...The idea of personal progress and freedom in the United States continued to have a strong impact on Norwegians for the remainder of the nineteenth century. Knowledge about these freedoms was spread through America letters, hand.books, and returned migrants, and this knowledge often was a decisive factor behind the decision to emigrate... Dimensions of freedom are interconnected in this fifteenth volume of Norwegian-American Essays 2017. Its title, Freedom and Migration in a Norwegian-American Context, is identical to the theme of the conference of the Norwegian-American Historical Association - Norway which was held at Fagernes, Norway, June 18-21, 2014. The theme reflects the signing of the Norwegian Constitution in 1814. Norwegian-American Essays 2017 reveals various approaches to the concept of freedom. In addition, all essays share a thematical connection in that they are transnational in content. To a large extent the essays are also comparative as they take into account conditions both in the sending society and the receiving society, which helps to contextualize the theme. Terje Mikael Hasle Joranger, Editor