|
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| Scarlett Johansson · Jacob Riis Iggy Pop · Viggo Mortensen |
| Total population |
|---|
| Danish 1,516,126[1]
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| Regions with significant populations |
| California, Utah, Idaho, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin |
| Languages |
| Religion |
| Related ethnic groups |
Danish Americans (Danish: Dansk-Amerikanere) are Americans of Danish descent. There are approximately 1,500,000 Americans of Danish origin or descent.
Contents |
Population
According to the United States Census of 2000, the states with the largest populations of Danish Americans are as follows:
- California - 207,030
- Utah - 144,713
- Minnesota - 88,924
- Wisconsin - 72,160
- Washington - 72,098
The states with the smallest populations of Danish Americans are as follows:
- West Virginia - 1,317
- Delaware - 1,585
- Rhode Island - 1,811
- Vermont - 2,522
- Mississippi - 2,617
If it were a state, Washington, D.C., would have the smallest Danish American population, with 1,047 counted in 2000.[2]
Usage of Danish Language
Danish Americans that continue the usage of the Danish language number about 30,000. Accoriding to the US Census Bureau, in 2000, 33,400 people spoke Danish at home, the figure was down to 29,467 5 years later (2005 American Community Survey), the decrease rate was about 11.8%.[1]
Culture
The Library of Congress has noted that Danish Americans, more so than other Scandinavian Americans, "spread nationwide and comparatively quickly disappeared into the melting pot....the Danes were the least cohesive group and the first to lose consciousness of their origins."[3] Historians have pointed to the higher rate of English use among Danes, their willingness to marry non-Danes, and their eagerness to become naturalized citizens as factors that contributed to their rapid assimilation, as well as their interactions with the already more assimilated German American community.[4]
As the Danes came to America, they brought with them their traditional foods. Popular Danish foods include kringle, æbleskiver, frikadeller (Danish meatballs), Flæskesteg (a traditional Danish Christmas meat, which is also sent to the U.S. but without the rind.) and risengrød.
In 1872, Danish Americans in Omaha, Nebraska, founded the Danish Pioneer, an English-Danish newspaper. Now published in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, it is the oldest Danish American newspaper in publication.[5]
Education
Like many other immigrant groups, Danish Americans also founded schools to educate their youth. Traditional Danish "folk schools," which focused more on learning outcomes than grades or diplomas, were operated primarily between the 1870s and 1930s in heavily Danish communities such as Racine, Wisconsin, Elk Horn, Iowa; Ashland, Michigan; West Denmark, Wisconsin; Nysted, Nebraska; Tyler, Minnesota; Kenmare, North Dakota; and Solvang, California.[4]
The two major still-operating historically Danish American colleges are Dana College in Blair, Nebraska, and Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, both of which are home to large collections of Danish American archives.
Religious life
Like other groups of Americans of Scandinavian descent, many of them are Lutherans. Lutheran pioneer minister, Claus Lauritz Clausen, the first president of the Norwegian-Danish Lutheran Conference, traveled to Denmark and influenced religious leaders to send pastors to America. The oldest Danish Lutheran congregation is Emmaus Lutheran Church in Racine, Wisconsin, founded August 22, 1851. Nearby Kenosha is home to the second oldest Danish Lutheran congregation, St. Mary's Lutheran Church, which is the largest congregation in the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
In addition, a large number of Danish Americans belong to the Mormon church. Between 1849 and 1904, some 17,000 Danish Mormons and their children made the journey to the Mormon Zion in Utah, making Danes second only to the British in number of foreigners recruited by the church to the state.
Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin have the largest concentrations of non-Mormon Danish Americans. The states with the largest Mormon Danish American populations are Utah and Idaho, particularly the southeastern part of the state.
Smaller but significant numbers of Danish Americans have also become Methodists, Baptists, Roman Catholics, and Seventh-day Adventists.[4]
Danish American communities
Two cities, Chicago and Racine, Wisconsin, claim to be the home to the largest group of Danish Americans in the United States. Racine, 25 miles south of Milwaukee has the largest concentration of city dwellers with Danish origin. A number of other communities were founded by Danish Americans or have a large Danish American community:
- Ames, Iowa
- Askov, Minnesota
- Blair, Nebraska
- Cedar Fort, Utah
- Dagmar, Montana
- Danevang, Texas
- Dannebrog, Nebraska
- Denmark, Wisconsin
- Duluth, Minnesota
- Elk Horn, Iowa
- Elsinore, Utah
- Greenville, Michigan
- Kenmare, North Dakota
- Kenosha, Wisconsin
- Kimballton, Iowa
- Luck, Wisconsin
- Madison, Wisconsin
- Manti, Utah
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Payson, Utah
- Seattle, Washington
- Solvang, California
- Tyler, Minnesota
- Viborg, South Dakota
- Washington Island, Wisconsin
Additionally, Danish Americans helped settle three U.S. counties: Montcalm, Michigan; St. Louis, Minnesota; and Sanpete, Utah.
Famous Danish Americans
- In Art, sculptor Gutzon Borglum provided a staple of modern Americana when he chiseled Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota. His brother, sculptor Solon Borglum, also gained fame for his representations of the American frontier.
- In Science, Jens Clausen revolutionized the study of evolutionary genetics in botany, while Erik Erikson revolutionized developmental psychology with his theory on social development. Niels Ebbesen Hansen was a noted pioneer in Plant breeding.
- In Sports, Morten Andersen holds the distinction of being the all-time leading scorer in NFL history and the all-time leading scorer for two different teams.
- In Music, Lars Ulrich founded Metallica, arguably one of the world's most successful heavy metal bands. Julian Casablancas, lead singer of the prominent indie rock band The Strokes was born to a Danish mother and a Catalan American father.
- In Entertainment, Victor Borge, known as the Great Dane and Clown Prince of Denmark, gained fame for his offbeat comedy and music routines.
- In Journalism, Jacob Riis, a prominent muckraker journalist and photographer, used his affluence to help the less fortunate of New York City with is implementation of "model tenements." As one of the first photographers to use flash, he is considered also considered a pioneer in photography.
- In Movies Viggo Mortensen, an actor, was born to a Danish father and an American mother. Scarlett Johansson, an actress, was born to a Danish father and an American mother.[6]
References
- ^ "Census 2006 ACS Ancestry estimates"
- ^ Danish Americans
- ^ Danes in America - Danish Immigration to America - Bibliographies & Guides - Local History & Genealogy Reading Room (Library of Congress)
- ^ a b c Danish Americans
- ^ The Danish Pioneer Oldest Danish-American Newspaper in USA
- ^ Scarlet Johansson at the Notable Names Database
External links
- Danish Immigrant Museum
- The Danish Pioneer
- Danish American Center
- Danish Sisterhood of America
- Danish American Trivia
- Danish American Population Figures
- Danish American Heritage Society
- Danish American Chamber of Commerce
- National Danish-American Genealogical Society
- Multicultural America: Danish Americans
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