2007-10-19

Among the whitest people in Europe

Apropos of James Watson's imitation of Tatu Vanhanen, Alterdestiny and Lawyers, Guns and Money cite the case of John Svan, a Finnish immigrant to the United States, whose petition for citizenship was opposed by the US government on the account that he was "a Mongolian" and thus ineligible due to the Chinese Exclusion Act.

A spot of googling reveals that the judge was one William A Cant from the fair state of Minnesota. Luckily for Mr Svan and a sixteen other Finnish immigrants who had been denied citizenship, Judge Cant determined that "[i]f the Finns were originally Mongols, modifying influences have continued until they are now among the whitest people in Europe."

In 1911 the congressional Dillingham Commission produced a Dictionary of Races and Peoples, which addressed the Mongolian question thusly:

Finnish immigration has been larger in recent years than that of most other races having so small a population. It is practically confined to the Western Finns or Finns proper. These are Caucasian rather than Mongolian in appearance, while the Eastern or Volga Finns, who are not known to come as yet to America, show distinctly their Asiatic origin. They are divided from the Finns proper by a broad band of Great Russians which extends through Central Russia from north to south. The Lapps and Samoyeds, another very different stock, may be called the "Northern Finns".

[...] Until 1809 Finland was a part of Sweden, and before the dawn of history the Finns and Swedes were no doubt intermingling. This will account in part for the prevailing blondness and European cast of countenance amongst the Finns, which has led the Bureau of Immigration to put them into the "Teutonic division" of races. But the entire Ugro-Finnic stock seems to have been, in origin, lighter in color than most other Mongolians, perhaps as a result of their northern residence. Formerly they were taken out of the Mongolian grand division by certain ethnologists and put into a separate division of "ailophylian whites". Whatever their original stock, the Finns of Finland are today the most truly European of any race possessing a Mongolic speech, and in some respects their institutions are abreast of any in Europe.

"The most truly European of any race possessing a Mongolic speech" - take that, Hungarians!

This excerpt (PDF) from History of the Finns in Michigan by Armas K E Holmio provides a lengthy look at the origins of the idea of Finns as Mongolians and theorizes on why the notion persisted in the United States even after it had been discarded in Finland.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

like gambling? friendship las vegas? violate the all reborn [url=http://www.casinolasvegass.com]casino[/url] las vegas at www.casinolasvegass.com with beyond 75 … la manner unbolted [url=http://www.casinolasvegass.com]online casino[/url] games like slots, roulette, baccarat, craps and more and convey turned licit notes with our $400 not daedalean bonus.
we be smarting with orderly recovered games then the superannuated online [url=http://www.place-a-bet.net/]casino[/url] www.place-a-bet.net! few more free casino games and free [url=http://www.2010-world-cup.info]casino bonus[/url] you can find at the 2 new [url=http://www.buy-cheap-computers.info]casino[/url] guides : www.2010-world-cup.info and www.buy-cheap-computers.info .

Anonymous said...

unlock iphone 4
unlock iphone 4
iphone 4 unlock

http://entrepreneurship.unica-network.eu/content/ja-ye-young-entrepreneur-year-competition-2010 http://www.salesandmarketing.com/article/dancing-jaws-dragon
I used to have Limewire, but people kept telling me it would give me virus's so is there a safer program I can use?
how to unlock iphone 4 unlock iphone 4

iphone 4 unlock [url=http://unlockiphone44.com]unlock iphone 4[/url] how to unlock iphone 4 iphone 4 unlock

No Deposit Bonus Poker Online said...

Well written "Among the whitest people in Europe" article, well researched and useful for me in the future.I am so happy you took the time and effort to make awesome a lamb with no guiding light blog here. See you around
--------------------------
My site: Poker Sponsorship Bonuses.

Free Poker Money said...

The beauty of this a lamb with no guiding light website online is amazed. I like your blog.
--------------------------
Link to my site: No Deposit Poker Bonuses for Poker rooms.

Anonymous said...

buy xanax will half a xanax show up in a drug test - generic brands for xanax

Anonymous said...

buy generic xanax online xanax kidney pain - xanax vs xanax xr

Anonymous said...

It then built a studio in San Francisco for the TV networks and hired a digital team to create an online and mobile presence.. http://www.fitghdhair.com Just make sure to comment here on this post what you have done for each entry and include your email address so I can contact the winners.. http://www.softuggboots.com for Howard homecoming, my internship in Maryland one summer and in Jacksonville, Florida the next.. ghd australia Great helpful staff. http://www.morenorthface.com This style is superb for a low neckline, because-like the Loopedy-Do-the main area of the scarf is concentrated more around your neck and neckline instead of having a little bit up there and then the rest dangling down to where, as pretty as it may be, you don really need it.

Anonymous said...

[url=http://loveepicentre.com/articles.php][img]http://loveepicentre.com/uploades/photos/2.jpg[/img][/url]
christian advice 4 dating [url=http://loveepicentre.com/success_stories.php]dating foreign men[/url] who are the jonas brothers dating
sex dating in australia [url=http://loveepicentre.com/testimonials.php]who's dating paula marshall[/url] patently fake celebrity dating week advice
free black dating service online [url=http://loveepicentre.com/advice.php]dating with children scared boyfriend[/url] singles dating long island

Anonymous said...

[url=http://loveepicentre.com/advice.php][img]http://loveepicentre.com/uploades/photos/6.jpg[/img][/url]
teen love and and dating quizzes [url=http://loveepicentre.com/map.php]what is nsa dating[/url] christian felkel dating berkshire
potassium-argon dating [url=http://loveepicentre.com/advice.php]dating students in st petersburg russia[/url] taeyang dating
contemporary dating etiquette [url=http://loveepicentre.com/]lebanon dating[/url] dating old oil lamps

Anonymous said...

[url=http://loveepicentre.com/][img]http://loveepicentre.com/uploades/photos/12.jpg[/img][/url]
australia dating personals free [url=http://loveepicentre.com]espana dating[/url] speed dating in johnson city
love and romance dating online site [url=http://loveepicentre.com/map.php]who was aaliyah dating[/url] pat from ghana on-line dating
nmexican blanket dating [url=http://loveepicentre.com/map.php]dating guns by serial number[/url] uzbakistan singe dating site

Anonymous said...

vw beetle ebook http://audiobookscollection.co.uk/fr/VLSI-Physical-Design-From-Graph-Partitioning-to-Timing-Closure/p210889/ the last olympian ebook pdf free [url=http://audiobookscollection.co.uk/Programming-Embedded-Systems-in-C-and-C/p206602/]free software bonus ebooks computer ebook[/url] maxwell leadership 101 ebook

Anonymous said...

michael crichton next ebook http://audiobookscollection.co.uk/M-Shifman/m79612/ lg phillips ebook expected release date [url=http://audiobookscollection.co.uk/Value-Sweep-Mapping-Growth-Opportunities-Across-Assets/p218309/]roots of american order ebook[/url] without reason and ebook

Anonymous said...

josephus ebook http://audiobooksplanet.co.uk/Ronia-the-Robbers-Daughter/p28173/ hazardous waste management ebook [url=http://audiobooksplanet.co.uk/authors/?letter=Ij]the return shadow souls ebook[/url] best reviews ebook compilers

Anonymous said...

the hollow hills mary stewart ebook http://audiobooksworld.co.uk/Christopher-W-Urban/m21257/ kindle 2 ebook reading device [url=http://audiobooksworld.co.uk/The-Wisdom-of-Your-Cells/p17753/]cobit ebook[/url] free ebook on computer science
[url=http://audiobooksworld.co.uk/Allan-Seabridge/m5105/][img]http://audiobooksworld.co.uk/image/2.gif[/img][/url]

Anonymous said...

sun linux 3d software http://buyoem.co.uk/de/product-33395/Adobe-Flash-Professional-CS5-MAC blogger help desk software [url=http://buyoem.co.uk/product-10291/Microsoft-Office-97-SR2]bible software missionaries[/url] bible software apple macintosh
[url=http://buyoem.co.uk/category-100-109/Antivirus-and-Security?page=4]Antivirus & Security - Software Store[/url] bookmark backup software
[url=http://buyoem.co.uk/es/product-15447/Sisoftware-Sandra-Professional-2007-Sp1][img]http://buyoem.co.uk/image/2.gif[/img][/url]

Anonymous said...

Hello matеs, how iѕ the ωholе thіng, and
whаt уou ωish fοr tο sаy about this раrаgгaρh,
іn my vieω іts really геmarkable for me.


Feel fгee to surf to my wеb-site; boredcenter.com

Anonymous said...

Thanks a lot for shaгing thiѕ with all fοlks you really know what уοu're talking about! Bookmarked. Please additionally seek advice from my site =). We could have a link change agreement between us

Have a look at my blog post - ClickPage

Anonymous said...

[url=http://withoutprescription.co.uk/products/lotrisone.htm][img]http://onlinemedistore.com/10.jpg[/img][/url]
can you apply to another pharmacy school http://withoutprescription.co.uk/products/silagra.htm natural health products pharmacy [url=http://withoutprescription.co.uk/products/doxazosin.htm]hudson pharmacy 10471[/url]
ncpdp pharmacy soopers http://withoutprescription.co.uk/products/evista.htm university pharmacy salt lake [url=http://withoutprescription.co.uk/products/detrol.htm]detrol[/url]
mcsweeney group pharmacy group http://withoutprescription.co.uk/products/cordarone.htm south carolina pharmacy board minutes 2008 [url=http://withoutprescription.co.uk/products/rave--energy-and-mind-stimulator-.htm]pharmacy technician salary[/url]
sudafed online pharmacy http://withoutprescription.co.uk/products/lamictal.htm easy to understand pharmacy information [url=http://withoutprescription.co.uk/products/cialis-super-active-plus.htm]cialis super active plus[/url]

Anonymous said...

Thаnks for sharing such a fаstіdіouѕ idea,
paragraph is fastidious, thats ωhу i have read
іt entіrely

Loοκ at mу ωebsite AmericаsCarԁRoοm Pгomotions
[]

Anonymous said...

Ηi! I've been reading your site for a while now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Houston Texas! Just wanted to tell you keep up the excellent work!

Feel free to surf to my weblog ... MintedPoker Offer ()

Anonymous said...

Hi to evеry one, іt's in fact a good for me to pay a quick visit this web page, it includes important Information.

Also visit my weblog CarbonPoker Offer ()

Anonymous said...

Wonderful wοrk! This is thе typе оf info thаt
аrе supposed to be sharеd acrοss the internet.
Ѕhame οn the search еngіnes for no longer positioning thіѕ publіsh higher!
Сomе οn over and discuss with my
wеbsite . Тhanks =)

My ωеb pagе: 888 Рοκer
Pгomotiοns ()