._, 592. See also, Hall, _Immigration_, 46, 48, 54, 61, - 141. - -One of the very first matters to receive attention in a Scandinavian -settlement in the United States, has been the establishment of a school, -and, as speedily as possible, the instruction has been given in English, -partly because the school laws of most of the States would not recognize -a public school conducted in a foreign language, and partly because the -settlers desired to have the children know English.[254] For a year or -two in some of the isolated communities, as in Arendahl, Fillmore -County, Minnesota, in 1857-8, it was necessary to conduct the schools in -Swedish or Norwegian; but only rarely has any attempt been made -to continue systematic, regular instruction exclusively in the -mother-tongue by the maintenance of year-long parish schools. The -immigrants have frequently been insistent, and properly so, upon some -scheme by which they might be able to educate their children in the use -of the mother-tongue; but schools for this purpose have usually -supplemented rather than supplanted the ordinary public school.[255] In -a very few localities, like the older settlements in Goodhue County and -Fillmore County, Minnesota, Allamakee County, Iowa, and Dane County, -Wisconsin, parish schools are still maintained throughout the year.[256] - - [254] _History of Fillmore County, Minnesota_, 346, 463,--a Norwegian - school for one year in a private house, then an English school; - Sparks, _History of Winneshiek County, Iowa_, 16-17. - - [255] For a discussion of the Bennett Law in Wisconsin, see pp. - 167 ff. - - [256] _Beretning om det syttende Aarsmöde for den Forenede norsk - lutherske Kirke i Amerika_, 1906,--"Parochialraporter for - Aaret 1905." - -The church schools are more commonly a sort of summer vacation school -supported either by the persons whose children attend, or at the expense -of the whole congregation; in them are taught the language of the -parents and the preacher, the church catechism, and something of church -history; sometimes especial attention, as in the case of the Danish -Grundtvigian "high schools," is given to keeping alive the traditions of -the European kingdom from which sprang the immigrants. The teacher of -both the language and the doctrines of religion is customarily a student -in some theological seminary of the denomination to which the -congregation belongs. The Lutherans have kept up these vacation schools -more consistently than any other Scandinavian church. The report of the -parochial schools of the United Norwegian Lutheran Church for 1905 -showed that on the average almost thirty days were devoted to the church -school in each of the 750 congregations reporting.[257] - - [257] "Sammendrag af Parochialraporter", _Beretning om det syttende - Aarsmöde for den Forenede norsk lutherske Kirke i Amerika_, - 1906, LVI; J. J. Skordalsvold, in Nelson, _History of the - Scandinavians_, I, 241. - -The clergy are mainly active in this mild paternalism, upon which the -younger people not infrequently look with disfavor, for to the second -generation it appears an unnecessary perpetuation of an un-American -custom, a scheme for emphasizing peculiarities and differences rather -than a means of hastening the process of amalgamation. Sometimes the -younger men have revolted and broken entirely with the Lutheran church, -identifying themselves with American congregations, or drifting out on -the wide sea of religious indifference. - -The loyalty of the Scandinavians to the public school system has been of -far-reaching consequence to the immigrants themselves as well as to -American society. There is always a more or less strongly marked -tendency among aliens speaking a foreign language to congregate in -groups in the country or in certain wards in large towns and cities, and -out of this tendency springs a sort of clannishness which cannot be -avoided and which is not peculiar to any class, for the immigrants -naturally follow the lines of least resistance. They go to those whom -they know, to those whose speech they can understand, to those from -whose experience they may draw large drafts of suggestion and help. But -this clannishness with the Swedes, Norwegians and Danes, has been but a -stage in their evolution out of which, through the gates of the English -language, public schools, naturalization, and increased prosperity, they -have passed to broader relations. The filling up of the Scandinavian -quarters of great cities like Chicago, Minneapolis, and St. Paul, may -modify the effect of their persistent attachment to the public school; -but so far the public school is the great foe to clannishness, and -loyalty to it one of the best evidences of the desire of these people -from the Northern lands to become Americanized. In the cities of -Minneapolis and St. Paul, with their large Scandinavian population, -there was not in 1907 a single parish in which the parochial school -lasted through the year, and only a few in which vacation schools were -maintained. - -In higher education the Scandinavians have allowed their denominational -zeal to outrun their judgment. They have founded numerous seminaries and -so-called colleges, but almost invariably as a part of the necessary -equipment of a religious denomination, for how could a self-respecting -sect, no matter how young or how slightly differentiated from its older -brethren, permit its children to attend the schools of those whose -denominational beliefs or practices had become objectionable enough to -warrant a schism in the church? A few of these institutions, like Luther -College, at Decorah, Iowa, Gustavus Adolphus College at St. Peter, -Minnesota, Augustana College at Rock Island, Illinois, and Bethany -College at Lindsborg, Kansas, have maintained an excellent standard of -work and exercise a wide and beneficent influence.[258] The great -majority, however, have simply wasted resources by the multiplication of -ambitious, struggling, poorly-equipped, so-called colleges, with little -or no endowment, and often dependent upon the congregations of the -denomination which gave them birth.[259] - - [258] See catalogs of these institutions. - - [259] Several of the Norwegian and Swedish weekly papers supported by - the different denominations publish regularly lists of donors to - particular schools, stating the amount of money, or the nature - of the articles given, enumerating the books, quantities of - fuel, clothing, etc. - -One of the results of the excessive splitting-up of the Scandinavian -churches is that the energies which ought to be concentrated are -frittered away on unnecessary schools. A separate denominational school -and a family paper seem to be indispensable parts of the machinery of -every newly organized sect, no matter how young or how small or how poor -it may be.[260] The number of these institutions continually varies with -the ups and downs of the denominations trying to support them. In 1893, -Mr. J. J. Skordalsvold, a graduate of the University of Minnesota, put -the number of Scandinavian colleges, schools, and seminaries in the -United States at thirty-six, with an attendance of about five -thousand.[261] Sixteen of these, with an attendance of twenty-five -hundred, one-half of the total, were located in Minnesota. By 1900 the -sixteen had grown to twenty schools, having property worth $500,000, one -hundred and sixty teachers, and three thousand students.[262] In that -state, however, and in others like North Dakota, these schools are -likely to follow the same course as many of the schools of other -pioneering Protestant denominations, and become little more than -preparatory schools on the one hand, or theological seminaries on the -other, leaving to the State university the maintenance of higher -education in every field save arts and theology. Even as secondary -schools, not many of them will be likely to survive the third generation -of the original immigrants, unless they are much better endowed than any -one of them is at the present time.[263] The Red Wing Seminary (Hauge -Synod) of Red Wing, Minnesota, founded in 1878, is essentially an -ordinary private secondary school with a theological course attached, -and three-fourths of its work is conducted in English.[264] Bethany -College at Lindsborg, Kansas, one of the three prosperous Swedish -colleges, and perhaps the most ambitious, is substantially an -English-speaking college, with nine departments of instruction, and in -1912 a registration of 919. Only in the classes in Swedish language and -literature is the instruction given in Swedish, tho "Swedish is required -of all students preparing to enter the ministerial work of our Swedish -Evangelical Lutheran Church."[265] Luther College, the Norwegian -institution at Decorah, Iowa, has followed along the same course only -not quite so far. Several years ago the proportion between English and -Norwegian as media of instruction was slightly in favor of the English -in the college classes; in the classes in the preparatory department, -in the literary societies, and in the conversation of the students, -English was decidedly predominant.[266] The practice of this, the -oldest, and in some respects the soundest and most influential, of the -Scandinavian colleges, is sure to be adopted by the lesser schools which -survive their adolescence. - - [260] Bille, _History of the Danes in America_, 20-24,--an excellent - account of some of these attempts. - - [261] (Transcriber's Note: This footnote does not exist in the - original work.) - - [262] Nelson, _Scandinavians in the United States_ (2nd ed.), 317 ff. - - [263] _The World Almanac and Encyclopedia_, 1914, 599-609. - - Instructors Students Prod. Fds. Income - - Augsburg Seminary 8 173 40,000 20,000 - Augustana College 31 629 414,356 101,923 - Bethany College (Kan.) 44 893 55,777 93,166 - Gustavus Adolphus College 23 348 75,000 35,328 - Luther College 16 213 272,408 37,000 - St. Olaf College 32 550 250,000 74,000 - - [264] Interview with Professor G. O. Brohough, August, 1906. See - Nelson, _Scandinavians in the United States_, I, 179-180. - - [265] _Catalogue of Bethany College, 31st Academic Year_ (1912), 54. - - [266] A. Estrem, "A Norwegian-American College," _Midland Monthly_, I, - 605-611. - -From a religious standpoint, the most noteworthy characteristic of -Scandinavians wherever found, is their intense Protestantism. Everywhere -and always they are uncompromising enemies of the Roman Catholic church, -and there are barely enough Catholics among them in Europe and in the -United States to prove that it is possible to convert one of them to -that faith. In fact, their dislike of Catholicism is an instinct coming -down from Reformation times rather than a matter of experience or -close-at-hand observation; but so strong is this feeling that it colors, -consciously or unconsciously, their relations in politics and society in -the United States. Their distrust of the Irish is at bottom more a -religious than a racial instinct, even when it takes an active form. -While this dislike and suspicion are still real and large, it has -undoubtedly been reduced by the breaking-up of the old rigid lines of -Lutheranism, which has taken place in the last two decades in the United -States. - -Each of the three peninsular kingdoms of Northern Europe has an -established Lutheran church, administered by bishops, which holds still -the great majority of the people. Toleration has been generally -practiced for a half century, the sole exception being the ban against -Jesuits in Norway.[267] Of all the Protestant churches, none is more -rigidly orthodox than the Lutheran, none is more unwilling to admit -changes in its traditional creed; only a few years ago, the Norwegian -Synod in America re-affirmed its belief in the literal inspiration of -the Bible. Yet in spite of this conservatism, the Lutherans settled in -the United States have invariably rejected the episcopal form of -government, and have organized upon a more or less democratic basis. No -matter how loyal they were to the Establishment in the Old World, a -bishop has not appeared to be necessary to their happiness or salvation -in the New. The Lutheran Church proper has kept within its folds a much -larger percentage of Swedes than of Norwegians in the United States, the -characteristic independence of the latter leading many of them even -farther than mere separation from the mother-church. The persistence of -the centrifugal force of dissent shows itself again and again in the -violent polemics and divisions which have marked the course of Norwegian -church history in America.[268] While this divisiveness may in some -degree be due to the fashion set by the early settlers of whom many were -dissenters, probably the deeper cause is to be found in the general -freedom from religious restriction and prescription which characterizes -the whole United States and especially the West. - - [267] _The Statesman's Year Book, 1900_, 491, 1048, 1062. - - [268] Gjerset, "_The United Norwegian Lutheran Church_," in Nelson, - _History of the Scandinavians_, I, 229-242. - -Even the more extreme sects, in regard to belief and practice, have been -recruited from among the Scandinavians both before and since their -coming to this country. The Mormons were early at work as missionaries -in Northern Europe and, as has been stated above, won many converts, -particularly in Denmark, from whose immigration Utah mainly profited. In -1900 Utah had a total foreign-born population of 53,777, of whom 9132 -were Danes; 7025, Swedes; and 2128, Norwegians. The real result of the -missionary work, however, is better seen in the figures for persons -having both parents born in a specified country and residing in Utah in -1900: Danes, 18,963; Swedes, 12,047; Norwegians, 3,466; total, -34,476.[269] - - [269] _Twelfth Census, 1900_, _Population_, Pt. I, Tables 33 and 39; - H. H. Bancroft, _Utah_, 441, 431; Montgomery, _The Work Among - the Scandinavians_, 8. Mr. Montgomery, the superintendent of - Minnesota for the American Home Missionary Society (1886), - laments the fact that very large numbers of the Scandinavians - "have become converts to Mormonism, and have 'gathered' to - Utah," and adds further: "I have before me the official - statistics of the Mormon church (not easily obtained) giving a - report of their missionary work in Scandinavia for each year - from 1851 to 1881. They report that their converts in these - lands during these thirty-one years reached the enormous total - of 132,766 persons, and that of these 21,000 emigrated to Utah." - From a beginning of four elders of the Mormon church at work in - Denmark, Sweden, and Norway in 1850, the force increased to - sixty-one missionaries at work in 1881. - -The American churches and missionary societies were not unmindful of the -needs of the Scandinavians scattered over the Middle West in the early -days of its development, and in zealous and effective fashion gave them -aid. The work of the Hedström brothers in New York and in the West, -already described, reflects credit on the Methodist Church. Once at -least, help came to them from an unexpected source: Jenny Lind, the -"Swedish Nightingale," devoted to charity the proceeds of a concert in -New York, in November, 1850, and among the items of the distribution of -the total of $5073.20 by a committee, is "To the Relief of the Poor -Swedes and Norwegians in the city of New York per the Rev. Mr. Hedström, -$273.20. To the distribution of Swedish Bibles and Testaments, in New -York."[270] Besides the Bethel Ship in New York Harbor (1845), this same -church established a Scandinavian mission in the Rock River Conference, -in Illinois, in 1849, and two others in Iowa and Wisconsin in 1850. -Three years later the report showed two Swedish missions with four -missionaries, and two Norwegian missions with four missionaries.[271] - - [270] Rosenberg, _Jenny Lind in America_, 79. - - [271] Simpson, _Cyclopedia of Methodism_, 785. - -The American Lutheran churches undertook to aid their co-religionists, -and in 1850 the Pittsburg Synod and the Joint Synod of Ohio each sent -one of its ministers into the Northwest, but the epidemic of cholera -caused them to hurry back to their former homes.[272] The real support -of some of the immigrant Lutheran missionaries came from the American -Home Missionary Society (Congregational). One of the men thus assisted -was Paul Anderson (Norland) who came from Norway in 1843, and received -a part of his education in the new Congregational college at Beloit. He -was chosen pastor of the first Norwegian Lutheran Church in Chicago in -1848, and journeyed to Albany, New York, to be ordained by a Lutheran -minister, but he nevertheless served under a commission from the -Congregational Society, and made reports to it for several years.[273] - - [272] _The North_, Aug. 30, 1893, quoting from _The Workman_. - - [273] Jensson, _American Lutheran Biographies_, 25 ff; _The Home - Missionary_, XXII, 263, 264; XXIII, 119. In Anderson's report - for 1850 is an account of a visit to Dane County, Wisconsin, - where 'one of the Formalists,' after five years of labor had - failed to bring much enlightenment. "There are some four - thousand or more Norwegians in one settlement, about - three-quarters of whom are members of this man's church, and the - rest are sheep without a shepherd. They had had preaching there - for the last five years, but such gross immorality I had never - witnessed before.... We have no reasonable ground to hope that a - single individual of those three thousand souls is converted to - God; for all are intemperate and profane.... Of all I saw (and I - saw a great many) two out of three were intoxicated, or had been - drinking so that it was offensive to come within the sphere - poisoned by their breath; and of every two I heard talking - together one or both profaned their Maker." - -In a similar manner this Society supported for several years the -missionary labors of Lars Paul Esbjörn, a graduate of Upsala University, -who was ordained a Lutheran clergyman when he emigrated in 1849, and -likewise the labors of T. N. Hasselquist. Esbjörn was appointed a -missionary of the Society in December, 1849, on the recommendation of -the Central Association of Congregational Ministers of Illinois, to whom -he presented his credentials and by whom he was examined and received -into the Association.[274] He was re-appointed year by year, making -reports from 1851 to 1854.[275] Hasselquist makes acknowledgment of his -obligations to the Society in a letter of July, 1853, saying that he -rejoices "in connection with your in the highest sense benevolent -Society, without which it would have been impossible for me to do for my -scattered countrymen what I have done.... I give humble thanks to the -Home Missionary Association which out of Christian benevolence helps to -build up the Kingdom of Christ among scattered Swedes who are almost all -very poor, but still love the word of God."[276] In 1852 the Society -appointed the Rev. Ole Anderson [Andrewson?] to the charge of the -Scandinavian church in Racine, Wisconsin, and two years later he reports -to the Society from La Salle County, Illinois.[277] - - [274] _The Home Missionary_, XXIII, 250, 263. - - [275] _Ibid._, XXIV, 238; XXIV, 287. - - [276] _The Home Missionary_, XXVI, 73. - - [277] _Ibid._, XXV, 77; XXVI, 268. - -Since the Civil War and the great increase in the numbers of immigrants, -the home missionary efforts of the Methodists, Congregationalists, and -Baptists have been carried on with persistence, if not always with -perfect wisdom. In 1911 the Methodists had five Swedish Conferences with -222 churches, a membership of about 18,000, and property valued at -upwards of $2,000,000, and two Norwegian-Danish Conferences, with 119 -churches, 6,300 members, and property worth $400,000.[278] The cost of -this work to the Methodist Missionary Society is not far from $50,000 -per year.[279] The Baptists began their proselyting work in Norway and -Sweden, and have prosecuted it steadily in the Northwest since the -establishment of the first Swedish Baptist church in Rock Island, -Illinois, in 1852. In 1912 the church reports showed 18 Swedish -conferences, 374 churches, 28,000 members, and current income of -about $350,000, and also eleven Norwegian-Danish conferences, 94 -churches, 5,900 members, and current income of $65,500.[280] The -Congregationalists have pushed their denominational interests in like -manner, and in 1913 had about one hundred churches, with rather more -than six thousand members.[281] Besides these churches regularly -connected with the Congregational organization, there are about one -hundred congregations of the Swedish Mission Union, and the group of -independent congregations whose faith and practice are closely allied -with those of the Congregationalists.[282] The Unitarian church has -endeavored to organize congregations, spending $25,000 on one church in -Minneapolis in sixteen years.[283] A few Protestant Episcopal parishes -also exist among the Swedes, chiefly in the large cities.[284] - - [278] Liljegren, "Historical Review of Scandinavian Methodist in the - United States," in Nelson, _History of the Scandinavians_, I, - 208; _The Methodist Year Book_, 1912, 42-45. - - [279] Nelson, _History of the Scandinavians_, I, 337; _The Methodist - Year Book_, 1912, 90-92. - - [280] Newman, _A Century of Baptist Achievement_, 126; Nelson (and - Peterson), _History of the Scandinavians_, I, 202; _Annual of - the Northern Baptist Convention_, 1913, 189. - - [281] _Congregational Year Book_, 1914. Cf. Nelson, _Scandinavians - in the United States_, I, 346; Montgomery, _Work among the - Scandinavians_ (1888), and a _"Wind from the Holy Spirit" in - Norway and Sweden_, 7-8, 109-112. - - [282] Söderström, _Minneapolis Minnen_, 231-236. - - [283] _Cosmopolitan_, Oct., 1890; Nelson, _Scandinavians in the United - States_, I, 337; Söderstsröm, _Minneapolis Minnen_, 249-250. - - [284] Söderström, _Minneapolis Minnen_, 237-241. - -The three denominations first mentioned have for many years maintained, -in their respective western theological seminaries, departments or -professorships for the education of young men for ministerial service -among the immigrants from the Northlands. At the Chicago Theological -Seminary (Congregationalist) the Dano-Norwegian department was organized -in 1884, with one professor and two students; in the following year a -Swedish department was added, the professor being chosen from the -Swedish Free Mission Church. In 1906 these two departments had each two -professors and respectively thirteen and twenty-seven students, and -published a religious paper, _Evangelisten_.[285] Besides the Garrett -Biblical Institute (Methodist), Northwestern University has two similar -departments, with thirty-one students in the Swedish, and sixteen in the -Norwegian-Danish section.[286] In the Divinity School of the University -of Chicago (Baptist), the same departments appeared up to 1912; in 1897 -there were twenty-two students in the Dano-Norwegian Department, and -thirty-five in the Swedish; for 1905, the corresponding figures were -twenty-four students, with one professor and two instructors, and -thirty-four students, with two professors and one instructor. Both -departments were dropped after 1913.[287] - - [285] _Year book of the Chicago Theological Seminary_, 1906; - Montgomery, _The Work Among the Scandinavians_ (1888), 9-12, 22. - - [286] _Catalogue of the Northwestern University_, 1913-1914, 379-380, - 478. - - [287] _Annual Register of the University of Chicago_, 1904-5; - 1912-1913, 311. - -So far as the movements represented by these missionary endeavors and by -the organization of schools help to furnish church privileges to those -beyond the reach of other Protestant churches--since the Catholics are -out of the question--they are admirable, accomplishing much good. But -when they cease to be efforts to extend religious opportunities, when -they are mainly devoted to swinging men and women already Christian from -one denomination to another, they simply add one more factor to the -inexcusable competition which too often characterizes the home -missionary activity, even when it does not degenerate into a mere -scramble for denominational advantage. The results in very many cases -have been sadly disproportionate to the expenditures.[288] - - [288] Nelson (and Skordalsvold), "Historical Review of the - Scandinavian Churches in Minnesota," _History of the - Scandinavians_, I, 335-349. - -Not all the forces, however, have been centrifugal; the divided body of -Lutherans has attempted, with varying success, to effect permanent -union. Since 1890 the centripetal reaction has been strong, gaining -impetus from the highly significant efforts of the branches of the -Norwegian Lutherans in a synod held in that year in Minneapolis, to -create a single organization. The United Norwegian Lutheran Church, -formed June 13, 1890, was made up of the Norwegian Augustana Synod, the -Norwegian-Danish Conference, and the Anti-Missourian Brotherhood, thus -becoming the strongest of all the American Norwegian churches, numbering -1,122 congregations, about 120,000 members, and having property valued -at more than $1,500,000.[289] But old antagonisms and animosities, -generated in the bitterness of religious controversy, were not easily -overcome, and disputes soon arose to disturb the life of the United -Church. The chief of these related to the control of certain educational -institutions, especially Augsburg Seminary (theological) in Minneapolis. -So acute was the factional quarrel that it was taken into the courts in -1893, and continued on until 1898, when the "Augsburg strife" was -settled out of court by mutual agreement. Meantime the Augsburg party -had withdrawn from the United Church, taking some 40,000 members, -keeping the Seminary, worth about $60,000, but giving up to the United -Church the endowment fund of about $40,000.[290] In spite of factions, -secessions, and the expulsion of twelve congregations, the United Church -as a whole prospered. Its annual report for 1905 gave the following -statistics: congregations, more or less closely affiliated, 1,325; -ministers and professors, 453; communicants, 267,000; property, -$715,000.[291] While the United Church was the largest, there were no -fewer than four other branches of Norwegian Lutherans in 1914.[292] - - [289] _Ibid._, I, 236 ff.; Jacobs, _History of the Evangelical - Lutheran Church in the United States_, 513; _Minneapolis - Tribune_, June 14, 1890. - - [290] Nelson, _History of the Scandinavians_, I, 217-224, 263; _U. S. - Eleventh Census_, 1890, Churches, 452. - - [291] _Beretning om det syttende Aarsmöde for den Forenede norsk - lutherske Kirke i Amerika_, 140 and LVI. - - [292] _World Almanac and Encyclopedia, 1914_, 538-539. - -In contrast with the Norwegians, the Swedes have manifested a -commendable unity in keeping the faith once delivered to them by the -fathers, the chief exception being the Swedish Evangelical Mission -Covenant, which can scarcely be called Lutheran. The great Swedish -Lutheran Augustana Synod, one of the constituent members of the General -Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, stood staunchly -united in the midst of many changes in other branches of the church. -Under the broad name of the Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana -Synod of North America, which comprised both Norwegians and Swedes down -to 1870, it grew rapidly, setting its face sternly against the New -Lutheranism which sought to modify the old rigidity of doctrine and -practice. In 1894 the word Scandinavian was dropped.[293] By 1899 the -Synod represented 900 congregations, 200,000 members, and a material -estate of $4,200,000.[294] - - [293] Nelson, _History of the Scandinavians_, I, 219. - - [294] _Ibid._, I, 217; Carroll, _The Religious Forces of the United - States_ (rev. ed.), 190. - -The break-up of the Lutheran church is not wholly to be regretted when -viewed in relation to the process of Americanization, for the church has -usually been a stronghold of traditionalism and conservatism. Perhaps, -too, the vigorous religious and ecclesiastical disputes, wasteful of -energy and of money as they sometimes seem, have contributed to a -wholesome and pervasive intellectual activity not altogether unlike the -results of the Puritan disputations. So careful a student of -Northwestern immigrants as Mr. O. N. Nelson is inclined to the opinion -that the contentions of the Lutherans may have benefited the church. -"Close observation has convinced us that if there had been peace instead -of war, the Norwegian Lutherans in the State (Minnesota) would have -numbered several thousand less than they do. It may not seem pious to -say so, but many a worldly-minded Viking has become so interested in the -fight that he has joined the faction with which he sympathized in order -to assist in beating the opposing party."[295] - - [295] Nelson, _History of the Scandinavians_, I, 339. - -The church services in the great majority of cases are still conducted -in the mother-tongue. In the United Norwegian Lutheran Church, in 1905, -for example, the services in Norwegian numbered 30,407 as against 1,542 -in English, and out of 1,300 congregations reporting, no more than six -held services in English only, including two large congregations in -Chicago and Milwaukee.[296] Five other congregations conducted more -services in English than in Norwegian; in ten localities the numbers -were equal; and in twenty-two, they were about equal, making a total of -forty-three in which English figured prominently.[297] The Hon. N. P. -Haugen, speaking on Norway Day at the World's Columbian Exposition, in -Chicago, commented on the fact that a Lutheran church had just been -dedicated, in which English alone would be used, and said significantly: -"Twenty years ago our theologians would not have entertained such a -proposition."[298] Now the younger Lutheran preachers are expected to be -able to preach both in their mother-tongue and in English. - - [296] _Beretning om det syttende Aarsmöde for den Forenede norsk - lutherske Kirke i Amerika, 1906_, XLIV. - - [297] _Ibid._, II-LV. - - [298] _Daily Skandinaven_, May 24, 1893. - -The conduct of services in non-English languages will and should -continue so long as there is a considerable body of men and women who -emigrated too late to learn the new language well enough to stand that -final linguistic test, the power to worship genuinely and satisfyingly -in the adopted speech. This means that the churches will use the foreign -speech until the generation of the foreign-born ceases to be -predominant, and in the cities, perhaps while the second generation is -in the majority; but children who receive their education in the public -schools or other English speaking schools, will require that their -religious instruction and their devotional exercises be conducted in -English. - -The children and grandchildren of the immigrants, except in certain -large and compact settlements, chiefly in the cities, prefer English, -and commonly use that language in conversation and in correspondence -with each other. In the Swedish and Norwegian wards of such cities as -Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Rockford, and in a county like -Goodhue in Minnesota, where the presence of large numbers of the -foreign-born makes the use of the foreign tongue imperative in the -homes, streets, markets, and places of business, and where the news is -read in a Scandinavian daily or weekly, the tendency to keep to the -speech of their ancestors is strong. The preacher and the politician -alike understand this, and the literature, speeches, and even the music, -in the campaigns for personal and civic righteousness are presented in -no unknown tongue, as the theological seminaries and Scandinavian -departments in other institutions, and the Swedish and Norwegian -political orators in critical years, bear abundant witness. - -Co-ordinate with the school and the church, as a social force to be -estimated, is the press. Newspapers and periodicals of various sorts in -foreign languages inevitably follow the settlement of any considerable -number of aliens in a given community, for people of education and -ambition will look in a familiar medium for their news and gossip, their -instruction in commerce and politics, as well as their teaching in -religion. So the Chinese and Japanese on the Pacific Coast, no less than -the Germans, Italians, and Greeks on the Atlantic, have their dailies -and their magazines. Since the three Norse peoples, practically without -illiteracy and with active and ambitious minds, have settled in a large -number of moderate-sized communities, frequently isolated from each -other, and since their differences of opinion in matters religious and -ecclesiastical are often positive and aggressive, the number of their -publications of all kinds since the middle of the last century is -curiously large, and quite as remarkable for their migratory and -short-lived character. - -The newspapers usually serve as the chief means of keeping informed -concerning the general news of the European home-lands, as well as of -the United States. Nearly all the larger papers publish regular European -correspondence, summaries of events, letters, and clippings, under such -headings as "Sverige," "Fra Norge," etc.[299] - - [299] _Gamla och Nya Hemlandet_, Apr. 8, 1903. - -The newspapers and magazines render another service by the publication, -on the instalment plan, either as a part of the regular columns or as -inserted sheets, of standard works of the great Scandinavian writers or -of translations of the masterpieces of English and American authors. -Since these novels, essays, and histories are so printed that they may -be folded up and form a pamphlet for preservation, the periodical -serves both as newspaper and library. "It was the Swedish-American press -which caused the Swedish literature, as it is in America, to spring -up."[300] - - [300] _Gamla och Nya Hemlandet_, April 8, 1903 (translated). - -The dailies of Chicago, Minneapolis, and Duluth, in particular, publish -every week scores of communications from subscribers in all parts of the -Northwest, in a department devoted to neighborhood news or gossip. The -old settler writes his reminiscences, sometimes a brief letter called -out by some event, sometimes at great length, like the Rev. J. A. -Ottesen's "Contribution to the History of our Settlements and -Congregations," which ran through eleven numbers of the weekly paper -_Amerika_, from April to September of 1894, and gave very minute details -of immigrant families unto the third and fourth generation, as they had -passed under the kindly eye of the patriarchal old pastor in his service -of forty years among them.[301] Great numbers of these communications -relate to the conditions and prospects of local settlements as viewed -from the settler's standpoint--crop conditions, market prices, wages, -opportunities for labor, nature and prices of nearby land, schools, -religion. As a revelation of the real mind of a community or of an -element of the population, showing the inducements and motives operating -upon the immigrant, and his response, they are exceedingly valuable, and -in some important respects almost unique. - - [301] "Bidrag til vore Settlementers og Menigheders Historie." - -The editors and business agents of the larger and more enterprising -Scandinavian papers very early began making journeys about the country, -especially into the newer parts, in the interests of their papers; -incidentally they were spying out the land for themselves, but -indirectly they were furnishing first-hand observations of frontier -conditions to the hundreds who were moved to reinvest themselves and -their small accumulations. One of these "circuit riders" was Johan -Schröder, editor of _Fædrelandet og Emigranten_, founded at La Crosse, -in 1864, who published a little book of information for immigrants in -1867, after one of his extensive journeys among the settlements.[302] -Three years later he made a trip into Minnesota as far as Otter Tail -County--"En Snartur i Nordvesten"--and was deeply impressed with the -possibilities of that fertile section, to which many men of his -nationality were already looking, as the Newtown folk in Massachusetts -Bay looked in 1636 toward the Connecticut country, with a "strong bent -of their spirits to move thither." Such words as these were as seed sown -in good soil: "So far as I have journeyed about in the prairie counties -of Minnesota and Iowa, I have not yet met with any county which in -multiplicity of natural resources can come up with Otter Tail. -Immigration this year is very strong. Both newcomers direct from Norway, -and older farmers from Iowa, Wisconsin and Southern Minnesota take their -various ways thither."[303] The "America fever" of the Old World was now -the "West fever," and again more of the "West fever."[304] These -articles were not mere generalizations, but often, as in those just -quoted from, they gave the exact and practical information the reader -would desire--break-up of the prairie would cost $25 or $30 for five -acres on which to grow wheat and potatoes, cash to be had by working on -the nearby railroad at $2.50 per day, salt to be had at five cents per -pound, butter could be sold for ten cents per pound, fish and game were -abundant,--also mosquitoes![305] - - [302] This valuable little book bore the title _Skandinaverne i de - Forenede Stater og Canada, med Indberetninger og Oplysninger fra - 200 Skandinaviske Settlementer. En Ledetraad for Emigranten fra - det gamle Land og for Nybyggeren in Amerika._ - - [303] Translated from _Fæderelandet og Emigranten_, July 21, 1870. - - [304] Schröder, _Skandinaverne i de Forenede Stater og Canada_ (1867), - 53. - - [305] _Ibid._, 53; also a two-and-a-half-column article "Vink til - Nysettlere i Minnesota," in _Fædrelandet og Emigranten_, - June 29, 1871. - -The first of a long line of Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish periodicals -in the west, was a little paper called _Nordlyset_ (Northern Light), -which began publication in the Norwegian colony in Racine county, -Wisconsin, in 1847, with James D. Reymert as editor. It was a small -four-page sheet which at the start espoused the cause of the Free Soil -party. In 1850 it changed hands, and was re-christened _Demokraten_; tho -its subscription list increased to three hundred, the venture proved a -failure.[306] - - [306] Langeland, _Nordmændene i Amerika_, 94-107. Langeland succeeded - Reymert as editor of _Nordlyset_. A few copies of _Nordlyset_, - _Demokraten_, _Emigranten_, and some fifteen other early - Norwegian papers were found some years ago in the hands of an - old Norwegian, Christopher Hanson of St. Ansgar, Iowa. By him - they were turned over to Rasmus B. Anderson, then editor of - _Amerika_. _Amerika_, Jan. 4, 1899. Anderson sold the collection - for $100 to the United Church in whose Seminary Library it now - rests. "Raport fra Komiteen til Indsamling af historiske - Documenter," _Beretning om det syttende Aarsmöde for den - Forenede norsk lutherske Kirke i Amerika_ (1906), 126-128. - -After 1850 the number of Scandinavian newspapers and religious -periodicals multiplied rapidly. Langeland, himself an editor and -publisher of the time, mentions five of these publications on the -Norwegian side alone in the decade following 1850.[307] _Skandinaven_, -whose foundation marks an era in the Scandinavian press, dates back to -this period. From its small beginnings has grown a great metropolitan -daily, with a circulation of 20,000, besides its semi-weekly and weekly -editions which have a circulation all over the Northwest of nearly -50,000.[308] In the ten years after 1870, a second expansion in the -number of publications took place, tho the fifteen Scandinavian papers -given in the list published in the standard newspaper directory for -1870, make an almost insignificant showing by the side of the two -hundred and fifty or more printed in America in German.[309] - - [307] Langeland, _Nordmændene i Amerika_, 96-112. - - [308] "Den skandinaviske tidnings-pressens barndom i Amerika," - _Hemlandet_, Feb. 25, March 4, 1913; Hansen and Wist, "Den - Norsk-Amerikanske Presse". _Norsk-Amerikanernes Festskrift_, - 1914. 9-203. - - [309] Rowell, _American Newspaper Directory_, 1870, 948. - -The Swedish press in the United States began somewhat later than the -Norwegian, but it manifested a stability and steadiness of progress -which the latter too often lacked. _Hemlandet_ was founded in 1855 as an -organ of Swedish Lutheranism, but in 1870 it was a political as well as -a religious journal, with 4,000 subscribers to the weekly edition, and -2,000 to the monthly,--"the largest circulation of any Swedish political -newspaper in this country."[310] - - [310] _Ibid._, 633. - -The high-water mark in the number of these publications in the Northern -tongues seems to have been in 1892 or 1893, when Rowell mentions 146, of -which Minnesota is credited with 33, Illinois with 30, Iowa with 13, and -Wisconsin with 10, a total for these four States of 86, with a reported -total of 140,000 subscribers, out of 550,000 subscribers for all the -Scandinavian papers in the country. By 1901, the number of papers had -fallen off--many suspended in the hard times after 1893[311]--but the -number of subscribers increased for the whole country to more than -800,000, and for the four States just enumerated, to more than -650,000.[312] - - [311] _The North_, Aug. 9, 1893, reports six weeklies "suspended - within the past few weeks." - - [312] Rowell, _American Newspaper Directory_ for years named; - _Hemlandet_, Mar. 4, 1903: "De svenska tidningarne i Amerika har - nu sammenlagt en prenumerantsiffra som uppgår till 400,000." - -The politics and religion of the papers reflected the variegated -opinions of different parties and sects, and of men who would found new -parties and denominations, but Lutheranism and Republicanism have been -from the start the dominating influences. A historian of Lutheranism -named 16 Swedish Evangelical Lutheran periodicals in existence in the -United States in 1896.[313] About the same time a Democratic paper -remarks grudgingly and sourly: "It is worthy of note that of the fifty -or sixty Norwegian papers in the United States, including two dailies, -all are Republican tho at rare intervals some may bolt individual -nominations. Generally, however, they are amazingly steadfast to -party--moss-backed and hide-bound, in fact."[314] - - [313] Lenker, _Lutherans in all Lands_, 771. - - [314] _Madison Democrat_, Oct. 6, 1898. - -The strong hold which this press exercises upon its subscribers is -excellently illustrated in the large sums of money raised from time to -time through its agency in behalf of sufferers from fire and famine in -the North European peninsulas. By editorials and special correspondence, -by subscriptions and the publications of lists of contributors, by -stimulating concerts for raising relief moneys, these journals have -pursued the shrewd, enterprising, and, at the same time, benevolent -schemes of advertising, followed by their American contemporaries. In -1893 _Skandinaven_ received and remitted to Norway for the relief of -sufferers from a landslide in Thelemark more than $2,700.[315] When a -great fire nearly destroyed the city of Aalesund, that journal in the -winter and spring of 1904 gathered and sent to Norway $19,000, mostly in -sums ranging from $.25 to $2.00; at the same time _Decorah Posten_ -remitted more than $12,000 for the same purpose.[316] The great famine -in northern Sweden and Finland in 1902-3 gave rise to a similar -collection of money; the editor of the _Svenska Amerikanska Posten_, the -powerful Swedish newspaper of Minneapolis, headed the list for his -paper, and at the end of several months the contributions through this -one journal reached the total of approximately $18,000.[317] Of course -not all the money so liberally poured out to aid the unfortunate by the -Baltic or the North Sea, was transmitted through the agents of the -newspapers, but it is true that almost the sole inspiration for the -gifts came more or less directly from the Scandinavian press. Probably -out of $175,000 sent from the United States to the famine sufferers in -1903,--and America's quota was about one-half of the total handled by the -Swedish central committee in Stockholm--the newspapers were instrumental -in raising fifty per-cent.[318] - - [315] _Skandinaven_, May 3, May 31, 1893. - - [316] _Ibid._, Jan. 27-April 30, 1904; _Dannevirke_, March 30, 1904. - - [317] _Svenska Amerikanska Posten_, Feb. 17, June 30, 1903. - - [318] _Hemlandet_, Feb. 25 (quoting from _Nya Dagligt Allehanda_ of - Stockholm for Feb. 7), July 15, Aug. 19, 1903. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -SOCIAL RELATIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS - - -While the normal unit in Scandinavian immigration is the family, a -considerable proportion of the immigrants has consisted of young, -unmarried men and women. Not infrequently the young man left behind him -a sweetheart who followed a little later when a solid foundation was -laid for the prospective family; or perchance, if sufficiently -prosperous, he went back at some Christmastide to marry her and bring -her to America. In any case, the farm meant a home, and the marriage -back of it was generally between two of the same nationality. Still, -intermarriages between Scandinavians and persons of American or of other -alien stock, are not infrequent, tho the number and significance of such -marriages is more a matter of personal opinion and estimate than of -exact statistics, since the latter are lacking. The opinions expressed -in this chapter are based upon the inconclusive figures of the census -reports, upon a study of a large number of brief biographies, and upon a -considerable acquaintance with conditions in the Northwest. The -biographies, it should be noted, are almost exclusively of men of -Scandinavian birth, whose intermarriage with American women is less -common than that of American men with Scandinavian women.[319] - - [319] Bremer, _Homes of the New World_, II, 222, 227, 236; Nelson, - _History of the Scandinavians_, I, 372, 380, 384, 404, 423, 429, - 438, 504, 530. - -Before the flood tide of immigration in the period beginning about 1880 -brought to America so many young, unmarried women, intermarriages were -more infrequent than in the later time. Hence the discussion of the -matter in the Census Report of 1880 would not necessarily hold true for -the subsequent period: "There is but one important element (other than -the Irish) which manifests an equally strong indisposition to -intermarriage, viz., the Scandinavian. This element appears in an -important degree in but few of the States and Territories embraced in -the following tables, but in these the effects of intermarriage are -slight. Thus in Wisconsin, while there are 42,728 persons born on our -soil having both Scandinavian father and Scandinavian mother, there are -but 2,083 persons having a Scandinavian father and an American mother. -In Dakota, the respective numbers are 10,071 and 418; in Minnesota -69,492 and 1,906.... It will be noted that in some of the States and -Territories where the Scandinavians are few and where it is notorious -that they are thoroly mingled with the general population, the -proportion of intermarriages is not a low one."[320] The figures for the -children of such mixed marriages given in the reports of the Twelfth -Census certainly reveal a decided increase in the number, especially -when the necessary allowance is made for the decreasing birthrate -naturally incident to the development of urban communities and to -filling up of States, which took place between 1880 and 1900.[321] - - [320] _U. S. Tenth Census, 1880_, I, 676. - - [321] _U. S. Twelfth Census Reports, 1900_, I, _Population_, Pt. 1, - CXCIII, and Tables 43, 46, 56. - -In these two decades, large numbers of young unmarried women, moved by -the same economic motives as the young men, came to the United States -and took service among the Americans as domestic servants. The demand -for capable and well-trained servants far exceeded, and still exceeds, -the visible supply, and the wages which seemed high to the American -housewife seemed trebly high to the girl who received in cash wages in -the old home only $20 or $30 per year.[322] In the new service the girls -must perforce learn English rapidly or fail, so they learned the -language and also the ways of the American household. In return they -gave an honest, good-tempered, and trustworthy if sometimes clumsy -service. If they were not always evidently grateful for the instruction -and patience of the mistress of the household, if frequently they -married soon after they were trained into efficient and satisfactory -servants, they should not be condemned wholesale! While the marriages of -these strong, healthy, intelligent, domestically capable young women -with non-Scandinavian young men of the middle and lower classes -constitute the larger proportion of intermarriages, the intermarriage of -the American-born Scandinavian girls, trained in the public schools and -colleges, with American men is also frequent, and no reservation as to -the mixture of social classes needs to be made. - - [322] _U. S. Consular Reports_ (1887) No. 76, 148; Young, _Labor in - Europe and America_, 681. - -Large families have been a prominent characteristic of the home life of -the Northmen in America's Northwest. Race suicide should not be charged -against the Scandinavians either in their new homes or in their old, for -in spite of the steady drain which emigration has made upon the -population of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark for fifty years, each country -in each decade has shown an increase of population, due solely to -natural increase.[323] In America this natural fecundity was re-enforced -by the conditions under which settlement was made, for large families -are characteristic of the early years of a developing agricultural -frontier. So when the Scandinavians entered the newly-opened regions of -the Great West and found land and food abundant, both immediately and -prospectively, they felt no necessity for enforcing prudential or other -checks upon the increase of population. Putting the case more -positively, circumstances put a premium upon families with numerous -children; the farmer welcomed additions to his circle of boys and girls -who would grow up into helpers upon the expanding cultivated acreage of -the farm, and later take up land near the original homestead, -buttressing it with prosperous allied homes. Families of ten and twelve -were common, while others reached sixteen, eighteen, and even -twenty-four.[324] In his remarkably detailed reminiscences of Norwegian -settlers in Wisconsin and the further Northwest, the Rev. J. A. Ottesen -refers to families of his friends and acquaintances, sometimes in exact -figures, as seven, ten, or fourteen children, and sometimes in such -general phrases as "many children," or "several children," making use of -these phrases no less than seventeen times in three columns of a single -article.[325] - - [323] _Special Reports, Bureau of the Census_, "Supplementary Analysis - and Derivative Tables" (1906), 32-33. - - [324] Sparks, _History of Winneshiek County, Iowa_, 110; _History of - Fillmore County_ (Minnesota), 377 ff., 434 ff. - - [325] J. O. Ottesen, "Bidrag til vore Settlementers og Menigheders - Historie," _Amerika_, April-September, 1894, especially - July 4. - -An examination of several thousand biographical sketches of Danes, -Norwegians, and Swedes who have attained some degree of success in the -American West, the very class which would first begin to limit the size -of the family, leads to the conclusion that the average number of -children per family among them is between four and five. In other words -the average is nearly double that of the United States taken as a -whole.[326] - - [326] These biographies are numerous in the many county histories - which appeared between 1880 and 1890 as the work of a syndicate - of publishers; they are also the staple of the latter half of - such works as Johnson and Peterson, _Svenskarne i Illinois_, and - Nelson, _History of the Scandinavians_, I, and II. All the - Scandinavian newspapers print many similar sketches, - biographical, autobiographical, and obituary. - -Closely connected with this immigration of so many young, unmarried -girls of the servant class, is the question of sex morality and -illegitimacy. The statistics relating to this question are particularly -unsatisfactory so far as the United States is concerned, even for a land -where the scientific statistician is a recent product, and where the -collection of social statistics, left mainly to the States and to local -authorities, is very loosely carried on. The motives for concealment and -for prevarication are obvious, and the records of municipal courts, even -if closely inspected, would not give much more than a scant minimum of -information applicable to an estimate of the Scandinavian element in the -population. - -To judge from the figures given for certain cities in Norway and Sweden, -it would be natural to expect a much higher percentage of illegitimate -births among the immigrants from those countries than among persons of -American ancestry. The United States Consul at Stockholm reported for -1884 for the whole of Sweden that 10.2% of all births were illegitimate; -for the city of Stockholm alone, 29.3%.[327] Twelve years later the -figure for the whole kingdom was 11%.[328] For Norway, the figure for -the kingdom was 7.2% for 1896; in the city of Christiania, 15.4% of the -5,349 births in 1895 were illegitimate.[329] - - [327] _U. S. Consular Reports_ (_1887_), No. 76, 151; Young, _Labor in - Europe_, 689. C. C. Andrews, U. S. Minister to Sweden, 1873, - states: "The proportion of illegitimate births, including the - whole kingdom was 5.85%, but including only cities, the - proportion of illegitimates was 14.32%." - - [328] _Statesman's Year Book, 1900_, 1048. - - [329] _Ibid._, 1062; _Folkebladet_, Feb. 5, 1896. - -Such statistics are certainly ominous, whatever the allowance which -should be made for peculiar social conditions in Europe, which make the -begetting of children after betrothal and before actual wedlock a less -heinous offence against good order and morality than in America. But -over against these startling figures stands the fact that it does not -seem to be harder to maintain order and decency in cities like -Minneapolis and St. Paul, or in the Scandinavian wards of Chicago, than -it is in Detroit or Boston, or in the other alien quarters of Chicago -itself. Nor does an inspection of the court and police records of cities -of the Northwest for crimes and offences against decency, or against -women, give cause for any special alarm for the future morality of the -Scandinavians of that section. - -For a safe and conclusive estimate of the contributions made by the -Scandinavian element to the delinquent and defective classes of society, -no very complete or satisfactory data are at present to be had. A -detailed study of the statistics of these classes in Wisconsin and -Minnesota warrants the judgment that the immigrants from Northern -Europe, and their immediate descendants, have a much smaller percentage -of paupers and criminals and a much larger percentage of insane, than do -either the Germans or the Irish, the two other alien elements which -approach the Scandinavians in importance in those States.[330] But these -statistics are at best unconvincing, because they are acknowledgedly -incomplete, and because in them little attempt is made to distinguish -between the children of American descent and those born of immigrant -parents in America. - - [330] A discussion of these statistics for 1885-1890 is given in _The - Forum_, XIV, 103. The reports of the superintendents of some of - the institutions give more or less of the history of each case. - See Nelson, _History of the Scandinavians_, II, 1-23. - -The experts working out the interpretation of the results of the Twelfth -Census (1900) have made distinct progress towards a fair comparative -judgment in matters relating to social classes and conditions. John -Koren, for example, the son of the veteran Norwegian Lutheran pastor, -the Rev. V. Koren, and an investigator and writer of unusual weight, -points out that the insane in hospitals are at least ten years of age, -while there are few children under fifteen among the immigrants as -compared with the number under that age among the native whites, and he -accordingly concludes that "Of the whites at least 10 years of age in -the general population of the United States in 1900, 80.5% were native -and 19.5% were foreign-born; while of the white insane of known nativity -enumerated in hospitals on December 31, 1903, 65.7% were native and -34.3% were foreign-born. Relatively, therefore, the insane are more -numerous among the foreign born whites than among the native."[331] How -much more convincing is such a cautious and careful estimate than the -sweeping generalizations of another recent writer: "Roughly speaking, -the foreigners furnish more than twice as many criminals, two and -one-third times as many insane, and three times as many paupers as the -native element."[332] - - [331] _Special Reports, Bureau of the Census_, 1904, "Insane and - Feebleminded in Hospitals and Institutions," 20. - - [332] Hall, _Immigration_, 166. - -The statistics for the insane in hospitals at the end of 1903 and of -those admitted during 1904, as given by Mr. Koren, show a strikingly -high percentage of insane persons of foreign parentage in Wisconsin, -Minnesota, North Dakota, and Iowa. No other State comes within ten -per-cent of the ratio of the first three. Of those enumerated in -December, 1903, 56% in Wisconsin, 48% in Minnesota, 52% in North Dakota, -and 34% in Iowa, were of foreign parentage; the percentages of the -admissions for 1904 were 53% in Wisconsin, 55% in Minnesota, and 33% in -Iowa.[333] In all these States the Scandinavian element has been -numerous for at least two generations. Figures gathered for this study -for the period between 1885 and 1895, before the children of the -Scandinavian immigrants reached in very considerable numbers what might -be termed the age for acquiring insanity, gave similarly significant -conclusions. Of the inmates of the state hospitals for the insane in -Minnesota, the foreign-born Scandinavians were 28% in 1886 and 30.7% in -1890; of the admissions to the state hospital at St. Peter in 1890, 35% -were Norse. Of the total admissions for the State in 1900, 23% were -Scandinavians, while in the Fergus Falls hospital, located in the heart -of a more recently settled Scandinavian area, 40% were of that -nationality; Wisconsin reports show like percentages.[334] All of these -statistics warrant the general conclusion that of all the foreign-born, -the Scandinavians are the most prone to insanity.[335] - - [333] _Special Reports, Bureau of the Census_, "Insane and - Feebleminded," 21. - - [334] _Minnesota Executive Documents, 1900_--statistics for the insane - for 1890, 1896, and 1900; The North, Dec. 18, 1889; _Wisconsin - State Board of Control_ [biennial], 1890 to 1902. - - [335] _Special Reports, Bureau of the Census, 1904_, "Insane, etc., in - Hospitals," 21. Nelson, _History of the Scandinavians_, II, ch. - i, makes a conscientious, but rather lame, attempt at analyzing - available statistics of insanity, and gives his conclusions for - two periods, 1881-2 and 1890-4: ratio of insane in total - population, 1:2718 and 1:1719; in American-born, 1:4120 and - 1:3009; in foreign-born, 1:1480 and 1:1144; in Irish, 1:1061 and - 1:769; in German, 1:1461 and 1:1439; in Scandinavian, 1:1588 and - 1:819. - -If one seeks for adequate reasons for this unusual tendency to insanity, -he will not find ready satisfaction. Undoubtedly the difference of -environment and the severer strain upon muscle and nerve imposed by -American industrial conditions, by which the machinery of the individual -must run at a higher and unwonted speed, will account for part of the -phenomena, but these causes operate alike upon all classes of -immigrants. The change from the mountains of Norway, or from the rugged -sea-coast of the great Northern peninsula, to the rolling prairies and -the vast silent plains of the interior of the United States, has also -its depressing effect. The very flatness of the land, its extremes of -temperature, the fierce tornadoes of wind, the bewildering, imprisoning -storms of snow, with no friendly mountain or forest to offer a body of -protection or a face of comfort, and the isolation of the life of the -frontier farmer and his family, together with the severity of their -labor--all these are causes operating with peculiar force in the case of -the Norwegian and Swedish immigrants. Dr. Gronvald, writing in 1887, -stated his conviction that the women of these classes, especially the -Norwegians, were predisposed to nervous disorders and insanity by early -and frequent child-bearing, and from early rising from child-bed.[336] - - [336] Gronvald, "The Effects of the Immigration on the Norwegian - Immigrants," _Sixth Annual Report of the State Board of Health - of Minnesota_, 520. - -Since the Norse immigrants have rarely if ever been charged with -illiteracy, dependency, pauperism or mendicancy, the remaining social -test, usually considered co-ordinate with that for insanity, is the -proportion of criminals contributed to the total of delinquents.[337] -Earlier computations must undergo the same severe correction as do the -estimates regarding the insane. By 1885 there were in the Northwest -large communities made up of the older Norwegian and Swedish settlers -and their descendants, and other communities comprising great numbers of -recently arrived immigrants. According to the State census of 1885 in -Minnesota, the Scandinavians formed 16.5% of the population, and the -Germans, 11.5%. The reports of the wardens of the State's prisons for -1886 show 8.7% of the prisoners to be Scandinavian, and 7.4% German. The -population of the State during the next five years grew rapidly; the -Scandinavian element increased faster than the German and nearly twice -as fast as the native American. Yet in 1890 the percentage of the -prisoners who could be identified as Scandinavian was only 7.1%.[338] - - [337] For an interesting background for this discussion, see Grellet, - _Memoirs_, I, 324. He wrote in 1818 of a parish named Stavanger, - having a population of some 7,000: "We visited their prison and - their schools; the former kept by an old woman. She had but one - prisoner in it, and had so much confidence in him that the door - of his cell was kept open." - - [338] _Minnesota Executive Documents_, biennial reports of State - Prisons for the years mentioned. - -In Wisconsin, where the increase of population in the last ten years of -the nineteenth century was in the native-born of Scandinavian parentage, -rather than in the number of immigrants, the reports of the Waupun State -Prison may be supplemented by those of the State Industrial School, the -reformatory for first offenders between the ages of fifteen and thirty. -In 1900, the foreign-born Scandinavian population of Wisconsin was 5% of -the total, and the Scandinavian population of foreign-born parentage was -10% of the total.[339] Of the prisoners received at Waupun, the -Scandinavians were: 1891, 4.1%; 1898, 4.4%; 1900, 3.7%. Of boys and -young men received at the Industrial School, those of Scandinavian -parentage were: 1890-1892, 7%; 1896-1898, 6.5%; 1900-1902, 6.6%.[340] - - [339] _U. S. Twelfth Census_, I, _Population_, Pt. I, Tables 25, - 38, 40. - - [340] _Reports of the Wisconsin State Board of Control_ for the years - mentioned. - -In the matter of petty offences which are usually tried in the police -courts, particularly cases arising out of intemperance, the records of -convictions in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Chicago, together with the -statistics of city prisons and workhouses, indicate that the Northmen -are clearly the chief offenders.[341] - - [341] _Minnesota Executive Documents_, Reports of the State Board of - Charities and Corrections, especially for 1884, 1890, 1896; _The - North_, Dec. 18, 1889. Nelson, _History of the Scandinavians_, - II, ch. i, tabulates his estimates of criminality as he does - those of insanity; for the years 1880-1822 and 1892-1894: - - Ratio of criminals in the whole population 1:2302 1:1999 - American-born population 1:2413 1:2013 - Foreign-born population 1:2035 1:1887 - Irish population 1:1600 1:860 - German population 1:2713 1:2715 - Scandinavian population 1:3706 1:5933 - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE SCANDINAVIAN IN LOCAL AND STATE POLITICS - - -The Scandinavian usually entered the field of politics rather slowly; he -took out his "first papers" for the purpose of acquiring land, not that -he might vote in the next election. In the early years of his settlement -he was too busy building and paying for a home, learning English, and -adopting American customs, to give much time or attention to public -affairs. The clearing of woodland, the breaking up of the prairie, and -the transformation of a one-room shack into a frame dwelling required -severe labor and all his energies. Not until the leisure of some degree -of success was his, did he yield to his natural inclination for politics -of the larger sort. - -The Norwegian, of all the men of the Northern lands, has the strongest -liking for the political arena, and has had the most thoro political -training at home. Since 1814 he has lived and acted in a community -markedly democratic. He understands the meaning of the Fourth of July -all the better because he, and his ancestors for two or three -generations in their home by the North Sea, celebrated on the -Seventeenth of May the independence of Norway and the advent of -republicanism. His sense of individuality and equality is stronger than -that of his cousins to the east or south, and he steadily and stubbornly -fights for the recognition and maintenance of his rights. In 1821, -before the first real immigrants sailed for the United States, Norway -abolished nobility, while Sweden and Denmark still retain the -institution. Equipped thus, and educated in such a vigorous school, it -is the Norwegian rather than the Swede or Dane who figures most largely -in the political activities of the American Northwest. - -Several causes operating on the western side of the Atlantic augmented -these natural advantages of the Norwegians. In their settlements they -had ten or fifteen years the start of the Swedes, and in the formative -period of Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and Dakota they greatly -outnumbered both the Swedes and Danes. They went into new States and -territories, and, settling on farms, profited by the power which the -rural portion of a developing region usually exercises in politics. On -the other hand, tho the Swedes in Illinois since the early fifties, and -in Kansas since the late sixties, have formed decidedly the larger part -of the Scandinavian population of those two States, they have by no -means taken a part in politics equal to that taken by the Norwegians. In -1890 the foreign-born Swedes in Iowa were more numerous than the -foreign-born Norwegians, and in Minnesota about equal in number, but -these figures do not fairly represent the political strength of the two -elements, for to the foreign-born Norwegians must be added those of -the second and third generation of persons of purely Norwegian -extraction.[342] The sons, and even the grandsons of the early Norwegian -settlers were voters before the Swedish immigration greatly exceeded the -Norwegian.[343] Broadly speaking, the early political pre-eminence of -the Norwegians has never been overcome. - - [342] Statistics for foreign-born in 1890: - - Iowa Minnesota - - Norwegians 27,078 101,169 - Swedes 30,276 99,913 - Danes 15,519 14,133 - - [343] In 1850 the total of foreign-born Scandinavians was 12,678, of - whom 3,559 were Swedes. In 1860 the corresponding figures were - 43,995 and 18,625. In 1880 the Swedes numbered 194,337, and the - Norwegians, 181,729. _United States Census Reports_ for the - years 1850, 1860, 1880. - -For the common people of Sweden and Denmark, political experience -practically began with the agitation for the reforms of 1866 and 1867. -The peasants and burghers thus came to think definitely and decisively -about what they desired and of the means for securing the wished-for -reforms. It may therefore be asserted without reservation that after -1870 the average Scandinavian immigrant brought to America a fairly -clear understanding of the meaning of republicanism; elections, -representation, local self-government, and constitutions, are neither -novel nor meaningless terms to him; he is ready to fill his place, play -his part, and cast his vote, as "a citizen of no mean city." In the -discharge of their civic duties, the Scandinavian voters have had the -aid of several unusually well edited newspapers in their own languages. -Since active participation in politics and patriotism are not always -synonymous, one branch of the Scandinavian peoples may be just as -patriotic as another. Certain it is that in the Civil War the Swedes -were every whit as prompt and hearty in their response to calls for men, -and as thoro in their efficiency and courage as soldiers, as were the -Norwegians. - -From a political view-point, the importance of the Norse immigrants in -the agricultural regions of the West has not been fully recognized. At -first thought, it would seem that location in a city or town, with its -intimate associations and sharper competitions, with its friction of -frequent contact with Americans, should be more conducive to rapid -Americanization of immigrants, than the life of the farm or of the rural -village, with its isolation and narrow horizon. More careful -consideration will make clear that the opportunities for political -action beyond merely casting a vote, are really much better in a new, -thinly-settled township than in a ward of a large town or city. It -surely was not a hunger for the sweets of political influence or -official place which led the Scandinavians into frontier regions; but -once there, with the old political ties forever severed by taking out -their "first papers," with partial title to land entered by preemption -or by homesteading, their first and greatest steps in Americanization -were safely made, and each one carried certain political consequences. -Local political organization had to be effected somehow as a given -locality filled up, and it happened frequently that there were none but -Scandinavians to undertake the task. No matter what their political -inclinations, no matter what form of organization they would have -preferred, only one course was open to them: to get information as to -the laws and customs of the United States and of the States in which -they were settled, to prepare for the elections, and to assume the -responsibilities of the necessary offices. Over and over again these -things were done promptly and well by men in whose veins coursed only -Viking blood, by men but recently transplanted from Norway, Sweden, and -Denmark. - -Whenever a township became populous enough to have a name as well as a -number on the surveyor's map, that question was likely to be determined -by the people on the ground, and such names as Christiana, Swede Plain, -Numedal, Throndhjem, and Vasa leave no doubt that Scandinavians -officiated at the christening.[344] Besides the names of townships, -Minnesota alone has no fewer than seventy-five postoffices whose names -are unmistakably Norse,--Malmö, Ringbo, Ibsen, Tordenskjold, and the -like. It was in organizing these new townships, working the town -machinery, carrying on elections, levying and collecting taxes, and -laying out roads, that the Scandinavian immigrants learned the rudiments -of American politics.[345] In studying the accounts of the formation of -scores of towns inhabited wholly or in major part by Norwegians or -Swedes--accounts usually written by Americans, and often going into -minute details--not one was found which describes any noteworthy -irregularity. Except for the peculiar names no one would suspect that -the townmakers were born elsewhere than in Massachusetts or New York. - - [344] Christiana got its name through the carelessness of Gunnul - Vindæg, who desired to name the town after the Norwegian - capital, but omitted the "i" in the last syllable. _Billed - Magazin_, I, 388. - - [345] Mattson, _Story of an Emigrant_, 50-51; _History of Goodhue - County, Minnesota_, 248. - -In some cases probably more than one-fifth of the men of the community -shared in the actual administration of town affairs; and while this -ratio decreased with the growth of the town, the tendency of the -Scandinavian settlers to move on from one new region to another gave -many of them continuing opportunities to gain political experience. Had -the same number of men located in the larger towns or cities, their -active duties as citizens would generally have ended with the casting of -their annual ballot. A few might have become policemen, commissioners, -or even aldermen, but they would have made an insignificant percentage; -the management or mismanagement of finances, schools, streets, -sanitation, and public services would go on without their efforts or -participation. - -A few illustrations selected almost at random, will give a concrete idea -of the process just described. Two townships in Fillmore County, -Minnesota, were organized in 1860, and received the familiar Old World -names, Norway and Arendahl; at the first election, all the officers -chosen in both townships were Norwegians, and for twenty years and more, -the Norwegians continued to fill nearly all the offices.[346] Another -and later example is found in Nicollet County, Minnesota, farther west -than Fillmore County, where the township of New Sweden was formed in -1864. Thirty votes were cast at the first election, and at the first -town-meeting, held three months later, all the offices were filled by -the election of six Swedes and four Norwegians.[347] Five years later -this township was divided and the name Bernadotte was given to the new -township; by the first election, all ten offices were filled by -Swedes.[348] Other Minnesota towns, Johnsonville in Redwood County -(1879), Wang in Renville County (1875), and Stockholm in Wright County -(1868), were similarly organized and officered by Norwegians and -Swedes.[349] - - [346] _History of Fillmore County, Minnesota_, 346, 378. - - [347] _History of the Minnesota Valley_, 688, 690, 693. - - [348] _Ibid._, 688. - - [349] _Ibid._, 790, 837; _History of the Upper Mississippi Valley_, - 572. - -As the townships developed, and the villages grew into cities with large -foreign-born elements, the familiar and characteristic Northern names -continue to fill the official records. Stoughton, Wisconsin, the -capital, so to speak, of the solid old Dane County settlement, is a case -in point. So late as 1901 the roster of the city ran as follows: - - Mayor, O. K. Roe, born in Dane County of Norwegian parents - - President of the Council, J. S. Liebe, born in Laurvik, Norway - - Aldermen, four born in different parts of Norway, two born in Dane - County of Norwegian parents.[350] - -Much of the business in these new communities in their first years was -carried on in a foreign tongue. Certainly election notices and documents -of that sort were issued in Norwegian or Swedish, and sometimes orders, -ordinances, and laws. No evidence, however, has come to hand to prove -that any official records were ever kept in any other language than -English, even in villages composed almost exclusively of Norwegians or -Swedes.[351] - - [350] _Amerika_, May 20, 1901. - - [351] "The Norwegians of Wisconsin", _Phillips Times_ (Wis.), - April 22, 1905. - -One of the first offices that had to be filled in the growing settlement -was that of postmaster; for no considerable number of people, educated -and intelligent, will long be content with a postoffice twenty miles -away.[352] In 1856 there were five Scandinavian postmasters in Minnesota -alone.[353] Thus the immigrant settlers came in contact with the -national government at the postoffice more directly and frequently than -they did at the land-office. - - [352] The nearest postoffice to the early settlers in Fillmore County, - Minnesota, was twenty miles away at Decorah, Iowa. _History of - Fillmore County, Minnesota_, 429. - - [353] From the list transcribed from the books of the Appointment - Office of the Post Office Department, Dec., 1856. Andrews, - _Minnesota and Dakota_, 191. - -Township affairs shade off almost imperceptibly into county affairs in -the western States, and the Scandinavians soon began to take part in the -latter. No records are at hand for the Wisconsin settlements, but in -1858 the first Norwegian was elected to the board of supervisors in -Goodhue County, Minnesota, and in the following year Hans Mattson, who -was active in building up the town of Vasa, where he filled various town -offices, was elected auditor of the county.[354] He continued to fill -the office until July, 1862, tho in name only for the last months, for -in the minutes of Board of Supervisors of Goodhue County appears the -resolution that "because the County Auditor, Hans Mattson, has -voluntarily gone to the war with a company of soldiers, a leave of -absence shall be extended to him, and that the office shall not be -declared vacant so long as the deputy properly performs the duties of -the place."[355] - - [354] Mattson, _The Story of An Emigrant_, 50. - - [355] Mattson, _The Story of an Emigrant_, 62. - -Hans Mattson was only one of many who found Goodhue County politics and -a term of service in the army excellent fitting schools for larger -activity in State affairs. One of the Norwegians who served an -apprenticeship in Wisconsin, a journeymanship in Iowa, and came to the -master-grade of citizenship--office-holding--in Minnesota, was Lars K. -Aaker, who represented Goodhue County in the Minnesota Legislature in -1859-1860. After service as first lieutenant in Mattson's Scandinavian -Company, he again sat in the Legislature in 1862, 1867, and 1869. Again -after twelve years of residence in Goodhue County he moved to Otter Tail -County, and represented that county in the State Senate, later becoming -Register of the United States Land Office. In 1864, he moved again, to -Crookston, in the extreme northwestern corner of Minnesota, where he -served as Receiver of the Land Office from 1884 to 1893.[356] As the -counties and towns have multiplied, by the biological process of -division, in Minnesota and the Dakotas, Scandinavian names recur more -and more frequently in their records, tho it is not always easy, -especially since 1880, to identify such names, for the Norsemen have had -a habit of Americanizing their original names or changing them -altogether either with or without legal process.[357] - - [356] Personal interview with Mr. Aaker, May, 1890. He was school - teacher, in English, and school district clerk in Wisconsin - before moving to Iowa and Minnesota. See also _Minnesota - Legislative Manual_, 1893, 89-92; Nelson, _History of the - Scandinavians_, I, 365. - - [357] By these changes Johanson became Johnson; Hanson, Jackson; - Fjeld, Field; Larson, Lawson (as Victor F. Lawson, the great - newspaper owner of Chicago). By taking the homestead name, the - too common name of Olson was changed to Tuve in one case, while - Adolf Olson became Adolf Olson Bjelland in another. - -The county offices which seem to be most attractive to the Scandinavians -are those of sheriff, treasurer, auditor, and register of deeds. The -lists of county officers for several years in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and -the Dakotas, show that the number of Swedes and Norwegians in the four -offices just mentioned was closely proportioned to their percentage in -the population of the States named.[358] Because the Scandinavians are -less numerous in the other county offices, their proportion of the total -offices in the counties of the States falls considerably below their -proportion of the population. Estimating on the basis of a sure minimum, -with the difficulties in identifying names eliminated, the Scandinavians -for several years about 1895 filled approximately one-fifth of the 1235 -county offices in Minnesota, one-fifth of the 268 in North Dakota and -one-tenth of the 702 in Wisconsin. Their numbers relative to the -population in each State were respectively one-fourth in Minnesota, -two-fifths in North Dakota, one-eighth in Wisconsin, and one-fifth in -South Dakota. More recent illustrations are to be found in the election -of 1904. In Traill County, North Dakota, the sixth in size of the forty -counties in the State, the sheriff, judge, treasurer, auditor, -register, surveyor, coroner, and superintendent of schools were of -Scandinavian origin; in Lac Qui Parle County, Minnesota, a similar clean -sweep was made; while in Yellow Medicine County seven out of ten -principal officers were Scandinavians.[359] - - [358] _Minnesota Legislative Manual_, 1893, 341-366 (naming 16 - officers for most counties); _Wisconsin Blue Book_, 1895, 630 - (naming 10); _North Dakota Legislative Manual_, 1895; Basford, - _South Dakota Handbook and Official and Legislative Manual_, - 1894, 16-120. - - [359] _Amerika_, Nov. 18, 1904. - -The first Scandinavian to enter the field of State politics was James D. -Reymert, a Norwegian, who represented Racine County in the second -constitutional convention of Wisconsin in 1847, and later in the -Assembly of that State, first from Racine County and then from Milwaukee -County in 1857.[360] He was also a candidate for presidential elector on -the Free Soil ticket in 1840.[361] The son of a Scotch mother, and -receiving part of his education in Scotland, he was better prepared than -other Norwegians for taking part in politics, and for the work of -editing the first Norwegian newspaper in America, _Nordlyset_--"The -Northern Light"--which appeared in 1847 as a Free Soil organ.[362] In the -constitutional convention he was not active in the debates, tho he -advocated a six-months' residence as a qualification for voting, saying, -"as to foreigners, the sooner they were entitled to vote, the better -citizens they would make."[363] For one provision of the Wisconsin -constitution he was personally responsible: Article VII, section 16, -which directed the legislature to establish courts or tribunals of -conciliation.[364] But in spite of the command, "The legislature shall -pass laws" for these courts, no such law was ever passed in Wisconsin. - - [360] _Journal of the Second Convention_, 18; Tenney, _Fathers of - Wisconsin_, 249; Langeland, _Nordmændene i Amerika_, 94-96; - _Wisconsin Blue Book_, (1895), 141, 173. - - [361] Langeland, _Nordmændene i Amerika_, 96. - - [362] _Ibid._, 95. - - [363] _Journal of the Second Convention_, 31, 129. - - [364] _Ibid._, 422, 638; Poore, _Charters and Constitutions_ - (2nd ed.), 2037. - -Down to the close of the Civil War the Scandinavians exercised very -little influence in State politics. Here and there one or two of them -appeared as members of conventions or of the legislatures, but even in -Wisconsin the number rarely went above two in a single session of the -legislature.[365] By 1870 many of the Norwegians and Swedes were -well-to-do, while others who had served in the Civil War returned to -their homes with the prestige conferred by honorable service in that -great struggle. Furthermore, the suspicion with which foreign-born -citizens had been viewed was greatly reduced, if not dissipated, by the -highest evidence which any man can give of his patriotism and loyalty to -his adopted country. No one might thenceforth deny them any of the -rights, privileges, and honors of the political gild. Accordingly the -number of them elected to the legislatures in the Northwest after 1870 -increases noticeably both in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and in the -Dakotas, where rapid material development and growth of population -furnished unusual political opportunities which the Norwegians and -Swedes were not slow to improve. - -In the Wisconsin legislature of 1868 sat 2 Norwegians; in 1869, 3; in -1871, 4.[366] In Minnesota, the figures are striking: 1868, 2 -Scandinavians; 1870, 4; 1872, 9; and 1873, 13.[367] Since then the -percentage of Norse representatives has steadily grown, tho it is not -always easy to determine the racial stock from which a native-born -officer came. Recent Wisconsin legislatures had apparently out of a -total membership of 133, in 1895, 5 Scandinavians; in 1901, 10 (1 Dane, -1 Swede, and 8 Norwegians); in 1903, 6.[368] The Minnesota legislature -of 1893 had 9 out of 54 senators, and 20 out of 114 representatives, who -were of Viking origin--fully one-sixth of the total membership. - - [365] _Wisconsin Blue Book_, 1895, 136 ff; _Minnesota Legislative - Manual_, 1893, 87-92; _History of the Upper Mississippi Valley_, - 573; Nelson, _History of the Scandinavians_, I, 390. - - [366] _Wisconsin Blue Book_, 1895, 136 ff. For the more recent - legislatures it is possible to be fairly exact in these data, - since the blue books and manuals give biographical sketches. - - [367] _Minnesota Legislative Manual_, 1895, 573 ff. - - [368] _Wisconsin Blue Books_, 1895, 66; 1901, 733 ff; 1903, 740 ff. - -In the legislatures of 1899 and 1905 the numbers were as follows:[369] - - 1899 - - Senate 63 members Norwegian 7 (3 American born) - Swede 2 - - House 119 members Norwegian 16 (3 American born) - Swede 9 (4 American born) - Dane 1 - - 1905 - - Senate 63 members Norwegian 7 - Swede 4 - - House 119 members Norwegian 20 (7 American born) - Swede 9 - - [369] _Minnesota Legislative Manuals_ for 1893, 1899, 1905. - -In the newer States to the West, the percentages rise still higher. In -North Dakota, the legislature of 93 members contained 17 men of -Scandinavian parentage in 1895, and 18 in 1901--16 Norwegians (4 American -born), one Dane, and one Icelander.[370] Unofficial figures for 1904 -gave the Scandinavians 38 out of 140 members.[371] South Dakota in 1894 -had 15 Norwegians (5 native-born) and 5 Swedes, in a legislative body of -127; in 1897, 17; in 1903, 16; and in 1904, 17.[372] - - [370] _Legislative Manual of North Dakota_, 1895, 18; _North Dakota - Senate Journal_, 1901, 1; _North Dakota House Journal_, 1901, 1. - - [371] _Amerika_, Nov. 18, 1904. - - [372] Basford, _Political Handbook_ (South Dakota), 149-197; _Senate - Journal_ and _House Journal_, 1897, 1903; _Amerika_, Nov. 18, - 1904. - -In the executive and administrative departments of State government, as -distinguished from the legislative, the participation of the -Scandinavians notably increased after 1869. In the summer of that year, -a Scandinavian convention was held in Minneapolis for the express -purpose of booming Colonel Hans Mattson for the office of Secretary of -State in Minnesota. Of his fitness there was no doubt, for in addition -to holding local offices in Goodhue County and his service in the army, -he had for two years served as Commissioner of Emigration. The -Republicans took the hint and nominated him almost unanimously in -September, and his election followed. He served one term at this time -and by re-elections filled the same office from 1887 to 1891.[373] So -frequently have Swedes and Norwegians been elected to this office both -in Minnesota and in the Dakotas that it might almost be said that they -have a prescriptive right to it.[374] In the thirty-seven years ending -in January, 1907, the Swedes filled the office in Minnesota sixteen -years and the Norwegians four years.[375] Other State offices like those -of Treasurer, Auditor, and Lieutenant Governor, not to mention -commissionerships and appointments to boards, have also been frequently -filled by Scandinavians in the States of the Northwest.[376] - - [373] Mattson, _The Story of an Emigrant_, 115; _Minnesota Legislative - Manual_, 1905, 99. - - [374] _Minnesota Legislative Manual_, 1905, 99; _North Dakota - Legislative Manual_, 1895, 66; _South Dakota Legislative - Manual_, 1894, 130, 134. - - [375] _Minnesota Legislative Manual_, 1905, 99, 627. - - [376] _Ibid._, 99-106, 627-637; _Wisconsin Blue Book_, 1895, 662 ff; - _South Dakota Political Handbook_, 1894, 130 ff; _The Viking_, - I, 3 (1906). - -The first Scandinavian to reach the eminence of a governorship was Knute -Nelson, an emigrant from Voss, near Bergen in Norway, in 1849, who, -after service in the Civil War, was elected in succession to the -legislatures of Wisconsin and Minnesota and to the Congress of the -United States. Nominated by acclamation for governor of Minnesota on the -Republican ticket in 1892, he was elected by a plurality of 14,620 -votes; two years later he was unanimously re-nominated, and re-elected -by a plurality of more than 60,000 votes.[377] He served only one month -of his second term, accepting election to the United States Senate, to -the disappointment, not to say the disgust, of many who had voted for -him for Governor, who considered him in duty bound to serve in that -capacity after accepting their suffrages. - - [377] Stenholt, _Knute Nelson_, 68-78; Nelson, _History of the - Scandinavians_, I, 451; _Minnesota Legislative Manual_, 1893, - 549. - -The second Scandinavian governor was a Swede born in Smaaland, who -landed in the United States in 1868 at the age of fourteen--John Lind. -Passing up through such political gradations as county superintendent of -schools, receiver of the United States Land Office, and Republican -representative in Congress, he allied himself with the free-silver -movement of 1896 and became the Fusion candidate for governor of -Minnesota. Opposed by the leading Swedes who remained loyal to the -Republican party, he was defeated by a small majority, tho supported by -many of the Norwegians. The Spanish War, in which he served as -quartermaster of volunteers, gave him a new claim to popular favor, and -when he again ran for governor in 1898 he was elected by a combination -of Democrats and Populists, turning his former deficiency of 3,496 into -a plurality of 20,399.[378] This victory was due more to a revolt -against the Republican candidate than to clannish support of a Swede by -Swedes, for the two strongholds of the Swedes, Chisago and Goodhue -Counties, went Republican as usual, while the German and Irish wards of -St. Paul and Minneapolis gave majorities for Lind. - - [378] _Svenska Amerikanska Posten_, Nov. 22, 1898; _World Almanac_, - 1899; Nelson, _History of the Scandinavians_, I, 432. - -The third of Minnesota's Scandinavian governors came into office under -circumstances of distinctly dramatic character. John A. Johnson was born -of Swedish parents in the State over which he was to be made ruler; at -the age of fourteen he became the support of his mother and of the -family, save the inebriate father who was sent to an almshouse where he -died. When nominated by the Democrats in 1904, Johnson had been for -eighteen years editor of a country newspaper printed in English. The -Republicans, especially their candidate for governor, a coarse-grained, -distrusted, machine politician, endeavored to make political capital out -of the fact that Johnson's father died in the poorhouse. The Democratic -leaders persuaded Johnson with some difficulty to let the plain truth be -told, and told on the stump--and Johnson, the son of a Swedish immigrant, -a man from a small, interior city, a Democrat in a State strongly -Republican as a rule, won by a plurality of 6,352 votes in a -Presidential year, when Theodore Roosevelt carried the State by -161,464.[379] Two years of vigorous but quiet administration brought the -reward of a renomination and re-election in 1906 by a plurality of -76,000.[380] Again in 1908, another presidential year, Governor Johnson -was re-elected by 20,000 plurality, though Taft received a plurality of -85,000.[381] - - [379] _Minnesota Legislative Manual_, 1905, 506, 520. In this election - of 1904, P. E. Hanson, a Swedish immigrant of 1857, was elected - on the Republican ticket as Secretary of State by a plurality of - more than 96,000. - - [380] _World Almanac_, 1907, 487. - - [381] _Ibid._, 1909, 639. - -The death of Governor Johnson in October, 1909, made the Republican -Lieutenant Governor, Adolph Olson Eberhardt, the fourth Scandinavian -executive of Minnesota. He was born in Sweden, the son of Andrew Olson, -and came to America in his eleventh year. He added Eberhardt to his name -by permission of the proper court in 1898 because several other persons -in his community also bore the name of Adolph Olson. Governor Eberhardt -reached the governor's chair by various business and political -experiences--as a lawyer, contractor, United States Commissioner, deputy -clerk of the United States District and Circuit Courts, State senator, -and lieutenant governor. He was re-elected in his own right in 1910 by a -plurality of 60,000, and again in 1912 by 30,000.[382] - - [382] _Ibid._, 1911, 673; 1913, 741; _Who's Who in America_, 1914-15. - -James O. Davidson rose to the governorship of Wisconsin through long -service in subordinate capacities. Of Norwegian birth, immigrating in -1872, he was elected to the Wisconsin legislatures of 1893, 1895, 1897; -twice chosen State Treasurer; elected Lieutenant Governor on the ticket -with R. M. LaFollette, and upon the election of the latter to the United -States Senate succeeded him as governor in January, 1906. In the summer -of that year Senator LaFollette vainly stumped the State to prevent -Davidson's nomination for Governor on the Republican ticket, and in the -election that followed the Norwegian-born, soundly-experienced Governor -was chosen by the handsome plurality of 80,247 votes.[383] In 1908 he -was re-elected by a plurality of 76,958. - - [383] _Wisconsin Blue Book_ (1903), 1070; _World Almanac_, 1907, 513. - -Still further up the political scale, men from Northwestern Europe have -been taking an active part in national affairs. Sixteen of them have -been elected to the House of Representatives of the Federal Congress. -The first one to achieve this high position was Knute Nelson who sat in -the House from 1883 to 1889 as the Representative of the Fifth Minnesota -District. In 1895 he was chosen United States Senator and has served -continuously since March 4, 1895.[384] Others who have served for -several terms in the House are: Nils P. Haugen, a Norwegian representing -a Wisconsin district from 1887 to 1895; John Lind, a Swede, who -represented the Second Minnesota District from 1887 to 1893; Asle J. -Gronna, who was a member of the House from 1905 to 1909, and succeeded -Johnson as Senator from North Dakota, serving up to the present time; -Gilbert N. Haugen, another Wisconsin-born Norwegian, who has -represented the Fourth Iowa District since 1899; Andrew J. Volstead, a -Minnesota-born Norwegian, who has sat for the Seventh Minnesota District -since 1903; and Halvor Steenerson, born in Dane County, Wisconsin, of -Norwegian stock, who has represented the Ninth Minnesota District since -1903.[385] Martin N. Johnson, who was born of Norwegian parents -in Wisconsin, had his first legislative experience in the Iowa -legislature, sat in the House as representative at large from the new -State of North Dakota from 1891 to 1899, and then, after a period of -retirement, was sent to the United States Senate from the same State, -serving from March, 1909, until his death in October of the same year. - - [384] _Minnesota Legislative Manual_ (1895), 325-6, 648; - _Congressional Directory_, May, 1914. - - [385] _Wisconsin Bluebook_ (1895), 191-2; _Congressional - Directories_, 1887 to 1914, which contain brief biographies of - Representatives and Senators. Other Representatives for briefer - terms than those mentioned above are: from Minnesota, Kittle - Halvorson (Norwegian), 1891 to 1895; Halvor E. Boen (Norwegian), - 1893 to 1895; Charles A. Lindbergh (Swede), since 1906; from - Wisconsin, H. B. Dahle (Norwegian), 1899 to 1901; John M. Nelson - (Norwegian), since 1906; and Irvine L. Lenroot (born of Swedish - parents in Wisconsin), since 1909; from North Dakota, Henry T. - Helgesen (Norwegian, born in Iowa), since 1911; and from Utah, - Jacob Johnson (the only Dane who has sat in the House), since - 1913. - -An analysis of this list of Representatives shows that eleven of the -sixteen were Norwegians of the first or second generation of immigrant -stock, four were Swedes, and one a Dane. Six of the eleven were born in -America, three of them in the old Wisconsin settlements; only one of -these represented the district in which he was born, the rest receiving -their reward in the newer western sections into which they had migrated -with the movement of population beyond the Mississippi. - -Different Federal administrations have deemed it wise to "recognize" the -Scandinavian among other elements of the political population, in making -appointments in the diplomatic and consular services of the United -States. One of the most notable instances is that of the selection of -John Lind, the former governor of Minnesota, as the personal -representative of President Wilson in Mexico during the troubled months -of 1913 and 1914 and as adviser to the United States embassy in Mexico -City during the period following the recall of Ambassador Henry Lane -Wilson. Another instance of appointment in this service is that of -Lauritz Selmer Swenson, a Norwegian of the second generation, born in -Minnesota, who was minister to Denmark from 1897 to 1906, and later -received appointments as minister to Switzerland and to Norway, -terminating the latter in 1913.[386] Rasmus B. Anderson represented the -United States at the Danish court from 1885 to 1889, being at that time -a Democrat. He was born in Wisconsin of pure Norse parentage, and had -served as professor of the Scandinavian languages in the University of -Wisconsin.[387] - - [386] _Who's Who in America_, 1914-5. - - [387] _Ibid._; Anderson, _Norwegian Immigration_, quoting from the - _Madison Democrat_. - -The appointment of Nicolay A. Grevstad as minister to Uruguay and -Paraguay in 1911 was a fitting recognition of ability combined with long -and able service to the people of the older, or middle, Northwest as -editor of the _Minneapolis Tribune_, the _Minneapolis Times_, and the -great Chicago daily, _Skandinaven_ (1902-1911). Hans Mattson, a Swedish -veteran of the Civil War, was consul general at Calcutta from 1883 to -1885;[388] Soren Listoe, the Danish editor of _Nordvesten_ of St. Paul, -Minnesota, was consul at Düsseldorf, 1882-3, consul at Rotterdam, -1897-1902, and consul general at the same city, 1902-1914.[389] At -Rotterdam he succeeded L. S. Reque, a Norwegian from Iowa. Several other -men have served for long terms in minor positions in the foreign -service.[390] - - [388] Mattson, _The Story of an Emigrant_, 143-145. - - [389] _Congressional Directory_, 1897, 1907, 1914; Nelson, _History of - the Scandinavians_, I, 435, 480, 503; II, 195. - - [390] Peterson, _Svenskarne i Illinois_, 389. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -PARTY PREFERENCES AND POLITICAL LEADERSHIP - - -The great majority of the Scandinavians, prior to 1884, were thoro-going -and uncompromising Republicans, and tho the party still holds most of -them, profiting largely from their natural conservatism and their -loyalty to a principle, it can by no means depend upon them with the -assurance it had in the "good old days" when to find a Scandinavian -voter in the Northwest was to find a Republican. - -The causes which determined the early party affiliations of the -naturalized sons of the Vikings, in the broad area of State and Federal -affairs, are to be found in the character of the immigrants themselves -and in the great questions agitating the country at the time they became -citizens. Coming to the United States with an endowment of natural -independence, with an innate respect for government, and with an -inclination for public concerns, their interest was at once actively -aroused in the great problem of slavery that vexed national life from -the time of the Sloop Folk to the Civil War. As their information about -the slave system grew more exact, and as the tremendous significance of -the restriction of the slave area as a cardinal political issue was made -clear to their minds, they became of one mind in the mighty agitation. -Neither they nor their ancestors for hundreds of years had held slaves; -few of them had ever seen a slave, for their numerous traders and -sailors, with slight exceptions, had no smell of blood of the African -slave trade on their hands.[391] It was not chance, therefore, which -kept the stream of North European immigrants from flowing into the South -and Southwest; no attractiveness of climate or soil could compensate for -the presence of Negro slavery. A horror and hatred of slavery colored -their thinking from their first month in the New World; it was first a -moral, then a political, conviction, not the sentiment of individuals, -but the well-reasoned opinion of the whole community. - - [391] Du Bois, _Suppression of the African Slave-Trade_, 90 n 5, 131, - 143 n 1. - -Bound together on this great question, then so dominant, they naturally -maintained unity on other political questions as well as on slavery; and -when once their ideas were fixed, any change would be effected slowly -and with difficulty. The newcomers, in their first months in the older -settlements, were speedily indoctrinated with anti-slavery sentiment. -Thus it came about that one party received and retained the vast -majority of the Scandinavians down to 1884, simply because a bent that -way was given in the early years of immigration from the Northern -peninsulas, and because the question of the status of the Negro, in one -form or another, continued to be a political issue. - -The first appearance of the Norwegians in State politics in Wisconsin, -as already noted, was under the Free Soil banner between 1846 and 1848, -when that State was endeavoring to form a constitution. The first -constitution submitted to the people, in 1847, was rejected by a large -majority, including a separately-submitted provision granting equal -suffrage to Negroes. While the State decisively voted thus, the counties -in which the Scandinavian vote was largest--Racine, Walworth, and -Waukesha--showed large majorities in favor of giving the Negroes -political privileges equal to those of the Whites. On the other hand, -counties where the German votes were numerous stood solidly against -equal suffrage, seemingly because in the constitutional convention the -question of Negro suffrage was coupled with that of the granting of -suffrage to foreign-born, in a way that greatly displeased the -Germans.[392] When the second convention finished its constitution, in -1848, resolutions were introduced to provide for printing and -distributing translations of the document, 6000 copies in German, and -4000 copies in Norwegian, a hint of the relative strength of the two -groups.[393] - - [392] Baker, _History of the Elective Franchise in Wisconsin_, 9; - including a reference to the _Wisconsin Banner_, Oct. 17, 1846. - - [393] _Journal of the Second Convention_, 511, 584. - -The relation of James Reymert and his _Nordlyset_ to the Free Soil -movement has been mentioned. When the Democratic papers mercilessly -criticised the little sheet and poked fun at its name, the paper was -sold by Reymert to Knud Langeland in 1849, and by him removed to Racine; -the name was changed to _Demokraten_, but the politics of the paper were -not affected.[394] As a political organ among the Norwegians, it was -ahead of the times; the support of the paper was insufficient to pay the -bills, and it was discontinued in 1850. The Norwegian immigrants were -unaccustomed to a purely secular press; they preferred to have -their politics wrapped up in papers labelled "religious." Langeland -declares that many of them considered it a sin to read a political -newspaper.[395] But the Free Soil sentiment was too strong to go without -printed expression in Norwegian; and accordingly the propaganda -continued in the form of speeches of Chase, Seward, Hale, Giddings, and -other anti-slavery leaders, which were translated into Norwegian and -mixed in with non-political matter in _Maanedstidende_, a paper whose -publication, after the failure of _Demokraten_, Langeland undertook -along with four clergymen, Clausen, Preuss, Stub, and Hatlestad.[396] - - [394] Langeland, _Nordmændene i Amerika_, 96. - - [395] Langeland, _Nordmændene i Amerika_, 98: "Den förste - Indvandrer-befolkning hovedsagelig bestod af Folk fra - Landsbygderne, som for en stor Del ikke var vant til at læse - andet end Deres Religionsböger, og mange af dem ansaa det endog - for en Synd at læse politiske Blade." - - [396] _Ibid._, 98. - -As they read these speeches of the great leaders, as they heard from -Negroes themselves the evils of slavery, as they learned of the -high-handed doings in Kansas, the zeal of the Scandinavians for human -freedom increased. There were no old party traditions, feelings, or -feuds, to keep them from judging the issue of slavery's expansion on its -merits; no loyalty to the memories of dead heroes held them in mortmain. -Some few of them voted for Cass in 1848 and for Pierce in 1852, but by -1856 there was only one issue for them: simply and straightforwardly and -almost to a man, they became Republicans.[397] The Democrats, of -course, did not let the children of the North go without an effort to -secure them in their ranks. In 1856 Elias Stangeland of Madison, -Wisconsin, started a Norwegian paper, _Den Norske Amerikaner_, in -support of James Buchanan. His efforts to get Langeland to undertake the -editorship failed because the latter was an ardent admirer of Fremont. -The paper had a short life, and probably Langeland is right in -attributing its disappearance to the withdrawal of the Democratic -subsidy.[398] A long time was to elapse before a successful attempt -would be made to maintain a Democratic paper in Norwegian or Swedish. - - [397] Peterson, _Svenskarne i Illinois_, xii; Mattson, _The Story of - an Emigrant_, 56; Nelson, _History of the Scandinavians_, I, - 305, 310. - - [398] Langeland, _Nordmændene i Amerika_, 110. - -What the anti-slavery agitation left undone towards making the -Scandinavians unswervingly Republican, was accomplished by the Civil -War. The lingering glories of the golden age of the Democracy of Jackson -and Jefferson were entirely obscured by the attitude of the Democratic -party toward the conduct of the war. Only when the memories of the Civil -War grew less vivid and less influential with new arrivals from the Old -World, and not until moral questions were superseded in political -discussions by economic questions relating to the tariff, currency, and -labor, did the Scandinavians begin to arrange themselves in any -considerable numbers outside the Republican ranks. - -Four times during the last thirty-five years the Scandinavian voters in -large numbers, under varying circumstances and in different degrees in -different States, have abjured Republican leadership. After each such -excursion they have returned, for the most part, to their old party -relations, but never with quite the same fervent, reliable zeal for -Republican principles and candidates. The development of the bacillus of -independence is unmistakable. One defection affected Wisconsin alone, -the only instance where the Democrats profited directly by the votes of -large numbers of Scandinavians. At a later time, when the Free Silver -and Populist ideas took strong hold on the Northwest, the Scandinavian -vote re-enforced the personal popularity of John Lind, the Swedish -candidate of the Populist-Democratic party, and secured his election, -tho the rest of the Fusion ticket suffered defeat. - -The first time Norse voters broke from the Republican ranks was in -connection with the Greenback movement which began with the depression -following the panic of 1873 and culminated in the election of 1880. Many -of them, especially the Swedes in Illinois, became out-and-out -Greenbackers or Independents. In his book on the Swedes in Illinois, -published in 1880, C. F. Peterson gives brief biographies of some seven -hundred Swedes, men of all walks of life above day laborer, who may be -considered as representatives of the 40,000 Swedes in Illinois at that -time.[399] At least they represent the classes which would be least -likely to be led off into economic heresies. Of 628 whose party -affiliations are stated, 472 were Republicans; 76, Independents; 55, -Greenbackers; and 25, Democrats or Prohibitionists. In other words, out -of the total number canvassed, more than twenty per-cent were dissenters -from Republican orthodoxy. - - [399] Peterson, _Svenskarne i Illinois_, part II. - -The relation of political and religious sentiment is strikingly -illustrated in analyzing these biographies, for those who were Lutherans -or Methodists were usually Republicans in politics, and proud to belong -to "the party of moral ideas."[400] Those stating their religious -preferences as Lutheran numbered 388, and of these only 10 were -Democrats, 16 were Greenbackers, and 19 were Independent. On the other -hand, of 131 who belonged to the three political parties last mentioned, -87 were in religion also Independent, Free Thinkers, or "Ingersollites". -For States other than Illinois, no such complete contemporary data are -available; but since the Greenback vote in Minnesota was only 2% of the -total, and in Wisconsin 3%, it is fair to assume that the Scandinavians -did not desert the Republican standard in very large numbers in those -States. - - [400] _Ibid._, 353; "Medlem i de 'moralska ideernas' politska - parti--det republikanska." - -The second case of considerable defection among the Republican -Scandinavians occurred after the widespread development of agrarian -discontent in the late eighties. The farmers and laborers, American and -Scandinavian alike, felt the stress of hard times, turned to political -agencies for relief, forsook the old parties, and formed the party -called variously the Populist, People's, and Farmers' Alliance Party. -Besides those Norwegians and Swedes who had been for years Republicans, -whose political color was fixed by the mordant of slavery and the Civil -War, there was then a very large number of men who arrived in the vast -immigrant invasions between 1880 and 1885, and who were just coming into -the full exercise of the rights of citizenship. An increasing proportion -of these later arrivals went to the large cities and towns. All of them -were moved less by the traditions of "moral ideas" and more by the -contagious discontent of the older settlers and by the arguments of -industrial and political agitators. - -In the election of 1890 a serious break occurred in the Republican Party -in Minnesota and in the Dakotas. There was a general impression in the -rural districts of Minnesota that the Republican candidate for governor, -William R. Merriam, a wealthy banker of St. Paul, was renominated for -his second term by a political ring composed of lumber-kings, wheat -dealers, and millers who combined to cheat and rob the farmer. -Accordingly the Farmers' Alliance nominated a third ticket headed by S. -M. Owen, the editor of an agricultural paper in Minneapolis, who polled -a vote of 58,513, and reduced Merriam's vote of 1888 by about -46,000.[401] Merriam was re-elected by a plurality of less than 2,500, -tho he had had more than 24,000 two years before. - - [401] _Minnesota Legislative Manual_, 1893, 482: - - 1888 1890 - Republican candidate 134,355 88,111 - Democratic candidate 110,251 85,844 - Prohibition candidate 17,026 8,424 - Farmers' Alliance candidate ... 58,513 - -A careful examination of the votes for 1888 and 1890 in such strong -Scandinavian counties as Otter Tail, Douglas, Chisago, Freeborn, Polk, -and Norman leaves no doubt that the Swedes and Norwegians in very large -numbers either voted for Owen, or refused to vote for Merriam.[402] In -some cases the Republican vote fell off one-half and even two-thirds, -and third-party Alliance candidates for the legislature were elected. A -prominent Norwegian writer estimated that "25,000 Norwegian-born farmers -turned their backs upon Mr. Merriam and voted for Mr. Owen for -governor," disregarding the injunction of the Scandinavian Republican -press to "stick to the grand old party, for the grand old party is -particularly favorable to the Scandinavians, and the best political -party in America."[403] - - [402] _Minnesota Legislative Manual_, 1889, 397; 1893, 472. - - [403] Mr. J. J. Skordalsvold in _The North_, Aug. 10, 1892. - -At the next state election in the presidential year, 1892, a Norwegian -ran for governor on the Republican ticket, and a large part of the -Scandinavian deserters wheeled into line and voted the Republican -ticket. With a total vote only 15,000 greater than in 1890, the vote for -the Republican candidate for governor increased in round number 20,000, -for the Democratic candidate, 9,000, and for the Prohibition candidate, -4,000, while the vote of the Alliance or People's party fell off -20,000.[404] - - [404] The ticket in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota, in this - year, 1892, is an interesting illustration of "recognition" of - the power of the recent deserters. The Scandinavians had: - - Republican Democrat Populist - - Presidential elector 1 2 2 - Governor or Lieutenant Governor 1 ... 1 - Secretary of State 1 1 1 - Legislative ticket 2 2 ... - County officers 2 1 ... - City officers 4 1 ... - - _Minneapolis Journal_, Nov. 3, 1892. - -Conditions in North Dakota and South Dakota were even more favorable to -the new party than in Minnesota. Estimates based on a study of -statistics and newspapers have been confirmed by prominent officials of -those States, one of whom declares that "in some localities quite a -per-cent has joined the Populist party; but it is very rare indeed to -find a Scandinavian Democrat."[405] Another believes that a considerable -portion of the Scandinavians voted the Populist ticket in 1892 and in -1894, but that they were normally believers in the protective principle -and therefore naturally affiliated with the Republican party.[406] A -German lawyer of Valley City, North Dakota, a Democrat, practically -agreed with the Norwegian city attorney of Devil's Lake in the same -State, the one saying that a large part of the Norse voters were -Populists, the other declaring that the Populist party was largely -composed of Scandinavians.[407] All agreed that these voters later -tended to return to their former Republican alliance. It may be doubted, -however, whether the hold of the protection idea is one of the primary -reasons for Scandinavian Republicanism. At any rate the vote of the Hon. -Knute Nelson for the Mills Bill for tariff revision in 1888--one of six -Republican votes for the measure--did not make him politically _persona -non grata_ or a suspicious character among his Norwegian or Swedish -brethren. - - [405] Letter of Thomas Thorson, Secretary of State of South Dakota, - April 9, 1906. - - [406] Letter of C. M. Dahl, Secretary of State of North Dakota, March - 24, 1896. - - [407] Letter of E. Winterer, Valley City, March 21, 1896, and of Siver - Serumgard, March 24, 1896. - -Another index of the shifting of political sentiment among the Norse -voters is found in the changes in the party affiliations of Scandinavian -newspapers, tho the varying importance of these journals imposes special -caution in interpreting these figures. It would be obviously unfair to -offset the staunch and well-supported Republicanism of the ably-edited -and widely-circulated _Skandinaven_ of Chicago with the less stable -_Normannen_ of Stoughton, Wisconsin, which had not one-third the -circulation nor one-tenth of the influence of the metropolitan -journal.[408] The "mugwump spirit" of the press is well illustrated by -the case of _Norden_, a Norwegian weekly of Chicago, Republican up to -1884, when it took an independent attitude. In 1888 it became avowedly -Democratic and supported Grover Cleveland for the presidency. This move -was made only after the proprietor and editor assured themselves that -the patrons of the paper would sustain them in the proposed change.[409] - - [408] Rowell, _American Newspaper Directory_ for 1896, 1901, 1906; - _Cosmopolitan_, Oct., 1890, 689. - - [409] Interview in 1890 with the editor of _Norden_, Mr. P. O. - Strömme. He said that the change was an excellent move for the - paper. - -Of the secular political Scandinavian papers published in Minnesota -in 1889 nine were Republican--five Norwegian or Norwegian-Danish, -four Swedish; three were Democratic,--all Norwegian; two were -Prohibitionist,--one Norwegian and one Swedish; and one was -Labor,--Norwegian.[410] In the next five years, the independent press in -Minnesota and other states increased in numbers at least, and included -such influential journals as _Amerika_ and _Folkebladet_. George Taylor -Rygh, professor of Scandinavian languages in the University of North -Dakota, estimated in 1893 that "until a few years ago over four-fifths -of the [Scandinavian] secular press were strictly Republican in -politics. One after another has ceased to defend the Republican party, -and today not more than one-third of the whole number are strictly -Republican."[411] While this personal opinion or impression is probably -exaggerated, it may represent approximately the temporary state of that -year if proper emphasis be laid on the word "strictly." Since there -appears to be no evidence that these papers, with two or three -exceptions, were subsidized to induce their change of political creed, -it is reasonable to conclude that they had behind them a solidified -constituency, for they were run neither for personal amusement, pure -philanthropy, nor mere partisan propaganda. - - [410] _Minnesota Legislative Manual_, 1889, 432-445. - - [411] G. T. Rygh, "The Scandinavian American," _Literary Northwest_, - Feb., 1893. He estimated the total number of papers at "about - 125." - -The third defection occurred in Wisconsin alone, and took its rise in a -purely local question. Its interest lies in the peculiar and remarkable -temporary alliance to which it led. The Wisconsin Legislature passed an -act, approved April 18, 1889, "concerning the education and employment -of children."[412] To the ordinary provisions for coercing parents and -children, so that all children between the ages of seven and fourteen -years should attend at least twelve weeks in some public or private -school in the city or town or district in which they lived, nobody -objected. But the fifth section of the act, which was known as the -Bennett Law, was in certain church circles, like a dash of vitriol in -the face: - -"No school shall be regarded as a school under this act unless there -shall be taught therein as a part of the elementary education of the -children, reading, writing, arithmetic, and United States history, in -the English language." - - [412] _Laws of Wisconsin_, 1889, ch. 519. - -The last four words of this section, innocent and reasonable as they -look to the average American, stirred up one of the bitterest political -fights ever known in Wisconsin. The Roman Catholic church, unalterably -committed to a system of parochial schools in many of which instruction -is given in a foreign language, was for once in accord with the German -and Scandinavian Lutherans who maintained similar schools. The -compulsory use of English in instructing pupils in specified subjects -turned priests and pastors and whole congregations into active, -vociferous politicians, for Germans, Norwegians, Poles, and Bohemians -claimed the right to educate their children in parochial schools of -their own choosing. Was not education education, whether carried on in -English or German or Polish or Norwegian? Were not the graduates of -church schools, even tho they spoke English brokenly or with brogue, -just as intelligent, just as capable, just as industrious, and just as -honest, as those educated in the "little red school house" and the -public high school?[413] The chairman of the Lutheran Committee on -School Legislation stated the matter clearly from the standpoint of the -churches: - -"The Lutherans of Wisconsin do not oppose the Bennett Law because they -are the enemies of the English language.... The Lutherans oppose the -present compulsory school law because--whether designedly or not--it in -fact infringes on the rights of conscience guaranteed by the -constitution, and the right of parents to educate according to their -convictions, their own children.... In short, the Lutherans insist upon -their right to establish private schools at their own expense, and -regulate them, without any interference on the part of the State, ... -that their children may become Lutheran Christians as well as loyal and -good citizens."[414] The official circular of the State Superintendent -of Public Instruction of Wisconsin, dated January 25, 1890, almost a -year after the passage of the act, was a statement of the opposite point -of view, and a justification of attempts to enforce the law. -Incidentally it was a political pamphlet as well. Superintendent Thayer -said: "The thing that is antagonized by this law is the practice of -allowing children of this State of proper school age, to pass that -period of life without acquiring the minimum of education in elementary -branches; without acquiring the ability to think in the language of the -country, to express themselves intelligibly in that language, orally, in -writing, and in business forms." - - [413] _The Bennett Law Analyzed_, a campaign pamphlet issued by the - Republicans in 1890, in English, German, Polish, and Norwegian, - had for its heading a picture of a district school house - labelled "The Little School House," and underneath, "Stand by - It." - - [414] See F. W. A. Notz, "Parochial School System" in Stearns - (editor), _The Columbian History of Education in Wisconsin_ - (1893). - -All through the latter part of 1889 and the first ten months of 1890, -the agitation went on. The press gave great space to it; some papers -through several months, both in Wisconsin and in the neighboring States -where Lutherans and Catholics were numerous, offered "symposiums" which -printed arguments on both sides.[415] _Public Opinion_ summarized the -sentiment for the larger world.[416] Church assemblies took action, and -finally an Anti-Bennett Law convention was held in Milwaukee, June 4, -1890. - - [415] _The North_, Apr. 30, May 7, 14, 21, 28, June 4, 25, July 2, - 1890. - - [416] _Public Opinion_, IX, no. 1, Apr. 12, 1890. - -The Democrats were not slow in seizing the advantage offered, and -managed their campaign of 1890 very shrewdly. The combination of sternly -anti-Catholic German and Norwegian Lutherans, usually Republican, with -Roman Catholics, under the Democratic banner, was irresistible. In spite -of the frantic appeals of the Republican press and speakers for loyalty -to the American flag and to the "little red school house," the Democrats -elected their candidate for governor, and a legislature pledged to give -the desired relief. By the six-line act of February 5, 1891, the Bennett -Law was repealed, and two months later another compulsory education act -was passed without the offensive and troublesome four words.[417] The -work of the Lutheran-Catholic alliance was done; the heterogeneous, -naturally antagonistic elements fell apart; and in a few years old party -lines were re-established. The plurality of 28,000 by which the -Democratic Governor, G. W. Peck, was elected in 1890, overcoming the -usual Republican plurality of about 20,000, was reduced at his -re-election in 1892 to 7,700. In 1894 the Republican candidate defeated -Governor Peck by the handsome plurality of 50,000 votes.[418] - - [417] _Laws of Wisconsin_, 1891, chaps. 4, 187. - - [418] _Wisconsin Bluebook_ (1895), 342-342, 347. - -While the Bennett Law agitation was going on in Wisconsin, a similar, -but milder disturbance occurred in Illinois. The compulsory education -act of the latter State, which went into effect July 1, 1889, was -closely, if not deliberately, modelled after the Wisconsin statute, and -enacted that "no school shall be regarded as a school under this act, -unless there shall be taught therein in the English language, -reading, writing, arithmetic, history of the United States, and -geography."[419] In the campaign of 1890, the Republican candidate for -State Superintendent of Education, favoring the new compulsory education -law, was defeated by some 36,000 votes by Raab, the Democratic candidate -who opposed the law. The Norwegians and Danes in the city of Chicago -probably voted for Raab in large numbers, tho he won the Swedish wards -of that city by small pluralities. In such counties as Knox, with its -two thousand Swedish voters, and Winnebago (in which is situated the -city of Rockford, with about fifteen hundred Swedish voters), where -one-third of the foreign born population was at that time Scandinavian, -the Republican candidate received large majorities. A writer for -_America_, the periodical published in English for Scandinavian readers, -claimed proudly that "the large Swedish settlements in Henry, Rock -Island, Bureau, De Kalb, Henderson, Warren, Mercer, Ford, Whiteside, and -other counties cast a solid vote for Edwards.... The Swedes were in -favor of compulsory education almost to a man."[420] In the city of -Chicago, the County Superintendent of Schools for Cook County was -re-elected by a plurality of 23,000 tho he favored the compulsory law. -The repeal of the law of 1889 was not so prompt in Illinois as it was in -Wisconsin, for it was not until 1893 that a new and expurgated -compulsory education measure took its place.[421] - - [419] _Laws of Illinois_, 1889, Act of May 24. - - [420] _America_, V. 201 (Nov. 20, 1890). See also editorial in the - same volume, 172-174 (Nov. 13, 1890). - - [421] _Laws of Illinois_, 1893, Acts of February 17 and June 19, 1893. - -A close and detailed examination of the legislative journals and the -statutes of the Northwestern States does not reveal above a half-dozen -laws which can be said to be due to the leadership and direct influence -of the Scandinavians as such. On the other hand, in the field of general -legislation these men have been indistinguishable from the native-born -in ability, efficiency, and uprightness; the gross and net products of -the labors of those legislatures with many Scandinavian representatives -in such states as Minnesota and North Dakota, are not perceptibly -different from the output of legislatures in which no Swede or -Norwegian ever sat, as in Michigan or Colorado. Scarcely a law has been -passed for the purpose of catering to the preferences, or of catching -the vote, of the sons of the Northlands. - -An exception to this general statement is the Minnesota law of 1883 -providing for the establishment of a "professorship of Scandinavian -language and literature in the State University, with the same salary as -is paid in said University to other professors of the same grade." The -man to be chosen must be "some person learned in the Scandinavian -language and literature, and at the same time skilled and capable of -teaching the dead languages so called."[422] - - [422] _The General Statutes of the State of Minnesota_, 1894, secs. - 3908-3909 (_Laws of 1883_, Chap. 140.) - -The motives of the makers of the law were benevolent enough, and -circumstances warranted its passage, but nothing could better illustrate -the utter carelessness and looseness with which American State -legislators do their work, than this simple statute. It was drawn up by -a distinguished American lawyer, Gordon E. Cole of St. Paul, at -the request of Truls Paulsen by whom it was introduced into the -legislature.[423] It created a chair of "Scandinavian language," when -there is no such language, living or dead; the professorship was -established "in the State University," when the laws of the State -recognize no institution bearing such a name. The Norwegian who -presented the bill, the legislature (including twenty-one other -Norwegians and Swedes) which passed it, and the Governor who signed it, -all showed the same quality of ignorance and neglect of fact, law, and -English. A second law, undoubtedly based directly upon the first, even -to copying its confusion of terms, was the act passed by the legislature -of North Dakota in 1891, creating a chair of Scandinavian language and -literature in the University of North Dakota.[424] - - [423] Nelson, _Scandinavians in the United States_ (1st ed.), I, - 541-542. - - [424] _Revised Codes of North Dakota_, 1895, sec. 887 (_Laws of 1891_, - chap. 60). - -Another statute having still more distinct Scandinavian earmarks was -passed by the legislature of North Dakota in 1893, providing for -tribunals of conciliation, to be composed of four commissioners of -conciliation elected in each town, incorporated village, and city. The -measure was modelled in a feeble and tentative fashion after a statute -of Norway, where such courts have been in operation since 1824, proving -especially efficient in securing amicable adjustment of petty -neighborhood difficulties.[425] But the law in North Dakota speedily -fell into "innocuous desuetude," in spite of the enormous percentage of -Norwegians in that State; its construction was defective; its -constitutionality was questioned; its machinery was cumbersome and -expensive. During its first two years, many communities failed to elect -commissioners, and no serious attempt was made to comply with its -provisions; even the Norwegians themselves manifested no anxiety or -haste to make use of this characteristically Norwegian court. Nor did -the amendment of 1895, substituting for compulsory use of the tribunal -hearings at the request of one party and with the consent of both -parties, improve matters. One Norwegian attorney pronounced the law "an -unmitigated absurdity under present conditions," because most suits in -the United States arise out of contracts, debts, titles, etc., rather -than out of neighborhood quarrels, slanders, and the like. - - [425] Letter of Siver Serumgard, City Attorney of Devil's Lake, N. D., - March 24, 1896, and various other letters. - -In all matters relating to temperance and temperance legislation, the -Scandinavian voters have almost invariably been on the side of -restriction of the saloon and the liquor traffic. They have supported -prohibition in Iowa and in the Dakotas, high license in Minnesota, and -the patrol-limit system in Minneapolis.[426] The prohibition State and -local tickets, especially in Minnesota, and in the Dakotas, always have -a large proportion of Norwegians and Swedes among their nominees.[427] -The best illustration of this sentiment, however, is to be found in the -history of prohibition in North Dakota. When the new constitution for -the proposed State was made and presented to the people in 1889, the -section which provided for the absolute prohibition of both the -manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors was submitted separately to -the voters. Thus the prohibition issue was presented fairly and squarely -to every man in the State. The constitution itself was carried by a -majority approximating twenty thousand in a total vote of upwards of -thirty-five thousand; the prohibitionist section received a majority of -1159. Analysis of the vote by counties makes it clear that in every -county where the Scandinavians predominated, with a single exception, -the section was carried by fair majorities.[428] The question of -re-submission of this section to the vote of the people of the State -came up in 1895, and was postponed indefinitely by the House of -Representatives of the State of North Dakota by a vote of twenty-six to -twenty-two, fourteen of the sixteen Scandinavian members of the House -voting with the twenty-six.[429] This seems to justify the opinion of -the Secretary of State of North Dakota: "Nearly all Scandinavian members -of the legislature have invariably voted against the resubmission of the -question to the people.... It is safe to say that at least three-fourths -of the Scandinavian population of this State favor prohibition, and -one-half of them are earnest advocates of the law."[430] - - [426] _Minneapolis Journal_, Jan. 16, 1891. In Dakota "the reform was - asked for more earnestly by the Scandinavian element than by any - others." Ralph, _Our Great West_, 152. - - [427] The ticket voted in Minneapolis in 1893, illustrates this - tendency. Among the Prohibitionist nominees were two - Scandinavian presidential electors, the lieutenant governor, - secretary of state, county treasurer, one candidate for the - legislature, and one for the city council! - - [428] _Legislative Manual of North Dakota_, 1889-1890, 170, compared - with the population tables of the census of 1890; Ralph, _Our - Great West_, 152. - - [429] _Ibid._, 1895, 19-20; _Minneapolis Sunday Times_, Feb. 10, 1895. - - [430] Letter from C. M. Dahl, March 24, 1896. - -The only remaining question as to the political influence of -the Scandinavians is the claim of the Swedes and Norwegians for -"recognition" at the hands of old parties; and the concessions which -such claims have extorted. From the foregoing accounts, it is evident -that the Scandinavians have been ready in fitting themselves into the -political system of the United States. Altho they have not been guilty -of that excessive and pernicious activity in the field of public affairs -which has characterized some classes of immigrants settling by -preference in the great cities, it must be admitted that they have now -and then appealed to race pride and prejudice and jealousy, re-marking -boundary lines and distinctions which should be obliterated. The -practical politicians, on their part, have not hesitated to stir up, for -party advantage, the sensitiveness of naturalized citizens to real or -imaginary slights and discriminations against them by "the other party." - -The appeal of the Norwegian and Swedish press is not infrequently based -frankly on the essential sentiment of clannishness: "Scandinavians in -Superior and other places should always support a country man for -election to public office," and if he is in all ways worthy, "we should -all together rally around him, lay aside all small considerations, and -honor him with our trust and esteem."[431] Ridiculing the narrowness of -these "demands," another editor, under the heading "From Norway, -Birthplace of Giants," suggests a full Republican ticket of Norwegians, -including Rasmus B. Anderson, "Republican pro tem.," and also a full -Democratic ticket of Norwegians, including Rasmus B. Anderson, "thinking -that he may next year be a Democrat again."[432] This trick of asserting -their political importance in the Northwestern States was very early -learned; and so long as party managers bid for votes in the tongues of -the aliens, bribing them with nominations of the foreign-born, just so -long will these groups of adopted citizens reiterate and multiply their -demands, just so long will they capitalize their voting power -and collect a generous interest in the shape of nominations and -appointments. It must not be supposed that the Norwegian and Swedish -party papers in America exist for the primary purpose of forwarding the -political interests of people of those nationalities as such, for they -do not, any more than do the partisan papers printed in English, but the -Scandinavian groups are so large and so definite that appeals to them to -stand together as a race for their own interests are inevitable. - - [431] Editorial in _Superior Tidende_ (Wisconsin), Feb. 2, 1898. See - also _Vikingen_, Aug. 18, 1888. - - [432] P. O. Strömme in _Amerika og Norden_, Feb. 2, 1898. - -So early as 1870, one of the leading Norwegian newspapers declared -that it was time for the Norwegians to get a Representative in -Congress just as well as other nationalities--"_ligesaavel som andre -nationaliteter_."[433] The editor suggested that the eight thousand -Norse voters in the southern Minnesota district hold a convention the -day before the regular Republican convention, and agree upon a candidate -for the Congressional nomination: if the Republicans refused to nominate -him, put on the screws! About twenty years later this very method was -resorted to in North Dakota, when the Scandinavians of that State "in -mass convention assembled," proceeded to pass resolutions and to -organize the Scandinavian Union of North Dakota, to secure for -themselves "that share in the government to which their competency, -their character and numerical strength, and their rank as pioneers in -all matters of civilization entitle them." While declaring that it -believed that every man should stand or fall on his own merits, the -convention resolved "that we have seen with deep regret the disposition -of a large number of our fellow citizens in some parts of North Dakota -to discriminate against us, because we are Scandinavians, and that an -unprovoked war has been waged against us."[434] The Hon. M. N. Johnson, -presiding officer, presumptive beneficiary of the Union, an aspirant for -nomination as Representative, stated the case very frankly: "The -Scandinavians constitute a majority of the Republican party in North -Dakota. Under the territorial government they have not received many -official favors, but with the opening of statehood it is proper that -they should have some recognition. The Scandinavians are not disposed to -leave the Republican Party. They are heartily loyal to the organization -and its principles.... We have the numerical strength to demand and -secure justice, and all we ask is fair play.... We are simply organizing -our forces for united action in urging our just demands."[435] Their -just demands consisted in "from three to five of the State officers, and -if they stand together and attend the primaries, there is no doubt but -that they will get what they ask for."[436] - - [433] _Fædrelandet og Emigranten_, July 10, 1870. See also an - editorial in _The North_, June 12, 1889, regretting that the - question of national proportions and groups should be raised - "but the principle having been recognized, we consider it our - plain duty to see that it is fairly and squarely enforced." - - [434] _The North_, July 10, 1889. - - [435] _The North_, July 10, 1889, including translations from _Posten - og Vesten_ of Fargo. - - [436] _Ibid._, letter of Sigurd Syr. - -The effectiveness of this movement is sarcastically summed up by a -correspondent of _The North_, in reporting the Republican convention: -"M. N. Johnson's Scandinavian League has evidently come out of the small -end of the horn. To be sure M. N. was made the chairman of the -convention and the dear Scandinavians got honorary mention in the -resolutions: but M. N.'s chairmanship was evidently devoid of results -beneficial to the Scandinavians, and as for resolutions--talk is -cheap!"[437] - - [437] _Ibid._, Aug. 28, 1889. After the fall election the same paper, - October 9, announced: "The Scandinavian Union thus seems barren - of results.... Peace be with its ashes!"--because it secured only - 5 senators and 18 representatives in the State legislature. - -In an editorial in English _Skandinaven_ discussed "Governor Sheldon's -Mistake" in 1893: "Upwards of one-third of the population of South -Dakota is of Scandinavian birth or origin, while Scandinavians furnish -not less than one-half of the Republican vote of the State. Governor -Sheldon is apparently oblivious to this fact; for in making his -appointments he saw fit to ignore the Scandinavian-American citizens of -South Dakota. For the sake of the Republican party of the State this -mistake is very much to be regretted. The Scandinavians are sensitive of -their rights as American citizens.... What has the Republican party of -South Dakota done to Governor Sheldon that he should deal it such a -dangerous blow?"[438] Five years later the governor of Minnesota was -accused of a like offence in that, on the State boards appointed by -Governor Merriam, the Scandinavians were "insufficiently represented," -having only five out of one hundred members, or one-twenty-fifth, when -they constituted one-third of the population of the State.[439] - - [438] _Skandinaven_, April 5, 1893. - - [439] _The North_, Jan. 22, 1890, quoting in translation from - _Fædrelandet og Emigranten_. - -The pettiness of these squabbles over political "recognition" and spoils -is well illustrated by a letter written in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to a -Minneapolis newspaper in 1889: "While our people here number over 3000, -and the Irish only 1400, the latter hold a still larger percentage of -offices than they do in your city. This year for the first time the -Scandinavians (or more correctly speaking, the Danes) have succeeded in -obtaining a place on the police force"![440] - - [440] _The North_, July 17, 1889. - -These insistent demands do not stop with simple recognition of the -Scandinavian race: different sections must be satisfied. The most -influential Swedish paper of the Northwest announced in 1890 that "what -we on the other hand with full propriety and without the least danger of -transgression can demand, is a man of Swedish descent at the head of one -of our State departments.... To deny them (Swedes) this just recognition -would stir up bad feeling, and would be looked upon as a slight, not to -say contempt.... Our brethren, the Norwegians, are a little more -numerous in Minnesota, than the Swedes, although not equally good -Republicans. They, too, are entitled to a place on the State ticket, and -for a long time have had one [Lieutenant Governor Rice]."[441] - - [441] Translated from _Svenska Folkets Tidning_ (Minneapolis), April - 20, 1890. - -The failure of the Scandinavians to receive what some of them consider a -just and due reward, one in proportion to their numbers and their -devotion to one party, is not to be attributed wholly to the hardness of -heart of the party leaders, nor to their shortsightedness. Nor can it be -fairly charged to any strong dislike of Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes -for each other: the Swedes, for example, have never bolted a ticket -because it happened to be headed by a Norwegian.[442] In addition to the -extension of religious antagonism into politics, "there is still another -reason for the limited success of the Scandinavians in the political -field, and that is their natural apathy [antipathy?] to following a -leader. Each one considers himself competent to work on his own hook. To -follow a leader seems incompatible with their ideas of liberty. Yet -without union and without leaders, victory is impossible.... 'Everybody -for himself, and the Devil for the hindmost' is the law governing -American life, and this the Irish have learned, while the Scandinavian -is generally waiting for someone to come along and offer something with -the polite 'if you please.' But he has to wait."[443] - - [442] Boyeson, "The Scandinavians in the United States," _North - American Review_, CLV, 531; _Rockford Register_ (Ill.), Sept. - 16, 1889. - - [443] _The North_, Aug. 14, 1889, translating from _Skandinavia_ - (Worcester, Mass.) - -The Scandinavian press, in complaining of "a failure to get a due share -of offices," in declaring that Norwegians are "entitled to ten seats" in -the Wisconsin legislature when they happen to have but three, or in -insinuating that they have never been fittingly recognized in Iowa, -resorts to political claptrap, often quite unworthy of the journal -printing it. The facts so easily forgotten are that the counties and -legislative districts in which the Scandinavians are a ruling majority -are comparatively few, while the districts in which they are an -influential minority are very many.[444] The system of representation in -the United States is not based on any racial divisions or class -distinctions, and not until some scheme of minority representation is -adopted can any foreign element get its "share" of the political plums. -It would be hard to suggest a more dangerous and disrupting experiment, -in these decades when aliens by the hundreds of thousands, not to say -millions, enter the country and are incorporated into the body politic, -than to attempt to "recognize" the various alien factors in complex -public affairs, even if they were all as adaptable as the men from the -Northlands. Nothing would do more, for example, to develop the latent -religious and racial antipathies between the Scandinavians and the -Irish. The fundamental assumption, therefore, which lies back of all -claims for "recognition" of Swedish-Americans, or other hyphenated -Americans, as such, savors of ward politics and the machine, rather than -of political equity or right, and just so far as it does this it menaces -social and political safety. - - [444] _Billed Magazin_, I, 139 (1869); _Skandinaven_, Feb. 5, 1896--an - editorial printed, like many others, in English and evidently - designed for the consumption of editors of English papers. It is - also evident that _Skandinaven's_ readers understood English. - Söderström, _Minneapolis Minnen_, 132, gives a fairly complete - list of all the Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes elected or - appointed to city, state or county office, even including - policemen. For similar list for a rural county, see Tew, - _Illustrated History and Descriptive and Biographical Review of - Kandiyohi County, Minnesota_ (1905). - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -CONCLUSION - - -The meaning of the word American as applied to the inhabitants of the -United States, has undergone a great change as they have multiplied -fifteenfold in numbers and many times in varieties of nationalities in -the course of a century. In that progress the Norwegians, Swedes, and -Danes have played a conspicuous and constructive part. As late as 1840, -American ordinarily meant a white person of English descent, born in -America or resident in the United States long enough to understand and -accept as fundamental and vital certain political and social ideals and -ideas. That simple and definite significance applies no more. The -American race is already alarmingly complex, tho the old type has been -more closely adhered to than would be expected from an enumeration of -the elements which have gone into the crucible. - -In temperament, early training, and ideals, the Scandinavians more -nearly approach the American type than any other class of immigrants, -except those from Great Britain. In such features as adaptability and -loyalty without reservation, no exceptions need be made. They have not -come to the New World merely to get away from Europe, nor to escape -Siberian exile or an Abyssinian war; nor has their motive been one of -ordinary adventure-seeking. Theirs has been a determined purpose and a -serious resolve to "arrive" somewhere in America, and, finding their -places, to fill them with honorable endeavor and steady ambition. They -have come as families, or with a wholesome desire to establish families -for themselves. Most of them have fallen considerably below the best -types of their own nationalities; their conservatism has sometimes been -of the degenerate sort bordering on stolidity; their independence and -individualism has come painfully near stubbornness; and their shrewdness -has not infrequently developed into insincerity. They have now and then -manifested a clannishness which led them into disagreeable, if -temporary, complications. - -The fact that this characteristic or that tendency exists in an -immigrant or alien element, should not cause disturbance of mind to the -good citizen, the statesman, or the scholar; the real question is -whether this characteristic or tendency is growing stronger or -disappearing more or less rapidly. For example, is the stolidity of a -group deepening, or does mental agility develop in the second and third -generation? That the Scandinavians have readily outgrown much of their -clannishness, perceptibly quickened their energies in the new -environment, and developed notably in social, commercial, and political -efficiency cannot be seriously questioned by any one who studies their -activities as a whole, or who has observed them for two generations. - -The immigrants from the North are decently educated, able-bodied, -law-abiding men and women, not illiterates, paupers, or criminals. They -are not here as exiles from home and country for a few years, after -which they purpose to return to their native lands, there to enjoy a -cheap and narrow idleness. They are in the United States as citizens, to -become thoroly and loyally American. Their ingrained habits of industry -and economy, coupled with a natural conservatism and shrewdness, have -given them material success and contributed in large measure to the -prosperity of the States in which they have made their settlements. They -have ever striven for homes, and while some of them have been content -for a few years to serve others, the proletariat has not been largely -recruited from them. Mere wage-earning has not been a permanent -condition, but a stepping stone to a greater or less degree of -independence. In politics and in war they have evidenced their ability -to stand side by side with the native-born of New England, Pennsylvania, -Ohio, and Indiana, and, with real faithfulness and efficiency to fill -such places, low or high, as shall be opened to them. - -Tho as Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes they will gradually disappear, -becoming indistinguishable from other Americans, their fundamental -characteristics cannot be blotted out even in the third and fourth -generation. Men do not change so readily, even under the most favorable -conditions. Fresh additions from Europe will continue to re-enforce the -old stock; but they too will be sturdy, independent, and Protestant. It -is not too much to expect that their virtues of intelligence, patience, -persistence, and thrift, will be preserved as they mingle in the current -of national life. The demand for these qualities will be steady; the -supply on the part of the Scandinavians will not be readily exhausted. -The intermarriage and amalgamation of two peoples so closely allied as -the Scandinavians and Americans connotes much of promise and little of -danger. - -Several forces will continue to operate in the future, as they have in -the past, against perpetuating any distinctively Scandinavian influence -on the population or institutions of the United States. All three -Northern peoples are particularly free from other than traditional ties -and sentimental attachments binding them to the mother countries. No one -of the three kingdoms is great or powerful in the affairs of Europe; the -heroes of the past, like Gustavus Adolphus, are too far away in time to -affect powerfully the imaginations of today. Patriotism with them in the -Old World is quite as much a sentiment or love for the parish or the -homestead as it is a fierce and militant passion for the power and -leadership of the nation. No dramatic outbursts of national feeling, or -antagonisms to ancient enemies, will rekindle old enthusiasms in the -American Scandinavians. Even the prospect of war between Norway and -Sweden, when the former dissolved the Dual Monarchy, did not profoundly -stir the Swedes or Norwegians in the Northwest; and had war broken out -all the recruits from America could probably have been shipped across -the Atlantic in one voyage of a small steamship. - -Furthermore, no great and permanent causes centering in Europe -continually demand their active and intense sympathy and financial aid, -knitting them closely together, as in the case of the Irish or the -Russians. The Scandinavian contributions to European causes have been -filial and fraternal, never political, never revolutionary, never such -as to raise a national issue in America. Their church organizations, -decentralized, centrifugal rather than centripetal, recognizing no unity -under a temporal head, cannot be turned into a keen, insinuating -political weapon. They have no secret societies ramifying through their -settlements, no Mafias, "Molly Maguires," anarchist lodges, or other -badges of ancient servitude or foreign hates. - -The Scandinavians, knowing the price of American citizenship, have paid -it ungrudgingly, and are proud of the possession of the high -prerogatives and privileges conferred. They fit readily into places -among the best and most serviceable of the nation's citizens; without -long hammering or costly chiseling they give strength and stability, if -not beauty and the delicate refinements of culture, to the social and -economic structure of the United States. - -For all these reasons the difficulties of the United States in adjusting -the life and ideals and institutions of the nation to the presence of -foreigners are reduced in the case of the Scandinavians to a minimum. -The Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes are not likely to furnish great -leaders, but they will be in the front rank of those who follow with -sturdy intelligence and conscience, striving to make the land of their -adoption strong and prosperous,--"a blessing to the common man," -according to the original vision of America seen by Sweden's great king -Gustavus Adolphus. They will be builders, not destroyers; their greatest -service will be as a mighty, silent, steadying influence, re-enforcing -those high qualities which are sometimes called Puritan, sometimes -American, but which in any case make for local and national peace, -progress, and righteousness. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -CRITICAL ESSAY ON MATERIALS AND AUTHORITIES - - -The term bibliography does not accurately or fully describe the -materials upon which this study of the Scandinavians in the Northwest is -based. To the printed sources of all sorts,--official reports of European -and American governments, autobiographies, travels, and the like--and to -a wide range of secondary works, there must be added much matter -relating to the subject gathered by means of personal interviews, -correspondence, and observations extending over a series of years. The -Scandinavian press is an inexhaustible mine of source material; its -information, in nuggets, flakes, and fine particles, must be sought for -diligently, extracted, refined, and shaped; but it is the purest source -material, nevertheless, comprising brief autobiographies, letters, -personal opinions, description of surroundings and movements, and -contributions to current discussion in politics, religion, and -education. The county and local histories which multiplied rapidly -between 1880 and 1895, and which have not yet ceased to appear, are not -far from the borderland of source material. Their sketches of men and -women and settlements, tho for the most part of a crude, innocent, -laudatory type based upon brief personal interviews by canvassers and -elaborated according to the varying size of the subscriptions of -individuals, are almost indispensable for certain statistical purposes. - -The customary distinction between source material and secondary material -is often hard to maintain, so recent is the Scandinavian immigration, -and so numerous are the first-hand and second-hand accounts by -contemporaries participating in or observing the phenomena under -consideration. The Northern peoples settling in the United States have -had no William Bradford for a historian, but the work of Norelius and -Mattson is in a class similar to that of _Plimouth Plantation_. - -The best bibliography of immigration in general is that published by the -Library of Congress, A. P. C. Griffin (compiler), _A List of Books (with -References to Periodicals) on Immigration_ (3rd issue, with additions, -1907), but this is not complete, especially as relating to Scandinavian -immigration. It omits all state documents, but is strong in its list of -Congressional and executive documents. For the Scandinavian movement, -the bibliography in O. N. Nelson (editor), _History of the Scandinavians -and Successful Scandinavians in the United States_ (2nd ed., I, -265-295), is the most useful, though it is unfortunately arranged on a -strictly chronological basis in two parts. It is, however, far from -complete, omitting practically all Federal and State publications, and -all periodicals save for specific mention of certain articles. In the -field of periodicals, is _Bibliografi; Svensk-Amerikansk Periodisk -Literatur_ (being No. 8, _Kungl. Bibliothekets Handlingar_, Stockholm, -1886). - -In a general way, the following bibliography includes only those books, -pamphlets, periodicals, and newspapers which were directly used in the -preparation of this volume. In the case of foreign publications, the -place as well as the date of publication is usually given. - - -DOCUMENTARY SOURCES - -1. _Official Publications of the United States._ - -Five series of reports published by the Federal Government are of very -great importance in the study of immigration, both for their scope and -their accuracy: the _Reports_ of the censuses from 1850 to 1910; the -_Annual Statistical Abstracts_ (36 vols., 1879-1913); _Annual Reports of -the Commissioner-general of Immigration_ (17 vols., 1891-1909); _Reports -from the Consuls of the United States_ (notably vol. 22, No. 76, 1887), -particularly those from the consuls in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark; and -_Special Consular Reports_ (particularly vol. 30, 1904). _The Report of -the Industrial Commission_ (especially vols. XV (1901) and XIX (1902)), -contains a vast amount of recent, complete, and diversified material in -the testimony taken by the Commission and in the well-digested reports -prepared by experts like John R. Commons. The Bureau of Statistics of -the Treasury Department, _Immigration into the United States, showing -number, nationality, sex, age, destination_ (etc.) _from 1820-1903_ (in -_Monthly Summary of Commerce and Finance_, June, 1903), gives general -tables and a review in convenient form. - -The following reports of committees of the House of Representatives and -of the Senate include usually the "hearings" of the committees, if any -have been held: _Report from the Committee on Immigration and -Naturalization_, 51 Cong., 2 Sess., H. R. No. 3472 (Owen Report, 1891); -52 Cong., 1 Sess., H. R. No. 2090 (Stump Report, 1892); _Report of the -Committee on Immigration_, 52 Cong., 2 Sess., S. R. No. 1333 (Chandler -Report, 1893); 54 Cong., 1 Sess., S. R. No. 290 (Lodge Report, 1896); 57 -Cong., 2 Sess., S. Doc. No. 62 (Penrose Report, 1902). Special reports -of importance are: _Report of the Immigration Investigating Commission_ -(1895); Edward Young, Chief of the Bureau of Statistics, _Special Report -on Immigration_, (42 Cong., 1 Sess., H. Mis. Doc. No. 19 (1871)); and -C. C. Andrews, _Report made to the Department of State on the Conditions -of the Industrial Classes in Sweden and Norway_ (1874). - -In a class by itself is the recent elaborate _Report of the Immigration -Commission_, S. Docs., 61 Cong., 2-3 Sess. (Dillingham Report, -1910-1911), 43 vols., of which vols. 1 and 2 (Abstract), 4, 34, and 36 -are specially important for this study. The _Report_ is by far the most -scientific, thorough-going, and detailed study of the nature, extent, -distribution and results of immigration to the United States, and to a -few other countries like Canada, Australia, and Brazil, which has yet -been produced. - -Various volumes of the United States _Statutes at Large_ and the -_Congressional Directories_ have also some material. - -2. _Official Reports of Scandinavian countries._ - -DENMARK: annual volumes of _Statistisk Aarbog_. - -NORWAY: annual volumes of _Norges Officielle Statistik_ (1870-1913), of -_Norges Land og Folk_ (1885-1906), and of _Meddelelser fra det -Statistiske Centralbureau_ (1883-1899); and _Oversigt over Kongeriget -Norges civile, geistlige og judicielle Inddeling_ (1893). - -SWEDEN: annual issues of _Bidrag till Sveriges officiella statistik_ -(1857-1913), covering a wide range of topics. Gustav Sundbärg (editor), -_Sweden, Its People and Its Industry_ (1904), is a valuable "historical -and statistical handbook published by the order of the Government" of -Sweden, in Swedish, English, and French. - -NORWAY,--_Official Publication for the Paris Exhibition, 1900_ -(Christiania, 1900) is a companion volume to that for Sweden just -mentioned. - -3. _Official Publications of Great Britain._ - -The _Report of the Board of Trade on Alien Immigration_ (into the United -States) (London, 1893) is at once able, comprehensive, judicious. - -4. _Official Publications of the Northwestern States._ - -The various annual or biennial legislative handbooks contain useful -biographies and statistics, especially the volumes since 1880: _The -Legislative Manual of the State of Minnesota_; _Wisconsin Blue Book_; -_The Legislative Manual of North Dakota_; _South Dakota Political -Handbook and Official and Legislative Manual_ (sometimes entitled _South -Dakota Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Directory_). Of the great -number and variety of official State documents and reports, those most -directly useful for this study are the volumes of statistics of -Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota; -those relating to the State censuses, State institutions (a board of -control as in Wisconsin and Iowa, or a board of charities and -corrections, for certain institutions, in Minnesota and South Dakota), -commissioners or boards of immigration, and boards of health. Reports of -officers in charge of immigration matters are in State documents as -follows: Wisconsin, 1853, 1854, 1869-1875, 1880-1882, 1884, 1886, 1897, -1900; Iowa, 1872; Minnesota, 1867-1872. The publications of certain -institutions chiefly supported by the States, like the Wisconsin -Historical Society, the State Historical Society of Iowa, especially -vol. III (1905), and the Minnesota Historical Society, really fall into -this class of sources. - - -GENERAL WORKS - -The classical work on the broad subject of immigration, notable alike -for the breadth and penetration of its views, is Richmond Mayo-Smith, -_Emigration and Immigration: a Study in Social Science_ (1890). Two -other works by the same authority, are: _Immigration and the -Foreign-Born Population_ (in vol. III of the _Publications of the -American Statistical Assn._, 1893), and _Statistics and Sociology_ -(1895). The _Publications_ of the Immigration Restriction League take a -wide range in 63 pamphlets (1894-1914). Next to these in importance -come: Prescott F. Hall, _Immigration and its Effects upon the United -States_ (1906), an excellent and compact study, somewhat marred by the -bias of its author, who is secretary of the Restriction League; J. R. -Commons, _Races and Immigrants in America_ (1907), a popular rather than -profound statement, but the fresh work of a careful scholar; E. A. -Steiner, _On the Trail of the Immigrant_ (1906); S. McLanahan, _Our -People of Foreign Speech ... with particular reference to religious work -among them_ (1904). - -A group of more recent works by competent scholars combining qualities -of penetration and popular presentation in satisfying proportions are: -H. P. Fairchild, _Immigration: a World Movement and its American -Significance_ (1913); J. W. Jenks and W. J. Lauck, _The Immigration -Problem_ (3d ed. revised and enlarged, 1913), by two men intimately -connected with the making of the Dillingham Report; E. A. Ross, _The Old -World in the New: The significance of past and present immigration to -the American people_ (1914), especially ch. IV; F. J. Warne, _The -Immigrant Invasion_ (1913), ch. XII. - -Of less direct bearing, but valuable: W. J. Bromwell, _History of -Immigration to the United States_ (1856); F. L. Dingley, _European -Immigration_ (1890); F. Kapp, _Immigration and the Commissioners of -Immigration of the State of New York_ (1870); R. M. LaFollette (editor), -_The Making of America_, vols. II and VIII (1906); F. A. Walker, -_Discussions in Economics and Statistics_, vol. II (1899). - -The great mass of periodical literature is listed in Griffin's -bibliography, already cited. Including general and special articles and -some speeches in the _Congressional Record_, nearly 700 titles are -arranged chronologically. The list is incomplete, omitting several -articles, dealing particularly with the Scandinavians. - - -SPECIAL HISTORIES - -Three works deal with the history of the Scandinavian immigration in a -large-spirited, comprehensive way, and by these characteristics stand -out from the mass of less important works. O. N. Nelson (compiler and -editor), _History of the Scandinavians and Successful Scandinavians in -the United States_ (2 vols., 2nd revised ed., 1904), is made up of -specially prepared articles, reprinted articles, statistical tables, a -bibliography, and some two hundred and eighty biographies of men in -Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. It is very uneven, and on almost every -page betrays at once the zeal, honesty, and the inadequate training of -the authors and the compiler. It might almost be characterized as a -cyclopedia of the Scandinavians in America. E. Norelius, _De Svenska -Luterska Församlingarnas och Svenskarnes Historia i Amerika_ (1890), -while nominally a church history is in reality an excellent history of -Swedish settlement; George T. Flom, _A History of Norwegian Immigration -to the United States from the Earliest Beginning down to the Year 1848_ -(1909), made up in part of articles mentioned elsewhere, is a -painstaking, exhaustive, accurate account of Norwegian immigration of -that period into Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois. - -Other books dealing with special groups or States or localities are: -Axel A. Ahlroth, _Svenskarne i Minnesota--Historiska Anteckningar_ -(Westervik, 1891); Rasmus B. Anderson, _The First Chapter of Norwegian -Immigration, 1821-1840_, a prolix, padded, but valuable volume; and -_Tale ved Femtiaarsfesten, for den Norske Udvandring til Amerika_ -(1875); John H. Bille, _A History of the Danes in America_ (_Trans. Wis. -Acad. of Sciences, Arts, and Letters_, XI, 1896), a short pamphlet; -Tancred Boissy, _Svenska Nationaliteten i Förenta Staterna_ (Göteborg, -1882), a reprint of correspondence in _Sydsvenska Dagbl. Snällposten_; -J. W. C. Dietrichson, _Reise blandt de Norske Emigranter i "de forenede -Nordamerikanske Fristater"_ (Stavanger 1846, and reprinted Madison, -1896), a historical and contemporary description of the early -settlements, and _Nogle Ord fra Prædikestolen i Amerika og Norge_ -(1851); Robert Grönberger, _Svenskarne i St. Croix-Dalen, Minnesota_ -(1879), an early and reliable piece of work; George Kæding, _Rockfords -Svenskar--Historiska Anteckningar_ (1885); Knud Langeland, _Nordmændene i -Amerika--Nogle Optegnelser om de Norskes Udvandring til Amerika_ -(1889),--one of the very best of the books on the Norwegians; C. F. -Peterson (see also Eric Johnson), _Sverige i Amerika--Kulturhistoriska -och Biografiska Teckningar_ (1898); Johan Schroeder, _Skandinaverne i de -Forenede Stater og Canada, med Indberetninger og Oplysninger fra 200 -Skandinaviske Settlementer_ (1867),--full of the most valuable -information about life and conditions in the Northwest; Ole Rynning, -_Sandfærdig Beretning om Amerika til Oplysning og Nytte for Bonde og -Menigmand_ (Christiania, 1838),--a remarkably clear, compact, and -influential pamphlet; Carl Sundbeck, _Svenskarna i Amerika, Deras Land, -Antal, och Kolonien_ (Stockholm, 1900); Alfred Söderström, _Minneapolis -Minnen_ (1899), an excellent, extensive, newspaper-like description of -the life and activities of the Scandinavians in that half-Norse city; -Alfred Strömberg, _Minnen af Minneapolis_ (1902); _Underretning om -Amerika, fornemmeligen de Stater hvori udvandrede Normænd have nedsat -sig, ... udgivne af X_ (Skien, 1843); M. Ulvestad, _Normændene i -Amerika, deres Historie og Record_ (1907); P. S. Vig, _Danske i -Amerika_ (1900); Johs. B. Wist, _Den norske Indvandring til 1850, og -Skandinaverne i Amerikas Politik_ (1884?),--a small but suggestive -pamphlet. - -On the Bishop Hill colony, the best authorities are: Michael A. -Mikkelsen, _The Bishop Hill Colony, a religious communistic Settlement -in Henry County, Illinois_ (_Johns Hopkins University Studies_, X, No. -1, 1892)--the most convenient work in English, based almost entirely -on Norelius, and on Johnson and Peterson, _Svenskarne i Illinois_, -Johnson being a son of the founder, Eric Janson; Emil Herlenius, -_Erik-Jansismens Historia ett Bidrag till Kännedomen om det Svenska -Sektväsendet_ (Jönköping, 1900); _History of Henry County, Illinois_ -(1877); _Erick Jansismen i Nord Amerika_ (Gefle, 1845); Hiram Bigelow, -_The Bishop Hill Colony_ (No. 7 of the _Publications of the Illinois -State Historical Library_, 1902); W. A. Hinds, _American Communities_ -(1902). - - -SELECT ARTICLES IN PERIODICALS - -Articles in periodicals: R. B. Anderson, "Norwegian Immigration," "The -Coming of the Danes," "Icelandic Immigration," _Chicago Record Herald_ -(June 19, 26, July 24, Aug. 21, 1901); K. C. Babcock, "The Scandinavians -in the Northwest," _Forum_, XIV (1892), "The Scandinavian Contingent," -_Atlantic_, LXVII (1896), "The Scandinavian Element in American -Population", _American Historical Review_, XVI (1911); H. H. Boyesen, -"Norse Americans," _The American_, I (1880), "The Scandinavians in the -United States," _North American Review_, CLV (1892); G. T. Flam, "The -Scandinavian Factor in the American Population," _Iowa Journal of -History and Politics_, III (1905), and (in Norwegian translation) in -_Vor Tid_, I (1905); A. H. Hyde, "The Foreign Element in American -Civilization," _Popular Science Mo._, LII (1898); Luth Jæger, "The -Scandinavian Element in the United States," _The North_, June, -1889,--with many other similar discussions in the same weekly paper, all -of them excellent; Kristofer Janson, "Norsemen in the United States," -_Cosmopolitan_, IX (1890); Axel Jarlson, "A Swedish Emigrant's Story," -_Independent_, LV (1903); F. H. B. MacDowell, "The Newer Scandinavian--a -Sketch of the Growth and Progress of the Scandinavian Races in America," -_Scandinavia_, III (1884); J. A. Ottesen, "Bidrag til vore Settlementers -og Menigheders Historie," _Amerika_ (Apr. to Nov., 1894),--an elaborate -series of articles, full of genealogical and community details; E. A. -Ross, "Scandinavians in America," _Century,_ LXXXVIII (1914); Geo. T. -Rygh, "The Scandinavian Americans," _The Literary Northwest_, II (1893); -Albert Shaw, "The Scandinavians in the United States," _Chautauquan_, -VIII (1887). - - -_State and Local Histories_ - -The number of historical books and pamphlets relating to the States, -counties, cities, and settlements in the Northwest is very great, and -for the larger part, unsatisfactory but indispensable. They have usually -been written by ambitious but untrained persons, either as commercial -ventures, advertising agencies, or as the pastime of retirement or old -age; they are nevertheless full of suggestive data; now and then one is -found which can be trusted throughout. - - -A. MINNESOTA - -First in importance for the Scandinavian settlements in Minnesota are -four county histories: _History of Fillmore County, including Explorers -and Pioneers of Minnesota_ (1882); _History of Goodhue County_ (1882); -_History of Houston County, etc._ (1882); Martin E. Tew and Victor E. -Lawson and J. E. Nelson, _Illustrated History and Description and -Biographical Review of Kandiyohi County, Minnesota_ (1905),--easily the -best local history relating to Scandinavian settlement, as well as one -of the latest and most comprehensive. Closely connected with this last -work in scope and value is Alfred Söderström, _Minneapolis Minnen: -Kulturhistorisk Axplockning från Qvarnstaden vid Mississippi_ (1899). -Other works dealing with the State or sections: Isaac Atwater (editor), -_History of the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota_ (1893); Fredk. W. -Harrington, _Geography, History, and Civil Government of Minnesota_ -(1883); Soren Listoe, _Staten Minnesota i Nord Amerika_ (1869); _History -of the Minnesota Valley_ (1882); _History of the Upper Mississippi -Valley_ (1882). - -W. A. Gates, _Alien and Non-resident Dependents in Minnesota_ (in -_Proceedings_ of National Conference of Charities and Correction, -(1899)); F. H. B. MacDowell, "Minneapolis and her Scandinavian -Population", _Scandinavia_, III (1884); Louis Pio, "The Sioux War, in -1862--a Leaf from the History of Scandinavian Settlers in Minnesota", -_Scandinavia_, I (1883). - - -B. WISCONSIN - -Of the State as a whole: J. W. Hunt, _Wisconsin Gazetteer, containing -the Names, Locations, and Advantages of the Counties, Cities, Towns, -Villages, Postoffices, and Settlements_ (1853); Wm. R. Smith, _The -History of Wisconsin, in three Parts: Historical, Documentary, and -Descriptive_ (1852); Alexander M. Thompson, _A Political History of -Wisconsin_ (1902); Charles R. Tuttle, _An Illustrated History of the -State of Wisconsin_ (1875); R. G. Thwaites, _Preliminary Notes on the -Distribution of Foreign Groups in Wisconsin_ (in _Annual Reports of -State Historical Society of Wisconsin_, 1890); G. W. Peck (editor), -_Cyclopedia of Wisconsin_, 2 vols. (1906). - -For the localities: Spencer Carr, _A Brief Sketch of La Crosse, -Wisconsin_ (1854); Daniel S. Durrie, _A History of Madison, the Capital -of Wisconsin ... with an Appendix of Notes on Dane County_ (1874); E. W. -Keyes, _History of Dane County_, 3 vols. (1906); _The History of Racine -and Kenosha Counties_ (1879); _The History of Rock County_ (1879); _The -History of Waukesha County_ (1880); H. L. Skavlem, "Scandinavians in the -Early Days of Rock County, Wisconsin", _Normands-Forbundet_ (1909). - - -C. ILLINOIS - -Charles A. Church, _History of Rockford and Winnebago County, Illinois, -From its first Settlement in 1834 to the Civil War_ (1900); _History of -Henry County, Illinois_ (1877); _The Past and Present of La Salle -County_ (1877); John M. Palmer, _The Bench and Bar of Illinois. -Historical and Reminiscent_ (1899). - -Eric Johnson (Janson) and C. F. Peterson, _Scans-karne i Illinois -Historiska Anteckningar_ (1880), is an early work of limited scope but -judiciously written. - -E. W. Olson (Editor with A. Schön and M. J. Engberg), _History of the -Swedes of Illinois_, 2 vols. (1908), has some valuable chapters in the -first volume, especially ch. IV on the Bishop Hill Colony, and the -chapters dealing with Swedish churches; volume two is devoted to the -usual illustrated biographies. - - -D. IOWA - -Charles R. Tuttle, _An Illustrated History of the State of Iowa_ (1876); -W. E. Alexander, _History of Winneshiek and Allamakee Counties, Iowa_ -(1882); Charles H. Sparks, _History of Winneshiek County, with -Biographical Sketches of its Eminent Men_ (1877); J. J. Louis, _Shelby -County_; Charles H. Fletcher, _The Centennial History of Jefferson -County_ (1876); _A Biographical Record of Boone County_ (1902); A. -Jacobson, _The Pioneer Norwegians_ (1905). - -G. T. Flom, "The Coming of the Norwegians to Iowa," _Iowa Jour. of Hist. -and Politics_, III (1905); "The Early Swedish Immigration to Iowa," -_Ibid._, III (1905), "The Danish Contingent in the Population of early -Iowa," _Ibid._, IV (1906), and "The Growth of the Scandinavian Factor in -the Population of Iowa," _Ibid._, IV (1906); B. L. Wick, "The Earliest -Scandinavian Settlement in Iowa," _Iowa Historical Record_, XVI (1900); -F. A. Danborn, "Swede Point, or Madrid, Iowa", _Year-Book of the Swedish -Historical Society of America_, 1911-1913. - - -E. OTHER STATES - -_North Dakota_: H. V. Arnold, _History of Grand Forks County ... -including an Historical Outline of the Red River Valley_ (1900); T. -Haggerty, _The Territory of Dakota_ (1889); _Compendium of the History -and Biography of North Dakota_ (1900). - -_Nebraska_: _History of the State of Nebraska_ (1882). - -_Kansas_: John A. Martin, _Addresses_ ("The Swedes in Kansas") (1888). - -_Utah_: H. H. Bancroft, _Utah, 1540-1886_ (in _History of the Pacific -Coast States of North America_, vol. XXI, 1889). - -_New York_: Arad Thomas, _Pioneer History of Orleans County, New York_ -(1871); G. J. Mason, "The Foreign Element in New York City," _Harper's -Weekly_ (Sept., 1888); S. Folkestad, "Norske i Brooklyn-New York", -_Symra_ (1908). - - -TRAVELS AND GUIDE BOOKS - -Good accounts of conditions in the European kingdoms, as those -conditions were related to emigration at different periods, are: Samuel -Laing, _A Tour of Sweden in 1838: comprising Observations on the Moral, -Political and Economic State of the Swedish Nation_ (London 1839), and -_Journal of a Residence in Norway during the Years 1834, 1835 and 1836_ -(2nd ed., 1837); Charles Loring Brace, _The Norsk Folk; or a Visit to -the Homes of Norway and Sweden_ (1857); Mrs. Woods Baker, _Pictures of -Swedish Life, or Svea and her Children_ (1894); J. F. Hanson, _Light and -Shade from the Land of the Midnight Sun_ (1903). - -Of the numerous travelers through the American Northwest, noting the -Scandinavian settlements or the conditions affecting them, the most -significant is Frederika Bremer, _The Homes of the New World--Impressions -of America_ (In translation from the Swedish, 3 vols., London, 1853), -the work of an educated, alert, sympathetic Swedish lady already noted -as a writer. Others of special worth are C. C. Andrews, _Minnesota and -Dakota: in Letters Descriptive of a Tour through the Northwest in the -Autumn of 1856_ (1857); Johan Bolin, _Beskrifning öfver Nord Amerikas -Förenta Stater_ (Wexjö, 1853); A. Budde, _Af et Brev om Amerika_ -(Stavanger, 1850); Basil Hall, _Travels in North America in the Years -1827-1828_ (1829, Edinburgh, 3 vols.); Thorvald Klavenes, _Det Norske -Amerika_ (Kristiania, 1904); Harriet Martineau, _Society in Autumn of -1856_ (1857); Johan Bolin, _Beskrifning öfver Amerika_ (Göteborg, 1872); -P. Waldenström, _Genom Norra Amerikas Förenta Stater: Reiseskildringar_ -(Stockholm, 1890); Victor Wickström, _Som Tidningsman Jorden Rundt_ -(Östersund, 1901). - -Of guidebooks and handbooks for emigrants and immigrants there is a -great number, in English, Swedish, and Norwegian; some issued from -philanthropic motives, some by interested States, railroad companies, -land companies, and counties, and some by the United States. Only those -that directly affected the Scandinavians, or that are typical of a -period, are mentioned, and the list is not meant to be exhaustive of -titles or editions. Some of the publications by States, might well have -been put under the heading of State documents. - -One of the typical, widely circulated English handbooks is William -Cobbett, _The Emigrant's Guide, in ten Letters addressed to the -Taxpayers of England, containing Information of every Kind, necessary to -Persons who are about to emigrate_ (London, 1829). A similar Norwegian -pamphlet is L. J. Fribert, _Haandbog for Emigranter til Amerikas Vest_ -(Christiania, 1847), or J. R. Reierson, _Veiviser for norske Emigranter -til de forenede nordamerikanske Stater och Texas_ (Christiania, 1844, -reprinted in America, 1899). The United States issued a guide: Edward -Young, _Special Report on Immigration; accompanying Information for -Immigrants_ (1871), reprinted in 1872, with editions in French and -German. Other works are: Frederick B. Goddard, _Where to Emigrate and -Why_ (1864); and Edward Young, _Information for Immigrants, relative to -Prices and Rentals of Land, etc._ (1871). - -For Wisconsin, the most significant and helpful are: _Beskrivelse over -Staten Wisconsin: Dens Klimat, Jordbund, Agerdyrkning, samt Natur- og -Kunstprodukter. Udgivet efter Legislaturens Ordre af Statens -Immigrations Department_ (1870); K. K. Kennan (joint agent in Europe -for the Wisconsin State Board of Immigration and the Wisconsin Central -Railroad, without expense to the former), _Staten Wisconsin, dens -Hjælpekilder og Fordele for Udvandreren_ (1884)--in several editions, and -also in Swedish; C. F. J. Moeller, _Staten Wisconsin, beskreven med -særligt Hensyn til denne Stats fortrinlige Stilling som et fremtidigt -Hjem, for Emigranter fra Danmark, Norge, og Sverige_ (1865); -_Wisconsin,--What it offers to the Immigrant. An official Report -published by the State Board of Immigration of Wisconsin_ (1879)--many -editions, and in various languages. - -For Minnesota: Girart Hewitt, _Minnesota: Its Advantages to Settlers_, -etc. (1868),--seven editions, one being published by the State; Hans -Mattson, _Minnesota och dess Fordelar for Indvandreren_ (1867); -_Minnesota as a Home for Emigrants_ (1886),--in Norwegian and Swedish -also. - -For other States: _Resources of Dakota,--an Official Publication compiled -by the Commissioner of Immigration_ (1887), later editions dealing with -the two States formed from the Territory of Dakota; Fred. Gerhard, -_Illinois as it is: its History, Geography, Statistics_, etc. (1857); -_Iowa: the Home for Immigrants_ (1879), also in Swedish, Norwegian, -German, and Dutch. - - -BIOGRAPHIES AND AUTOBIOGRAPHIES - -Several of the books mentioned under special histories, like those -of Norelius, Langeland, Dietrichson, and Schroeder, have much -autobiographical material in them; while others, such as the volumes of -O. N. Nelson and C. F. Peterson and the county histories, contain -hundreds of brief biographies. The more important and illuminating -autobiographies are: Hans Mattson, _Minnen_ (Lund, 1890) and the same in -translation, _Reminiscences, the Story of an Emigrant_ (1891), an -interestingly naïve account of the varied activities of a prominent -politician and business man; Gustaf Unonius, _Minnen från en -sjutton-årig Vistelse i Nordvestra Amerika_ (2 vols., Upsala, 1862), a -graphic account of the first years of Swedish settlement, by one of its -highly educated leaders, and _Bihang till Minnen_ (Stockholm, 1891). -With less direct bearing, is W. H. C. Folsom, _Fifty Years in the -Northwest_ (1888); H. P. Hall, _H. P. Hall's Observations, being more or -less a History of Political Contests in Minnesota from 1843 to 1904_ -(1904); John Reynolds, _My Own Times, embracing also the History of My -Life_ (Chicago, 1855); Stephen Grellet, _Memoirs_ (edited by Benj. -Seebohm, 2 vols., 1860); and S. B. Newman, _Pastor S. Newmans -Sjelfbiografi_ (1890). - -Four biographies stand out above the others: T. N. Hasselquist, -_Lefnadsteckning af E. Norelius_; L. A. Stenholt, _En Studie af Knute -Nelson_ (1896); Chr. O. Brohough, and I. Eisteinsen, _Kortfattet -Beretning om Elling Eielsens Liv og Virksomhed_ (1883); and L. M. Björn, -_Pastor P. A. Rasmussen_ (1905). Other biographies of less significance -for this study are: C. J. Rosenberg, _Jenny Lind in America_ (1851); -Sara C. Bull, _Ole Bull_ (1883); W. C. Church, _Life of John Ericsson_ -(2 vols., 1890). - -Other collected biographies, including Scandinavians, are: J. C. -Jensson, _American Lutheran Biographies_ (1890); _Men of Minnesota_ -(1902); F. G. Flower, _Biographical Souvenir Book_ (1899), relating to -North Dakota alone; _Prominent Democrats of Illinois_ (1899); H. A. -Tenney, and D. Atwood, _Fathers of Wisconsin_ (1880); C. J. A. Erickson, -"Memories of a Swedish Immigrant," _Annals of Iowa,_ April, 1907. - - -RELIGION, EDUCATION, AND THE PRESS - -No attempt is made here at a bibliography of the abundant polemical -religious literature, nor of the sermons and proceedings of church -conventions, nor of denominational year books, further than to show the -material contributing to this volume. In similar manner, a limit is put -upon the list of catalogs and publications of colleges and seminaries, -and upon the periodicals and newspapers of which the number is very -large. - -A very recent and excellent volume dealing with Norwegian progress and -culture in America is _Norsk-Amerikanernes Festskrift, 1914_ (Chief -Editor, Johs. B. Wist) which was prepared as an American contribution to -the celebration of the centennial of Norwegian independence. Important -chapters are devoted to the press (noted below), the churches, schools, -literature, and men in public or political life, each being the work of -a careful scholar. - -The most valuable volumes dealing with the religious histories of -Scandinavian settlement are E. Norelius, _De Svenska Luterska -Församlingarnas och Svenskarnes Historia i Amerika_ (1890) and, of -almost equal worth, for Norwegian church history, Th. Bothne, _Kort -Udsigt over det Lutherske Kirkearbeide blandt Nordmændene i Amerika_ -(1898), being a separate made up of a section of "Norske Kirkeforhold i -Amerika," pp. 815-903, of H. G. Heggtveit, _Illustreret Kirkehistorie_. -Good brief sketches of various denominations are embodied in O. N. -Nelson, _History of the Scandinavians_, already noted. The most -important of the other works are: R. Anderson, _Den Evangelisk Lutherske -Kirkes Historie i Amerika_ (1889); and _Emigrantmissjonen, Kirkelig -Vejledning for Udvandrere_ (1884); H. K. Carroll, _The Religious Forces -of the United States, enumerated, classified, and described on the Basis -of the Government Census of 1890.... Revised to 1896_ (1896); Theodor H. -Dahl, _Den Forenede Kirke: Fred og Strid eller Lidt Forenings Historie_ -(1894); O. Ellison, _Svenska Baptisternas i Wisconsin Missions Historia_ -(1902); Simon W. Harkey, _The Mission of the Lutheran Church in America_ -(1853); O. J. Hatlestad, _Historiske Meddelelser om den norske Augustana -Synode_ (1887); H. G. Heggtveit, _Illustreret Kirkehistorie_ (1898); -Chauncy Hobart, _History of Methodism in Minnesota_ (1887); Henry E. -Jacobs, _A History of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United -States_ (1893); J. N. Lenker, _Lutherans in all Lands_ (1896); N. M. -Liljengren and C. G. Wallenius, _Svenska Methodismen i Amerika_ (1885); -_Minde fra Jubelfesterne paa Koshkonong_ (1894); M. W. Montgomery, _The -Work among the Scandinavians_ (1888) and "A Wind from the Holy Spirit," -_Sweden and Norway_ (1884); A. H. Newman, _History of the Baptist -Churches in the United States_ (1894), and _A Century of Baptist -Achievement_ (1901); E. Norelius, _Evangeliska Luterska Augustana -Synoden i Nord Amerika och dess Mission_ (1870); _Affidavits of Sven -Oftedal, et al_ (in Dist. Court of Minnesota, 4th Jud. Dist.) (1897); H. -Olson, _Minnesotal öfver framlidne pastorn O. G. Hedström_ (1886); -George Richardson, _The Rise and Progress of the Society of Friends in -Norway_ (London, 1849); Matthew Simpson (editor), _Cyclopedia of -Methodism_ (5th ed., 1882); E. J. Wolf, _The Lutherans in America_ -(1890); N. C. Brun, "Kort Omrids af den amerikansk-lutherske Kirkes -Historie", _Vor Tid_, I (1905). - -On the educational side are Kiddle and Schem, _Dictionary of Education_ -(1890); Chr. Koerner, _The Bennett Law and the German Parochial Schools -of Wisconsin_ (1890); J. W. Stearns (editor), _The Columbian History of -Education in Wisconsin_ (1893); _The Bennett Law Analyzed_ (1890); A. -Estrem, "A Norwegian-American College (Luther College)," _Midland -Monthly_, I (1894); E. S. White, "Elk Horn College," _Midland Monthly_, -II (1894); J. P. Uhler, "Scandinavian Studies in the United States," -_Science_, IX (1887); G. Andreen, "Det svenska Språket i Amerika", -_Studentföreningen Verdandis Småskrifter_, No. 87 (Stockholm, 1900); G. -T. Flom, _A History of Scandinavian Studies in American Universities_ -(Bulletin of the State University of Iowa, No. 153, 1907), and "Det -norsk sprogs bruk og utvikling i Amerika", _Normands-Forbundet_, IV -(1912); G. Bothne, "Nordiske studier ved amerikanske universiteter", -_Norsk-Amerikanernes Festkrift, 1914_; A. A. Stomberg, "Swedish in -American Universities", _Year-Book of the Swedish Historical Society of -America_, 1909-1910; C. G. Wallenius, "Den högre Skolverksamheten bland -Svenskarne i Amerika", _Year-Book of the Swedish Historical Society of -America_, 1911-1913. - -University and college catalogs and registers need not be enumerated for -each year; two typical years would be 1895 and 1905; Augustana College -and Seminary, Rock Island, Ill.; Luther College, Decorah, Iowa; Bethany -College, Lindsborg, Kansas; Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, -Minnesota; St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota; Elk Horn College, -Elk Horn, Iowa; Augsburg Seminary, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Red Wing -Seminary, Red Wing, Minnesota; Northwestern University; University of -Chicago; Chicago Theological Seminary; University of Wisconsin; -University of Minnesota; University of North Dakota; University of -Nebraska; State University of Iowa. - -Exhaustive and scholarly discussions of the history and character of the -Scandinavian newspapers and periodicals published in the United States -are: Juul Dieserud, "Den norske presse i Amerika. En historisk -oversigt", _Normands-Forbundet_, V (April 1912); Carl Hansen, "Et Stykke -Norsk-Amerikanske Pressens-historie", _Kvartalskrift_, III (Jan. 1907), -"Den norsk-amerikanske presse før borgerkrigen", _Symra: en Aarbog for -Norske paa begge Sider af Havet_, IV (1908); and "Den norsk-amerikanske -presse: Pressen til borgerkrigens slutning", _Norsk-Amerikanernes -Festskrift, 1914_; Johs. B. Wist, "Den norsk-amerikanske press: Pressen -efter borgerkrigen", _Norsk-Amerikanernes Festskrift, 1914_--remarkably -full and complete in its details; E. W. Olson (editor), "Press and -Literature", _History of the Swedes in Illinois_ (1908), ch. 13. Less -important is Eric Johnson, "The Swedish American Press", _The Viking_, I -(July and Aug. 1906). - -For statistics and ratings of newspapers, G. P. Rowell & Co., _American -Newspaper Directories_ (1869 to 1906); N. W. Ayer, _American Newspaper -Annual_ (1881-1914) (Philadelphia). - - -ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL QUESTIONS - -Florence E. Baker, _A Brief History of the Elective Franchises in -Wisconsin_ (1894); Fremont O. Bennett, _Politics and Politicians of -Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois_ (1886); Eugene Brown and F. Fred -Rowe (compilers), _Industrial and Picturesque Rockford, Illinois_ -(1891); Carlo De'Negri, _Appunti di Statistica Comparata dell' -Emigrazione dell' Europa e della Immigrazione in America e in Australia_ -(in _Bulletin de l'Institute International de Statistique_, 1888); John -G. Gregory, _Foreign Immigration to Wisconsin_ (1902); C. H. Gronvald, -_The Effects of the Immigration on the Norwegian Immigrants_ (in _Sixth -Annual Report to the State Board of Health of Minnesota_, 1878); Hans -Mattson (editor), _Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the First -Swedish Settlement in America, September 14, 1888_ (1889); Robert P. -Porter (and others), _The West: from the Census of 1880_ (1882); Julian -Ralph, _Our Great West: a Study of the Present Conditions and Future -Possibilities of the New Commonwealths and Capitals of the United -States_ (1893); Gustav Sundbärg, _Bidrag till Utvandringsfrågen från -Befolkningsstatistisk Synpunkt_ (in _Upsala Universitets Årsskrift_, -1884 o. 1885); Carl Sundbeck, _Svensk-Amerikanerna, deras Materialla och -Andliga Sträfvanden_ (1904)--a good up-to-date summary of conditions in -America; William W. Thomas, _Sweden and the Swedes_ (1893); James D. -Whelpley, _The Problem of the Immigrant_ (1905); Edward Young, _Labor in -Europe and America, a Special Report on the Rate of Wages, etc._ -(1875),--a particularly valuable book, dealing with conditions in Europe -on the eve of the great movement to America. - -Two groups of Federal reports are very useful: _Emigration from Europe_, -(_Reports from the Consuls of the United States_, No. 76, 1887), dealing -with European conditions; and _Emigration to the United States_ -(_Special Consular Reports_, vol. XXX, 1904). Another exhaustive and -scholarly investigation is embodied in _Reports of the Industrial -Commission on Immigration, including testimony, with Review and Digest, -and Special Reports_, being vol. XV of the Commission's _Reports_ -(1901). - -The Civil War as related to immigration from Northern Europe is treated -in: Ole A. Buslett, _Det Femtende Regiment Wisconsin Frivillige_ (1895); -P. G. Dietrichson, _En Kortfattet Skildring af det femtende Wisconsins -Regiments Historie og Virksomhed under Borgerkrigen_ (1884); J. A. -Enander, _Borgerkrigen i de Forenede Stater i Nord Amerika_ (1881); John -A. Johnson, _Det Skandinaviske Regiments Historie_ (1869). - -Important articles in periodicals: F. W. Hewes, "Where our Immigrants -Settle" (with excellent statistical maps), _World's Work_, VI (1903); G. -G. Huebner, "The Americanization of the Immigrant," _Annals of the -American Academy of Political and Social Science_, XXVII (1906); -Richmond Mayo-Smith, "Control of Immigration", _Political Science -Quarterly_, III, 46, 197, 404 (1888); G. H. Schwab, "A Practical Remedy -for the Evils of Immigration," _Forum_, XVI (1893); Nicolay A. Grevstad, -"Courts of Conciliation," and "Courts of Conciliation in America," -_Atlantic_, LXVIII (1891), LXXII (1893). - -Various numbers of _Normands-Forbundet_, published in Christiania, have -contained noteworthy articles, besides those mentioned elsewhere in -this bibliography, dealing with American conditions: S. Sondresen, "Den -norsk-amerikanske farmer" (1908); J. Dieserud, "Nordmændenes -deltagelse i de Forenede Staters politiske liv" (1908); M. Alger, -"Re-immigrationen" (1913); Av. Kand. Gottenborg, "Hjemvandte -norsk-amerikanere, deres livsforhold i Amerika og i Norge efter -hjemkomste" (1913); O. K. Winberg, "Degenererer Nordmænd i Amerika" -(1910). - -Three small novels contain particularly graphic accounts of the life and -social conditions among the Norwegian settlers: P. O. Strömme, -_Hvorledes Halvor blev Prest_ (1893), one of the very best pictures of -pioneer immigrant family life; H. A. Foss (translated by J. J. -Skordalsvold), _Tobias, a Story of the Northwest_, an exaggerated -account of intemperance; and Sigurd H. Severson, _Dei möttes ve Utica. -En paa personlig Iagttagelse grundet Skildring af Livet i ældre -Norsk-Amerikanske Settlementer_ (1882). - - -NEWSPAPERS - -The number of newspapers and other periodicals for the Scandinavians in -the United States yearly given in G. P. Rowell Co., _American Newspaper -Directory_, has varied in recent years from 125 to 140, while the total -of short-lived and long-lived publications of the same sort would pass -200. The following list includes those periodicals, chiefly newspapers, -which were useful in some special degree in preparing this volume: - - _America_, Chicago, an English monthly for Swedes and Norwegians. - - _American-Scandinavian Review_, New York, 1913--Engl. bi-mo. - - _Amerika_, Chicago & Madison, Wis., 1884 (united with _Norden_, 1897 - q. v.), Norw. Wkly. - - _Billed-Magazin, Skandinavisk_, Madison, Wis., 1868-1870. Norw. mo. - - _Budstikken_, Minneapolis, 1872--. Norw. wkly. - - _Chicago Daily Tribune_, Chicago, 1847--. dly. - - _Chicago Record-Herald_, Chicago, 1854--. dly. - - _Dannevirke_, Cedar Falls, Iowa, 1880--. Dan. wkly. - - _Danske Pioneer_, Omaha, Neb., 1873--. Dan. wkly. - - _Decorah Posten_, Decorah, Iowa, 1874--. Norw. wkly. - - _Fædrelandet og Emigranten_, La Crosse, Wis., and Minneapolis, - 1864-1888. (_Emigranten_, Inmansville, Wis., 1852; Janesville, 1856; - Madison, 1857; La Crosse, 1864, and united with _Fædrelandet_.Q Norw. - wkly.) - - _Folkebladet_, Minneapolis, 1878--. Norw. wkly. - - _Gamla och Nya Hemlandet_, Chicago, 1855. Sw. wkly. - - _Korsbaneret_, Rock Island, Ill., 1880. Sw. church annual. - - _Kvartalskrift_, Minneapolis, 1903--. Nor. qtly. - - _Madison Democrat_, Madison, Wis., 1852--. Eng. dly. - - _Milwaukee Daily Sentinel_, Milwaukee, Wis., 1837--. Eng. dly. - - _Minneapolis Evening Journal_, Minneapolis, 1878--. Eng. dly. - - _Minneapolis Times_, Minneapolis, 1889-1905. Eng. dly. - - _Minneapolis Tribune_, Minneapolis, 1867--. Eng. dly. - - _Minneapolis Tidende_, Minneapolis, 1887--. Norw. dly. and wkly. - - _Minnesota Stats Tidning_, Minneapolis and St. Paul, 1877--. Sw. wkly. - - _Norden_, Chicago, 1874-1897 (united with _Amerika_). Norw. wkly. - - _Nordvesten_, St. Paul, 1883--. Norw.-Dan. wkly. - - _Nordmanden_, Grand Forks, N. D., 1887--. Norw. wkly. - - _Nordmands-Forbundet_, Christiania, Norway, 1908--. Nor. - - _Normannen_, Stoughton, Wis., 1867. Norw. wkly. - - _The North_, Minneapolis, 1889-1894. Eng. wkly. for Scandinavians. - - _Red River Posten_ (merged with _Dakota_), Fargo, N. D., 1879--. Norw. - wkly. - - _Rockford Register_, Rockford, Ill., 1867--. Eng. dly. - - _Rodhuggeren_, Crookston, Minn., 1880-1884. Norw. wkly. - - _Scandinavia_, Chicago, 1883-1886. Eng. mo. for Scandinavians. - - _Skandinaven_, Chicago, 1866--. Norw. dly., wkly., and tri-wkly., the - strongest and most influential Scandinavian paper in the United - States. - - _St. Paul Pioneer-Press_, St. Paul, 1849--. Eng. dly. - - _St. Paul Dispatch_, St. Paul, 1868--. Eng. dly. - - _Superior Tidende_ (originally _Posten_), Superior, Wis., 1888--. - Norw.-Dan. wkly. - - _Svensk-Amerikaneren_, Chicago, Ill., 1866--. Sw. wkly. - - _Svenska Amerikanska Posten_, Minneapolis, 1886--. Sw. wkly., a large - and influential paper. - - _Svenska Folkets Tidning_, Minneapolis, 1883--. Sw. wkly. - - _Svenska Tribunen_, Chicago, 1868--. Sw. wkly. - - _Ugebladet_, Chicago, later Minneapolis, 1888--. Norw. wkly. - - _Valdris-Helsing_ (_Valdris-Samband_), Iowa City, Ia., later - Stillwater and Minneapolis, Minn., 1893--. Norw. mo. (since 1912) - devoted to interests of immigrants from Valders. - - _The Viking_, Fremont, Neb., 1906--? Eng. mo. for Scandinavians. - - _Vikingen_, _Minneapolis_, 1906--. Norw.-Dan. mo. - - _Vor Tid_, Minneapolis, 1905-1908. Norw. mo. - - _Wisconsin State Journal_, Madison, 1897--. Eng. dly. - - - - -APPENDIX I - -Statistical Tables - -TABLE I - -STATISTICS OF IMMIGRANTS FROM DENMARK, NORWAY AND SWEDEN. - -The number of alien passengers and immigrants from the Scandinavian -countries arriving in the United States, 1820-1913, together with the -total number of alien arrivals according to the statistics of the United -States, and, where available, of the Scandinavian kingdoms. The figures -from 1820-1840 are at best a safe minimum. The earlier figures reported -by the Scandinavian kingdoms, given in round numbers, are probably -estimates based upon partial data. See United States _Reports of the -Bureau of Commerce and Navigation, Annual Statistical Abstracts_ and the -report of the Dillingham Commission (1911); Sundbärg, _Bidrag til -Utvandringsfrägen frän Befolkningsstatistisk Synpunkt;_ Nelson, -_Scandinavians in the United States,_ I. 253-264c; _Bulletin de -l'Institute Internationale de Statistique,_ III, ii, 125-127; -_Statesman's Year-Books, 1906-14_. - - +-------------------- UNITED STATES STATISTICS ------------------+ - - Total Total - Denmark Norway Sweden Scandinavian Aliens - - 1820 20 3 23 8,385 - 1821 12 12 24 9,127 - 1822 18 10 28 6,911 - 1823 6 1 7 6,354 - 1824 11 9 20 7,912 - 1825 14 4 18 10,199 - 1826 10 16 26 10,837 - 1827 15 13 28 18,875 - 1828 50 10 60 27,382 - 1829 17 13 30 22,520 - 1830 16 3 19 23,322 - - 1820-1830 189 94 283 151,824 - - 1831 23 13 36 22,633 - 1832 21 313 334 60,482 - 1833 173 16 189 58,640 - 1834 24 42 66 65,365 - 1835 37 31 68 45,374 - 1836 416 57 473 76,242 - 1837 109 290 399 79,340 - 1838 52 60 112 38,914 - 1839 56 324 380 68,069 - 1840 152 55 207 84,066 - - 1831-40 1,063 1,201 2,264 599,125 - - 1841 31 195 226 80,289 - 1842 35 553 588 104,565 - 1843 29 1,748 1,777 52,496 - 1844 25 1,311 1,336 78,615 - 1845 54 928 982 114,371 - 1846 114 1,916 2,030 154,416 - 1847 13 1,307 1,320 234,968 - 1848 210 903 1,113 226,527 - 1849 8 3,473 3,481 297,024 - 1850 20 1,569 1,589 369,980 - - 1841-50 539 13,903 14,442 1,713,251 - - 1851 14 2,424 2,438 379,466 - 1852 3 4,103 4,106 371,601 - 1853 32 3,364 3,396 368,645 - 1854 691 3,531 4,222 427,833 - 1855 528 821 1,349 200,877 - 1856 173 1,157 1,330 200,436 - 1857 1,035 1,712 2,747 251,306 - 1858 232 2,430 2,662 123,126 - 1859 499 1,091 1,590 121,282 - 1860 542 298 840 153,640 - - 1851-60 3,749 20,931 24,680 2,598,212 - - 1861 234 616 850 91,918 - 1862 1,658 892 2,550 91,985 - 1863 1,492 1,627 3,119 176,282 - 1864 712 2,249 2,961 193,418 - 1865 1,149 6,109 7,258 248,120 - 1866 1,862 12,633 14,495 318,568 - 1867 1,436 7,055 8,491 315,722 - 1868 819 11,166 11,985 142,023 - - 1861-68 9,362 42,347 51,709 1,578,036 - - 1869 3,649 16,068 24,224 43,941 352,768 - 1870 4,083 13,216 13,443 30,742 387,203 - 1871 2,015 9,418 10,699 22,132 321,350 - 1872 3,690 11,421 13,464 28,575 404,806 - 1873 4,931 16,247 14,303 35,481 459,803 - 1874 3,082 10,384 5,712 19,178 313,339 - 1875 2,656 6,093 5,573 14,322 227,498 - 1876 1,547 5,173 5,603 12,323 169,986 - 1877 1,695 4,588 4,991 11,274 141,857 - 1878 2,105 4,759 5,390 12,354 138,469 - 1879 3,474 7,345 11,001 21,820 177,826 - 1880 6,576 19,895 39,186 65,657 457,257 - - 1869-80 39,503 124,607 153,589 317,699 3,552,162 - - 1881 9,177 22,705 49,760 81,582 669,431 - 1882 11,618 29,101 64,607 105,326 788,992 - 1883 10,319 23,398 38,277 71,994 603,322 - 1884 9,202 16,974 26,552 52,728 518,592 - 1885 6,100 12,356 22,248 40,704 395,346 - 1886 6,225 12,759 27,751 46,735 334,203 - 1887 8,524 16,269 42,836 67,629 490,109 - 1888 8,962 18,264 54,698 81,924 546,889 - 1889 8,699 13,390 35,415 57,504 444,427 - 1890 9,366 11,370 29,632 50,368 455,302 - - 1881-90 88,132 176,586 391,776 656,494 5,246,613 - - 1891 10,659 12,568 36,880 60,107 560,319 - 1892 10,593 14,462 43,247 68,302 623,084 - 1893 8,779 16,079 38,077 62,935 502,917 - 1894 5,581 8,867 18,608 33,056 314,467 - 1895 4,244 7,373 15,683 27,300 279,948 - 1896 3,167 8,855 21,177 33,229 343,267 - 1897 2,085 5,842 13,162 21,089 230,832 - 1898 1,946 4,938 12,398 19,282 229,299 - 1899 2,690 6,705 12,797 22,192 311,715 - 1900 2,926 9,575 18,650 31,151 448,572 - - 1891-00 52,670 95,264 230,679 378,643 3,844,410 - - 1901 3,655 12,248 23,331 39,234 487,918 - 1902 5,660 17,484 30,894 54,038 648,743 - 1903 7,158 24,461 46,028 77,647 857,046 - 1904 8,525 23,808 27,763 60,096 812,870 - 1905 8,970 25,064 26,591 60,625 1,026,499 - 1906 7,741 21,730 23,310 52,781 1,100,735 - 1907 7,243 22,133 20,589 49,965 1,285,349 - 1908 4,954 12,412 12,809 30,175 782,870 - 1909 4,395 13,627 14,474 32,496 751,786 - 1910 6,984 17,538 23,745 48,267 1,041,570 - - 1901-10 65,285 190,505 249,534 505,234 8,795,386 - - 1911 7,555 13,950 20,780 42,285 878,587 - 1912 6,191 8,675 12,688 27,554 838,172 - 1913 6,478 8,587 17,202 33,267 1,197,892 - - Totals - 278,277 696,401 1,071,835 2,047,513 30,833,643 - - +----------------- EUROPEAN STATISTICS ----------------+ - - Total - Denmark Norway Sweden Scandinavian - - 1820 ... ... ... - 1821 ... 1 1 - 1822 ... ... ... - 1823 ... ... ... - 1824 ... ... ... - 1825 ... 53 53 - 1826 ... ... ... - 1827 ... ... ... - 1828 ... ... ... - 1829 ... ... ... - 1830 ... ... ... - - 1820-1830 ... 54 54 - - 1831 ... ... ... - 1832 ... ... ... - 1833 ... ... ... - 1834 ... ... ... - 1835 ... ... ... - 1836 ... 200 200 - 1837 ... 200 200 - 1838 ... 100 100 - 1839 ... 400 400 - 1840 ... 300 300 - - 1831-40 ... 1,200 1,200 - - 1841 ... 400 400 - 1842 ... 700 700 - 1843 ... 1,600 1,600 - 1844 ... 1,200 1,200 - 1845 ... 1,100 1,100 - 1846 ... 1,300 1,300 - 1847 ... 1,600 1,600 - 1848 ... 1,400 1,400 - 1849 ... 4,000 4,000 - 1850 ... 3,700 3,700 - - 1841-50 ... 17,000 17,000 - - 1851 ... 2,640 934 3,574 - 1852 ... 4,030 3,031 7,061 - 1853 ... 6,050 2,619 8,669 - 1854 ... 5,950 3,980 9,930 - 1855 ... 1,600 586 2,186 - 1856 ... 3,200 959 4,159 - 1857 ... 6,400 1,762 8,162 - 1858 ... 2,500 512 3,012 - 1859 ... 1,800 208 2,008 - 1860 ... 1,900 266 2,166 - - 1851-60 ... 36,070 14,857 50,927 - - 1861 ... 8,900 1,087 9,987 - 1862 ... 5,250 1,206 6,456 - 1863 ... 1,100 1,485 2,585 - 1864 ... 4,300 2,461 6,761 - 1865 ... 4,000 3,180 7,180 - 1866 ... 15,455 4,466 19,921 - 1867 ... 12,829 5,893 18,722 - 1868 ... 13,211 21,472 34,683 - - 1861-68 ... 65,045 41,250 106,295 - - 1869 4,340 18,070 32,050 54,460 - 1870 3,264 14,834 15,430 33,528 - 1871 3,249 12,276 12,985 28,510 - 1872 5,941 13,865 11,838 31,644 - 1873 5,926 10,352 9,486 25,764 - 1874 2,261 4,601 3,380 10,242 - 1875 1,678 4,048 3,591 9,317 - 1876 1,336 4,355 3,702 9,393 - 1877 1,374 3,206 2,921 7,501 - 1878 2,300 4,863 4,242 11,405 - 1879 2,845 7,608 12,761 23,214 - 1880 5,475 20,212 36,263 61,950 - - 1869-80 39,989 170,124 148,649 306,928 - - 1881 7,823 25,976 40,620 74,419 - 1882 11,385 28,804 44,359 84,548 - 1883 8,280 22,167 25,678 56,125 - 1884 6,149 14,776 17,664 38,589 - 1885 4,211 13,901 18,222 36,334 - 1886 5,558 15,116 27,913 48,587 - 1887 8,184 20,706 46,252 75,142 - 1888 8,269 21,348 45,561 75,178 - 1889 8,271 12,597 28,529 49,397 - 1890 9,524 10,898 29,487 49,909 - - 1881-90 77,654 186,289 324,285 588,228 - - 1891 9,781 13,249 36,134 59,164 - 1892 9,763 16,814 40,990 67,567 - 1893 8,551 18,690 37,321 64,562 - 1894 4,105 5,591 9,529 19,225 - 1895 3,607 6,153 14,982 24,742 - 1896 2,876 6,584 14,874 24,334 - 1897 2,260 4,580 10,109 16,949 - 1898 2,340 4,805 8,534 15,679 - 1899 2,799 6,466 11,842 21,097 - 1900 3,570 10,931 16,209 30,710 - - 1891-00 49,652 93,863 200,524 344,029 - - 1901 4,657 12,488 20,306 37,451 - 1902 6,823 19,225 33,151 59,199 - 1903 8,214 24,998 35,439 68,651 - 1904 9,034 20,836 18,533 48,403 - 1905 8,051 19,638 20,520 48,209 - 1906 8,516 20,449 21,242 50,207 - 1907 7,890 20,615 19,325 47,830 - 1908 4,558 7,850 8,873 21,281 - 1909 6,782 15,237 18,331 40,350 - 1910 8,890 17,361 23,529 49,780 - - 1901-10 73,415 178,697 219,249 471,361 - - 1911 8,303 11,122 15,571 34,996 - 1912 - 1913 - - Totals - - -TABLE II - -FOREIGN-BORN SCANDINAVIAN POPULATION, 1850 - -U. S. Census of 1850 - - States and Total Total - Territories Denmark Norway Sweden Scandinavians Population - - Alabama 18 3 51 72 771,623 - Arkansas 7 1 1 9 209,897 - California 92 124 162 378 92,597 - Connecticut 16 1 13 30 370,792 - Delaware 1 ... 2 3 91,532 - District of Columbia 6 ... 5 11 51,687 - Florida 21 17 33 71 87,445 - Georgia 24 6 11 41 906,185 - Illinois 93 2,415 1,123 3,631 851,470 - Indiana 10 18 16 44 988,416 - Iowa 19 361 231 611 192,214 - Kentucky 7 18 20 45 982,405 - Louisiana 288 64 249 601 517,762 - Maine 47 12 55 114 583,169 - Maryland 35 10 57 102 583,034 - Massachusetts 181 69 253 503 994,514 - Michigan 13 110 16 139 397,654 - Minnesota Territory 1 7 4 12 6,077 - Mississippi 24 8 14 46 606,526 - Missouri 55 155 37 247 682,044 - New Hampshire 3 2 12 17 317,976 - New Jersey 28 4 34 66 489,555 - New Mexico Territory 2 2 1 5 61,547 - New York 429 392 753 1,574 3,097,394 - North Carolina 6 ... 9 15 869,039 - Ohio 53 18 55 126 1,980,329 - Oregon Territory 2 1 2 5 13,294 - Pennsylvania 97 27 133 257 2,311,786 - Rhode Island 15 25 17 57 147,545 - South Carolina 24 7 29 60 668,507 - Tennessee 8 ... 8 16 1,002,717 - Texas 49 105 48 202 212,592 - Utah Territory 2 32 1 35 11,380 - Vermont ... 8 ... 8 314,120 - Virginia 15 5 16 36 1,421,661 - Wisconsin 146 8,651 88 8,885 305,391 - ----- ------ ----- ------ ---------- - Total 1,837 12,678 3,559 18,074 23,191,876 - - -TABLE III - -FOREIGN-BORN SCANDINAVIAN POPULATION, 1870 - -U. S. Census, 1870 - - States and Total Total - Territories Denmark Norway Sweden Scandinavians Population - - Alabama 80 21 105 206 996,992 - Arkansas 55 19 134 208 484,471 - California 1,837 1,000 1,944 4,781 560,247 - Connecticut 116 72 323 511 537,454 - Delaware 8 ... 9 17 125,015 - Florida 40 16 30 86 187,748 - Georgia 42 14 35 91 1,184,109 - Illinois 3,711 11,880 29,979 45,570 2,539,891 - Indiana 315 123 2,180 2,618 1,680,637 - Iowa 2,827 17,554 10,796 31,177 1,194,020 - Kansas 502 588 4,954 6,044 364,399 - Kentucky 53 16 112 181 1,321,011 - Louisiana 290 76 358 724 726,915 - Maine 120 58 91 269 626,915 - Maryland 106 17 100 223 780,894 - Massachusetts 267 302 1,384 1,953 1,457,351 - Michigan 1,354 1,516 2,406 5,276 1,184,059 - Minnesota 1,910 35,940 20,987 58,837 439,706 - Mississippi 193 78 970 1,241 827,922 - Missouri 665 297 2,302 3,264 1,721,295 - Nebraska 1,129 506 2,352 3,987 122,993 - Nevada 208 80 217 505 42,491 - New Hampshire 11 55 42 108 318,300 - New Jersey 510 90 554 1,154 906,096 - New York 1,698 975 5,522 8,195 4,382,759 - North Carolina 8 5 38 51 1,071,361 - Ohio 284 64 252 600 2,665,260 - Oregon 87 76 205 368 90,923 - Pennsylvania 561 115 2,266 2,942 3,521,951 - Rhode Island 24 22 106 152 217,353 - South Carolina 50 ... 60 110 705,606 - Tennessee 86 37 349 472 1,258,520 - Texas 159 403 364 926 818,579 - Vermont 21 34 83 138 330,551 - Virginia 23 17 30 70 1,225,163 - West Virginia 21 1 5 27 442,014 - Wisconsin 5,212 40,046 2,799 48,057 1,054,670 - Arizona Ter. 19 7 7 33 9,658 - Colorado Ter. 77 40 180 297 39,864 - Dakota Ter. 115 1,179 380 1,674 14,181 - Dist. of Columbia 29 5 22 56 131,700 - Idaho Ter. 88 61 91 240 14,999 - Montana Ter. 95 88 141 324 20,595 - New Mexico Ter. 15 5 6 26 91,874 - Utah Ter. 4,957 613 1,790 7,360 86,786 - Washington Ter. 84 104 158 346 23,955 - Wyoming Ter. 54 28 109 191 9,118 - ------ ------- ------ ------- ---------- - Total 30,098 114,243 97,327 241,686 38,558,371 - - -TABLE IV - -FOREIGN-BORN SCANDINAVIAN POPULATION, 1890 - -U. S. Census of 1890 - - States and Total Total - Territories Denmark Norway Sweden Scandinavians Population - - Alabama 71 47 294 412 1,513,017 - Arizona Territory 180 59 168 407 59,620 - Arkansas 125 60 333 518 1,128,179 - California 7,764 3,702 10,923 22,389 1,208,130 - Colorado 1,650 893 9,659 12,202 412,198 - Connecticut 1,474 523 10,021 12,018 746,258 - Delaware 41 14 246 301 168,493 - District of Columbia 72 70 128 270 230,392 - Florida 105 179 529 813 391,422 - Georgia 61 88 191 340 1,837,353 - Idaho 1,241 741 1,524 3,506 84,285 - Illinois 12,044 30,339 86,514 128,897 3,826,351 - Indiana 718 285 4,512 5,515 2,192,404 - Iowa 15,519 27,078 30,276 72,873 1,911,896 - Kansas 3,136 1,786 17,096 21,998 1,427,096 - Kentucky 92 120 184 396 1,858,635 - Louisiana 232 136 328 796 1,118,587 - Maine 696 311 1,704 2,711 661,086 - Maryland 130 164 305 599 1,042,390 - Massachusetts 1,512 2,519 18,624 22,655 2,238,943 - Michigan 6,335 7,795 27,366 41,496 2,093,889 - Minnesota 14,133 101,169 99,913 215,215 1,301,826 - Mississippi 90 54 305 449 1,289,600 - Missouri 1,333 526 5,602 7,461 2,679,184 - Montana 683 1,957 3,771 6,411 132,159 - Nebraska 14,345 3,632 28,364 46,341 1,058,910 - Nevada 332 69 314 715 45,761 - New Hampshire 64 251 1,210 1,425 376,530 - New Jersey 2,991 1,317 4,159 8,467 1,444,933 - New Mexico Ter. 54 42 149 245 153,593 - New York 6,238 8,602 28,430 43,270 5,997,753 - North Dakota 2,860 25,773 5,583 34,216 182,719 - North Carolina 26 13 51 90 1,617,947 - Ohio 956 511 2,742 4,209 3,672,316 - Oklahoma Ter. 37 36 138 211 61,834 - Oregon 1,288 2,271 3,774 7,333 313,767 - Pennsylvania 2,010 2,238 19,346 23,594 5,258,014 - Rhode Island 154 285 3,392 3,831 345,506 - South Dakota 4,369 19,257 7,746 31,372 328,808 - South Carolina 36 23 60 119 1,151,149 - Tennessee 92 41 332 465 1,767,518 - Texas 649 1,313 2,806 4,768 2,235,523 - Utah Territory 9,023 1,854 5,986 16,863 207,905 - Vermont 58 38 870 966 332,422 - Virginia 108 102 215 425 1,655,980 - Washington 2,807 8,334 10,272 21,413 349,390 - West Virginia 44 7 72 123 762,794 - Wisconsin 13,885 65,696 20,157 99,738 1,686,880 - Wyoming 680 345 1,357 2,382 60,705 - ------- ------- ------- ------- ---------- - Total 132,543 322,665 478,041 933,249 62,622,250 - - -TABLE V - -FOREIGN WHITE STOCK OF SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN, 1910 - -13th Census, I, Chapter viii, Table 29 - - Under each state the figures represent - (1) foreign born, corresponding to the figures given - for 1850, 1870, and 1890 - (2) native white of foreign parentage - (3) native white of mixed parentage - - Grand - Norway Sweden Denmark Totals Total - - Alabama 266 752 197 1,215 - 114 481 105 700 - 168 274 128 570 2,485 - - Arizona 272 845 284 1,401 - 164 427 172 763 - 106 302 246 654 2,818 - - Arkansas 76 385 178 639 - 49 176 72 297 - 77 374 198 649 1,585 - - California 9,952 26,210 14,208 50,370 - 4,666 14,797 8,244 27,707 - 2,528 5,464 4,043 12,035 90,112 - - Colorado 1,787 12,445 2,755 16,987 - 1,421 9,681 1,894 12,996 - 826 3,287 1,061 5,174 35,157 - - Connecticut 1,265 18,208 2,722 22,195 - 499 14,508 1,845 16,852 - 204 1,788 418 2,410 41,457 - - Delaware 38 332 52 422 - 15 208 17 240 - 12 85 19 116 778 - - Florida 303 728 295 1,326 - 158 387 110 655 - 303 412 161 876 2,857 - - Georgia 145 289 112 546 - 56 153 33 242 - 85 196 72 353 1,141 - - Idaho 2,566 4,985 2,254 9,805 - 2,221 3,876 2,680 8,777 - 1,289 2,124 2,532 5,945 24,527 - - Illinois 32,913 115,422 17,368 165,703 - 26,572 94,830 11,551 132,953 - 8,953 19,879 4,600 33,432 332,088 - - Indiana 531 5,081 900 6,512 - 363 4,824 692 5,879 - 299 1,896 582 2,777 15,168 - - Iowa 21,924 26,763 17,961 66,648 - 30,392 28,859 17,814 77,065 - 14,586 10,573 5,966 31,125 174,838 - - Kansas 1,294 13,309 2,759 17,362 - 1,371 15,911 2,635 19,917 - 1,031 6,411 1,822 9,264 46,543 - - Kentucky 53 190 78 321 - 39 104 40 183 - 40 148 96 284 788 - - Louisiana 294 344 239 877 - 92 154 125 371 - 252 438 392 1,082 2,330 - - Maine 580 2,203 929 3,712 - 288 1,478 715 2,481 - 218 627 340 1,185 7,378 - - Maryland 363 421 237 1,021 - 144 209 88 441 - 164 261 158 583 2,045 - - Massachusetts 5,432 39,560 3,403 48,395 - 2,170 25,149 1,706 29,025 - 768 3,759 963 5,490 82,910 - - Michigan 7,638 26,374 6,313 40,325 - 6,778 25,624 6,055 38,457 - 2,358 4,939 2,431 9,728 88,510 - - Minnesota 105,302 122,427 16,137 243,866 - 126,549 118,083 15,430 260,062 - 47,755 27,508 5,957 81,220 585,148 - - Mississippi 91 292 119 502 - 32 178 51 261 - 116 280 122 518 1,281 - - Missouri 660 5,654 1,729 8,043 - 543 4,937 1,147 6,627 - 537 2,936 1,380 4,853 19,523 - - Montana 7,169 6,410 1,943 15,522 - 4,859 3,865 1,302 10,026 - 1,914 1,527 696 4,137 29,685 - - Nebraska 2,750 23,219 13,673 39,643 - 2,989 26,599 13,957 43,545 - 1,968 8,668 4,932 15,568 98,755 - - Nevada 254 708 616 1,578 - 107 293 393 793 - 92 192 307 591 2,962 - - New Hampshire 491 2,068 131 2,690 - 292 1,172 55 1,519 - 69 316 69 454 4,663 - - New Jersey 5,351 10,547 5,056 20,954 - 2,256 5,899 3,350 11,505 - 745 1,902 1,261 3,908 36,367 - - New Mexico 151 365 116 632 - 109 240 75 424 - 71 144 91 306 1,362 - - New York 25,012 53,703 12,536 91,251 - 10,171 29,284 5,006 44,461 - 2,221 7,248 3,167 12,636 148,348 - - North Carolina 39 112 36 187 - 13 36 13 62 - 28 70 28 126 375 - - North Dakota 45,937 12,160 5,355 63,452 - 56,577 10,533 5,043 72,153 - 20,770 4,107 1,805 26,682 162,287 - - Ohio 1,109 5,522 1,837 8,468 - 571 4,075 1,150 5,796 - 351 1,458 808 2,617 16,881 - - Oklahoma 351 1,028 550 1,929 - 425 943 518 1,886 - 432 1,058 577 2,067 5,882 - - Oregon 6,843 10,099 3,215 20,157 - 4,643 5,866 2,167 12,676 - 1,949 2,233 1,391 5,573 38,406 - - Pennsylvania 2,317 23,467 3,033 28,817 - 995 22,803 1,656 25,454 - 651 5,415 1,261 7,327 61,598 - - Rhode Island 577 7,404 328 8,309 - 230 5,174 153 5,557 - 109 636 108 853 14,719 - - South Carolina 82 95 51 228 - 19 20 9 48 - 40 68 68 176 452 - - South Dakota 20,918 9,998 6,294 37,210 - 27,803 9,640 6,396 43,839 - 12,025 3,654 2,273 17,952 99,001 - - Tennessee 89 363 163 615 - 74 237 87 398 - 79 281 119 479 1,492 - - Texas 1,784 4,703 1,287 7,774 - 1,649 4,724 844 7,217 - 1,012 2,171 942 4,125 19,116 - - Utah 2,304 7,227 8,300 17,831 - 1,562 5,906 10,169 17,637 - 1,643 3,930 8,142 13,715 49,183 - - Vermont 102 1,331 172 1,605 - 41 905 74 1,020 - 32 185 68 285 2,910 - - Virginia 311 368 239 918 - 222 215 140 577 - 164 138 95 397 1,892 - - Washington 28,363 32,195 7,804 68,362 - 18,486 18,244 4,988 41,718 - 5,875 5,640 2,286 13,801 123,881 - - West Virginia 38 278 67 383 - 10 196 51 257 - 31 124 48 203 843 - - Wisconsin 56,999 25,739 16,454 99,192 - 71,681 23,268 15,903 110,852 - 29,020 6,379 5,958 41,357 251,401 - - Wyoming 623 2,497 962 4,082 - 381 1,455 866 2,702 - 245 598 521 1,364 8,148 - - - - -APPENDIX II - -STATISTICS OF THREE MINNESOTA COUNTIES - -From the U. S. Census Reports - - Chisago County 1860 1870 1880 - White population 1,729 4,358 7,982 - White native-born 1,209 2,164 4,017 - White foreign-born 734 2,194 3,965 - White foreign Danish ..... 14 50 - White foreign Norwegian ..... 1,674 3,160 - White foreign Swedish ..... ..... ..... - - Acres in farms - Improved 3,468 8,004 31,198 - Unimproved 18,484 34,593 72,595 - - Cash value of farms $124,019 $477,720 $1,171,426 - - Chisago County 1890 1900 - White population 10,359 13,248 - White native-born 5,613 8,230 - White foreign-born 4,746 5,018 - White foreign Danish 67 55 - White foreign Norwegian 50 69 - White foreign Swedish 3,955 4,215 - - Acres in farms - Improved 43,476 85,277 - Unimproved 101,649 129,501 - - Cash value of farms $2,563,630 $3,419,310 - - Fillmore County 1860 1870 1880 - White population 13,542 24,887 28,162 - White native-born 9,045 15,178 19,243 - White foreign-born 4,497 9,709 8,919 - White foreign Danish ..... 13 96 - White foreign Norwegian ..... 6,61 5,191 - White foreign Swedish ..... ..... ..... - - Acres in farms - Improved 75,542 185,087 361,100 - Unimproved 216,454 214,459 134,333 - - Cash value of farms $1,844,797 $6,636,880 $9,535,815 - - Fillmore County 1890 1900 - White population 25,966 28,238 - White native-born 19,034 22,378 - White foreign-born 6,932 5,860 - White foreign Danish 68 59 - White foreign Norwegian 4,171 3,593 - White foreign Swedish 66 53 - - Acres in farms - Improved 357,083 389,386 - Unimproved 117,670 131,875 - - Cash value of farms $9,935,202 $14,240,595 - - Otter Tail County 1860 1870 1880 - White population 178 1,968 18,675 - White native-born 178 888 11,249 - White foreign-born ..... 1,080 7,426 - White foreign Danish ..... 41 214 - White foreign Norwegian ..... 889 4,772 - White foreign Swedish ..... ..... ..... - - Acres in farms - Improved 306 3,632 131,804 - Unimproved 2,118 28,898 340,355 - - Cash value of farms $17,550 $151,281 $3,650,223 - - - Otter Tail County 1890 1900 - White population 34,232 45,375 - White native-born 20,884 30,988 - White foreign-born 13,348 14,387 - White foreign Danish 345 372 - White foreign Norwegian 5,955 5,738 - White foreign Swedish 2,470 3,038 - - Acres in farms - Improved 311,175 505,358 - Unimproved 405,380 439,374 - - Cash value of farms $8,511,465 $12,478,640 - - - - -INDEX - - - Aaker, L. K., 146-47. - - Agriculture among Scandinavians, 95-98. - - "America Book", influence on Norwegian emigration, 37-40. - - Americanization, 106-111, 180-182. - - Anderson, Paul, 116-117. - - Anderson, R. B., 39, 155, 173. - - - Banks, Scandinavian, 104-5. - - Baptist Church, work among Scandinavians, 118-120. - - Behrens, Capt., 35-36. - - Bennett Law (Wisconsin), 166-168. - - Bibliography, 183-204. - - Birth rate, 132-33. - - Bishop Hill (Ill.), Swedish settlement, 54, 56-60. - - Bremer, Frederika, quoted, 52-3, 82. - - Bull, Ole, on the term "Scandinavian", 15-16. - - Business, Scandinavians in, 102-5. - - - California, Scandinavian population, 72-4. - - Capital: - brought by immigrants, 92-96; - investment, 94-97. - - Chicago (Ill.): - Scandinavian population, 73-4; - Swedish settlement, 60. - - Chisago Co. (Minn.), Swedish settlement, 97-98; - politics, 163. - - Church, _see_ names of denominations, i. e., Baptist church. - - Cities, Scandinavian element, 73-4. - - Citizenship, 11, 83-4, 179-82. - - Civil War, part played by Scandinavians, 75-8, 142, 149. - - Clausen, C. L., 46-7. - - Climate, influence upon distribution of immigration, 74-5. - - Colleges, Scandinavian, 111-14. - - Communism, in Bishop Hill settlement, 51-60. - - Congregational church, work among Scandinavians, 116-19. - - - Dane Co. (Wis.) settlement, 110, 145. - - Danes: character, 18; - in politics, 140-43; - settlements, 63, 65. - - Danish immigration: 69, 73-4; - character of, 64; - statistics, 62, 67-74. - _See also_ Immigration. - - Danish churches, 15, 63-65. - - Davidson, J. O., 153. - - Defectives, 134-45. - - Delaware River (Swedish) colony, 11-13. - - Delinquents, 134-35, 137-39. - - Democratic party, 160-64, 166-70. - - Denmark: - economic conditions, 18-19, 21, 62-63, 68. - emigration: 62, 64; - causes, 62, 63, 115; - statistics, 62, 67-74. - population: - distribution, 21; - increase, 69-70, 132. - - Dietrichson, J. W. C., 47-8. - - Duluth (Minn.), Scandinavian population, 74. - - - Eberhardt, A. O., 153. - - Education, 65, 109-14, 166-70. - _See also_ English language; illiteracy. - - Elk Horn (Ia.), Danish settlement, 63, 65. - - Emigration, _see_ Immigration; Names of countries, e. g. Denmark. - - English language, use among Scandinavians, 109-10, 113, 122-23, 131, - 145, 166-72. - - Ericsson, John, 78. - - Esbjörn, Paul, 117-18. - - - Families, large, 14, 132-133. - - Farmers' Alliance, 162-63. - - Fillmore Co. (Minn.), 98-99, 110, 144. - - Fox River (Ill.), Norwegian settlement, 28-29, 36. - - Free Soil party, 158-59. - - - Greenback party, 161. - - Grevstad, N. A., 156. - - - Hasselquist, T. N., 117-18. - - Hedström, Jonas, and O. G., 50, 54, 116. - - Heg, Even, 43, 44, 48. - - Heg, H. C., 76. - - Hesthammer, Peerson, _see_ Peerson Kleng. - - Hovland, G. G., 30, 35. - - - Illinois: - Norwegian settlement, 27, 28-9, 32-3, 36; - politics, 161, 168-69; - Scandinavian population, 72-4; - Swedish settlement, 53-4, 56-7, 60. - - Illegitimacy, 134. - - Illiteracy, 109. - _See also_ Education. - - Immigrants, Americanization, 10, 107-108, 179-82; - classes, 11; - value to U. S., 9, 91-93, 179-82. - - Immigration, Scandinavian: - causes, 18-21, 81-8; - distribution, 71-4; - promoted by railroads, 86-98; - promoted by states, 88-90; - statistics, 7-8, 67-74, 205; - value to U. S., 91-105; - westward expansion, 45, 66, 71, 75, 96. - _See also_ Names of peoples, i. e., Danes. - - Independent party, 161. - - Indiana, Norwegian settlement, 27. - - Industry, Scandinavians in, 102-5. - - Insanity, 135-37. - - Intermarriage, 130-131. - - Iowa: - Danish settlement, 63; - immigration promoted by state, 89-90; - Scandinavian population, 72-4; - Swedish settlement, 53. - - - Janson, Eric, 55-9. - - Jansonist colony, see Bishop Hill. - - Jansonist movement, 55-61. - - Jefferson Prairie (Wis.), Norwegian settlement, 41, 46. - - Johnson, J. A., 152-53. - - Johnson, John, 43. - - Johnson, M. N., 154, 174-175. - - - Koshkonong (Wis.), Norwegian settlement, 44. - - Kvelve, B. A., 32. - - - Labor, demand for, influence on immigration, 84-6. - - Laborers, Scandinavian, compared with American, 100-1. - - Land: value in North West, cause of immigration, 81-2, 99; - increase, 87. - - Langeland, Knud, 35, 160. - - Legislation, influenced by Scandinavians, 169-71. - - Lind, John, 152, 154-55, 161. - - Liquor traffic, attitude of Scandinavians, 171-72. - - Listoe, Sören, 156. - - Lutheran church: - among Scandinavians in U. S., 46-7, 63-5, 114-16, 120-23; - educational efforts, 110-14; 166-67. - - - Marriage, 131-32. - - Martineau, Harriet, quoted, 28. - - Mattson, Hans, 90, 146, 150-51, 156. - - Merriam, W. R., 162, 176. - - Methodist church, work among Scandinavians, 54, 116, 118-20. - - Michigan, Scandinavian population, 74. - - Minneapolis (Minn.), Scandinavian population, 73, 74, 134; - politics, 163 n. - - Minnesota: - Danish settlement, 63; - economic development, promoted by Scandinavians, 97-9; - immigration promoted by state, 90-1; - politics, 144-56, 162-63; - Scandinavian population, 72-4, 138. - - Missionary work among Scandinavians, 46-48, 54, 115-20. - - Morality, 133-34. - - Mormons, influence upon Danish immigration, 63, 73, 115. - - Muskego (Wis.), 42, 48. - - - Nattestad, Ansten, 37, 39-42. - - Nattestad, Ole, 29, 31, 40. - - Nebraska: - Danish settlement, 63; - Scandinavian population, 72-3, 74. - - Nelson, Knute, 151, 154, 164. - - New Sweden (Ia.), 53. - - New York, Norwegian settlement, 26-7; - Swedish settlement, 60. - - Newspapers, Scandinavian: 16, 124-9, 203-4; - importance, 124-5, 129, 183; - in politics, 128, 142, 159-60, 164-5, 173-4; - number, 128. - - _Nordlyset_, 126, 148, 159. - - North Dakota: - politics, 147, 149-51, 162-3, 174-5; - Scandinavian population, 72-4. - - Northwest, economic development, 79-105. - - Norway: - economic conditions, 18-20, 30-1, 41-2, 68. - emigration: 22-3, 35, 40-2; - cost, 34; - difficulties, 33-4; - influenced by religious persecution, 24, 40; - influenced by settlers, 29-32, 37, 40; - statistics, 62, 67, 74. - population: - distribution, 19; - increase, 69-70, 132. - - Norwegians: - character, 17, 93; - in politics, 140-56, 162. - immigration: 22-3, 32, 35-6, 93; - effects upon Norwegians, 107-8; - routes, 33-4, 36, 40-2; - statistics, 61, 67-74. - _See also_ Immigration. - settlements: - in Illinois, 28-9, 36; - in New York, 26-7; - in Wisconsin, 41, 42, 43-5. - _See also_ Scandinavians. - - - Occupations of immigrants, 84-7, 95-7, 102, 131-2. - - Olson, Jonas, 55, 59, 60. - - Olson, Olof, 56. - - Otter Tail Co. (Minn.), 98-99, 126; - politics, 163. - - Otteson, J. A., 125, 133. - - - Peerson, Kleng, 24, 25, 28. - - Periodicals, religious, 127-9. - - Pine Lake (Wis.) settlement, 51-53. - - Place names of Scandinavian settlements, 99, 143-5. - - Political parties, _see_ Names of parties. - - Politics, Scandinavian: 140-56, 166-78; - influenced by newspapers, 164-6, 173-4. - - Populist party, 161, 164. - - Prohibition, _see_ Liquor traffic. - - - Quakers, influence upon Norwegian emigration, 23-5. - - - Racine Co. (Wis.) settlement, 42; - politics, 158. - - Railroads, stimulus to immigration, 86-8. - - Religion, among Scandinavians, 45-8, 114-20; - relation to politics, 161. - - Religious persecution, 24, 40, 56. - - Remittances to Europe, 94, 129. - - Republican party, 157, 160-4, 166-8, 174-7. - - "Restoration" (ship), 22, 25-6. - - Reymert, J. D., 126, 148. - - Rochester (N. Y.), Norwegian settlement, 26. - - Rockford (Ill.), furniture industry, 103; - Swedish population, 73-4; - politics, 169. - - Rynning, Ole, 36-7, 39. - - - St. Paul (Minn.), Scandinavian population, 74, 134. - - "Scandinavian", objection to term, 15. - - Scandinavian immigration, _see_ Immigration. - - Scandinavians: - birth rate, 132-3; - character, 10, 16-7, 179-82; - in agriculture, 97-100; - in business, 102-4; - in cities, 73-4; - in Civil War, 75-8, 142, 149; - in domestic service, 131-2; - in industry, 103-4; - in politics, 140-56, 169-78; - morality, 133-4; - occupations, 84-7, 95-7, 102-5; - standard of living, 101-2; - value to U. S., 7, 11, 83-4, 91-105, 179-82; - wealth, 97-8, 102. - _See also_ Danes, Norwegians, Swedes. - - Schröder, Johan, 125-6. - - Settlers, propagandists of immigration, 29-32, 41. - - Slavery, attitude of Scandinavians towards, 157-9. - - South Dakota: - politics, 147, 149-51, 162-3, 175-6; - Scandinavian population, 72-4. - - Standard of living, 101-2. - - Statistics, tables of, 67, 85, 205. - - Sweden: - economic conditions, 18-20, 68. - emigration: 50-1, 53; - causes, 51, 53-4, 56, 61; - statistics, 67-74. - population: - distribution, 20; - increase, 69-70, 132. - - Swedes: - character, 12; - in politics, 140-56, 161-2, 166-70; - value as citizens, 13, 14. - - Swedish immigration: 12, 22, 50-1, 53, 56-7, 61; - routes, 51, 53, 56-7; - statistics, 67-74. - _See also_ Immigration. - settlements: - on Delaware River, 11-3; - in Illinois, 60; - in Iowa, 53; - in New York, 60; - in Wisconsin, 51-2. - _See also_ Scandinavians. - - Swenson, L. S., 155. - - - Texas, Danish settlement, 63; - Swedish settlement, 61. - - Timanson, Levor, 95. - - Transportation in West, 80, 84, 87. - - - Unitarian Church, work among Scandinavians, 119. - - United Norwegian Lutheran Church, 110, 120-121. - - U. S., described for emigrants, 37-40; - economic conditions, influence on Scandinavian immigration, 68-9; - economic development, 7, 79-105; - population, increase, 70. - - Unonius, G., 51, 53. - - Utah, Scandinavian population, 73-4, 115. - - - Wages, in Scandinavian countries, 85, 131; - in U. S., 85, 131. - - Wealth, possessed by Scandinavians, 97-8, 102. - - Wisconsin: - Danish settlements, 63; - immigration promoted by state aid, 88-9; - Norwegian settlements, 40-46; - politics, 145, 148-51, 153-4, 160-1, 166-8; - Scandinavian population, 72-4, 138; - Swedish settlement, 51-3. - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - -Tables within a paragraph have been relocated to immediately above or -below the relevant paragraph. - -Depending on available fonts, some tables may not line up vertically. - -Reference pages have been standardized with "ff" following the page -number and a space (e.g., 789 ff) due to the preponderance of this -style in the original work. - -Both "reelected" and "re-elected" appear in the original work. They -have been standardized as "re-elected". - -Both "post-office" and "postoffice" appear in the original work. Both -spellings have been retained. - -Page 59: "was sent out with eight others, in March, 1851" is -inconsistent with "returned at once from California and became the head -of the colony after February, 1851." This was verified with the page -scan of the original work. - -Page 112, Footnote 261: There is no footnote reference in the original -work. - -Appendix 1, Table V, Nebraska: 1st row totals are off by 1. - -This text has been preserved as in the original, including archaic and -inconsistent spelling, punctuation and grammar, except as noted below. -Spelling changes are shown within single quotes. Other changes are -shown in curly brackets, { }, for clarity. - -Obvious printer's errors have been silently corrected. - -Page 37, Footnote 64: {1837."} changed to {1837.}. - -Page 75, Footnote 168: The footnote anchor is missing but it is -believed that it should be on page 75 in the paragraph ending, {Swedes -are found in Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania.[168]}. - -Page 76: {men as General Stohlbrand} should probably be {men as General -Stolbrand}. - -Page 87: {$86,000:} changed to {$86,000;}. - -Page 98: {rather are they} changed to {rather they are}. - -Page 127, Footnote 306: 'lutherke' changed to 'lutherske'. - -Page 153: 'reelection' changed to 're-election' for consistency. - -Page 185: {(especially vols. XV. (1901) and XIX (1902), contains} -changed to {(especially vols. XV (1901) and XIX (1902)), contains}. - -Page 185: {(42 Cong., 1 Sess., H. Mis. Doc. No. 19, (1871); and} -changed to {(42 Cong., 1 Sess., H. Mis. Doc. No. 19, (1871)); and}. - -Page 192: {(in _Proceedings_ of National Conference of Charities and -Correction, (1899); F. H. B. MacDowell,} changed to {(in _Proceedings_ -of National Conference of Charities and Correction, (1899)); F. H. B. -MacDowell,}. - -Page 202: 'Nordmaend' changed to 'Nordmænd'. - -Page 203: {(Emigranten, Inmansville, Wis., 1852; Janesville, 1856; -Madison, 1857; La Crosse, 1864, and united with Fædrelandet.Q Norw. -wkly.} changed to {(Emigranten, Inmansville, Wis., 1852; Janesville, -1856; Madison, 1857; La Crosse, 1864, and united with Fædrelandet.Q -Norw. wkly.)}. - -Page 220, Index: {Immigration, Scandinavian: causes, 18-21; 81-8;} -changed to {Immigration, Scandinavian: causes, 18-21, 81-8;}. - -Appendix 1, Table I: The table was split into two sections in order to -reduce the table width. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SCANDINAVIAN ELEMENT IN THE -UNITED STATES*** - - -******* This file should be named 43939-8.txt or 43939-8.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/3/9/3/43939 - - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project -Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you -charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you -do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the -rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose -such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and -research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do -practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is -subject to the trademark license, especially commercial -redistribution. - - - -*** START: FULL LICENSE *** - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project -Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at - www.gutenberg.org/license. - - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy -all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. -If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the -terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or -entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement -and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" -or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the -collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an -individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are -located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from -copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative -works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg -are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project -Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by -freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of -this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with -the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by -keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project -Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in -a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check -the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement -before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or -creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project -Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning -the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United -States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate -access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently -whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, -copied or distributed: - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived -from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is -posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied -and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees -or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work -with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the -work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 -through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the -Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or -1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional -terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked -to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the -permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any -word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or -distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than -"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version -posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), -you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a -copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon -request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other -form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided -that - -- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is - owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he - has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the - Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments - must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you - prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax - returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and - sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the - address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to - the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." - -- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or - destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium - and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of - Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any - money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days - of receipt of the work. - -- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set -forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from -both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael -Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the -Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm -collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain -"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or -corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual -property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a -computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by -your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with -your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with -the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a -refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity -providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to -receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy -is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further -opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER -WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO -WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. -If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the -law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be -interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by -the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any -provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance -with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, -promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, -harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, -that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do -or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm -work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any -Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. - - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers -including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists -because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from -people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. -To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 -and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive -Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent -permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. -Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered -throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 -North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email -contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the -Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To -SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any -particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. -To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |