Download or read book Scandinavians in Michigan written by Jeffrey W. Hancks and published by MSU Press. This book was released on 2006-05-12 with total page 131 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Scandinavian countries, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, are commonly grouped together by their close historic, linguistic, and cultural ties. Their age-old bonds continued to flourish both during and after the period of mass immigration to the United States in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Scandinavians felt comfortable with each other, a feeling forged through centuries of familiarity, and they usually chose to live in close proximity in communities throughout the Upper Midwest of the United States. Beginning in the middle of the nineteenth century and continuing until the 1920s, hundreds of thousands left Scandinavia to begin life in the United States and Canada. Sweden had the greatest number of its citizens leave for the United States, with more than one million migrating between 1820 and 1920. Per capita, Norway was the country most affected by the exodus; more than 850,000 Norwegians sailed to America between 1820 and 1920. In fact, Norway ranks second only to Ireland in the percentage of its population leaving for the New World during the great European migration. Denmark was affected at a much lower rate, but it too lost more than 300,000 of its population to the promise of America. Once gone, the move was usually permanent; few returned to live in Scandinavia. Michigan was never the most popular destination for Scandinavian immigrants. As immigrants began arriving in the North American interior, they settled in areas to the west of Michigan, particularly in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, and North and South Dakota. Nevertheless, thousands pursued their American dream in the Great Lakes State. They settled in Detroit and played an important role in the city’s industrial boom and automotive industry. They settled in the Upper Peninsula and worked in the iron and copper mines. They settled in the northern Lower Peninsula and worked in the logging industry. Finally, they settled in the fertile areas of west Michigan and contributed to the state’s burgeoning agricultural sector. Today, a strong Scandinavian presence remains in town names like Amble, in Montcalm County, and Skandia, in Marquette County, and in local culinary delicacies like æbleskiver, in Greenville, and lutefisk, found in select grocery stores throughout the state at Christmastime.
Download or read book Scandinavians in Michigan written by Christian T. Feddersen and published by . This book was released on 1968 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Swedes in Michigan written by Rebecca J. Mead and published by MSU Press. This book was released on 2012-05-01 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, large numbers of Swedish immigrants came to Michigan seeking new opportunities in the United States and relief from economic, religious, or political problems at home. In addition to establishing early farming communities, Swedish immigrants worked on railroad construction, mining, fishing, logging, and urban manufacturing. As a result, Swedish Americans made significant contributions to the economic and cultural landscape of Michigan, a history this book explores in engaging and illustrative depth. Swedes in Michigan traces the evolution of hard-working people who valued education and assimilated actively while simultaneously maintaining their cultural ties and institutions. Moving from past to present, the book examines community patterns, family connections, social organizations, exchange programs, ethnic celebrations, and business and technical achievements that have helped Swedes in Michigan maintain a sense of their heritage even as they have adapted to American life.
Download or read book Scandinavians as a Social Force in America written by Alfred O. Fonkalsrud and published by . This book was released on 1913 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Scandinavian Heritage written by Joan Magee and published by Dundurn. This book was released on 1996-08-10 with total page 127 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Scandinavian Heritage surveys the numerous contributions made in this area by the people of 5 nations: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The history of these people, from the first settlers to the present is explored in detail.
Download or read book Danes and Icelanders in Michigan written by Howard L. Nicholson and published by MSU Press. This book was released on 2013-12-01 with total page 143 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Immigration of Danes and Icelanders to Michigan began in the 1850s and continued well into the twentieth century. Beginning with their origins, this book takes a detailed look at their arrival and settlement in Michigan, answering some key questions: What brought Danes and Icelanders to Michigan? What challenges did they face? How did they adjust and survive here? Where did they settle? What kind of lasting impact have they had on Michigan’s economic and cultural landscape? Extensively researched, this book examines the public and private lives of Danish and Icelandic immigrants in Michigan, drawing from both individual and institutional histories. Shedding new light on the livelihood, traditions, religion, social life, civic organizations, and mutual benefit societies, this thorough, insightful book highlights a small but important population within Michigan’s borders.
Download or read book Norwegians in Michigan written by Clifford Davidson and published by Discovering the Peoples of Mic. This book was released on 2010 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discovering the People of Michigan a series from Michigan State University Press, examines the rich multicultural heritage of the Great Lakes State and explores Michigan's ethnic dynamics. Michigan's rapidly changing historical and social structures have far-reaching implication in such areas as public policy, education, management, and private enterprise. Discovering the People of Michigan reveals the unique contributions that different and often unrecognized communities have made to Michigan's historical and social identity.
Download or read book The Scandinavian American written by Alfred O. Fonkalsrud and published by . This book was released on 1915 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Prairie Voices written by Gerald D. Anderson and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2014-11-25 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1976, the Northwest Minnesota Regional History Center, a part of the Minnesota Historical Society, conducted a bi-centennial project to record the voices of first and second generation Scandinavian Immigrants in the Upper Midwest, especially in the Red River Valley of Minnesota and North Dakota. The author traveled to their homes and interviewed more than a hundred immigrants or their children to gather information on the immigrant experience. Among the issues explored with these people were conditions in the home country, reasons for emigration, the route of the emigrations and the voyage to America, initial impressions, and the first year in America. The statistical information on this immigration experience, especially for the Norwegians and the Swedes, is quite excellent, but the oral history project was also attempting to capture the intense feelings of the "divided heart" and the psychological crisis of leaving family and friends behind. The interviews also attempted to gather information as to the acculturation of the immigrants. Which new aspects of America did they accept and which did they reject? Finally, the project attempted to measure the retention of Scandinavian traditions and attitudes as they existed at the time of the Bi-centennial. The Swedes, the Norwegians, the Danes, the Icelanders, and the Finns told of their retention of customs, of their church, of their educational experiences, of their language, of their literature, of their music, and, of course, of their cuisine. This book is arranged with separate chapters to examine these issues, mostly using the verbatim transcripts of the interviews. An old Icelandic woman describes traveling by covered wagon to the plains of North Dakota. An old Norwegian man describes patrolling the Swedish border when war threatened in 1905. An old Swedish woman describes homesteading on the prairie. These are wonderful and poignant words, but a transcript can never capture the musical brogue describing the longing for Norway nor can they portray the tear that rolls down a face as a man describes that last Christmas in Sweden. The author is a retired professor of history who taught at Luther College, North Dakota State University, and Minnesota State University Moorhead.
Download or read book The Nordic Model written by Mary Hilson and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2008-06-24 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The political structures of the Scandinavian nations have long stood as models for government and public policy. This comprehensive study examines how that “Nordic model” of government developed, as well as its far-reaching influence. Respected Scandinavian historian Mary Hilson surveys the political bureaucracies of the five Nordic countries—Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden—and traces their historical influences and the ways they have changed, individually and as a group, over time. The book investigates issues such as economic development, foreign policy, politics, government, and the welfare state, and it also explores prevailing cultural perceptions of Scandinavia in the twentieth century. Hilson then turns to the future of the Nordic region as a unified whole within Europe as well as in the world, and considers the re-emergence of the Baltic Sea as a pivotal region on the global stage. The Nordic Model offers an incisive assessment of Scandinavia yesterday and today, making this an essential text for students and scholars of political science, European history, and Scandinavian studies.
Download or read book The Madisonian Turn written by Torbjörn Bergman and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2011-06-14 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Parliamentary democracy is the most common regime type in the contemporary political world, but the quality of governance depends on effective parliamentary oversight and strong political parties. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden have traditionally been strongholds of parliamentary democracy. In recent years, however, critics have suggested that new challenges such as weakened popular attachment, the advent of cartel parties, the judicialization of politics, and European integration have threatened the institutions of parliamentary democracy in the Nordic region. This volume examines these claims and their implications. The authors find that the Nordic states have moved away from their previous resemblance to a Westminster model toward a form of parliamentary democracy with more separation-of-powers features—a Madisonian model. These features are evident both in vertical power relations (e.g., relations with the European Union) and horizontal ones (e.g., increasingly independent courts and central banks). Yet these developments are far from uniform and demonstrate that there may be different responses to the political challenges faced by contemporary Western democracies.
Download or read book Vikings in the Attic written by Eric Dregni and published by U of Minnesota Press. This book was released on 2013-11-30 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Growing up with Swedish and Norwegian grandparents with a dash of Danish thrown in for balance, Eric Dregni thought Scandinavians were perfectly normal. Who doesn’t enjoy a good, healthy salad (Jell-O packed with canned fruit, colored marshmallows, and pretzels) or perhaps some cod soaked in drain cleaner as the highlights of Christmas? Only later did it dawn on him that perhaps this was just a little strange, but by then it was far too late: he was hooked and a dyed-in-the-wool Scandinavian himself. But what does it actually mean to grow up Scandinavian-American or to live with these Norwegians, Swedes, Finns, Danes, and Icelanders among us? In Vikings in the Attic, Dregni tracks down and explores the significant—and quite often bizarre—historic sites, tales, and traditions of Scandinavia’s peculiar colony in the Midwest. It’s a legacy of the unique—collecting silver spoons, a suspicion of flashy clothing, shots of turpentine for the common cold, and a deep love of rhubarb pie—but also one of poor immigrants living in sod houses while their children attend college, the birth of the co-op movement, the Farmer–Labor party, and government agents spying on Scandinavian meetings hoping to nab a socialist or antiwar activist. For all the tales his grandparents told him, Dregni quickly discovers there are quite a few they neglected to mention, such as Swedish egg coffee, which includes the eggshell, and Lutheran latte, which is Swedish coffee with ice cream. Vikings in the Attic goes beyond the lefse, lutefisk, and lusekofter (lice jacket) sweaters to reveal the little-known tales that lie beneath the surface of Nordic America. Ultimately, Dregni ends up proving by example why generations of Scandinavian-Americans have come to love and cherish these tales and traditions so dearly. Well, almost all of them.* * See lutefisk.
Download or read book Architecture in the Scandinavian Countries written by Marian Card Donnelly and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1992 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The most complete survey of Nordic architecture available today.
Download or read book The Media Welfare State written by Ole J. Mjøs and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2014-10-22 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Media Welfare State: Nordic Media in the Digital Era comprehensively addresses the central dynamics of the digitalization of the media industry in the Nordic countries—Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland—and the ways media organizations there are transforming to address the new digital environment. Taking a comparative approach, the authors provide an overview of media institutions, content, use, and policy throughout the region, focusing on the impact of information and communication technology/internet and digitalization on the Nordic media sector. Illustrating the shifting media landscape the authors draw on a wide range of cases, including developments in the press, television, the public service media institutions, and telecommunication.
Download or read book Norwegian Settlement in the United States written by Carlton Chester Qualey and published by . This book was released on 1970 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book There s No Such Thing as Bad Weather written by Linda Åkeson McGurk and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-10-03 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bringing Up Bébé meets Last Child in the Woods in this “fascinating exploration of the importance of the outdoors to childhood development” (Kirkus Reviews) from a Swedish-American mother who sets out to discover if the nature-centric parenting philosophy of her native Scandinavia holds the key to healthier, happier lives for her American children. Could the Scandinavian philosophy of “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes” hold the key to happier, healthier lives for American children? When Swedish-born Linda Åkeson McGurk moved to Indiana, she quickly learned that the nature-centric parenting philosophies of her native Scandinavia were not the norm. In Sweden, children play outdoors year-round, regardless of the weather, and letting babies nap outside in freezing temperatures is common and recommended by physicians. Preschoolers spend their days climbing trees, catching frogs, and learning to compost, and environmental education is a key part of the public-school curriculum. In the US, McGurk found the playgrounds deserted, and preschoolers were getting drilled on academics with little time for free play in nature. And when a swimming outing at a nearby creek ended with a fine from a park officer, McGurk realized that the parenting philosophies of her native country and her adopted homeland were worlds apart. Struggling to decide what was best for her family, McGurk embarked on a six-month journey to Sweden with her two daughters to see how their lives would change in a place where spending time in nature is considered essential to a good childhood. Insightful and lively, There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather is a fascinating personal narrative that illustrates how Scandinavian culture could hold the key to raising healthy, resilient, and confident children in America.
Download or read book Eugenics and the Welfare State written by Gunnar Broberg and published by Uppsala Studies in History of. This book was released on 2005 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1997 Eugenics and the Welfare State caused an uproar with international repercussions. This edition contains a new introduction by Broberg and Roll-Hansen, addressing events that occurred following the original publication. The four essays in this book stand as a chilling indictment of mass sterilization practices, not only in Scandinavia but in other European countries and the United States--eugenics practices that remained largely hidden from the public view until recently. Eugenics and the Welfare State also provides an in-depth, critical examination of the history, politics, science, and economics that led to mass sterilization programs in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland; programs put in place for the "betterment of society" and based largely on the "junk science" of eugenics that was popular before the rise of Nazism in Germany. When the results of Broberg's and Roll-Hansen's book were widely publicized in August 1997, the London Observer reported, "Yesterday Margot Wallstrom, the Swedish Minister for Social Policy, issued a belated reaction to the revelations. She said: 'What went on is barbaric and a national disgrace.' She pledged to create a law ensuring that involuntary sterilisation would never again be used in Sweden, and promised compensation to victims." Ultimately, the Swedish government not only apologized to the many thousands who had been sterilized without their knowledge or against their will, but also put in place a program for the payment of reparations to these unfortunate victims.
