Danish Americans

Early Arrivals

Though many Danes emigrated to gain religious freedom and to escape the Lutheran State Church, many Lutheran Danish immigrants retained the religion of their home country. The Danish churches built in immigrant communities resembled many other Lutheran churches in the Midwest, an area inhabited by a high percentage of Scandinavians during the various waves of immigration, but later architectural attempts imitated the village churches in Denmark. A high percentage of early Danish immigrants were Mormon, nearly 50% in some periods, and came to the United States in an attempt to join the significant Mormon population in Utah.

The Danes also brought with them the folk high school, a concept developed by N. F. S. Grundtvig, a Lutheran pastor who presented a view of a forgiving, loving God and who encouraged his congregation's members to develop their own minds through constant betterment and education available at a folk high school. This educational institution, first established in Denmark in 1844, is comparable with the U.S. technical school, though it should not be understood as a precursor to the U.S. system. At a folk high school, a person may take one or two courses offered at various times of the day and evening, or may attend in a more formal setting, taking courses in a particular field to earn a degree or enter a university. Five folk high schools were established in the United States between 1878 and 1911, encouraging the Danish language and retention of Danish ideals in popular education, but these schools were faced with low enrollment and financial difficulties from their inception because of the already active U.S. educational system.

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Danish Lutheran Church, Evan, Minnesota (1910). Although many Danes emigrated to gain religious freedom and to escape the Lutheran State Church, many Lutheran Danish immigrants retained the religion of their home country.

Source: Minnesota Historical Society.

There was a sudden increase in Danish emigration in the 1860s, largely because of the Mormon mission in Denmark, which was subjected to religious persecution. At the peak of emigration, Danes were concerned because those who were choosing to leave the country were of a higher education level and better qualified professionally than were those who remained. As a result, the immigrants to the United States could be considered to be of a higher caliber than is commonly assumed of immigrants. The emigration continued until the beginning of World War I, at which point Danish immigration slowed significantly because of concerns about the safety and security of travelers and wartime financial constraints of citizens.

Also instrumental in the emigration history is the Slesvig (Schlesvig)-Holstein debate and the refiguring of Danish borders after the Dano-Prussian war of 1864. Although earlier emigrating Danes tended to come from urban areas, significantly more Danes emigrated from rural areas between 1870 and 1890, with a peak difference (and peak numbers generally) around 1880. There was less emigration from Denmark than from Norway and Sweden, and this has often been attributed to Danes' quick adjustment to changes in the world economy. When economic times were troubled because of U.S. export of grains, Danish farmers began making butter and cheese, which enabled many farmers to continue their lives in Denmark.

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