• THE JOURNEY TO AMERICA
    Nils Nielsen (23) is the son of farmer Gregers Nielsen. Nils lives in the village of Helberskov, south of Randers. He has fallen in love with Johanne (21), a farmer's daughter, but her parents will not allow her to marry Nils. This is why he is trying to buy his own land. He works for a nobleman who owns much of the land, and who treats him harshly. Nils lives in a small room in the stable, where in winter it is cold and there is frost on the walls. He is the middle son of a family with eleven children. His mother and father work hard just to survive.

    We are in the year 1863
    BACKGROUND – NILS AND JOHANNE
    BEGIN THE JOURNEY
    NILS & JOHANNE
  • CHOICE 1
    Nils will try to buy his own farm, so Johannes’ parents will allow her to marry him. He will borrow money for the purchase of the farm.
    CHOICE 2
    Nils will travel to the city and work as a craftsman, in order to save money to buy his own farm.
    CHOICE 3
    Nils decides to travel to America and proposes to Johanne, who he wants to marry and join him.
    FIRST CHOICE ON THE JOURNEY
    You can now help Nils and Johanne, who dream of a good life together. Nils would like a place of his own, but is this possible? Or should the young couple as many other young people are doing, embark on a long and dangerous journey to America?
    There are many and difficult problems for the young couple who are struggling to make a good life in Denmark in the 1860s.
    You can now help them choose.

  • CONSEQUENCE OF CHOICE
    Nils confronts the first problem. He cannot buy land because the nobleman will not sell any of his land.

    He cannot borrow money from the bank because he has little money.
    CONTINUE
    REFLECTION SCREEN
    What options do Nils have now?

    Why can't Nils buy that land?
  • CONSEQUENCE OF CHOICE
    Nils travels to Randers. He works hard, but there are many others like Nils who have the same dream.
    One day when he's working on a roof, Nils is struck in the head by a large piece of timber, and his brain is damaged.
    Nils ends up an imbicile.
    CONTINUE
    Nils living at the bottom of society in Randers.

    Where can he stay?

    Who will take care of him?

    How will he support himself?

    How old do you think Nils came to be?
    REFLECTION SCREEN
  • CONSEQUENCE OF CHOICE
    Nils and Johanne marry secretly and travel to Copenhagen.

    CONTINUE THE JOURNEY and see what experiences and challenges the young couple meets.
    CONTINUE THE JOURNEY
  • Nils and Johanne want to leave for America right away, so they immediately buy the cheapest ticket they can get on a ship bound for America.
    CHOICE 1
    Nils and Johanne stay in Copenhagen and both get work to earn money to go to America.
    CHOICE 2
    Nils and Johanne choose to stay in Copenhagen and seek work. It is too dangerous to travel over the Atlantic Ocean.
    CHOICE 3
    NILS AND JOHANNE ARRIVE IN COPENHAGEN
    The two young people have never before been in a bustling, big city.

    What should they do?
    MAKE A CHOICE

  • IMPACT OF YOUR CHOICE
    Nils and Johanne buy third-class tickets.
    They are herded together in the bottom of the ship in crowded conditions.
    Several of the passengers die along the way from cholera.
    Johanne also gets cholera, dies, and is buried at sea.

    Watch the video about the dangerous journey across the sea.
    PLAY VIDEO
    WATCH THE VIDEO AND THEN TRY SOME DIFFERENT CHOICES
  • IMPACT OF YOUR CHOICE
    Nils finds work in a factory. It is hard work, and they live in a filthy, backyard room. Johanne is accustomed to a better life and dreams of becoming a fine lady, but now she must work as a laundry maid.
    They save money and buy second-class tickets on a ship bound for America.
    Despite a dangerous voyage, they arrive safely.

    Click: CONTINUE THE JOURNEY and see what experiences and challenges the young couple meets.
    CONTINUE ACROSS THE JOURNEY
  • THE TRIP ACROSS THE ATLANTIC
    CONTINUE TO NEW YORK HARBOUR
  • IMPACT OF YOUR CHOICE
    Nils finds a job in the building trades.
    One day he falls from a roof and injures his legs so badly they must be amputated.
    Before the accident, Johanne becomes pregnant, and they expect a child.
    CONTINUE
    How will Nils and Johanne support themselves in Copenhagen after the accident and their child is born?

    What would happen if they return to the village in Jutland?
    REFLECTION SCREEN
  • Nils and Johanne choose to travel to Hartland, Wisconsin in hopes of finding land to homestead and to be a part of the first Danish colony in America.
    CHOICE 1
    CHOICE 2
    Nils and Johanne travels to Chicago, where there are many other Danes.
    Nils and Johanne stay in New York and start a new life in the exciting city.
    CHOICE 3
    NILS AND JOHANNE ARRIVE IN AMERICA
    Nils and Johanne arrive in New York harbour.

    Here they come ashore at Castle Garden,
    where they are able to learn more about possible destinations in America’s heartland.
    MAKE A CHOICE

  • IMPACT OF YOUR CHOICE
    Nils and Johanne travel to Chicago. In the rough and tumble life of the new city,
    Nils is assaulted and robbed of everything.
    He is a proud man and fights against his attackers but is shot and dies.
    Johanne survives and tries to get work as a maid, but as she does not speak the language she ends her days as a prostitute.
    CONTINUE
    Why do you think Johanne chooses not to return to Denmark?

    What impact do you think it had on Johannes’ life that she ended up as a prostitute?
    REFLECTION SCREEN
  • IMPACT OF YOUR CHOICE
    Nils and Johanne move into a cheap hotel in New York. They will both look for work, hoping to live out their American dream. Nils meets a businessman, who swindles him out of the little money the couple has by promising a quick profit on a building in Manhattan. Unfortunately, the property does not exist. Nils has been tricked.
    They must work hard and save money to travel back home. But Nils begins drinking and becomes a criminal. They both go straight to the bottom of society and disappear from history.
    PLAY VIDEO
    WATCH THE VIDEO AND THEN TRY SOME DIFFERENT CHOICES
  • Nils and Johanne decide to work on farms until they save up enough money to purchase land.
    CHOICE 1
    CHOICE 2
    Nils and Johanne can pay $1.25 per acre for the land and take up residence in 6 months.
    Because of the Homestead Act of 1862, Nils and Johanne can claim and acquire 65 acres of free land in northern Wisconsin, but it is far from Hartland. They must commit to staying and cultivating the
    land for 5 years.
    CHOICE 3
    Wisconsin
    They arrive in Wisconsin.

    Since they only have little money, they must decide what to do next.
    MAKE A CHOICE

  • Twice what it is in Denmark
    Correct answer is
    Next
    Correct answer is:
    One Sixth
    CONTINUE
    Correct answer is:
    Next
    Indians
    IMPACT OF YOUR CHOICE
    Nils and Johanne work for an established American farmer who has moved to Wisconsin from Ohio. Before they can save up enough money, all available land is settled.
    They end up working for others.
    It is a dead-end track.
    CONTINUE
    QUIZ
    In the 1860s, what was the salary of a farm worker in America?
    The same as in Denmark?
    Twice what it is in Denmark?
    Three times what it is in Denmark?
    Which population was the largest in Wisconsin before 1800?
    Frenchmen
    Indians
    Englishmen
    Between 1840-1880 Wisconsin produced how much of the entire America's wheat production?
    One Tenth:
    One Sixth;
    One Half:
  • IMPACT OF YOUR CHOICE
    NNils and Johanne have only 50 dollars after the journey. It is not enough to pay for the land and buy equipment and farm animals.

    It is a dead end, make a new choice for Nils and Johanne.
    CONTINUE
    What will happen with Nils and Johanne?

    What are their options to have a good life in America?
    REFLEKSIONSSKÆRM
  • THE END IS REACHED
    Nils and Johanne claim free land, but they must work hard to cut down the forest, build a home, and clear the land for planting.
    For extra money, Nils works for a timber company nearby while Johanne works on their own land.
    After five years they gain the title to the land. By this time, they have cattle for milk production, and pigs and chickens. A large garden outside their log cabin provides vegetables, and during this time they have two children.
    Nils and Johanne persuade other Danes from Denmark to move to the area, and gradually it becomes a real city, today known as New Denmark.
    GO TO START