During the period 1825-1930, approximately 800 000 people emigrated from Norway to the USA. This was the highest number of emigrants in relation to population compared to any other country in Europe except Ireland. A majority of Norwegian emigrants settled in rural areas, where chain migration and regional background created compact settlements, yet many also set up home in the larger cities. Whereas the Norwegian Lutheran Church became the upholder of tradition in the Norwegian rural communities, Norwegians in the cities set up a variety of secular organizations but also encountered social segregation. Norwegian organizational activity increased during the 1900s, and the article examines the extent to which these rural and urban Norwegian immigrants identified with their Norwegian past, and whether they did so from a regional or a national perspective. A sense of unity among Norwegian, Swedish and Danish immigrants created urban areas that were essentially Scandinavian in character, but political development on the national level, especially the constitutional crisis in the Swedish-Norwegian union, ultimately led to an increasing nationalism among immigrant groups and organizational activities based on ethnicity. Based on conditions in their country of origin and in their adopted country, the national or regional identity of Norwegian-Americans gradually became Norwegian-American. With the fusion of multi-level identities in a complementary process, Norwegian immigrants and their offspring could identify with both a regional and an ethnic Norwegian identity, but also with an American identity. By finding an acceptable version of their past, Norwegian immigrants created an ethnic identity that was consistent with the ideal of being a good American. © Universitetsforlaget 2010.

Migration class Ethnicity Identity

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