Danish Americans

Suzanne B. Martin

Immigrants from Denmark in the mid-1800s made the United States a major destination and established significant settlements in many parts of the United States. The Danes who immigrated to the United States contributed to the mosaic of U.S. culture through their customs and traditions in ways that persist even in contemporary U.S. society. This entry summarizes their migration and present community. 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 ...

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