Norwegian-American Studies

THE POLITICAL POSITION OF EMIGRANTEN IN THE ELECTION OF 1852 A DOCUMENTARY ARTICLE By Harold M. Tolo The press has ever been a mirror of public opinion. The larger a paper's circulation, the more extensive is its sphere of influence and the more conservative its position. Just as a large business firm aims to serve the varied demands of its customers, so a newspaper selects a gospel - social, economic , or political - that will please or flatter its readers. To a marked degree was this true of early foreign-language newspapers in America. They realized that their sphere of influence was limited: their purpose was to serve their chosen people. To hurry the process of Americanizing their readers , to acquaint them with the fundamentals of American citizenship, and to preserve a partial bond between the frontier settlements and the homeland, was the mission of the pioneer foreign-language newspapers. The aim of this paper is to study the published propaganda in a typical paper during the tensest months of the election of 1852. The scarcity of the printed word on the frontier increased its effectiveness. For the Scandinavians, the foreign-language press served to quench in part the thirst for something to read. Emigranten is selected as representative because its continued existence, from 1852 down to our own day, indicates that it was a stable publication enjoying a host of readers and continued support. A short survey of the conditions under which Emigranten was established is necessary to understand why its political position was, at first, so uncertain, and why, later, it shifted its stand when its Democratic policy had become unpopular 92 THE ELECTION OF 1852 93 among the Norwegians. The general situation incidental to the founding of the Norwegian press is described by Carl Hansen: In the early years of the Norwegian-American press the southeastern corner of Wisconsin was the center of the Norwegian population. According to the census of about 1850, there were in America 12,678 of Norwegian birth, 3,559 Swedish born and 1,838 of Danish descent. Of the total number of Norwegians in America, 8,651 lived in Wisconsin; the Norwegians in Wisconsin constituted nearly one-half of the total Scandinavian population in the United States.1 It was natural, therefore, that the pioneer ventures of this press should have been made in the state of Wisconsin. NorcUyset was first published in 1847 in Norway, Racine County. The editor was James D. Reymert, and Even Heg and S0ren Bache aided him in providing the initial capital for the undertaking. The paper assumed a Free-soil garb that proved very popular among the land-hungry Norwegians ; but hard times and the difficulties of delivering the paper spelled ruination for Reymerťs effort at providing a Licht an dem Weg for his comrades among the Norwegian pioneers. Soon afterwards NorcUyset was revived under the title of Democraten. The nature of this publication is made clear by Carl Hansen: Democraten was a paper that supported the Democratic party. The publication, as judged by its editorial staff, had every reason to hope for prosperity. Editor Langland was well versed in political affairs and he defended his position and his party ably against its Whig rival, De Norskes Ven . Both papers were published in Madison, Wisconsin. Unfortunately Langland showed a political flightiness and tactlessness that proved his downfall. Many articles were published that should never have seen the light of day. This press effort was further doomed after a siege of literary tuberculosis, and died after its first volume was completed. De Norskes Ven was first edited in 1850 by O. Torgerson. The editor gave up the project, however, before the year had been concluded. It is said that De Norskes 1 " Pressen til borgerkrigens slutning," in J. B. Wist, ed., Norsk- Amerikanernes Festskrift 191jĻ, 9 (Decorah, Iowa, 1914). 94 STUDIES AND BECORDS Ven exemplified a vain effort to establish a Whig paper among the Norwegians.2 The year 1851 was a banner year in the history of the Norwegian-American press. In that year four Norwegian papers were established, and preparations were being made for the publication of a fifth, which was finally put on sale...