Everything about Swedish Americans totally explained
Swedish Americans are
Americans of Swedish descent, most often related to the large groups of immigrants from
Sweden in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Most likely, about 8 million Americans have Swedish roots, of whom 4.5 million have been confirmed as Swedish Americans. Most Swedish Americans are Lutherans affiliated with the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America or
Methodists.
History
The first known Swedish-Americans were the settlers of
New Sweden, a colony established in 1638 by the
New Sweden Company around the area of present-day
Wilmington,
Delaware. Though it was incorporated into
Dutch New Netherlands in 1655, and ceased to be an official territory of the
Realm of Sweden, the Swedish and Finnish colonists were allowed some political and cultural autonomy. However, these original Swedish-Americans intermarried with other colonists and seem to have disappeared as a distinctive grouping before 1776.
Swedish Americans usually came through
New York City and settled in the
Midwest. Most were
Lutheran and belonged to synods now associated with the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, including the
Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church. A significant fraction, however, were
Mormon converts who settled in or near
Utah, and a few others in the Midwest converted to
Catholicism after being exposed to the religion there. Theologically, they were pietistic; politically, they supported
progressive causes and
prohibition.
Swedish emigration to the United States reached new heights in 1896, and it was in this year that the
Vasa Order of America, a Swedish American fraternal organization, was founded to help immigrants, who often lacked an adequate network of social services.
In the year 1900,
Chicago was the city with the second highest number of Swedes after
Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. Many others settled in
Minnesota in particular as well as
Michigan,
Wisconsin,
Iowa,
Nebraska and
Illinois. In the east, New England became a destination for many skilled industrial workers and Swedish centers developed in areas such as Jamestown, NY; Providence, RI, and Boston, MA. A small Swedish settlement was also begun in
New Sweden, Maine.
The largest settlement in New England was Worcester, MA. 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.
Many Swedes also came to the
Pacific Northwest during the turn of the twentieth century, along with Norwegians. The Swedish immigrants that arrived in recent decades settled mostly in the suburbs of New York and Los Angeles.
Demographics
A few small towns in the U.S. have retained a few visible Swedish characteristics. Some examples include
Silverhill, Alabama;
Cambridge, Minnesota;
Lindstrom, Minnesota;
Karlstad, Minnesota;
Lindsborg, Kansas;
Gothenburg, Nebraska;
Andover, Illinois;
Kingsburg, California; and
Bishop Hill, Illinois.
Around 3.7% of the U.S. population is said to have Scandinavian heritage (which also includes
Norwegian Americans,
Danish Americans, and
Icelandic Americans). At present, around 160,000 residents speak a Scandinavian language at home, 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
| The ten states with the most Swedish Americans |
The ten states with the most Swedish Americans in their populations (by percentage) |
1 |
Minnesota |
486,507 |
1 |
Minnesota |
9.9% |
2 |
California |
459,897 |
2 |
North Dakota |
5.0% |
3 |
Illinois |
303,044 |
3 |
Nebraska |
4.9% |
4 |
Washington |
213,134 |
4 |
Utah |
4.3% |
5 |
Michigan |
161,301 |
5 |
South Dakota |
3.9% |
6 |
Florida |
155,010 |
6 |
Washington |
3.6% |
7 |
Wisconsin |
149,977 |
7 |
Idaho |
3.5% |
8 |
New York |
133,788 |
8 |
Wyoming |
3.5% |
9 |
Texas |
127,871 |
9 |
Montana |
3.4% |
10 |
Massachusetts |
119,267 |
10 |
Iowa |
3.3% |
Further Information
Get more info on 'Swedish Americans'.
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