My great grandfather, Martin Wicklund, was born in Halsingland, Sweden, on December 23, 1872. In 1892, at the age of nineteen, he left Sweden and immigrated to the United States where he made Minnesota his permanent home. Although immigration from Sweden to the United States in the 1800s was primarily due to economic reasons, my great grandfather immigrated because he wanted religious freedom.
My great grandfather was raised on a farm in Sweden. At the age of nine, my great grandfather left home for a short period of time. He became a shoeshine boy on a ship on the Baltic Sea before returning back to his family in Sweden. At the age of 19, he left Sweden again, but this time he immigrated to the United States with his father and two brothers. They traveled over three thousand miles across the Atlantic Ocean, spending nine days on a steam ship. He came through Ellis Island and settled in Minnesota.
Upon arrival in the United States, my great grandfather traveled to northern Minnesota. He lived with approximately 50 men in a crude barracks in northern Minnesota. Although he knew no English, he was able to get a job working at a lumber mill in Northern Minnesota. Around 1900, my great grandfather and his father bought 80 acres in Minnesota where they logged lumber on their own land. In 1913, my great grandfather married. Over the years he had six children and twenty-one grandchildren.
Since my great grandfather came to the United States with his father and his two brothers, saying goodbye to his homeland, friends and loved ones was not as difficult as it would have been had he come by himself. Once he arrived in the United States, the most difficult thing for him was learning English and adjusting to a completely different c...
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...g which they could deliberately join and contribute to financially (Rudolph 289-90). My great grandfather became very active in the Evangelical Free Church and remained so over the years. He was happy to be able to worship in a church of his choosing.
Works Cited
Daniels, Roger. Coming to America. 2nd. Princeton, NJ: HarperCollins Publishers, 2002. 166-67. Print.
Granquist, Mark. Swedish Americans. Countries and Their Cultures. Advameg, inc., 2011. Web. 27 Apr 2011. .
Rudolph, Vecoli. Religion. Encyclopedia of Multicultural America. Ed. Judy Gates. Vol. 2. Gale Research, Inc. 1995. 289-90. Print.
Stegeby, E. Kenneth. An Analysis of the Impending Disestablishment of the Church of Sweden. Brigham Young University Law Review 1999.2 (1999): 703. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 25 Apr. 2011.
Mark Wyman, the author of the brief essay known as Coming and Going: Round-Trip to America, had a different perspective about immigration to America from the various counties during the 1880’s through the 1930’s. A common belief, regarding the immigration to America, held that immigrates stayed in America during the massive shift of population, due to the enormous creation of factories and cities that erupted in America. The past day literature entices readers to believe that all immigrates came to America to work and eventually settled down to create their own families. It’s taught that all of these families stayed in America for their entire life span. Although despite the common belief, Wyman held to his own thoughts on the controversial debate and pioneered a new way of thinking. He believed that countless immigrates, which came from all over the world, actually only
In the years from 1860 through 1890, the prospect of a better life attracted nearly ten million immigrants who settled in cities around the United States. The growing number of industries produced demands for thousands of new workers and immigrants were seeking more economic opportunities. Most immigrants settled near each other’s own nationality and/or original village when in America.
The principal groups of immigrants into Washington State during the time period of 1895 to 1910 were Scandinavian immigrants, which includes Swedish, Danish and Norwegian people. Washington State by 1910 had greater numbers of immigrants than any other state of the union during 1910. At this time Washington had more immigrants than any other state; fifty percent of the state at that time was Scandinavian immigrants. The Scandinavians that came to Washington wanted to become Americanized. They worked hard at combining the best of their culture with the new culture. This also made the transition and culture shock that many emigrants experience was very minimal. (Dahlie, 1980)
In the early 16th century immigrants from England fled their country in search of a better life. They fled their homelands for many reasons; poverty, religious intolerance and persecution, others in search of an adventure or for a new start. They packed up their families and possessions some even brought their servants, embarking on a perilous journey across the Atlantic Ocean and reached the land known today as America. The first of the immigrants landed in two regions; the Massachusetts bay and the Chesapeake Bay. Both these regions would soon be colonies known as Massachusetts and Virginia, both major colonies. Throughout the years more and more people started to flee their homelands in Europe and come to America.
In the year 1980, the Ramirez family migrated to the United States led by my grandparent’s Francisco and Ana Ramirez, whom where the first to arrive to the land of opportunities. Their journey was not easy they had to struggle, and fight for their
During the late 1800’s, the United States was undergoing major change. Reconstruction was occurring in the southern states, and sizeable groups were migrating westward away from the large, eastern cities and homesteading on new western lands. This migration caused many new states to appear in the next 50 years. Like the history of most states, Minnesota’s history is not an easy one to tell. Although it is complex, Minnesotans have a major group of people to thank for the creation of their state. The massive set of immigrants who would play a huge role in the formation of Minnesota arrived in the late 1800’s after millions of acres of land west of the Mississippi was acquired by the United States government (Early Settlement). These immigrants
I walked around unsteadily all day like a lost baby, far away from its pack. Surrounded by unfamiliar territory and uncomfortable weather, I tried to search for any signs of similarities with my previous country. I roamed around from place to place and moved along with the day, wanting to just get away and go back home. This was my first day in the United States of America.
Succeeding the traditional Norwegian migration patterns my Great Grandfather traveled from Norway to America. He arrived in New York then journeyed to Minnesota. My Great Grandfather stayed in Minnesota for the remaining of his life. As a young boy my Grandfather, Christian Olaf Johnson migrated from Minnesota to Karvel Colorado in the early 1900’s during the homestead era, and became a first generation homesteader. After living in Colorado for approximately 30 years, the Dust Bowl hit and due to the harsh effects that the drought had on their living conditions such as starvation my Grandfather made the decision to migrate to California, which is where my family is settled to this day.
“You are in America, speak English.” As a young child hearing these words, it did not only confuse me but it also made me question my belonging in a foreign country. As a child I struggled with my self-image; Not being Hispanic enough because of my physical appearance and not being welcomed enough in the community I have tried so hard to integrate myself with. Being an immigrant with immigrant parents forces you to view life differently. It drives you to work harder or to change the status quo for the preconceived notion someone else created on a mass of people. Coming to America filled me with anxiety, excitement, and even an unexpected wave of fear.
Immigration to America began when Christopher Columbus discovered the new land now called the American continent. Immigration increased in the 17th century when people came from Europe, Africa, and Asia to the new land. There were many colonies, such as the British and Dutch. When people came they go to their people and find jobs as farmers. The first immigrants were in the east coast around 1607 to 1775 after the number of immigrants increased. In 1790 - 1850 there were few immigrants who came to America, but in 1850 to 1930 the number of immigrations increased (Dolan 4).
When my family and I got in the plane that would take us to the U.S., I was very excited. It was as if I had butterflies in my stomach. I was also nervous because I had heard of people that were turned away when they got to America because the government was not letting as many immigrants into the U.S as they had in the past. Therefore, my whole family was a little anxious. Two things could happen when we arrived at the Washington, D.C., airport. We could either come to the United States to chase after “the American dream”, or we could be turned away which meant that we would have to return to our country of origin.
Life sets out many pathways to decide your future. It can give you experiences and certain experiences in your life can impact you a lot. Today I’m going to talk about how moving to America has impacted me is that the fact that the American culture has changed me completely. One obvious reason American culture has changed me is the fact that I am speaking English right now. Learning English took me awhile even tho I’m still not fluent in it.
Among every other country in the world, the United States of America is where people feel the most comfortable place to come and live a better life. Immigrants are people who leave their counties to reside in other counties that are rich and safe to better themselves. Every year people immigrate to the USA for many reasons. Many people are having difficulty living in their native country such as over population, jobless which make the economy so hard. People from outside of the United States think there is peace, love, equality, free education, jobs, good food to stay healthy, but most importantly freedom of speech to express yourself in America. Today, I will only focus on some reasons why people in my country immigrates to America. This is
"The New Pioneers." Prairie Public. PBS Online. 8 September 2003 <http://www.prairiepublic.org>. ; Portes, Alejandro, and Ruben G. Rumbaut. Immigrant America; A Portrait. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1990. ;Tracewicz, Elzbieta. "When a Child Emigrates." Voices That Must Be Heard. 2003. Independent Press Association. 14 September 2003 <http://www.indypressny.org>.
Immigration to the united states started in the 7th century, with the first arrivals of European settlers. Once immigration arrive in a new country, they start the long and difficult process of settlement and integration. People emigrate from one country to another for variety reasons. some are forced to move, due to conflict or to escape persecution prejudices, while other may voluntarily emigrate. What makes someone American is not just blood or birth but allegiances to our founding principles and faith in the idea that anyone from anywhere can write the next chapter of our story.