Clifford Davidson

Clifford Davidson is Emeritus Professor of English and Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University. He is a Norwegian-American, and was cared for in his early years by his grandmother, a Norwegi...

Norwegians in Michigan

Clifford Davidson

Norwegians in Michigan chronicles the settlement of a people who became quintessentially Midwestern. Clifford Davidson shows how Norwegians took advantage of opportunities when they began settling in Michigan in the nineteenth century. Norwegians sailed Lake Michigan, joined the lumber trade, farmed the northwest part of the state, and mined copper and iron in the Upper Peninsula. At the same time, they brought a unique culture that came to be associated with Michigan and the Midwest. The first generations of Norwegians in Michigan maintained close cultural ties with their homeland.

Some Norwegian immigrants adjusted to life in a new land more quickly than others. Among these, according to Davidson, were engineers trained in Norway who developed Michigan's bridges and tunnels, and eventually even the cars that used them.

Illustrated with photographs, maps, and documents, Norwegians in Michigan vividly chronicles a now-familiar pattern of immigrants' cultural understandings, prodding and shaping the culture of an emerging region and nation.

Reviews

"Norwegian-American Davidson (English and Medieval Studies, emeritus, Western Michigan University) relays the history of Norwegians in Michigan; a people whose culture has come to be closely associated with Michigan and the Midwest. Norwegians began settling in Michigan in the 19th century and made their way in a form and pattern explored here in all its realms: what did they do, what were their cultural practices and how did these fare in their new home, who were the outstanding leaders, and so on. Photos illustrate the text; boxed material highlights important people, unique crafts, favorite prayers; the food chapter offers recipes. This is a quite complete and lovely history." - Book News Inc., Portland, OR

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