200 Norwegians4 Jul 2025

Hans Christian Heg

In the ninth episode of 200 Norwegians, you’ll discover the legacy of a Norwegian abolitionist, Hans Christian Heg.

Heg was only eleven when he boarded the ship that carried his family across the Atlantic. The Heg family were Haugeans, part of a Norwegian lay movement that defied the religious monopoly of the state church. In Muskego, Wisconsin, they carved out a new life as farmers, publishers, and political pioneers.

Heg didn’t live to grow old, but his contributions to Norwegian America—and the country at large—were many. In this episode, you’ll follow his journey from gold miner in California to groundbreaking prison reformer and committed abolitionist. You’ll hear why he became a leading figure among Norwegian Americans when the Civil War erupted, and why his sacrifice on the battlefield mattered. And we’ll talk about the irony that, in the summer of 2020, his statue was toppled by protesters who likely never knew what he stood for.

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Episoder(22)

Belle Gunnes

In the sixth episode of 200 Norwegians, you’ll hear the story of Belle Gunness—the most dangerous Norwegian church lady in American history. Follow her journey from Selbu, Norway, to the outskirts of ...

26 Mai 202533min

Andrew Furuseth

He never wanted his picture taken. He never accepted a higher salary than the average seaman. Andrew Furuseth was a humble, yet remarkably effective leader. That’s why he was—ironically—given the not-...

10 Mai 202553min

Margarethe Cammermeyer

In the fourth episode of 200 Norwegians, we share the remarkable story of Margarethe Cammermeyer — the colonel who took on the U.S. military after being discharged for being a lesbian. Cammermeyer's l...

20 Apr 20251h 15min

Cleng Peerson Part 3

In the third and final chapter of the Cleng Peerson saga, you will hear what happened when the father of Norwegian emigration joined a cult and married a woman 26 years his junior. You will also learn...

5 Apr 202558min

Cleng Peerson Part 2

In this second episode of 200 Norwegians, you’ll hear how Cleng Peerson’s grand plan failed—and how, in the end, President John Quincy Adams stepped in to rescue the Sloopers after their arrival in Am...

21 Mar 202538min

Cleng Peerson Part 1

In this first episode, you'll hear the story of Cleng Peerson, the father of Norwegian emigration. Discover his humble beginnings, and how an unlikely chain of events—spurred by the Napoleonic Wars an...

6 Mar 202545min