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this post was submitted on 26 Feb 2024
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“It’s terrible in Norway, don’t come here!”
My third great grandfather left there and came to the US. WHAT WAS HE THINKING!? lol
Depends on how old he was. Things were less rosy before the oil. The Norwegian-American "exodus" is still part of Norwegian cultural memory (if nothing else there are children's songs about it) and apparently there's some remnants of Norwegian-influenced culture around Minnesota or something like that.
At the time, maybe it was a great idea.
It was a great idea at the time. Lots of Norwegians left to search for a better future for themselves and their families.
There's actually more descendents from that generation on the USA than in Norway today. They truly prospered in the US compared to Norway.
Somehow I doubt these numbers.
Regardless, does "prospering" mean "had a lot of offspring" in your mind? Not to say that I don't think they led a better life than their Norwegian counter parts at the time, it's just a really odd phrasing to me
the numbers.
some history in Norwegian. With more numbers.
200 years ago it was beneficial to leave the country for many. The emigration had a big impact on Norway at the time. We are lucky to live in a nice periode now. But this periode has only lasted about 70 years. Its a really short time for a state. We have been an independent state for only 119 years after we got separated from Sweden in 1905.
I think compared to families starving, having lots of kids is definitely prosperous. From what I can tell from ancestry, they prospered in the traditional sense too though. My third great grandfather was apparently a blacksmith who got a job at a mine, then went to Oregon territories during the gold rush, and came back to the Midwest and bought tons of land. Like hundred of acres. I'm thinking maybe he opened a shop selling shovels or something but it's a total guess. Not many get rich off finding gold but maybe. Hard for me to really track what happened with him because he sold all his land to his daughter for almost nothing and his son (my great great grandfather) moved south.
He was probably thinking that he was hungry due to a shortage of potatoes and that his older brother would get the farm, so he'd better come up with a different plan. I hear the US was real socialist back then, giving away land left and right.
The modern day dumbasses who come here either got a high paying tech job, fell in love with an American, or possibly both.