Background
Scandinavia is the Northern region of Europe, made up of Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Although all of these country's had people that immigrated to the US, Sweden had the most, and we will be focusing on these people.
The Swedish were mostly farmers. They wanted to leave in the 19th and 20th century because they had the ability, there was crop failure, and the population in Sweden was growing rapidly. Why did they choose America though? America 'pulled' them in because of the fertile land in the mid-west, and the lower prices.
The Swedish were mostly farmers. They wanted to leave in the 19th and 20th century because they had the ability, there was crop failure, and the population in Sweden was growing rapidly. Why did they choose America though? America 'pulled' them in because of the fertile land in the mid-west, and the lower prices.
The Sweetish Immigration
A Swedish family on their way to the US.
In the 19th and 20th century Swedish farmers began immigrating to the United States. As we read above, the taxes were cheaper in the US, and the land was more fertile. In late 1800's and early 1900's the immigration hit its peak. In the time from 1870-1900 nearly 800,000 people had migrated to the US, and 1.3 million people had moved to the US from Sweden between the 19th century and 20th century. These people went to cites in the mid-west such as Chicago, Minneapolis and other cities. However, so many people were leaving Sweden that in 1907 the Parliamentary Emigration Commission was put out, sending social and economic reform for Sweden to reduce the immigration level. The act worked and by the 1920's there were no more mass immigration's.
After 1907
The distribution of Swedish descents in America 2000
The Swedish people have had a huge impact on the culture of the US. Their religion, community and education all had a big impact on America in the 19th and 20th century. Today we still have many of their customs mixed in our culture.
Key points
The Scandinavian immigration mostly consisted of the Swedish people moving to America looking for better farm land than they had in their country. Many Swedish immigrants moved to cities in the mid west.