In an engaging and readable style, renowned historian Theodore Blegen takes the reader on a tour of Minnesota's development, from the geological events that shaped the land to westward movement to twentieth-century modernization.  This second edition includes a concluding chapter by Russell W. Fridley that chronicles the impact of turbulent national politics and cultural changes of the 1960s and 1970s on the state, as well as an extensive reading list and detailed index. Minnesota is a concise yet comprehensive account of the state's progress, highlighting landmarks in politics, technology, the arts, and architecture.

Land of Their Choice was first published in 1955. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions.This collection of "American letters" that immigrants wrote to friends and relatives in the lands they had left tells a little-known human story that is part of the larger saga of America. It constitutes a kind of composite diary of everyday people at the grass roots of American life.The letters published here, written by Norwegian immigrants in the middle of the nineteenth century, are truly representative of a great body of historical material - literally millions of such letters that immigrants of every nationality wrote to the people back home. Describing their journeys, the new country, the problems and pleasures of daily life, the letters afford new insight into the American past and at the same time reflect the image of America that was projected into the minds of Europeans in an era when millions were crossing the seas and moving west.The letters were written from many different parts of the United States. Many relate the experiences of settlers in the Middle West, particularly in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota. But there are also accounts of pioneer life in Texas and as far away from the Atlantic crossing as California.The story of Oleana, the ill-fated Utopian project established in Pennsylvania by the famous Norwegian violinist, Ole Bull, is revealed in a collection of letters written by settlers in this project. An English translation of the amusing ballad of Oleana adds verve to this section. Another fascinating portion of the volume is devoted to first-hand accounts of the transatlantic gold rush that drew Norwegians directly by ship from their native land to California in the 1850's.There are some letters written by leaders in Norwegian-American history, such as JohannR. Reiersen, who was a well-known newspaper editor in Christianssand, Norway, before he migrated to America, and the Rev. J.W. Dietrichson who sought to establish the Church of Norway on American soil and whose letters, now translated into English for the first time, relate his experiences in Wisconsin.

A collection of Civil War–era letters written by Hans Christian Heg, who grew up in southeastern Norway, migrated to Wisconsin, and traveled to the gold fields of California and the mining camps of the West, only to return to the Badger State to lead a regiment of Scandinavian immigrants—the Fifteenth Wisconsin—in the Civil War. His achievements are well known among Norwegian-Americans but little known outside that circle. However, his life story typifies the processes of transition and service to his new country that have marked the lives of thousands of immigrants.The many personal accounts by the soldiers of the Fifteenth Wisconsin Regiment, penned in battlefield letters to family and friends, remain the most evocative and moving contributions, valuable primary source material to a wrenching national experience. These intimate narratives relate both the horrors of the conflict and the loyalty of the young men, many of them recent arrivals from Norway, to what they consistently refer to as "our new fatherland."The Civil War period is a dramatic watershed event in the adjustment of Norwegian-Americans to the challenges they encountered in America as they moved toward integration with a new society. The heroic roles played by the men of the Fifteenth Wisconsin Regiment remain lasting and treasured images in the iconography of the Norwegian-American experience.

In an engaging and readable style, renowned historian Theodore Blegen takes the reader on a tour of Minnesota's development, from the geological events that shaped the land to westward movement to twentieth-century modernization.  This second edition includes a concluding chapter by Russell W. Fridley that chronicles the impact of turbulent national politics and cultural changes of the 1960s and 1970s on the state, as well as an extensive reading list and detailed index. Minnesota is a concise yet comprehensive account of the state's progress, highlighting landmarks in politics, technology, the arts, and architecture.

Land of Their Choice was first published in 1955. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions.This collection of "American letters" that immigrants wrote to friends and relatives in the lands they had left tells a little-known human story that is part of the larger saga of America. It constitutes a kind of composite diary of everyday people at the grass roots of American life.The letters published here, written by Norwegian immigrants in the middle of the nineteenth century, are truly representative of a great body of historical material - literally millions of such letters that immigrants of every nationality wrote to the people back home. Describing their journeys, the new country, the problems and pleasures of daily life, the letters afford new insight into the American past and at the same time reflect the image of America that was projected into the minds of Europeans in an era when millions were crossing the seas and moving west.The letters were written from many different parts of the United States. Many relate the experiences of settlers in the Middle West, particularly in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota. But there are also accounts of pioneer life in Texas and as far away from the Atlantic crossing as California.The story of Oleana, the ill-fated Utopian project established in Pennsylvania by the famous Norwegian violinist, Ole Bull, is revealed in a collection of letters written by settlers in this project. An English translation of the amusing ballad of Oleana adds verve to this section. Another fascinating portion of the volume is devoted to first-hand accounts of the transatlantic gold rush that drew Norwegians directly by ship from their native land to California in the 1850's.There are some letters written by leaders in Norwegian-American history, such as JohannR. Reiersen, who was a well-known newspaper editor in Christianssand, Norway, before he migrated to America, and the Rev. J.W. Dietrichson who sought to establish the Church of Norway on American soil and whose letters, now translated into English for the first time, relate his experiences in Wisconsin.

A collection of Civil War–era letters written by Hans Christian Heg, who grew up in southeastern Norway, migrated to Wisconsin, and traveled to the gold fields of California and the mining camps of the West, only to return to the Badger State to lead a regiment of Scandinavian immigrants—the Fifteenth Wisconsin—in the Civil War. His achievements are well known among Norwegian-Americans but little known outside that circle. However, his life story typifies the processes of transition and service to his new country that have marked the lives of thousands of immigrants.The many personal accounts by the soldiers of the Fifteenth Wisconsin Regiment, penned in battlefield letters to family and friends, remain the most evocative and moving contributions, valuable primary source material to a wrenching national experience. These intimate narratives relate both the horrors of the conflict and the loyalty of the young men, many of them recent arrivals from Norway, to what they consistently refer to as "our new fatherland."The Civil War period is a dramatic watershed event in the adjustment of Norwegian-Americans to the challenges they encountered in America as they moved toward integration with a new society. The heroic roles played by the men of the Fifteenth Wisconsin Regiment remain lasting and treasured images in the iconography of the Norwegian-American experience.