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 species; as well as the ...

, who won the 1941 Pulitzer Prize for History for '' The Atlantic Migration, 1607–1860'' (1940).

Biography

Hansen was born in

Neenah, Wisconsin Neenah ( ) is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. It is situated on the banks of Lake Winnebago, Little Lake Butte des Morts, and the Fox River (Green Bay tributary), Fox River approximately northeast of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, O ...

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

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, 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 int ...

, and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, 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-Madison until 1910, and then Harvard University. He was known primarily for his front ...

.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 (1928–1930) and Professor of History (1930–1938) at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

. 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 to the United States has been a major source of population growth and Culture of the United States, cultural change throughout much of history of the United States, its history. As of January 2025, the United States has the la ...

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

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

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 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 73,168, up from 68,747 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The city is located a ...

, 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. 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 is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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 policies.J ...

, 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, 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 Pulitzer Prize for History 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 an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

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