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  • Essay / Review of the book "Norwegian Migration to America" ​​by Theodore C. Blegen

    In the book Norwegian Migration to America: The American Transition, Theodore C. Blegen reviews Norwegian-American history throughout spanning the years 1825 to 1925. The author tells the story of these immigrants using journal entries, official documents, and other historical records. The author wanted to accurately depict the struggle many Norwegian-American immigrants had to adapt to life in the United States of America and show how successful they were in doing so. This book interested me because I have recently developed a fascination with Scandinavia. Not knowing much about them or how they integrated into American culture, this book seems to provide a lot of information on the subject. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In this book, the author illustrates in depth the many struggles that Norwegian-Americans faced during their migration. It also shows how well they were able to adapt and how successful they were. In explaining how they adapted to linguistic change, he wrote: "Such a tendency, he realized, was common among emigrants of all nationalities, but the Norwegians, he thought, 'seem to have a special talent for it » (Blegen 82). This seems to fit the common theme of the book starting with the adversary and ending with the Norwegians winning. Both of Blegen's parents immigrated from Norway. Blegen, fascinated by his ancestors, continued to study and write about their history. He mentions in his book the immense pride they felt for themselves and for their country. April Schultz writes about President Calvin Coolidge speaking to eighty thousand Norwegian Americans, praising their contributions to American society and even acknowledging their claim that a Norwegian explorer had actually discovered America long before Columbus. A local journalist reported the crowd's reaction: "The great roar that rose from the Nordic gorges to Thor and Odin above the descending gray clouds said that the pride of the race had been touched" (Schultz 1265 ). Taking this into account, the author's desire to show the triumphs of his people becomes clear. Although the author clearly has a bias and was born to two Norwegian immigrants, he still uses a plethora of sources and provides plenty of information to build a strong argument. At the bottom of almost every page, the author lists multiple references to letters, speeches, books, and even recordings he used. As I read through them, I noticed that the sources came from many different places and people, and he didn't seem to rely heavily on any of them. The author does not include much information about the suffragettes and their involvement, but it appears that they were very proud that their home country was the first sovereign nation in the world to grant their women voting rights equal. Scandinavian suffragists used this information to encourage Americans to follow suit, explains Anna Peterson: A banner touting Norway's successes in voting rights acted as a clear display of ethnic pride for Norwegian Americans who have seen. The banner also served as suffrage rhetoric, shaming Americans into understanding that they were behind other countries in advancing women's rights. (Peter 14). It evokes the Scandinavian “ethnic pride”, which they displayed freely and proudly without suffering any form of/2078262.