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. 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 (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.
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.
Valkyrian helped strengthen ethnicity by drawing on collective memory and religion, mythicizing 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 (1897–1989), especially
April Snow (1951),
Land of Strangers (1953), and
April Harvest (1959). Swedish author
Vilhelm Moberg 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 as
The Emigrants and
The New Land.
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, 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 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 portrayed as stupid and inebriated. The bigotry extended to olfactory slurs. 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." Comedian
El Brendel was notable for his dialect routine as a Swedish immigrant.
Completion of the assimilation 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) at rehearsals with her young dance group for appearance in the 1960
Swedish Days Parade of Geneva, Illinois, with a
Ragnar Benson truck 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;
Lindstrom, Minnesota;
Karlstad, Minnesota;
Gothenburg, Nebraska;
Andover, Illinois;
Kingsburg, California; and
Bishop Hill, Illinois.
Lindsborg, Kansas, 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. 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. •
Minnesota Historical Society Swedish American Newspaper Database
Locations preserving Swedish culture •
Bishop Hill, IL •
Center City, MN •
Chicago, IL •
Chisago City, MN •
Geneva, IL •
Jamestown, NY •
Kingsburg, CA •
Lindsborg, KS •
Lindström, MN •
Mount Jewett, PA •
New Sweden, ME •
Oakland, NE •
Rockford, IL •
Scandia, MN •
St. Peter, MN •
Stockholm, ME •
Stockholm, WI •
Thorsby, AL •
Westmanland, ME •
Wilcox, PA 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 (
Epiphany), (
Saint Canute's Day), (
Shrove Tuesday), (
Walpurgis Night),
Midsummer and (
Saint Lucy's Day). Some are already celebrated in the United States though somewhat differently, such as (
Easter), (
May Day/
International Workers' Day/
Labor Day), (
Christmas/
Yule Eve and Day), and
New Year's Eve. Swedish Americans can celebrate with various Swedish Heritage societies across the country who try to keep the Swedish traditions alive. ======== 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 (
Easter witches) and their then going door to door asking for candy, similarly to
Halloween in the U.S. More recently Swedes celebrate a typical
American Easter with egg hunts and candy for the little ones to find. Swedish Americans often include (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 , 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. ======== Midsummer is celebrated at the summer solstice, recognizing the longest day of the year. Many Swedes dress in traditional
folk costumes, 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. 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 .
Cuisine In most parts of the United States without a significant Swedish community, the most familiar elements of Swedish American cuisine are the
smorgasbord,
Swedish meatballs and
Swedish pancakes.
IKEA also offers
Swedish cuisine in the United States. ==Swedish American of the Year==