Ethnic Settlement of the Great Plains: Scandinavian and German-Russian Communities (1870–1915)

1. Homestead Act promotes Great Plains settlement

   May 20, 1862Labels: Homestead Act, Abraham Lincoln

   • Britannica

2. Northern Pacific reaches Moorhead, spurring Red River Valley settlement

   Jan 1, 1871Labels: Northern Pacific, Moorhead

   • GF Herald

3. Russian Empire curtails German colonist privileges

   Jun 4, 1871Labels: Russian Empire, German colonists

   • UNL EGP
   • RUDN Journal

4. Universal conscription law accelerates German-Russian emigration

   Jan 1, 1874Labels: Conscription law, German-Russians

   • RUDN Journal
   • UNL EGP

5. Rocky Mountain locust invasion devastates Plains farms

   Jul 1, 1874Labels: Rocky Mountain, Great Plains

   • Kansas HistSoc

6. Mennonite German-Russians settle south-central Kansas

   Sep 23, 1874Labels: Mennonites, South-central Kansas

   • Kansas HistSoc
   • AHSGR

7. Volga German colonies expand in western Kansas

   Jan 1, 1875Labels: Volga Germans, Western Kansas

   • Kansas HistSoc
   • AHSGR

8. Dakota Boom drives rapid settlement in Dakota Territory

   Jan 1, 1878Labels: Dakota Boom, Dakota Territory

   • ND History
   • Dakota Boom

9. Norwegian population in North Dakota rises sharply

   Jan 1, 1880Labels: Norwegians, North Dakota

   • ND Studies
   • ND History

10. Dakota territorial capital moved from Yankton to Bismarck

    Jan 1, 1883Labels: Bismarck, Dakota capital

    • LOC
    • ND History

11. North and South Dakota admitted as U.S. states

    Nov 2, 1889Labels: North Dakota, South Dakota

    • Library Congress
    • Dakota Territory

12. Immigration Act increases restrictions and creates Dillingham Commission

    Feb 20, 1907Labels: Immigration Act, Dillingham Commission

    • Immig Act 1907
    • CBP Timeline

13. World War I disrupts and effectively ends German-Russian immigration wave

    Jul 28, 1914Labels: World War, German-Russians

    • UNL EGP
    • AHSGR

14. Immigration Act of 1917 imposes literacy test

    Feb 5, 1917Labels: Immigration Act, literacy test

    • Immig Act 1917