# Discrimination against Scandinavian-Americans

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discrimination-against-scandinavian-americans/721738>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 5, 2015, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discrimination-against-scandinavian-americans/721738 "2015-06-05T20:32:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![chaika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chaika/32/405_2.png) [@chaika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaika)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discrimination-against-scandinavian-americans/721738/21 "2015-06-06T15:24:45Z")

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Some entirely anecdotal evidence: from family stories it seems that Finns were discriminated against and viewed as inferior in parts of the western US in the 1930s, '40s, and '50s. I recently saw my father’s birth certificate. To my surprise there was a space for “mother’s race or nationality” and one for “father’s race or nationality.” To my even greater surprise my American-born grandfather’s race/nationality was listed as “Finn.” My grandmother, who had no Finnish heritage, was identified as “white.”

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**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discrimination-against-scandinavian-americans/721738/22 "2015-06-06T16:27:21Z")

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> [@gnoitall](#):
>
> I’m also somewhat Swedish-American, and my Swedish forebear was an unapologetic Hansen. Go figure.

Well, Swedes wouldn’t have known any better.

;)😃

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**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\
**Post date:** [June 7, 2015, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discrimination-against-scandinavian-americans/721738/23 "2015-06-07T03:06:04Z")

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> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#):
>
> Well, Swedes wouldn’t have known any better.
> 
> ;)😃

Lots of Swedes in my upstate PA hometown. They were all teased with " Ten thousand Swedes ran through the weeds, pursued by one Norwegian."

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**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\
**Post date:** [June 7, 2015, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discrimination-against-scandinavian-americans/721738/24 "2015-06-07T03:22:12Z")

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I feel really weird reminding everyone that [The Master did a column on Aryans](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1174/who-were-the-aryans).

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**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discrimination-against-scandinavian-americans/721738/25 "2015-06-12T22:47:00Z")

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> [@Steken](#):
>
> Is / was this a thing? Associating Scandinavians with the Dutch and the Pennsylvania Germans? How did that happen?
> 
> Not Hansson?

Yeah, oddly enough, the Danish-style spelling rather than the Swedish orthography. But my family elders are insistent that the old country in this case was Sweden.

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