![Niels Truhlsen & Anna Hansen graves Blair NE 1988](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Niels_Truhlsen_%26_Anna_Hansen_graves_Blair_NE_1988.jpg)
Swedish Americans ( sv, svenskamerikaner) are
Americans
Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many Multi ...
of
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
ancestry. They include the 1.2 million Swedish immigrants during 1865–1915, who formed tight-knit communities, as well as their descendants and more recent immigrants.
Today, Swedish Americans are found throughout the United States, with
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
being the three states with the highest number of Swedish Americans. Historically, newly arrived Swedish immigrants settled in the
Midwest
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
, namely Minnesota,
the Dakotas
The Dakotas is a collective term for the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, econom ...
,
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
, and
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, just as other
Scandinavian Americans
Nordic and Scandinavian Americans are Americans of Scandinavian and/or Nordic ancestry, including Danish Americans (estimate: 1,453,897), Faroese Americans, Finnish Americans (estimate: 653,222), Greenlandic Americans, Icelandic Americans (esti ...
. Populations also grew in the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
in the states of
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
and
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
at the turn of the twentieth century.
Migration
Colonial
![Nothnagle Log House](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Nothnagle_Log_House.JPG)
The first Swedish Americans were the settlers of
New Sweden
New Sweden ( sv, Nya Sverige) was a Swedish colony along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now the United States from 1638 to 1655, established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great military power. New Sweden form ...
: a colony established by
Queen Christina of Sweden
Christina ( sv, Kristina, 18 December (New Style) 1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Queen of Sweden in her own right from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. She succeeded her father Gustavus Adolphus upon his death ...
in 1638. It centered around the
Delaware Valley
The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Val ...
including parts of the present-day states of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. New Sweden was incorporated into
New Netherland
New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the East Coast of the United States, east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territor ...
in 1655, and ceased to be an official territory of the
Realm of Sweden
The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually t ...
. However, many Swedish and Finnish colonists remained and were allowed some political and cultural autonomy.
A victim of one of the earliest recorded murders in North America was an immigrant from Sweden. In 1665 in Brooklyn, New York, Barent Jansen Blom, progenitor of the Blom/Bloom family of Brooklyn and the lower Hudson Valley, was stabbed to death by Albert Cornelis Wantenaer.
Present day reminders of the history of New Sweden are reflected in the presence of the
American Swedish Historical Museum
The American Swedish Historical Museum is the oldest Swedish-American museum in the United States. It is located in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park in South Philadelphia, on part of a historic 17th-century land grant originally provided by Queen C ...
in Philadelphia,
Fort Christina State Park in Wilmington, Delaware,
Governor Printz Park, and
The Printzhof
The Printzhof, located in Governor Printz Park in Essington, Pennsylvania, was the home of Johan Björnsson Printz, governor of New Sweden.
In 1643, Johan Printz moved his capital from Fort Christina (located in what is now Wilmington, Delaware) ...
in Essington, Pennsylvania.
Midwest
Swedish emigration to the United States
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, about 1.3 million Swedes left Sweden for the United States of America. While the land of the American frontier was a magnet for the rural poor all over Europe, some factors encouraged Swedish emigrati ...
had reached new heights in 1896, and it was in this year that the
Vasa Order of America
Vasa Order of America ( sv, Vasa Orden av Amerika) is a Swedish-American fraternal, cultural and educational organization.
The organization seeks to benefit its members by sharing Swedish and Scandinavian culture and heritage.
Philosophy
The obje ...
, a Swedish American fraternal organization, was founded to help immigrants, who often lacked an adequate network of social services. Swedish Americans usually came through
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and subsequently settled in the upper
Midwest
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
. Most were
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
and belonged to synods now associated with the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...
, including the
Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church
The Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church (previously the Augustana Lutheran Synod and also Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America and Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America) was a Lutheran church ...
. Theologically, they were pietistic; politically they often supported
progressive causes and
prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
.
In the year 1900,
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
was the city with the second highest number of Swedes after
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, the capital of Sweden. By then, Swedes in Chicago had founded the
Evangelical Covenant Church
The Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) is a Radical Pietistic denomination with Lutheran roots in the evangelical Christian tradition. The denomination has 129,015 members in 878 congregations and an average worship attendance of 219,000 people ...
and established such enduring institutions as
Swedish Covenant Hospital and
North Park University
North Park University is a private Christian university in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1891 by the Evangelical Covenant Church. It is located on Chicago's north side and enrolls more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students.
His ...
. Many others settled in
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
in particular, followed by
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
; as well as
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
,
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
,
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
,
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
and
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
. Like their
Norwegian American
Norwegian Americans ( nb, Norskamerikanere, nn, Norskamerikanarar) are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the ...
and
Danish American
Danish Americans ( da, Dansk-amerikanere) are Americans who have ancestral roots originated fully or partially from Denmark. There are approximately 1,300,000 Americans of Danish origin or descent.
History
The first Dane known to have arriv ...
brethren, many Swedes sought out the agrarian lifestyle they had left behind in Sweden, as many immigrants settled on farms throughout the Midwest. There are towns scattered throughout the Midwest, such as
Lindsborg, Kansas
Lindsborg is a city in McPherson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,776. Lindsborg is known for its large Swedish, other Nordic and Scandinavian Americans ( Nordic- Scandinavian), and German ...
and
Lindström, Minnesota
Lindström (also spelled Lindstrom) is a city in Chisago County, Minnesota, Chisago County, Minnesota, United States, located 35 miles northeast of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Twin Cities. The population was 4,442 at the 2010 United States Censu ...
, that to this day continue to celebrate their Swedish heritage.
New York and Pennsylvania
The port of New York, imports of Swedish iron, and the prevalence of Swedish mariners factored in making New York City the principal port of entry for Swedish immigrants.
Swedes have been persistent during the long history of New York City, but have never been a major immigrant group in the metropolitan region. The place name for the
Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
has its origins in the early settler
Jonas Bronck
Jonas Bronck (alternatively Jonas Jonsson Brunk, Jonas Jonasson Bronk, or Jonas Jonassen Bronck) was born around year 1600 and died in 1643. Bronck was an immigrant to the Dutch colony of New Netherland after whom the Bronx River, and by extension ...
, who was part of the New Netherland colony in 1639 and likely of Swedish origin. A Swedish neighborhood along
Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn developed beginning in the 1850s.
An early community of Swedish immigrants (1848) became established in northwestern Pennsylvania and western New York stemming from the port of Buffalo connecting the Erie Canal with the Great Lakes.
Jamestown, New York
Jamestown is a city in southern Chautauqua County, in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 28,712 at the 2020 census. Situated between Lake Erie to the north and the Allegheny National Forest to the south, Jamestown is the largest pop ...
became a principal Swedish American city during the peak of Swedish immigration. The Swedish American community in this area often served as a stepping stone for immigrants who settled in the Midwest, especially early communities in Illinois and Minnesota, as well as Massachusetts.
New England
In the east, New England became a destination for many skilled industrial workers and Swedish centers developed in areas such as
Jamestown, New York
Jamestown is a city in southern Chautauqua County, in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 28,712 at the 2020 census. Situated between Lake Erie to the north and the Allegheny National Forest to the south, Jamestown is the largest pop ...
;
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
, and
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. A small Swedish settlement was also started in
New Sweden, Maine
New Sweden is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 577 at the 2020 census.
History
Starting in 1870, a Swedish-immigrant colony was established by the State of Maine in Aroostook County. The State of Maine had a ...
. 51 Swedish settlers came to the wooded area, led by W.W. Thomas, who called them "mina barn i skogen" (my children in the woods). Upon arrival, they knelt in prayer and gave thanks to God. This area soon expanded and other settlements were named
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
,
Jemtland, and
Westmanland, in honor of their Swedish heritage. (
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
is the capital of Sweden, while
Jämtland
Jämtland (; no, Jemtland or , ; Jamtish: ''Jamtlann''; la, Iemptia) is a historical province () in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland to the north a ...
and
Västmanland
Västmanland ( or ), is a historical Swedish province, or ''landskap'', in middle Sweden. It borders Södermanland, Närke, Värmland, Dalarna and Uppland.
Västmanland means "(The) Land of the Western Men", where the "western men" (''västerm ...
are Swedish provinces.)
The town of New Sweden, Maine celebrates
St. Lucia
Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerin ...
,
Midsummer
Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer usually held at a date around the summer solstice. It has pagan pre-Christian roots in Europe.
The undivided Christian Church designated June 24 as the feast day of the early Christian mart ...
, and Founders Day (July 23). It is a Swedish-American community that continues to honor traditions of the old country. Gustaf Adolph Lutheran Church was served by a native of Sweden as recently as 1979–1985 (The Rev. Hans Olof Andræ b. 1933 Vimmerby, Sweden) who was known to occasionally conduct special worship services in Swedish.
The largest settlement in New England was
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
. Here, Swedes were drawn to the city's wire and abrasive industries. By the early 20th century numerous churches, organizations, businesses, and benevolent associations had been organized. Among them, the Swedish Cemetery Corporation (1885), the Swedish Lutheran Old People's Home(1920), Fairlawn Hospital (1921), and the Scandinavian Athletic Club (1923). These institutions survive today, although some have mainstreamed their names.
Numerous local lodges of national Swedish American organizations also flourished and a few remain solvent as of 2008. Within the city's largest historic "Swedish" neighborhood—Quinsigamond Village—street signs read like a map of Sweden: Stockholm Street, Halmstad Street, and Malmo Street among others. Worcester's Swedes were historically staunch Republicans and this political loyalty is behind why Worcester remained a Republican stronghold in an otherwise Democratic state well into the 1950s.
West Coast
Many Swedes also came to the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
during the turn of the twentieth century, along with Norwegians and
Finns
Finns or Finnish people ( fi, suomalaiset, ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland.
Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these ...
, settling in
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
and
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
. According to research by the
Oregon Historical Society
The Oregon Historical Society (OHS) is an organization that encourages and promotes the study and understanding of the history of the Oregon Country, within the broader context of U.S. history. Incorporated in 1898, the Society collects, preser ...
, Swedish immigrants "felt a kinship with the natural surroundings and economic opportunities in the Pacific Northwest," and the region experienced a significant influx of Swedish and Scandinavian immigrants between 1890 and 1910.
Notable influence can be felt in the neighborhood of
Ballard in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington, and by the
Swedish Medical Center
Swedish Health Services, formerly Swedish Medical Center, is the largest nonprofit health provider in the Seattle metropolitan area. It operates five hospital campuses (in the Seattle neighborhoods of First Hill, Cherry Hill and Ballard, and th ...
, a major hospital also in Seattle.
In Oregon, Swedish immigrant populations were concentrated in the rural areas east of
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
, and a significant Swedish community was also established in the coastal city of
Astoria along with Finnish and Norwegian settlers who worked in the timber and fishing industries.
[
]
Assimilation
In the 1860–1890 era, there was little assimilation into American society. The Swedish Americans attached relatively little significance to the American dimension of their ethnicity; instead they relied on an extant Swedish literature. There was a relatively weak Swedish American institutional structure before 1890, and Swedish Americans were somewhat insecure in their social-economic status in America.
An increasingly large Swedish American community fostered the growth of an institutional structure—a Swedish-language press, churches and colleges, and ethnic organizations—that placed a premium on sponsoring a sense of Swedishness in the United States. Blanck (2006) argues that after 1890 there emerged a self-confident Americanized generation. At prestigious Augustana College, for example, American-born students began to predominate after 1890. The students mostly had white-collar or professional backgrounds; few were the sons and daughters of farmers and laborers.[Dag Blanck, ''The Creation of an Ethnic Identity: Being Swedish American in the Augustana Synod, 1860–1917'' (2006)]
These students developed an idealized view of Sweden, characterized by romanticism, patriotism, and idealism, just like their counterparts across the Atlantic. The new generation was especially proud of the Swedish contributions to American democracy and the creation of a republic that promised liberty and destroyed the menace of slavery. A key spokesman was Johan Alfred Enander, longtime editor of ''Hemlandet
''Hemlandet'', alternately ''Gamla och nya hemlandet'', was a Swedish-American newspaper begun in 1855 in Galesburg, Illinois. It was the first Swedish-language newspaper in America.
Founded by Lutheran minister Tuve Hasselquist, the newspaper m ...
'' (Swedish for "The Homeland"), the Swedish newspaper in Chicago. Enander argued that the Vikings were instrumental in enabling the "freedom" that spread not only throughout the British Isles, but America as well.
Swedes, moreover, were among the first founders of America with their New Sweden colony in Delaware. Swedish America was present in Congress under the Articles of Confederation period, and its role was momentous in fighting the war against slavery. As a paragon of freedom and the struggle against unfreedom, and as an exemplar of the courage of the Vikings in contrast to the papist Columbus, Swedish America could use its culture to stress its position as loyal adherents to the larger Protestant American society.
In 1896 the Vasa Order of America
Vasa Order of America ( sv, Vasa Orden av Amerika) is a Swedish-American fraternal, cultural and educational organization.
The organization seeks to benefit its members by sharing Swedish and Scandinavian culture and heritage.
Philosophy
The obje ...
, a Swedish-American fraternal organization, was founded to provide ethnic identity and social services such as health insurance and death subsidies, operates numerous social and recreational opportunities, and maintains contact with fellow lodges in Sweden. Johannes and Helga Hoving were its leaders, calling for the maintenance of the Swedish language and culture among Swedish Americans, especially the younger generation. However, they returned to Sweden in 1934 and Vasa itself became Americanized.
Literature
As a highly literate population, their output of print media was even more remarkable, and cultural leadership was exerted by numerous magazine and newspaper editors more so than by churchmen. The Swedish American press was the second largest foreign-language press in the United States (after German language imprints) in 1910. By 1910 about 1200 Swedish periodicals had been started in several states. ''Valkyrian'', a magazine based in New York City, helped fashion a distinct Swedish American culture between 1897 and 1909. The Valkyrian helped strengthen ethnicity by drawing on collective memory and religion, mythicizing of Swedish and Swedish American history, describing American history, politics, and current events in a matter-of-fact way, publishing Swedish American literature, and presenting articles on science, technology, and industry in the United States.
The community produced numerous writers and journalists, of whom the most famous was poet-historian Carl Sandburg from Illinois. The harsh experiences of the frontier were subjects for novelists and story tellers, Of interest revealing the immigrant experience are the novels of Lillian Budd Lillian or Lilian can refer to:
People
* Lillian (name) or Lilian, a given name
Places
* Lilian, Iran, a village in Markazi Province, Iran In the United States
* Lillian, Alabama
* Lillian, West Virginia
* Lillian Township, Custer County, Ne ...
(1897–1989), especially ''April Snow'' (1951), ''Land of Strangers'' (1953), and ''April Harvest'' (1959). Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg
Karl Artur Vilhelm Moberg (20 August 1898 – 8 August 1973) was a Swedish journalist, author, playwright, historian, and debater. His literary career, spanning more than 45 years, is associated with his series ''The Emigrants''. The four ...
wrote a series of four books about a group of Swedish-American emigrants, starting with '' The Emigrants'' (1949), which were translated in the 1950s and 1960s. They were also filmed by Jan Troell
Jan Gustaf Troell (born 23 July 1931) is a Swedish writer-director, and cinematographer. His realistic films, with a lyrical photography in which nature is prominent, have placed him in the first rank of modern Swedish film directors along with I ...
as '' The Emigrants'' and ''The New Land
''The New Land'' ( sv, Nybyggarna) is a 1972 Swedish film directed and co-written by Jan Troell and starring Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Eddie Axberg, Allan Edwall, Monica Zetterlund, and Pierre Lindstedt. It and its 1971 predecessor, ''The Emi ...
''.
Socioeconomic mobility
Baigent (2000) explores the dynamics of economic and cultural assimilation and the " American Dream" in one small city. Most Swedes in McKeesport, Pennsylvania
McKeesport is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated at the confluence of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers and within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 17,727 as of the 2020 census. It ...
, between 1880 and 1920 were permanent settlers rather than temporary migrants. Many ended up comfortably off and a few became prosperous. They judged their success against Swedes in Sweden, not McKeesporters of other nationalities. They had no illusions about American life but they chose to stay and confront difficult living and working conditions rather than move on or return to Sweden where good jobs were scarce and paid much less.
Many of their children were upwardly socially mobile, and America offered girls in particular greater opportunities than Sweden did. The immigrants greatly valued the religious freedom that America offered, but their political freedoms were heavily circumscribed by McKeesport's "booze interest" and iron and steel bosses. Swedes dominated the prohibition movement in the town, but this did not open the door to a wider political stage. The dreams of many individual Swedes came true, but the dream of creating a permanent Swedish community in McKeesport was not realized, since individual Swedes moved on within the United States in pursuit of continued economic success. Swedish Americans formed their own social identity within the U.S. during the period through their memberships of social clubs and their deliberate membership or non-membership in different ethnically based institutions.
The story of A. V. Swanson, who in 1911 left Bjuv at age 20 and settled in Ames, Iowa eight years later is a case study in farming and business success.
Working class Swedes
The Swedish group was, as many other emigrant groups, highly differentiated. There still is a lot of research waiting to be done on the more urban and working-class parts of the Swedish immigrant group, where some ended up in slums like Swede Hollow
Swede Hollow was a neighborhood of St. Paul, Minnesota. It was one of a large group of neighborhoods collectively known as the East Side, lying just to the east of the near-downtown Railroad Island neighborhood, and at the northwestern base of ...
in St. Paul, Minnesota, which had a population of about roughly 1,000 squatters around 1890 (slightly less in 1900, according to the census carried out that year). Child mortality was high and diphtheria and pertussis common. Many also died in work related accidents. Drunkenness and wife beatings were also common.
Swedish housemaids were in high demand in America. Working conditions were far better than in Sweden, in terms of wages, hours of work, benefits, and ability to change positions.
Stereotypes
During the first waves of migration the Swedes were also subjected to certain stereotypes and prejudices. The expression "dumb Swede" was established as they had difficulty learning English. There were entertainment shows which used a character called "John Johnsson" when poking fun at Swedes. He was dumb, clumsy, drank too much and talked with a funny accent.[Se]
Geo: Olson och Hanson bodde på soptippen – svenskarna sågs som korkade och smutsiga i USA
/ref> Many also complained about the smell of the Swedes that was considered to smell fishy like herrings. In 1901 Horace Glenn wrote "Walking behind a string of Swedes is impossible to a person with delicate nose. It's an odor which could only come from generations of unwashed ancestors."
Swedish Americans opposed entry into World War I, in which Sweden was neutral. Political pressures during the war encouraged a rapid switch from Swedish to English in church services—the older generation was bilingual by now and the youth could hardly understand the old language. Swedish language newspapers lost circulation. Most communities typically switched to English by 1920.
By the 1930s, assimilation into American life styles was almost complete, with few experiences of hostility or discrimination.
Preserving Swedish cultural heritage (1940–present)
After 1940, the Swedish language was rarely taught in high schools or colleges, and Swedish-language newspapers or magazines nearly all closed. A few small towns in the U.S. have retained a few distinctive characteristics. For example Silverhill, Alabama
Silverhill is a town in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 706. It is part of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metropolitan area.
Geography
Silverhill is located in southern Baldwin County at 30°32'42.95 ...
; Lindstrom, Minnesota
Lindström (also spelled Lindstrom) is a city in Chisago County, Minnesota, Chisago County, Minnesota, United States, located 35 miles northeast of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Twin Cities. The population was 4,442 at the 2010 United States Censu ...
; Karlstad, Minnesota
Karlstad is a city in Kittson County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 710 at the 2020 census.
U.S. Route 59 and Minnesota State Highway 11 are two of the main arterial routes in the city. The city's slogan is "The Moose Capital ...
; Gothenburg, Nebraska
Gothenburg is a city in Dawson County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Lexington, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,574 at the 2010 census.
History
Gothenburg, Nebraska is named after Gothenburg, Sweden, an ...
; Andover, Illinois
Andover is a village in Henry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 578 at the 2010 census, down from 594 in 2000.
History
Andover is the oldest community in Henry County. Andover was the first area to be settled as a town within ...
; Kingsburg, California
Kingsburg is a city in Fresno County, California. Kingsburg is located southeast of Selma at an elevation of 302 feet (92 m), on the banks of the Kings River. The city is from Fresno, and about from the California Central Coast and Sierra Ne ...
; and Bishop Hill, Illinois
Bishop Hill is a village in Henry County, Illinois, United States, along the South Edwards River. The population was 128 at the 2010 census, up from 125 in 2000. It is the home of the Bishop Hill State Historic Site, a park operated by the Illi ...
.
Lindsborg, Kansas
Lindsborg is a city in McPherson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,776. Lindsborg is known for its large Swedish, other Nordic and Scandinavian Americans ( Nordic- Scandinavian), and German ...
is representative. It was founded by Lutheran pietists in 1869 on land purchased from the Kansas Pacific Railroad; the First Swedish Agricultural Company of Chicago spearheaded the colonization. Known today as Little Sweden, Lindsborg is the economic and spiritual center of the Smoky Valley.[Steven M. Schnell, "The Making of Little Sweden, USA" (''Great Plains Quarterly'' 2002 22(1): 3–21) ]
The rise of agribusiness, the decline of the family farm, the arrival of nearby discount stores, and the "economic bypass" of the new interstate system wrought economic havoc on this community. By the 1970s Lindsborg residents pulled together a unique combination of musical, artistic, intellectual, and ethnic strengths to reinvent their town. The Sandzén Gallery, Runbeck Mill, Swedish Pavilion, historical museum at Bethany College, and Messiah Festival were among the activities and attractions used to enhance the Swedish image. The Lindsborg plan is representative of growing national interest in ethnic heritage, historic preservation, and small-town nostalgia in the late 20th century.
Organizations preserving Swedish culture
* American Swedish Historical Museum
The American Swedish Historical Museum is the oldest Swedish-American museum in the United States. It is located in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park in South Philadelphia, on part of a historic 17th-century land grant originally provided by Queen C ...
, Philadelphia, PA
* American Swedish Institute
The American Swedish Institute (ASI) is a museum and cultural center in the Phillips West neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The organization is dedicated to the preservation and study of the historic role Sweden and Swedish A ...
, Minneapolis, MN
* Concordia Language Villages
Concordia Language Villages (CLV), previously the International Language Villages, is a world-language and culture education program. Since beginning in 1961, it has grown to offer summer camp in 15 modern languages and school-year weekend progra ...
(Swedish Language Camp)
* Gustavus Adolphus College
Gustavus Adolphus College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in St. Peter, Minnesota. It was founded in 1862 by Swedish Americans led by Eric Norelius and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Gustavus gets its nam ...
, St. Peter, MN
* Nordstjernan (newspaper)
''Nordstjernan'' (in English ''The North Star''), founded in 1872, is a mostly English-language newspaper for Swedish Americans and Swedish citizens in the United States. The publisher is Swedish News, Inc. of New York City.
History
The first ...
, New York, NY
* North Park University
North Park University is a private Christian university in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1891 by the Evangelical Covenant Church. It is located on Chicago's north side and enrolls more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students.
His ...
, Chicago, IL
* Scandinavian American Cultural and Historical Foundation (SACHF), Thousand Oaks, C
* Scandinavian Heritage Foundation, Portland, OR
* SACC New York, Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce (SACC), New York
* Swedish American Chamber of Commerce (SACC), Washington, D
* Swedish American Hospital
SwedishAmerican Hospital is a 357-bed non profit, teaching hospital located in Rockford, Illinois. The hospital is a division of UW Health. The hospital was founded in 1911, opening its doors in 1918 following a period of fund raising. In the mid ...
, Rockford, IL
* Swedish American Museum
Swedish American Museum is a museum of Swedish American topics and the Swedish emigration to the United States, located in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago.
The Swedish American Museum in Chicago was founded by Kurt Mathisson in 1976. ...
Andersonville, Chicago, IL
* Swedish Council of America (SCA), Minneapolis, M
* Swedish Covenant Hospital, Chicago, IL
* Swedish Women's Educational Association (SWEA) Swea.org
* The American-Scandinavian Foundation
The American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) is an American non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting international understanding through educational and cultural exchange between the United States and Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway
...
, New York, NY
* Vasa National Archives, Bishop Hill, IL
* Vasa Order of America
Vasa Order of America ( sv, Vasa Orden av Amerika) is a Swedish-American fraternal, cultural and educational organization.
The organization seeks to benefit its members by sharing Swedish and Scandinavian culture and heritage.
Philosophy
The obje ...
Cities preserving Swedish culture
* Bishop Hill, IL
* Center City, MN
* Chicago, IL
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
* Chisago City, MN
* Geneva, IL
* Jamestown, NY
Jamestown is a city in southern Chautauqua County, in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 28,712 at the 2020 census. Situated between Lake Erie to the north and the Allegheny National Forest to the south, Jamestown is the largest pop ...
* Kingsburg, CA
Kingsburg is a city in Fresno County, California. Kingsburg is located southeast of Selma at an elevation of 302 feet (92 m), on the banks of the Kings River. The city is from Fresno, and about from the California Central Coast and Sierra Ne ...
* Lindsborg, KS
Lindsborg is a city in McPherson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,776. Lindsborg is known for its large Swedish, other Nordic and Scandinavian Americans ( Nordic- Scandinavian), and German ...
* Lindström, MN
* Mount Jewett, PA
Mount Jewett is a borough in McKean County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 849 at the 2020 census. The students of the borough attend school in the Kane Area School District, even though the borough is surrounded by Hamlin Town ...
* New Sweden, ME
New Sweden is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 577 at the 2020 census.
History
Starting in 1870, a Swedish-immigrant colony was established by the State of Maine in Aroostook County. The State of Maine had ...
* Oakland, NE
Oakland is a city in Burt County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,244 at the 2010 census. Oakland continues to build on its strong foundation with its bi-annual Swedish Festival and is known by its proclamation from the Swedish Con ...
* Rockford, IL
Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...
* Scandia, MN
Scandia is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,984 at the 2020 census. Scandia is 25 miles northeast of Saint Paul, Minnesota, and is part of the Twin Cities Metro Area.
History
As evidenced by the town' ...
* St. Peter, MN
* Stockholm, ME
Stockholm is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 250 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census.
History
Starting in 1870, a Swedish-immigrant colony was established by the State of M ...
* Stockholm, WI
* Westmanland, ME
* Wilcox, PA
Wilcox is a census-designated place located in Jones Township, Elk County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community was named after a settler, Col. A.I. Wilcox. As of the 2010 census, Wilcox had a population of 383.
Wilcox is located in the w ...
Cities built with Swedish labor
* Astoria, OR
* Scotia, CA – Humboldt County
Swedish American holidays
Several holidays celebrated in Sweden have been brought to the United States by Swedish Americans. These include ''Trettondagen'' (Epiphany
Epiphany may refer to:
* Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight
Religion
* Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ
** Epiphany season, or Epiph ...
), ''Tjugondedag Knut'' ( Saint Canute's Day), ''Fettisdagen'' (Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent), observed in many Christian countries through participating in confession and absolution, the ritual burning of the previous year's Holy Week palms, finalizing one's Lenten s ...
), ''Valborg'' (Walpurgis Night
Walpurgis Night (), an abbreviation of Saint Walpurgis Night (from the German ), also known as Saint Walpurga's Eve (alternatively spelled Saint Walburga's Eve), is the eve of the Christian feast day of Saint Walpurga, an 8th-century abbess in ...
), Midsummer
Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer usually held at a date around the summer solstice. It has pagan pre-Christian roots in Europe.
The undivided Christian Church designated June 24 as the feast day of the early Christian mart ...
and ''Lucia'' (Saint Lucy's Day
Saint Lucy's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Lucy, is a Christian feast day observed on 13 December. The observance commemorates Lucia of Syracuse, an early-fourth-century virgin martyr under the Diocletianic Persecution, who according to l ...
). Some are already celebrated in the United States though somewhat differently, such as ''Påsk'' (Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
), ''Första Maj'' (May Day
May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. T ...
/International Workers' Day
International Workers' Day, also known as Labour Day in some countries and often referred to as May Day, is a celebration of labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement and occurs every year on 1 May, ...
/Labor Day
Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...
), ''Jul'' (Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
/Yule
Yule, actually Yuletide ("Yule time") is a festival observed by the historical Germanic peoples, later undergoing Christianised reformulation resulting in the now better-known Christmastide. The earliest references to Yule are by way of indig ...
Eve and Day), and New Year's Eve
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...
.
Swedish Americans can celebrate with various Swedish Heritage societies across the country who try to keep the Swedish traditions alive.
''Påsk''
Swedish Easter is celebrated around the first week of April, when Easter is celebrated in the United States. Traditionally, Swedes celebrate by dressing up children as little ''påskhäxor'' (Easter witch
Easter witches ( sv, påskkärring, 'easter hag', 'easter witch', Finland sv, påskhäxa, 'easter witch', Finland fi, Trulli, 'Trulli') is an old Swedish legend about witches flying to Blockula ( sv, Blåkulla, ''Blå Jungfrun'') on brooms on th ...
es) and their then going door to door asking for candy, similarly to Hallowe'en
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...
in the U.S. More recently Swedes do a typical ''American'' Easter with egg hunts and candy for the little ones to find. Swedish Americans often include ''påskris'' (an Easter bush) with twigs cut from a tree, placed in a vase with colored feathers and decorative hanging eggs added. Swedish tradition also found in Swedish American homes has a traditional ''påskbord'', a large meal that is eaten together by families with foods such as deviled eggs, mashed potatoes, meatballs, pickled herring and other fresh fish like salmon.
''Midsommar''
Midsummer is celebrated at the summer solstice, recognizing the longest day of the year. Many Swedes dress in traditional folk costume
A folk costume (also regional costume, national costume, traditional garment, or traditional regalia) expresses an identity through costume, which is usually associated with a geographic area or a period of time in history. It can also indicat ...
s, often with girls and women wearing flowered head garlands, and gather together to eat, sing traditional songs with bands playing, and dance around a maypole
A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, around which a maypole dance often takes place.
The festivals may occur on 1 May or Pentecost (Whitsun), although in some countries it is instead erected at ...
. Festivities begin with decorating the horizontal maypole as people gather to affix greenery first, then after thus covering most of the pole, they add various types of flowers until the whole pole is covered. The men then lift it upright while the women follow in a line behind singing as they walk around with the maypole. At the end of the song, the men place the maypole in a hole in the ground raising it to its final position. The celebrations in Sweden often last all day and night with food and alcoholic beverage accompanied with songs and snapsvisor.
Swedish American of the Year
Annually a Swedish American of the Year Swedish American of the Year (SAY)/ is an annual award program of the Vasa Order of America which is run by the two Sweden District Lodges – District 19 and District 20.
Origin
Since 1960, the Vasa Order of America has selected a prominent Americ ...
is awarded through Vasa Order of America District Lodges 19 and 20 in Sweden.
Swedish-American business owners
* Nordstrom
Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and ...
stores – John W. Nordstrom
John W. Nordstrom (born Johan Wilhelm Nordström, ; February 15, 1871 – October 11, 1963) was a Swedish American businessman who was the co-founder of the Nordstrom department store chain.
Background
He was born Johan Wilhelm Nordström (later ...
* South Coast Plaza, South Coast Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Concert Hall, Segerstrom High School – Henry Segerstrom
Henry Thomas Segerstrom (April 5, 1923 – February 20, 2015) was an American philanthropist, entrepreneur, cultural leader, and patron of the arts. Managing Partner of C.J. Segerstrom & Sons, he was the founding chairman of the Orange County Perf ...
* O.F. Mossberg & Sons firearms; uses Swedish iconography in their logos.
*Ragnar Benson
Ragnar Benson is the pen name of a prolific survivalist author who specializes in preparedness topics, particularly survival retreats, hunting, trapping, austere medicine, false identification, explosives, firearms, and improvised weapons.
...
Inc., founded by Ragnar Benson, was at the time one of the 10 largest general contracting firms in the United States. The company became one of Chicago's top builders, and erected many Fortune 500 landmark buildings.
Churches
Formal church membership in 1936 was reported as:
* Augustana Synod
The Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church (previously the Augustana Lutheran Synod and also Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America and Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America) was a Lutheran church ...
(Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
) – 1,203 churches – 254,677 members
* Mission Covenant – 441 churches – 45,000 members
* Swedish Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
– 300 churches – 36,820 members
* Swedish Evangelical Free – 150 churches – 9,000 members
* Swedish Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
– 175 churches – 19,441 members
The affiliated membership of a church is much larger than the formal membership.
Other churches
* Swedish Seaman's Church – located in many states
* Church of Sweden, Los Angeles – Svenska kyrkan
* Swedenborgian Church
* Danish Churc
Until 2000, The Church of Sweden was the official state church of Sweden.
Nobel Conference
The Nobel Conference
The Nobel Conference is an academic conference held annually at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MinnesotaFounded in 1963 the conference links a general audience with the world's foremost scholars and researchers in conversations centered on ...
is an academic conference held annually at Gustavus Adolphus College
Gustavus Adolphus College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in St. Peter, Minnesota. It was founded in 1862 by Swedish Americans led by Eric Norelius and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Gustavus gets its nam ...
in St. Peter, Minnesota
St. Peter is a city in Nicollet County, Minnesota, United States. It is 10 miles north of the Mankato – North Mankato metropolitan area. The population was 12,066 at the 2020 census. St. Peter is the county seat of Nicollet County and home ...
. Founded in 1963, the conference links a general audience with the world's foremost scholars and researchers in conversations centered on contemporary issues related to the natural and social sciences. It is the first ongoing academic conference in the United States to have the official authorization of the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden.
Demographics
upright=1.5, ,_Minnesota_has_the_largest_concentration_of_Swedes">Minneapolis,_Minnesota_has_the_largest_concentration_of_Swedes_outside_Sweden.html" ;"title="Swedes.html" ;"title="Minneapolis, Minnesota has the largest concentration of Swedes">Minneapolis, Minnesota has the largest concentration of Swedes outside Sweden">Swedes.html" ;"title="Minneapolis, Minnesota has the largest concentration of Swedes">Minneapolis, Minnesota has the largest concentration of Swedes outside Sweden. The city is home to the American Swedish Institute
The American Swedish Institute (ASI) is a museum and cultural center in the Phillips West neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The organization is dedicated to the preservation and study of the historic role Sweden and Swedish A ...
(pictured).
A few small towns in the U.S. have retained a few visible Swedish characteristics. Some examples include Silverhill, Alabama
Silverhill is a town in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 706. It is part of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metropolitan area.
Geography
Silverhill is located in southern Baldwin County at 30°32'42.95 ...
; Cambridge, Minnesota
Cambridge is a city in Isanti County, Minnesota, United States, located at the junction of Minnesota State Highways 65 and 95. The population was 9,611 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Isanti County. It is located along the Rum Riv ...
; Lindstrom, Minnesota
Lindström (also spelled Lindstrom) is a city in Chisago County, Minnesota, Chisago County, Minnesota, United States, located 35 miles northeast of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Twin Cities. The population was 4,442 at the 2010 United States Censu ...
; Karlstad, Minnesota
Karlstad is a city in Kittson County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 710 at the 2020 census.
U.S. Route 59 and Minnesota State Highway 11 are two of the main arterial routes in the city. The city's slogan is "The Moose Capital ...
; Scandia, Minnesota
Scandia is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,984 at the 2020 census. Scandia is 25 miles northeast of Saint Paul, Minnesota, and is part of the Twin Cities Metro Area.
History
As evidenced by the town' ...
; Lindsborg, Kansas
Lindsborg is a city in McPherson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,776. Lindsborg is known for its large Swedish, other Nordic and Scandinavian Americans ( Nordic- Scandinavian), and German ...
; Gothenburg, Nebraska
Gothenburg is a city in Dawson County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Lexington, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,574 at the 2010 census.
History
Gothenburg, Nebraska is named after Gothenburg, Sweden, an ...
; Oakland, Nebraska
Oakland is a city in Burt County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,244 at the 2010 census. Oakland continues to build on its strong foundation with its bi-annual Swedish Festival and is known by its proclamation from the Swedish Con ...
; Andover, Illinois
Andover is a village in Henry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 578 at the 2010 census, down from 594 in 2000.
History
Andover is the oldest community in Henry County. Andover was the first area to be settled as a town within ...
; Kingsburg, California
Kingsburg is a city in Fresno County, California. Kingsburg is located southeast of Selma at an elevation of 302 feet (92 m), on the banks of the Kings River. The city is from Fresno, and about from the California Central Coast and Sierra Ne ...
; Bishop Hill, Illinois
Bishop Hill is a village in Henry County, Illinois, United States, along the South Edwards River. The population was 128 at the 2010 census, up from 125 in 2000. It is the home of the Bishop Hill State Historic Site, a park operated by the Illi ...
; Jamestown, New York
Jamestown is a city in southern Chautauqua County, in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 28,712 at the 2020 census. Situated between Lake Erie to the north and the Allegheny National Forest to the south, Jamestown is the largest pop ...
; Mount Jewett, PA
Mount Jewett is a borough in McKean County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 849 at the 2020 census. The students of the borough attend school in the Kane Area School District, even though the borough is surrounded by Hamlin Town ...
, Wilcox, PA
Wilcox is a census-designated place located in Jones Township, Elk County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community was named after a settler, Col. A.I. Wilcox. As of the 2010 census, Wilcox had a population of 383.
Wilcox is located in the w ...
, and Westby, Wisconsin
Westby is a city in Vernon County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,332 as of the 2020 census. The name "Westby" is a Norwegian name and literally translates to "Western city".
History
Westby was named after general store owner an ...
, as well as significant areas of central Texas, including New Sweden and Georgetown, and areas in northern Maine: New Sweden, Stockholm, Jemptland, and Westmanland.
Around 3.9% of the U.S. population is said to have Fennoscandinavian ancestry (which also includes Norwegian Americans
Norwegian Americans ( nb, Norskamerikanere, nn, Norskamerikanarar) are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the ...
, Danish Americans
Danish Americans ( da, Dansk-amerikanere) are Americans who have ancestral roots originated fully or partially from Denmark. There are approximately 1,300,000 Americans of Danish origin or descent.
History
The first Dane known to have arriv ...
, Finnish Americans
Finnish Americans ( fi, amerikansuomalaiset, ) comprise Americans with ancestral roots from Finland or Finnish people who immigrated to and reside in the United States. The Finnish-American population numbers a little bit more than 650,000. Man ...
, and Icelandic Americans
Icelandic Americans are Americans of Icelandic descent or Iceland-born people who reside in the United States. Icelandic immigrants came to the United States primarily in the period 1873–1905 and after World War II. There are more than 40,000 I ...
). At present, according to the 2005 American Community Survey, only 56,324 Americans continue to speak the Swedish language
Swedish ( ) is a North Germanic language spoken predominantly in Sweden and in parts of Finland. It has at least 10 million native speakers, the fourth most spoken Germanic language and the first among any other of its type in the Nordic countr ...
at home, which is down from 67,655 in 2000. Most of them being recent immigrants. Swedish American communities typically switched to English by 1920. Swedish is rarely taught in high schools or colleges, and Swedish language newspapers or magazines are rare.
Swedish Americans by State
In 2020, Minnesota had the most Swedes, both by number (410,091) and by the percent of the state's population they make up (7.3%).
Notable people
See also
* Nordic and Scandinavian Americans
Nordic and Scandinavian Americans are Americans of Scandinavian and/or Nordic ancestry, including Danish Americans (estimate: 1,453,897), Faroese Americans, Finnish Americans (estimate: 653,222), Greenlandic Americans, Icelandic Americans (esti ...
* Languages of the United States#Swedish
* '' Swedes in America'', a documentary film
* ''Allt för Sverige
''Allt för Sverige'' (literally ''Everything for Sweden'', marketed in the United States as ''The Great Swedish Adventure'') is a Swedish Emmy-award-winning reality show based on the original Norwegian format ''The Great Norway Adventure'', als ...
'', reality show about Swedish Americans
* Sweden – United States relations
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
* Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church
The Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church (previously the Augustana Lutheran Synod and also Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America and Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America) was a Lutheran church ...
* Sweden-bashing
* Swedish Canadians
Swedish Canadians ( sv, Svenskkanadensare) are Canadian citizens of Swedish ancestry or Swedes who emigrated to and reside in Canada. The Swedish Canadian community in Canada numbered 349,640 in the 2016 population census. The vast majority of t ...
* Swedish American of the Year Swedish American of the Year (SAY)/ is an annual award program of the Vasa Order of America which is run by the two Sweden District Lodges – District 19 and District 20.
Origin
Since 1960, the Vasa Order of America has selected a prominent Americ ...
– annual award program
* The American-Scandinavian Foundation
The American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) is an American non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting international understanding through educational and cultural exchange between the United States and Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway
...
* Swede Hollow
Swede Hollow was a neighborhood of St. Paul, Minnesota. It was one of a large group of neighborhoods collectively known as the East Side, lying just to the east of the near-downtown Railroad Island neighborhood, and at the northwestern base of ...
, neighborhood of St Paul Minnesota
* Swedes in Chicago
* Swedes in Omaha, Nebraska The Swedes in Omaha, Nebraska are a long-standing ethnic group in the city with important economic, social, and political ties.
History
The first Swedes in Omaha came through Florence at the Winter Quarters of the Mormons. The group continued ...
* Nordstjernan
Nordstjernan () is a Swedish investment company. Nordstjernan is a fourth-generation family company controlled by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation. The origin is the shipping company Nordstjernan, which was founded in 1890.
Histo ...
– Swedish-American Newspaper
* American Swedish Historical Museum
The American Swedish Historical Museum is the oldest Swedish-American museum in the United States. It is located in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park in South Philadelphia, on part of a historic 17th-century land grant originally provided by Queen C ...
* List of Swedish Americans
The following is a list of notable Swedish Americans, including both original immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American descendants.
To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are ...
* American Swedish Institute
The American Swedish Institute (ASI) is a museum and cultural center in the Phillips West neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The organization is dedicated to the preservation and study of the historic role Sweden and Swedish A ...
References
Further reading
* Akenson, Donald Harman. ''Ireland, Sweden, and the Great European Migration, 1815–1914'' (McGill-Queen's University Press; 2011) 304 pages; compares the Irish and Swedish emigration
* Anderson, Philip J. and Dag Blanck, eds. ''Swedish-American Life in Chicago: Cultural and Urban Aspects of an Immigrant People, 1850–1930'' (1992)
* Anderson Philip J. and Blanck Dag, editors. ''Swedes in the Twin Cities: Immigrant Life and Minnesota's Urban Frontier'' (2001).
* Anderson, Philip J., "From Compulsion to Persuasion: Voluntary Religion and the Swedish Immigrant Experience," ''Swedish-American Historical Quarterly'', 66#1 (2015), 3–23.
* Attebery, Jennifer Eastman. ''Pole Raising and Speech Making: Modalities of Swedish American Summer Celebration'' (University Press of Colorado, 2015).
* Baigent, Elizabeth. "Swedish Immigrants in Mckeesport, Pennsylvania: Did the Great American Dream Come True?" ''Journal of Historical Geography'' 2000 26(2): 239–272. )
* Barton, H. Arnold. ''A Folk Divided: Homeland Swedes and Swedish-Americans, 1840–1940.'' (1994)
* Barton, H. Arnold. "From Swede to Swedish American, or Vice Versa: The Conversion Motif in the Literature of Swedish America," ''Scandinavian Studies'' 70:1 (1998): 26–38.
* Barton, H. Arnold. ''The Old Country and the New: Essays on Swedes and America'' (2007)
* Benson, Adolph B. and Naboth Hedin, eds. ''Swedes in America, 1638–1938'' (Yale University Press. 1938)
* Biltekin, Nevra. "Migrating women and transnational relations: Swedish-American connections since the 1920s." ''Scandinavian Journal of History'' (2021): 1–19
online
* Björk, Ulf Jonas. "The Swedish-American Press as an Immigrant Institution," ''Swedish-American Historical Quarterly'' 2000 51(4): 268–282
* Blanck, Dag. ''Becoming Swedish-American: The Construction of an Ethnic Identity in the Augustana Synod, 1860–1917.'' (Uppsala, 1997)
* Blanck, Dag. ''The Creation of an Ethnic Identity: Being Swedish American in the Augustana Synod, 1860–1917,'' (2007) 256 pp )
* Blanck, Dag, and Adam Hjorthén, eds. ''Swedish-American Borderlands: New Histories of Transatlantic Relations'' (U of Minnesota Press, 2021).
* Blanck, Dag. "'Very Welcome Home Mr. Swanson': Swedish Americans Encounter Homeland Swedes." ''American Studies in Scandinavia'' 48.2 (2016): 107–121
online
On the 250,000 who went to USA but returned to Sweden.
* Brøndal, Jørn. ''Ethnic Leadership and Midwestern Politics: Scandinavian Americans and the Progressive Movement in Wisconsin, 1890–1914'' (University of Illinois Press, 2004).
* Brøndal, Jørn. "'The Fairest among the So-Called White Races': Portrayals of Scandinavian Americans in the Filiopietistic and Nativist Literature of the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries." ''Journal of American Ethnic History'' 33.3 (2014): 5–36
in JSTOR
* Dribe, Martin; Eriksson, Björn; Helgertz, Jonas (2022).
From Sweden to America: migrant selection in the transatlantic migration, 1890–1910
. ''European Review of Economic History''.
* Erling, Maria Elizabeth. "Crafting an urban piety: New England's Swedish immigrants and their religious culture from 1880 to 1915" (PhD dissertation, Harvard Divinity School; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 1996. 9631172).
* Granquist, Mark A. "Swedish Americans." in ''Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America,'' edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 4, Gale, 2014), pp. 305–318
Online
* Gustafson, Anita Olson. "'We hope to be able to do some good': Swedish-American women's organizations in Chicago." ''Swedish-American Historical Quarterly'' (2008) 59#4 pp 178–201; covers 1840 to 1950.
* Gustafson, Anita Olson. ''Swedish Chicago: The Shaping of an Immigrant Community, 1880–1920'' (Northern Illinois University Press, 2018).
* Hale, Frederick. ''Swedes in Wisconsin.'' Wisconsin State Historical Society (2nd ed 2013)
excerpt
* Hasselmo, Nils. ''Perspectives on Swedish Immigration'' (1978).
* Hillary, Michael Lee. ''Religion, immigrant churches, and community in an industrializing city: Swedish Protestants in Rockford, Illinois, 1854–1925'' (PhD dissertation, Columbia University; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2005. 3151265).
* Janson, Florence Edith. ''The background of Swedish immigration, 1840–1930'' (1931; reprinted 1970), Push factors in Sweden
online
* Johnson, Amandus. ''The Swedish Settlements on the Delaware, 1638–1664'' (2 vol. 1911–1927
online
* Kastrup, Allan. ''Swedish heritage in America'' (1975
online
* Lindell, Terrence Jon. "Acculturation among Swedish immigrants in Kansas and Nebraska, 1870-1900" (PhD dissertation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 1987. 8810322).
* Lindquist, Emory. "The Swedish Immigrant and Life in Kansas," ''Kansas Historical Quarterly'' (1963) 29#1 pp: 1–2
* Lintelman, Joy Kathleen. " 'More freedom, better pay': Single Swedish immigrant women in the United States, 1880-1920" (PhD dissertation, University of Minnesota; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 1991. 9212069).
* Ljungmark, Lars. ''Swedish Exodus.'' (1996).
* Ljungmark, Lars. ''For Sale: Minnesota. Organized Promotion of Scandinavian Immigration, 1866–1873'' (1971).
* Lundström, Catrin. "Embodying exoticism: gendered nuances of Swedish hyper-whiteness in the United States." ''Scandinavian Studies'' 89.2 (2017): 179–199
online
* McKnight, Roger. "Those Swedish Madmen Again: The Image of the Swede in Swedish-American Literature." ''Scandinavian Studies'' 56.2 (1984): 114–139
online
* Magocsi, Paul Robert. ''Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples'' (1999), pp 1218–33
* Mead, Rebecca J. ''Swedes in Michigan'' (Michigan State U Press, 2012
online review
* Nelson, O. N. ''History of the Scandinavians and Successful Scandinavians in the United States'' (2 vol 1904); 886p
online full text
als
online review
* Nelson, Helge. ''The Swedes and the Swedish Settlements in North America'' 2 vols. (Lund, 1943)
* Nelson, Robert J. ''If We Could Only Come to America... A Story of Swedish Immigrants in the Midwest.'' (Sunflower U. Press, 2004)
* Norman, Hans, and Harald Runblom. ''Transatlantic Connections: Nordic Migration to the New World After 1800'' (1988).
* Olson, Anita Ruth. "Swedish Chicago: The extension and transformation of an urban immigrant community, 1880-1920" (PhD dissertation, Northwestern University; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 1990. 9031971).
* Ostergren, R. C. 1988. ''A Community Transplanted: The Trans-Atlantic Experience of a Swedish Immigrant Settlement in the Upper Middle West, 1835–1915''. (University of Wisconsin Press).
* Pihlblad, C. T. "The Kansas Swedes," ''Southwestern Social Science Quarterly'' 1932. 13#1 pp 34–47).
* Rooth, Dan-Olof, and Kirk Scott. "Three generations in the New World: labour market outcomes of Swedish Americans in the USA, 1880–2000." ''Scandinavian Economic History Review'' 60.1 (2012): 31–49; on occupations
* Runblom, Harald and Hans Norman. ''From Sweden to America: A History of the Migration'' (Uppsala and Minneapolis, 1976)
* Schersten, Albert Ferdinand. "The Relation of the Swedish-American Newspaper to the Assimilation of Swedish Immigrants" (PhD dissertation, University of Iowa; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 1932. 10764279).
* Stephenson, George M. ''The Religious Aspects of Swedish Immigration'' (1932).
* Swanson, Alan. ''Literature and the Immigrant Community: The Case of Arthur Landfors'' (Southern Illinois University Press, 1990)
* Thernstrom, Stephan, ed. ''Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups'' (1980
* Tsuchida, Eiko. "Science, technology, and Swedish-American identity: An immigrant acculturation in Chicago, 1890-1935" (PhD dissertation, University of Chicago; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2014. 3615684).
* Wheeler, Wayne Leland. "An Analysis of Social Change in a Swedish-Immigrant Community: The Case of Lindsborg, Kansas." (PhD dissertation, University of Missouri-Columbia; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 1959. 5905657).
* Whyman, Henry C. ''The Hedstroms and the Bethel Ship Saga: Methodist Influence on Swedish Religious Life.'' (1992). 183 pp.
* Wittke, Carl. ''We Who Built America: The Saga of the Immigrant'' (1939), 552pp good older history pp 260–7
online
Historiography
* Attebery, Jennifer Eastman. ''Up in the Rocky Mountains: Writing the Swedish Immigrant Experience'' (2007), studies letters written back to Swede
excerpt
* Barton, H. Arnold. "Emigrants Versus Immigrants: Contrasting Views" ''Swedish-American Historical Quarterly'' (2001) 52#1 pp 3–13
* Barton, H. Arnold. "Cultural interplay between Sweden and Swedish America" ''Swedish-American Historical Quarterly'' (1992) 43#1 pp 5–18.
* Beijbom, Ulf. "The Historiography of Swedish America" ''Swedish-American Historical Quarterly'' 31 (1980): 257–85)
* Beijbom, Ulf, ed. ''Swedes in America: Intercultural and Interethnic Perspectives on Contemporary Research.'' Växjö, Sweden: Emigrant-Inst. Väers Förlag, 1993. 224 pp.
* Blanck, Dag. "The Transnational Viking: The Role of the Viking in Sweden, the United States, and Swedish America." ''Journal of Transnational American Studies'' 7.1 (2016)
online
* Kvisto, P., and D. Blanck, eds. ''American Immigrants and Their Generations: Studies and Commentaries on the Hansen Thesis after Fifty Years''. (University of Illinois Press, 1990)
* Odd S. Lovoll, Lovoll, Odd S. ed., ''Nordics in America: The Future of Their Past'' (Northfield, Minn., Norwegian American Historic Association. 1993)
* Schnell, Steven M. "Creating Narratives of Place and Identity in 'Little Sweden, U.S.A.'" ''The Geographical Review'', (2003) Vol. 93,
* Vecoli, Rudolph J. "'Over the Years I Have Encountered the Hazards and Rewards that Await the Historian of Immigration,' George M. Stephenson and the Swedish American Community," ''Swedish American Historical Quarterly'' 51 (April 2000): 130–49.
Primary sources
* Barton, H. Arnold, ed. ''Letters from the Promised Land: Swedes in America, 1840–1914''. (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press for the Swedish Pioneer Historical Society, 1975.)
* Lintelman, Joy K. ed. ''I Go to America: Swedish American Women and the Life of Mina Anderson'' (2009)
* Varg, Paul A. ed "Report of Count Carl Lewenhaupt on Swedish-Norwegian Immigration in 1870" ''Swedish Pioneer Historical Quarterly.'' 1979, 30#1 pp 5–24. Swedish diplomat provides a wealth of factual detail on immigrants
online free copy
External links
Media, publications, education
''Swedes in America''
video, 17:17, c. 1942, narrated by Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary ''Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is often ...
Concordia Language Villages – Swedish Language Camp
Nordstjernan – Swedish Newspaper in America
Svenska kyrkan Church of Sweden
Swedenborgian Church
* Swedish American of the Year Swedish American of the Year (SAY)/ is an annual award program of the Vasa Order of America which is run by the two Sweden District Lodges – District 19 and District 20.
Origin
Since 1960, the Vasa Order of America has selected a prominent Americ ...
Organizations and associations
Embassy of Sweden, Washington D.C.
House of Sweden
International Expats Club
ISwede – New York and Los Angeles
New Sweden Cultural Heritage Society
* Swedish American Central Association of Southern California (SACA)
SACC New York – Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce New York
Swedish American Heritage Society of West Michigan
Swedish Colonial Society
Swedish Council of America (SCA)
Swedish Historic Society of Rockford, IL
Swedish Women's Educational Association (SWEA)
Vasa Order Of America (VOA)
Museums and research centers
American Swedish Historical Museum
American Swedish Institute (ASI)
Heritage Park of North Iowa in Forest City, IA
Swedish American Museum Center in Chicago, IL
Swedish American Museum in Swedesburg, Iowa
Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center – Augustana College, IL
Festivals, music, points of interest
Bishop Hill, IL; Dedicated to preserving the life of the pioneer Swedish immigrants in America, following spiritual leader, Erik Jansson
Svensk Hyllningsfest in Lindsborg, Kansas
Wayfarers Chapel, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275
Scandinavian centers and organizations
Scandinavian American Cultural and Historic Foundation – Thousand Oaks, CA
Scandinavian Cultural Center – Santa Cruz, CA
American Scandinavian Foundation – Santa Barbara, CA
Social media
VASA Global.com – Intl. Chamber of Commerce Support
Scandinavian Foodie; Recipes, Restaurants – post yours & share stories
Vasa Order of America (friends of) Swedish-American
Swedish Expats Club
{{Swedish Americans by location
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
European-American society