Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1942, Síða 13

DANISH EMIGRATION TO NORTH AMERICA 3
of that colony. During the Revolution of 1776—83 a number
of Danish volunteers — officers and men — joined the Amer-
ícan^ army. Among them was Hans Christian Fibiger, who
originally came from the West Indies; he distinguished himself
m several battles, rose to the rank of brigadier, and died as
Pennsylvanian Minister of Finance.
At the end of the i8th and the beginning of the i9th century
Danish immigration was sporadic and on an inconsiderable scale.
Among the immigrants of that period there was, however, one
who deserves special mention: the Copenhagen blacksmith Peter
Lassen, who in 1830 started on a daring expedition from Kates-
ville, Missouri, to California, and became one of the most active
pioneers of that State. Both the volcano Mount Lassen and Lassen
County are named after him.
The years about 1850 saw the beginnings of an immigration
from Denmark which in the following decades was to assume
such dimensions as to become a large-scale movement of popula-
tion. During the period 1821—30 only 189 Danes arrived in
America. In 1831—40 the figure was 1063, and in 1841—50
it had dropped to 539, but then the movement began to gather
speed.
While the first Danish settlers in America had come from
the town population, and had mostly been sailors, traders, and
adventurers, an influx of Danish agriculturists now began during
the decade 1840—50. One of the chief causes of this movement
was the activity of revivalist preachers, such as Mormons, Bap-
tists, etc. To this came the ideas of political and social liberty
which began to stir the rural population, both in Denmark and
m other European countries. The means of living could no longer
keep pace with the rapid increase of population. Those who felt
the pinch most were the agricultural labourers, who were con-
sequently attracted to the new country with its enormous areas
of virgin soil.
The desire to emigrate was stimulated in various ways: Danes
who had been to America wrote books and newspapers articles
about the new country, and ministers of religious communities
travelled the country, lecturing about it. In this way a regular
America fever” was gradually worked up, and to many poor
Danes America came to appear in the light of a promised land
with endless possibilities of making money and of leading a freer
and more independent life.