This book examines the ideology of four Norwegian-American immigrant intellectuals during the early part of the twentieth century. It analyzes the writings of O. E. Rolvaag, Waldemar Ager, Simon Johnson, and Hans Ronnevik to search for the concepts and images of Norwegian-American cultural activists in the Upper Midwestern heartland of their immigrant community.

At its core, the study explores how Norwegian immigrant intellectuals in the United States utilized literature in the struggle waged for the preservation of a distinct Norwegian-American ethnic identity. Without blurring the distinction between verifiable historic source material and literary imagination, the study combines historical, literary, and social science analysis in its attempt to distill historically valuable information from the central literary and political writings of immigrant intellectuals.

It is based on extensive primary historical source material and develops new techniques for the analysis of political and cross-cultural discourse.