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PRESIDENT COOLIDGE BEFORE THE Norwegian Centennial Celebration, at Minnesota State Fair Grounds June 8, I925 Because of a profound appreciation of that con tribution and of its truly national value I have found it an especial pleasure to come here and join in this commemoration. In the midst of loyalties that are all beyond possibility of question, it may be dif ficult to choose among the many national and racial groups that have sought out America for their home and their country. We are thankful for all of them, and yet more thankful that the experiment of their common citizenship has been so magnificently justified in its results. If one were seeking proof of a basic brotherhood among all races of men, if one were to challenge the riddle of Babel in support of aspira tions for a unity capable of assuring peace to the nations, in such an inquiry I suppose no better testi mony could be taken than the experience of this country. Out of the confusion of tongues, the conflict of traditions, the variations of historical setting, the vast differences in talents and tastes there has been evolved a spiritual union accompanied by a range of capacity and genius which marks this Nation for a preeminent destiny. The American people have commanded the respect of the world. �It is a good thing that anniversaries such as this a·re so widely commemorated. The next few years will be filled with a continuing succession of similar occasions. I wish that every one of them might be so impressively celebrated that all Americans would be moved to study the history which each one rep resents. I can think of no effort that would produce so much inspiration to high and intelligent patriotism. Occasions of this nature bring to our attention whole regions of the past that would otherwise remain un explored, tend to be forgotten even by scholars, and pass entirely from the public mind. These incentives to special examination of particular historical phases teach us better to understand our country and our countrymen. Anyone who will study the institutions and people of America will come more and more to admire them. • One reason that moved me to accept the cordial invitations to come here to-day was the hope of di recting some measure of national attention to the absorbingly interesting subject of the social back grounds of our country. The making of such a coun try is not to be told in any mere category of dates, battles, political evolutions, and partisan controver sies. Back of all these, which are too often the chief material of history, lies the human story of the un sung millions of plain people whose names are strangers to public place and fame. Their lives have been replete with quiet, unpretentious, modest but none the less heroic virtues. From these has been composed the sum of that magnifi�ent and wondrous adventure, the making of our own America. Some where in the epic of struggle to subjugate a con tinent there will be found a philosophy of human relations that the world will greatly prize. If we could seize and fix it, if we could turn it over, ex amine and understand it, we would have taken a long step toward solving some of the hardest prob lems of mankind. * These Northmen, one of whose anniversaries we are celebrating to-day, have from their first appearance on the margin of history been the children of free dom. Native to a rigorous climate and a none too productive soil, they had learned the necessity for hard work and careful management. They w·ere �s s .. e [ e l. e [ s s r s 0 1 l- e ,_ f l e e t [l s [l e iJ. I- e e ... 0 r � moved by that aspiration for a free holding in the land which has always marked peoples in whom the democratic ideal was pressing for recognition. Eager for both political and economic independence, they realized the necessity f?r popular education, and so have always been among the most devoted supporters of public schools. Thousands _of them volunteered in the service of the country during the Civil and Span ish Wars, and tens of thousands in the World War. The institutions and the manners of democracy came naturally to them. Their glory is all about you, their living and their mighty dead. They have given great soldiers, statesmen, scientists, educators and men of business to the upbuilding of their adopted country. They have been rapidly amalgamated into the body of citizenship, contributing to it many of its best and most characteristic elements. To their adapt ability the Nation owes much for its success in the enormous process of assimiliation and spiritual uni fication that has made our Nation what it is and our people what they are. • Our America with all that it represents of hope in the world is now and will be what you make it. Its institutions of religious liberty, of educational and economic opportunity, of constitutional rights, of the integrity of the law, are the most precious posses sions of the human race. These do not emanate from the Government. Their abiding place is with the people. They come from the consecration of the father, the love of the mother, and the devotion of the children. They are the product of that honest, earnest, and tireless effort that goes into the rearing of the family altar and the making of the home of our country. They can have no stronger sup porters, no more loyal defenders, than that great body of our citizenship which you represent. When I look upon you and realize what you are and what you have done, I know that in your hands our country is secure. You have laid up your treasure in what America represents, and there will your heart be also. You have given your pledge to the Land of the Free. The pledge of the Norwegian people has never yet gone unredeemed. �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Norse-American Centennial Papers (P0562) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context P0562 Description An account of the resource Correspondence, minutes, financial records, reports, programs, clippings, pictures, pamphlets, and scrapbooks of an association incorporated in 1925 in St. Paul, Minnesota, to supervise the observance of the arrival of the first group of Norwegian immigrants in America. The collection describes in detail the management of the celebration and gives data on observances in Chicago, Canada, Boston, and Brooklyn. Letters and essays reveal the loyalty of Norwegian Americans to their cultural heritage and the rivalry among area groups of Norwegians in America. The celebration was initiated by the bygdelags. The chief officials were Gisle Bothne, S. H. Holstad, J. A. Holvik, Elisa P. Farseth, and Mrs. Wm. O. Storlie. Correspondents include Juul Dieserud, Knut Gjerset, Hanna Astrup Larsen, and O. M. Norlie. The centennial received nationwide press coverage. Funding: Funding to digitize the Norse-American Centennial papers provided to the Norwegian-American Historical Association through the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, a component of the Minnesota Clean Water, Land and Legacy constitutional amendment, ratified by Minnesota voters in 2008. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context p0562_04912 p0562_04913 p0562_04914 p0562_04915 p0562_exh_029 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. p0562 Norse-American Centennial Papers (P0562: Exhibition Materials and Memorabilia) Title A name given to the resource Extracts from address of President Coolidge before the Norwegian Centennial Celebration, 1925 June 8 Description An account of the resource Extracts from President Calvin Coolidge's speech at the Norse-American Centennial. Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1925 June 8 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource No Copyright - the United States http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/ The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Booklets Bibliographic Citation A bibliographic reference for the resource. Recommended practice is to include sufficient bibliographic detail to identify the resource as unambiguously as possible. [Indicate the cited item here]. Norse-American Centennial Papers. Norwegian American Historical Association, Northfield, Minnesota. Text