The effect of community on migration: three Minnesota townships 1885–1905

For a long time European immigrant settlements were considered more community-oriented than those of Old Americans. In recent years, however, historians have asserted that there was little difference in observable behaviour between immigrants and Old Americans. Using geographical mobility as one type of observable behaviour, this revision was tested in three Minnesota townships of largely immigrant populations between 1885 and 1905. The unit of analysis was the community defined by membership in the parish church and consisted of populations with largely common origins in Europe. The economic functions of land giving, land taking and labour supply occurred largely within the community as did such social functions as socialization of youth, marriage and care for the aged. The community thus provided pecuniary as well as non-pecuniary utilities that allowed for a stabilization of the lives of the immigrants. Probably because of these utilities, the mobility rates of community members, independent of age or wealth, were noticeably lower than those who are termed non-community members. Due to a combination of weakening ties among second generation community members and worsening economic conditions in the area, community mobility increased in the second decade of analysis. Nevertheless, the mobility rates of the community remained lower than those not in a community suggesting that the revisionist position needs careful re-evaluation.