Marcus Lee Hansen (December 8, 1892 – May 11, 1938) was an American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

, who won the 1941

Pulitzer Prize for History The Pulitzer Prize for History, administered by Columbia University, is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It has been presented since 1917 for a distinguished book about the history ...

for '' The Atlantic Migration, 1607–1860'' (1940).

Biography

Hansen was born in

Neenah, Wisconsin Neenah () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, in the north central United States. It is situated on the banks of Lake Winnebago, Little Lake Butte des Morts, and the Fox River, approximately forty miles (60 km) southwest of Gree ...

.Brennan & Clarage (1999), p. 291. He was one of eight children born to Danish immigrant Marcus Hansen (1851-1917) and Norwegian immigrant Gina O Lee Hansen (1854-1920).Kugelmass (2003), p. 264. He received a BA from Central College, an MA from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 co ...

, and a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

, where he studied under

Frederick Jackson Turner Frederick Jackson Turner (November 14, 1861 – March 14, 1932) was an American historian during the early 20th century, based at the University of Wisconsin until 1910, and then Harvard University. He was known primarily for his frontier thes ...

.Allan H. Spear
"Marcus Lee Hansen and the Historiography of Immigration"
''The Wisconsin Magazine of History'', Vol. 44, No. 4 (Summer, 1961), p. 262. He was Associate Professor of History (1928–30) and Professor of History (1930–38) at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Un ...

. Hansen was a member of the Board of Editors of the

Norwegian-American Historical Association Norwegian-American Historical Association is a non-profit, member-supported organization dedicated to locating, collecting, preserving and interpreting the Norwegian-American experience. It publishes scholarly books and maintains a historical arc ...

. He conducted research on the history of

immigration to the United States Immigration has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. In absolute numbers, the United States has a larger immigrant population than any other country in the worl ...

. After winning a two-year grant, he studied migration records in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

for several years. He died on May 11, 1938 at the age of 45 in

Redlands, California Redlands ( ) is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 73,168, up from 68,747 at the 2010 census. The city is located approximately west of Palm Springs and east of ...

of chronic

nephritis Nephritis is inflammation of the kidneys and may involve the glomeruli, tubules, or interstitial tissue surrounding the glomeruli and tubules. It is one of several different types of nephropathy. Types * Glomerulonephritis is inflammation ...

Work and publications

Hansen was an important historian of

American immigration Immigration has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. In absolute numbers, the United States has a larger immigrant population than any other country in the wor ...

. In a 1938 essay, "The Problem of the Third Generation Immigrant", he first presented what he called "the principle of third generation interest": "What the son wishes to forget the grandson wishes to remember". This hypothesis suggests that ethnicity is preserved among immigrants, weakens among their children, and returns with their grandchildren. Children of immigrants tend to reject the foreign ways of their parents, including their religion, and want to join the American mainstream, but the next generation wants to retain the values of their ancestors. The religion of the first generation immigrant, which the second generation rejects, may be reaffirmed by the third generation. Hansen's hypothesis, which became popularized as "Hansen's law", led to much research. Most has shown that although the third generation retains some ethnic identity, there is not a return to ancestral cultural practices among later generations. Hansen's most well-known works were '' The Atlantic Migration, 1607–1860: A History of the Continuing Settlement of the United States'' (posthumous, 1940) and ''The Immigrant in American History'' (posthumous, 1940). The former was a study of the factors that encouraged emigration among Europeans in the period before the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

, and was based on three years of research in European archives. Although he specialized in American immigration history, he wrote on other subjects, including ''Old

Fort Snelling Fort Snelling is a former military fortification and National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Minnesota on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The military site was initially named Fort Saint Anth ...

, 1819–1858'' (1918), ''Welfare Campaigns in Iowa'' (1920), ''Welfare Work in Iowa'' (1921), and ''The Mingling of the Canadian and American Peoples'' (posthumous, 1940).

Recognition

Hansen was posthumously awarded the 1941

for ''The Atlantic Migration, 1607–1860: A History of the Continuing Settlement of the United States'', which was published in 1940 by

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...

after historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr. turned his rough draft into a polished manuscript.Hall (1986), p. 77

References

Bibliography

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External links