Nordlyset (The Northern Light) was the first in a series of Norwegian-American newspapers published by the Norwegian immigrant community in the United States. [1] The first issue was published on St. Olaf's Day (July 29) 1847 in the Muskego Settlement in the Wisconsin Territory. [1] The editor of the newspaper was James DeNoon Reymert, an immigrant from Farsund, [2] and the newspaper was printed in Even Hansen Heg's (1790–1850) cabin. [1] The newspaper promoted new American values, such as freedom and equality. Many of its articles argued that the freedom of Norwegian expatriates was far greater in the United States, and that this was the main reason why many had emigrated from Norway. [3] In 1850, the newspaper was purchased by Knud Langeland, who changed its name to Democraten (The Democrat). [1]
The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to the mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. The network was assisted by abolitionists and others sympathetic to the cause of the escapees. The enslaved persons who risked escape and those who aided them are also collectively referred to as the "Underground Railroad". Various other routes led to Mexico, where slavery had been abolished, and to islands in the Caribbean that were not part of the slave trade. An earlier escape route running south toward Florida, then a Spanish possession, existed from the late 17th century until approximately 1790. However, the network now generally known as the Underground Railroad began in the late 18th century. It ran north and grew steadily until the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln. One estimate suggests that by 1850, approximately 100,000 enslaved people had escaped to freedom via the network.
Trempealeau County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,760. Its county seat is Whitehall. Many people of Polish, Norwegian and German descent live in this area.
German Americans are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to the Academy for Cultural Diplomacy, "German-Americans make up the largest self-reported ancestry group within the United States accounting for roughly 49 million people and approximately 17% of the population of the US." This would be an Increase from 2010 when it was 45,700,000. German Americans account for about one third of the total population of people of German ancestry in the world.
The United States census is a census that is legally mandated by the U.S. Constitution, and takes place every ten years. The first census after the American Revolution was taken in 1790, under Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson; there have been 23 federal censuses since that time.
Norwegians are a North Germanic ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians are descended from the Norse of the Early Middle Ages who formed a unified Kingdom of Norway in the 9th century. During the Viking Age, Norwegians and other Norse peoples conquered, settled and ruled parts of the British Isles, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland. Norwegians are closely related to other North Germanic peoples and descendants of the Norsemen such as Danes, Swedes, Icelanders and the Faroe Islanders, as well as groups such as the Scots whose nation they significantly settled and left a lasting impact in.
In the United States, fugitive slaves or runaway slaves were terms used in the 18th and 19th centuries to describe people who fled slavery. The term also refers to the federal Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850. Such people are also called freedom seekers to avoid implying that the enslaved person had committed a crime and that the slaveholder was the injured party.
Norwegian Americans are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the 20th century. There are more than 4.5 million Norwegian Americans, according to the 2021 U.S. census,; most live in the Upper Midwest and on the West Coast of the United States.
Native Americans in the United States resided in what is now Iowa for thousands of years. The written history of Iowa begins with the proto-historic accounts of Native Americans by explorers such as Marquette and Joliet in the 1680s. Until the early 19th century Iowa was occupied exclusively by Native Americans and a few European traders, with loose political control by France and Spain.
Swedish Americans are Americans of Swedish ancestry. They include the 1.2 million Swedish immigrants during 1865–1915, who formed tight-knit communities, as well as their descendants and more recent immigrants.
Nordic and Scandinavian Americans are Americans of Scandinavian and/or Nordic ancestry, including Danish Americans, Faroese Americans, Finnish Americans, Greenlandic Americans, Icelandic Americans, Norwegian Americans, and Swedish Americans. Also included are persons who reported 'Scandinavian' ancestry on their census. According to 2021 census estimates, there are approximately 9,365,489 people of Scandinavian ancestry in the United States.
Marcus Møller Thrane was a Norwegian author, journalist, and the leader of the first labour movement in Norway. It was later known as the Thrane movement (Thranebevegelsen).
Icelandic Americans are Americans of Icelandic descent or Iceland-born people who reside in the United States. Icelandic immigrants came to the United States primarily in the period 1873–1905 and after World War II. There are more than 40,000 Icelandic Americans according to the 2000 U.S. census, and most live in the Upper Midwest. The United States is home to the second largest Icelandic diaspora community in the world after Canada.
Bien was a Danish language newspaper published weekly in the United States from the late 19th through the early 21st century.
James DeNoon Reymert was an American newspaper editor, mine operator, lawyer and politician. He was a pioneer settler in Wisconsin Territory, early elected official in the state of Wisconsin and founded the first Norwegian language newspaper to be published in the United States.
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, about 1.3 million Swedes left Sweden for the United States of America. While the land of the American frontier was a magnet for the rural poor all over Europe, some factors encouraged Swedish emigration in particular. The religious repression practiced by the Swedish Lutheran State Church was widely resented, as was the social conservatism and snobbery of the Swedish monarchy. Population growth and crop failures made conditions in the Swedish countryside increasingly bleak. By contrast, reports from early Swedish emigrants painted the American Midwest as an earthly paradise.
The Muskego Settlement was one of the first Norwegian-American settlements in the United States. Situated near today's Muskego, Wisconsin, the Muskego Settlement covered areas within what is now the town of Norway in Racine County, Wisconsin.
The Russian language is among the top fifteen most spoken languages in the United States, and is one of the most spoken Slavic and European languages in the country. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, many Russians have migrated to the United States and brought the language with them. Most Russian speakers in the United States today are Russian Jews. According to the 2010 United States Census the number of Russian speakers was 854,955, which made Russian the 12th most spoken language in the country.
Christian Martin Monsen was a Norwegian novelist, poet, journalist, newspaper editor and politician.
Scandinavian Immigration to the Americas involves the immigration of people from Scandinavia to the Americas and its associated territories. Typically, Scandinavia refers to the countries of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and sometimes other Nordic countries like Finland and Iceland. Individuals who immigrated to the Americas from Scandinavia brought with them cultural, economic, educational, and other valuable contributions.
Nordic Americans have constituted a long-running ethnic presence in New York City since its very founding.