I have used some material from that book, and some from Danes Go West by Hvidt (1976) in constructing this history.
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I chose to focus on the Danish part of my ancestory because I had a grandpa who identified as 100% Danish, and that was always the most salient ethnicity I had while growing up. My other grandparents and living great-grandparents were of mixed ethnicity. Also, my grandpa's father, Marinus Hagedorn, was a minister who gave sermons in Danish and English. Both Marinus' parents immigrated from Denmark, and he wrote a rather lengthy book about his life called An Open Door (1984). I remember looking through this book as a child for the picture of my great-granfather and me.
I have used some material from that book, and some from Danes Go West by Hvidt (1976) in constructing this history.
Marinus Hagedorn's parents, Christian Hagedorn and Maren Beck, were born in the 1850's in South-Jutland, Denmark.
According to Hvidt, many Danes emigrated because they were part of a group of people who were relegated to jobs such as farmhand, and as more children were surviving into adulthood they had no access to inheriting their parent's land. Danish migration began as a movement from the countryside to the towns, but this did not solve the problem as the growth of industry lagged behind the available workers who needed jobs. There was no such thing as unemployment relief, and unemployment reached highs of 50% in the 1870s. Therefore, many Danes were forced to consider the option of leaving their country (Hvidt, 1976).
pictures from Hvidt, 1976
Another factor which caused Danes in the southern part of the country to emigrate was forced military conscription to the Prussian Army for three years, economic hardships and "systematic germanization" (Hvidt, 1976). In 1864 there was a dispute between Prussia and Denmark (for more information, see this article), and this area of Southern Denmark became a Duchy of the kingdom of Prussia and remained so until 1920 after the first World War, when it was returned to Denmark. My great-grandfather writes, "It is evident that the Danes did not relish being German [Prussian] subjects. For this, and many other economical reasons, there was a movement on the part of many Scandinavians toward America. I am sure that my father would rather emigrate than serve in the German [Prussian] army." (Hagedorn, 1984).
In 1872, Christian Hagedorn came to America, followed the next year by Maren Beck (Hagedorn, 1984). By the time they emigrated, steamships were the basic method of travel for the more than 3,700 mile journey from Europe to America. This was far better than the previously "hellish" journey on a sailing ship, according to Hvidt. Upon arriving in America, they were most likely quickly shuffled through a port city such as Ellis Island in New York among the increasingly large influx of immigrants in the late 1800s. Another possibility is that they entered the US through Canada, like millions of other European immigrants. Many Danes then chose to embark on the long, rough journey from the East Coast to the Midwest by train (Hvidt, 1976).
The work opportunities for the landless Danish emigrants in America were far better than what they left behind. There was cheap land available on the Prairie, factory work on the East Coast, gold mining on the West Coast, or working on the railroad in-between. A farmer from Omaha wrote the following to relatives in Denmark: "I got a job right away at a wagon plant where I make 60 Danish rix-dollars a month on which I naturally do well because food is much cheaper here than in Denmark." Making it on the prairie was not easy at first, however; arriving in May or June, immigrants had to break enough ground to grow food for the winter, but first had to work for others to save up the money to buy a plough, animals, and all the supplies that were needed to farm, not to mention putting up a shelter to have a place to sleep (Hvidt, 1976).
Christian and Maren both opted for the rural life, and settled in Cedar Falls, Iowa where there were many Danish families living already. They met and were married in 1875. In the mid-1880s, after having seven children, they purchased a farm of their own in Royal, Iowa. They then had five more children, the last being Marinus, my great-grandpa (Hagedorn, 1984).
Danes do not appear to have been discriminated against. The only stereotype I am aware of is that Danes are "stubborn." There is a saying "You can always tell a Dane, but you can't tell 'em much," meaning they won't listen.
I remember seeing this phrase on a plaque my grandpa owned, and he would sometimes joke about being a "hard-headed Dane."
former Attorney General Janet Reno
Danes are known for their clean 3-dimensional designs, including famous companies like Bang & Olufsen, and the children's toy Lego. It was a Danish American, Samuel Sorensen Adams, who created such novelty products as the Joy Buzzer and the dribble glass. Victor Børge was a Danish-American entertainer who played piano and did comedy routines, appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show. Danish-American Ellen Corby had an extensive acting career. She is best known for playing "Grandma Walton" on The Waltons. Janet Reno was the first (and only) woman elected to the post of Attorney General, and her father immigrated from Denmark.
Other famous Danish-Americans include muckracking journalist Jacob Riis, silent film actor Karl Dane, actress Gale Sondergaard, Opera singer Lauritz Melchior, the oldest man to die in the United States at age 115 Christian Mortensen, and Minnesota politician Hjalmar Petersen.
For more information on Danish-Americans, see the following links: