Final Project

Early Immigration in Minnesota

Introduction

The people who first lived in the modern day Minnesota belonged to Native American tribes and they settled around 6000 BC. The Ojibwe and Dakota people were the largest tribes living in Minnesota when the first Canadian and French merchants arrived. However, widespread immigration into Minnesota began in the mid nineteenth century when settlers from New England and immigrants from Ireland, Norway, Sweden and Germany arrived. These people were drawn by cheap farmland and burgeoning industrial base and these conditions invited more groups into the region. By 1896, election instructions were being issued in nine languages including German, Swedish, Finish and Norwegian. At the turn of the twentieth century, Minnesota became a significant destination for immigrants who were trooping to the United States. The first big wave of immigration into this state took place at the turn of the twentieth century with more than half of the immigrants coming from Scandinavian countries and Germany. By 1905, foreigners accounted for over 40 percent of the population of the state of Minnesota (Nordstrom 78). The second wave of immigration into the state of Minnesota took place during the Vietnam War and this shook the ethnic composition of the state. The resettlement of refugees from south East Asia in Minnesota by Christian organisations completely changed the ethnic mix because initially, Minnesota comprised of the Indigenous Americans, African Americans and western European immigrants. The entry of south East Asians, Latin Americans East Europeans and Africans later in the century completely changed the ethnic outlook of this state.

The Swedes

Though the Swedes started migrating to USA in the mid nineteenth century, they landed in Minnesota in the summative years of the century. Between 1890 and 1900, more than 150, 000 people of Swedish descent landed in Minnesota and this is considered to be the single largest settlement of Swedes in America. The pace of Swedish migration into Minnesota remained high after the turn of the century and their migration subsided in the 1920s. The Swedish who migrated to the state before the turn of the century were agriculturalists who were running away from perennial crop failures in Sweden. They also had a rural profile but the Swedes who immigrated to the state after the turn of the century were mainly city dwellers who were attracted by the rapidly growing industrial economy of the United States of America (Nelson 68). During the first decades of immigration, the Swedish immigrants were old people with families but the second wave of immigration that took place at the turn of the century saw young singles moving into the state. Minnesota was once considered a Swedish state with more than 15 percent of the states population being Swedish in the formative years of the twentieth century. The Swedish were the largest minority group in the state and the second largest group after the Native Americans. More than 30 percent of all the Swedes who migrated to America landed in Minnesota and at one time, the Capital city of this state had the second largest Swedish population after Stockholm.

The Irish

The first Irish groups settled in Minnesota in the mid twentieth century. They were brought by the Catholic Church under the stewardship of Archbishop John Ireland who helped to form the Minnesota Irish immigration society. Ireland had a colonisation scheme that helped to settle the Irish people in good farmlands and within the reach of the Catholic Church. The first major wave of Irish migration into Minnesota took place in the 1880s with most of these immigrants settling in southern Minnesota. The settled along the Minnesota and the Mississippi rivers and by 1890, there were more than 20, 000 Irish immigrants in Minnesota. Though most of the immigrants came through the Irish immigration scheme, some came as railroad workers. The number of Irish Immigrants into this state was low compared to other west European groups such as the Swedish and the Germans. However, they survived and developed favourably in the state as a predominant minority group and managed to make St Paul City and Irish capital.

The Germans

Germans began immigrating to America in the summative years of the eighteenth century when America was still a British colony. They were running away from the oppression caused by the Napoleonic wars. However, the Germans first entered Minnesota in the mid 1850s but their immigration into the state peaked in the 1860s and 1870s. Unlike the Irish who went to the southern regions of the state only, The Germans settled in various places around the state. The highest number of Germans settled in Minnesota just before the turn of the 20^th century. Most Germans settled in Sibley county, Brown county and Wynona. However, the North had more German settlers than the south with New Munich, Benton, Morrison and Wright counties taking the largest numbers of immigrants. Although the Germans settled all over the state, there are some areas where these immigrants were predominant.

The Norwegians

Norwegians started arriving in United States of America at the turn of the 19^th century but the never moved to Minnesota until after the end of American Civil War (Fuller, 34). The first Norwegians settled in the Mid- Western states before moving to the west where land was cheap and plenty. After the civil war, many Norwegians moved into the state but it is the US-Dakota war of 1862 that pushed more Norwegians into the Minnesota River valley. The treaty of Traverse Des Sioux saw many people from the native tribe of Dakota leave Minnesota, creating room for increased European settlement.  Just like the Germans, the Norwegians settled all over the state but their first permanent settlement was in the south east. By 1870, there were more than 12, 000 Norwegians in Minnesota but the number had more than doubled by 1880.  At the turn of the century, there were more than 50,000 Norwegians in Minnesota with most of them settling around Lake Superior which created employment for the predominant fishing population. Norwegians had started moving into the cities in the summative years of the nineteenth century with the biggest influx of Norwegians into the cities taking place in at the turn of the century.

* Famous Scandinavian Immigrants
 1-Albert Einstein. Famous for the theory of relativity was born at Ulm, in Württemberg, Germany, on March 14, 1879. Six weeks later the family moved to Munich. He moved to the US in 1940 and died in 1955.

2-Lars Onsager

•         Born in Oslo, Norway on November 27, 1903

•         Immigrated to U.S. in 1928 to work at John Hopkins University

•         Contacted by U.S. government to help work on atomic bomb during World War II

•         Stayed in America until his death in 1976

3- Ingrid Bergman

•         * Born in Stockholm

•         Immigrated to U.S. to further acting career in Hollywood

•         Winner of 3 Oscars

•         Famous movies include

•         Casablanca

•         Gaslight (won her first Oscar)

In conclusion:

These early migrations into the state of Minnesota made the state a very unique state. There is not other state in America where the migrant population is higher than the native population. Over the decades, foreign born population has risen dramatically outpacing the rate of national growth of foreign population. In the formative years of the twentieth century, there was no specific language that could be spoken by al the people of Minnesota due to the significant ethnic diversity .As stated earlier, in the last three elections of the nineteenth century; instructions were issued in eight different languages to accommodate all the migrant populations in the state. This was the most unique case in the history of America. Early migrations in Minnesota have made the state to stand out as one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse states in United States of America. Due to these early migrations, Minnesota currently has the largest concentration of western European citizens with Swedes and Germans being the most predominant west European groups in the state of Minnesota.  It is worth noting that these immigrations took place immediately after the agrarian revolution and deep into the industrial revolution and the cheap and plenty land in Minnesota was one of the factors that encouraged migrants into the state. It is also important to note that most of these immigrants did not arrive from their home countries directly. They would settle in other parts of America then move towards the west in search of cheap land for agrarian purposes. The largest waves of migration into the state of Minnesota took place at the turn of the twentieth century but the migrations slowed down in the 1920s. Most people from Western Europe had settled in Minnesota by 1920 and most of the immigrants that settled there after the great depression and before the Second World War were people from south East Asia and immigrants from West Africa. All in all, the study of immigration in America cannot be complete without the study of early immigration into the state of Minnesota which attracted migrants from many parts of North western, Western and Eastern Europe.

Works Cited

1-      Fuller, Howard. The Scandinavians in America, 986-1970: A Chronology and Fact Book. Dobbs Ferry, New York: Oceana Publications, Inc, 1972.

2-      Nelson, Helge. The Swedes and the Swedish Settlements in North America. Lund: The Royal Society of Letters, 1943. Reprint, New York: Arno Press, 1979.

3-      Nordstrom, Byron. Early Immigrants in Minnesota. Minneapolis: T.S. Denison and Company, Inc., 1976.

4-      Filet Minnesota. Irish history in Minnesota, 2005.Web. 15 Nov. 2010.

5-      German Immigration. German immigration, 2010.Web. 15 Nov. 

6-      The Advocates for Human Rights. The facts: Immigration in Minnesota, 2006. Web. 15 Nov. 2010.

7-      http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/07/27/midday1/

8-      Madnusson, Linda. “Causes of Swedish Immigration.” ThinkQuest. 15 Aug. 1999. 15 Nov    2006.

9-      "Sweden." Britannica. Britannica Online. 7 Nov. 2006   <http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-29873>.

10-  “Immigration: Scandinavians.” 04 June 2002. The Library of Congress. 05 Nov. 2006

     <http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/immig/scandinavian.html

 

Outline for final project

Early immigration in Minnesota

Introduction:  The first peoples living in the region now known as Minnesota were members of diverse Native American tribes who settled in the area as long ago as 6000 B.C. The Ojibwa and Dakota, are the largest tribes living in Minnesota in the early and mid-nineteenth century, both had well-established societies based on hunting and gathering when the first French and French Canadian traders arrived to establish fur posts among them.

Body

1-By 1850, many settlers from New England as well as immigrants from Norway, Sweden, Ireland, and Germany had settled in Minnesota. Drawn by the lure of inexpensive farmland and a growing industrial base, diverse groups continued to migrate to Minnesota.

2- By 1896, official election instructions were being issued in nine languages: English, German, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, French, Czech, Italian, and Polish.

3- Minnesota became a significant immigration state as a result of the wave of immigration to the United States at the turn of the century.

4- While the foreign-born population in the United States was only 15% in the 1890s, the foreign-born population for Minnesota was 40%.

5- Another wave of immigration to Minnesota, which began after the Vietnam War, marked a change in the ethnic makeup of Minnesota’s immigrant populations. This wave peaked in the 1980s when hundreds of refugees from Southeast Asia, aided by local churches, were resettled in Minnesota communities. Minnesota’s ethnic mix— originally comprised of Native Americans, African Americans, and immigrants from diverse Western European countries—was further enriched by new populations primarily from Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe.

In conclusion: There are always reasons for immigrants such as war, hunger, and finding new life style.

My final project

In my final project I decided to write about “early immigration in Minnesota”. When I came to the  US, Minnesota is the first state I lived in and I’m interesting to know about the state history. Also, to find out where did the native people go after the migrants came?

The winner for third Interview

The winner for third Interview

After reading the 3^rd interview for all my classmates I chose Hailey, Eder to be my winner for the 3^rd interview. The reasons I chose her to be my winner because, she covered all the fourth elements and parameters. Firstly, in the interview she describes the preparation of her interview following with the description of how the interview was conducted and how easy it was for her to conduct the interviewee. She presents the facts and wrote a report about the country (Saudi Arabia) in a very meaningful way. I can actually see from the writing how Saudi Arabia would look like. She explains the culture and different information about Saudi Arabia in the country report. She also, mentions the work cites at the end of her post. Secondly, the interview transcripts, she took with me as an interviewee. In my opinion she conducted me very well. She has all the core questions that she had to put through the interview. Moreover, her document is well prepared which shows that really put effort in her work. I think some of the places of her interview had specific information about the culture which means she really asked the interviewee indeed questions. The part I liked mostly about her interview is that when I read her first interview, it seemed that she didn’t put much effort but, the 3^rd interview looks really good for me. Thirdly, she mentions in her interview the objectives and what she learned from her interviewee. She asked me too many good questions that I did not expect. Such as “Do the bride and groom kiss at the end?” I said that because I am from Saudi Arabia and I really surprised when she asked me that. Her question is kind for specific and no body from outside the country can think about this question. Finally, her interview had all the components that were needed for the perfect interview.

Third Interview result

click here

The winner for 2nd interview

The winner for 2^nd interview

        

After reading the 2^nd interview for all my classmates I chose Schleif, Emily to be my winner for the 2^nd interview. The reasons why is she the winner because, she covered all the fourth elements and parameters. Firstly, in the interview she describes the preparation of her interview following with the description of how the interview was conducted and how easy it was for her to conduct the interviewee. She presents the facts and wrote a report about the country (Saudi Arabia) in a very meaningful way. I can actually see from the writing how Saudi Arabia would look like. She explains the culture and different information about Saudi Arabia in the country report. She also, mentions the work cites at the end of her post. Secondly, the interview transcripts, she took with her interviewee Mutaz Aljuligum. In my opinion she conducted the interviewee very well. She has all the core questions that she had to put through the interview. Moreover, her document is well prepared which shows that really put effort in her work. I think some of the places of her interview had specific information about the culture which means she really asked the interviewee indeed questions. The part I liked mostly about her interview is that when I read her first interview, it seemed that she didn’t put much effort but, the 2^nd interview looks really good for me. Thirdly, she mentions in her interview the objectives and what she learned from her interviewee. Also I noticed I her country report that she did good research about Saudi Arabia. I said that because I am from Saudi Arabia and I really surprised when I read the country report because she wrote about some information that not showing easily to anyone. Such as ‘Riyadh means “garden” in the official language Arabic. The capital city alone has an estimated population ‘That means she did really good job. Finally, her interview had all the components that were needed for the perfect interview

2nd interview result

link for the 2nd interview result