Norwegian Immigration Research Paper

Arriving on the land of the free, citizens of the world have come to a place where all dreams come true. Seen in the same light for many years, America has become a home to many immigrants. With migration comes many obstacles, but in the end it is all worth it. From country to country, people have caught the “American Fever”, dreaming about finally coming to a place that is united, equal, and full of hope. Seeking a prosperous life, Norwegian immigrants found their reality of the American Dream living in a new place with thriving opportunities of successful careers and the possibility of religious freedom.
The many push factors the Norwegian’s experienced, caused the Norwegian people to want the life of an American. Falling under the different
Since the 1600s, Norwegians have made their way to the United States with the hope of living a better life. As any other immigrant, the Norwegian people had left for many different reasons, including many push factors. The political and environmental severity following the Danish initiation of a grain monopoly had left Norway in the path of a “grain shortage, leading to famine and disease”(“Push and Pull factors of Norwegian Migration”). Although this is not the only political cause, Norway relied on Denmark for its imports, so this left a mark on the country’s intake of goods. Along with this political cause of emigration, religion also had a great impact. Religious persecution came to light on a larger scale in the 1800s. Those who had failed to cohere with the Lutheran form of worship had been faced with religious discrimination. For many, this was the pushing point in their lives, leading to the first large emigration out of Norway. Led by Cleng Peerson, on the Restaurasjonen, also known as the “Norwegian Mayflower”,
As seen by the many people in the world, at the time and still to this day, America is the land where anything is possible. To the Norwegians, America meant religious freedom, more land, and unlimited job opportunities. More than one-ninth of the country’s population left in the late 1800s and by the 1920s, one-third of the population had left for America. Because the population soared in Norway, by about fifty percent, there was “relatively little land that was good for farming”(“Scandinavian -The Norwegians-Immigration”). This left people no choice but to leave between the years of 1866 and 1873. After a halt in migration due to the Great Depression’s financial issues, the United States recovered and the “second major wave of Norwegian Immigration began”(Dagre). With such an agricultural boom, many of the immigrants left to pursue their own businesses in more fertile lands in hope of better farming success. Industrialization was gaining speed as well and many workers came to the United States. Many left when “the Great Migration from Norway during the 1880's was prompted by the economic growth in the US due the Second Industrial Revolution in America”(“Push and Pull factors of Norwegian Migration”). With such economic success in the United States, it made people want to live there even