Minnesota History

Minnesota was one of the major industrialized towns in the US, and this therefore saw very many Europeans migrating from Europe into the town, in order to work as miners. They therefore had a lot of impact in the town, since they were able to incorporate their ways of working, talking and living in the town of Minnesota (Wang, Lawrence, 74). The number of immigrants in the town was therefore very high as of the year 1912, due to the huge number of Europeans who had moved to the town. Europeans from different parts of Europe which included the following, Germans, Greeks, Hungarians, Finnish, Slovenian, Slovaks, Norwegians, and Polish, worked as laborers in the deep mines. They worked very hard but received very low wages for their work (Meier, 31).

The immigration to the Iron ore ranges had very many impacts on the town of Minnesota, since people from totally different parts of the world moved into the country. Canadians, from North America also moved into the area, in such of labor in the underground mines (Meier, 31). The work was very hard, and one was paid according to the quantity of ore that he or she was able to obtain. This therefore meant that in order for one to be able to be paid, then he or she had to mine very large quantities of ore. Minnesota therefore became a home to numerous nationalities, which were in the area due to mining (Renzaho, 16).

Minnesota has three different iron mining ranges, which are commonly as the Minnesota iron range. Vermilion, is in the northern part of the town, and it therefore began exporting ore in the year 1884. Cuyuna, is in the southern part of Minnesota, and it started shipping ore in the year 1911. Thirdly, Masabi range, was the largest and the most significant, and it started shipping ore in the year 1892 (Meier, 31). When the three areas started shipping ore, their populations grew rapidly. In the year 1885, the Iron range had a very small population of less than five thousand people, due to its very cold weather. In the year 1920, the population of Minnesota had grown, and Minnesota had a population of more than 100,000 people, most of whom were immigrants (Wang, Lawrence, 74).

The cost of living in the town therefore became very high in the town, due to the high number of immigrants. Moreover, there town’s economy also grew due to the number of people who were employed and worked as miners in the ore mines (Renzaho, 16). Different people from different nationalities therefore came to the town with their beliefs, and they therefore started doing things according to their ways of living. In addition, due to the huge number of immigrants in the town, the natives had no choice but to absorb the new culture of the immigrants (Meier, 32). The natives therefore started living as the immigrants, and would always practice the same way of life as that of the immigrants (Gallagher, 28).

On the other hand, Minnesota developed a different political culture as opposed to other towns in the country (Wang, Lawrence, 75). This was majorly because of the domination of the immigrants in the town. The immigrants therefore struggled to forge a nationality which had not been dominated by the mining companies in the area, consequently leading to the creation of social and cultural organizations. The town therefore built worker’s halls and also labor unions whereby the locals and major political groups would become members (Meier, 32). This therefore led to the formation of the Farmer-Labor party, which was responsible for uniting the miners, a thing which has made the miners to remain in the range for more than 70 years. Up to date, Minnesota has a very different political culture, as compared to other areas in the US.

The social life of the immigrants was very different in the town, since most of the immigrants continued practicing their past beliefs (Renzaho, 18). Churches were started, and immigrants would therefore attend the churches which they were used to attending while in their home countries. For instance, catholic churches were known to be for the Irish, Croatians, Slovenians and Italians. The other groups of immigrants would therefore attend churches which they thought were suited for them. In addition, immigrants spoke their mother tongue, a thing really affected their relationships, since they could not be able to speak to one another due to language barrier. The state was therefore forced to divide the immigrants groups into two, whereby some immigrants lived in the southern part of Minnesota while other lived in the northern part of the town (Meier, 34).

The two immigrant groups therefore led to the domination of different religious beliefs and denominations (Wang, Lawrence, 76). The native citizens of Minnesota were therefore forced to join the different denominations in the area, in order to be able to fit in the sequence. Moreover, there was tension between the two groups, whereby the northern and the southern groups of immigrants could not relate very well due to differences in religious beliefs. The city therefore became an immigrant city with the Native residents being forced to either adapt to the type of living of the immigrants in the northern side or the southern side of the town (Meier, 34).

The migration of Eastern Europeans, Asians and Africans after the Vietnamese war was majorly influenced by the wars being experienced in different regions of the world (Renzaho, 18). For instance, the Arabs were motivated to move into the US after the government repealed the Asian exclusion. This therefore allowed Asians from different parts of Asia to move to the US for business purposes, while there were those who moved into the country in order to unite with their family members. In addition, most Africans who moved into Minnesota during that period, were refugees (Meier, 35). These refugees were mainly from Somalia, and they were therefore moving to the US, due to political instability in their home country. Moreover, the US allowed the movement of refugees into the country, whereby they were also allowed to become citizens of the US after moving into the country.

Eastern Europeans such as Russians, moved into the country due to political instability which was being experienced in their country (Wang, Lawrence, 77). When the US government allowed immigrants into the country, they decided to move into the country, in such of job opportunities. In addition, most of them also moved into the country in such of a better life, due to the political situation in their home countries. The US was therefore a home for refugees and immigrants after the end of the Vietnamese war (Meier, 36). This was therefore a move which the country had taken in order to improve the growth of its economy.

The two types of migration were similar in the sense that, both migrants moved in the town and looked for jobs in order to sustain their lives. In addition, the two groups of migrants had to work for long hours and received very little wages (Meier, 36). On the other hand, the two migrants’ movements were similar in the sense that the migrants in both groups moved into the US, with the mentality that the US is a good place where one can get a job and be able to live peacefully in. Furthermore, due to migration, the town was able to grow economically, hence the living standards of the people of Minnesota were raised (Renzaho, 20).

Minnesota was therefore dominated by the Europeans who moved into the town in order to work at the mines (Wang, Lawrence, 77). This type of immigration was different to the migration of Africans, Asians and Eastern Europeans, simply because Europeans moved from Europe to Minnesota, in pursuit of jobs. They were looking for areas where they could be able to work, and in so doing, they could be able to save money and go back to their home countries. On the other hand, the migration after the end of the Vietnam War was due to political instability and insecurity. Africans, Asians and Eastern Europeans therefore moved in the US in order to seek refuge due to the problems that they had been facing in their home countries (Meier, 38). Moreover, they were not in the US to look for money so that they could be able to go back home after saving certain amounts of money. Their main aim was to live in the US for as long as there was no peace in their country.

Secondly, the migration of Africans, Asians and Eastern Europeans had little or no impact to the culture of the residents of Minnesota (Renzaho, 21). This is so because, during the arrival of Asians, Africans and Eastern Europeans in the town, Minnesota had already been occupied by Europeans. This therefore made it had for the new inhabitants of the area, who were the Africans, Asians and Eastern Europeans in this case, to be able to influence the culture of the earlier inhabitants of the town. The new inhabitants were therefore forced to adapt to the type of culture which the earlier inhabitants had incorporated in the area. The new inhabitants therefore changed their own culture, and accommodated the new culture, which was the old immigrants’ culture (Meier, 39). This therefore clearly explains why the migration of the new inhabitants had very little to no impact on the social, and cultural lives of the people of Minnesota.

Current immigration is going to affect the historical development of Minnesota, since most people will not be allowed to move into the town. This therefore means that the town’s workforce will shrink, a move which will lead to economic stagnation in the town. Moreover, Minnesota is a town which has reached where it is currently because of immigrants, and so strict laws against immigration will consequently lead the town into poverty. This is basically because the town is dominated by immigrants, and this move may limit the liberty of the immigrants in the town. The state government should therefore look for alternative means of dealing with the issue of immigration, but it should not bar immigrants from moving into different towns in the country.

Work Cited

Meier, Peg. Bring Warm Clothes: Letters and Photos from Minnesota's Past. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2009. Print.

Renzaho, Andre M. N. Globalisation, Migration and Health: Challenges and Opportunities. , 2016. Internet resource.

Wang, Xiaoming, Lawrence J. Flynn, and Mikael Fortelius. Fossil Mammals of Asia: Neogene Biostratigraphy and Chronology. New York: Columbia University Press, 2012. Print.

Gallagher, Charles A, and Cameron D. Lippard. Race and Racism in the United States: An Encyclopedia of the American Mosaic. , 2014. Print.