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Sweden was one of the many European countries that played an important part in the population of America through immigration. A far as we know, America and to a lesser extent Canada are the only countries to which significant numbers of Swedish emigrants went. Sweden established a colony in the North America (Delaware) during the 17th century, but the great bulk of Swedish immigrants came in the late 19th and early 20th century. Most Swedish immigrants came to the United States and settled in the Midwest where they left and indelible imprint. Small numbers of individuals came to America in the late 18th and early 19th century. It was note until the 1840s, however that significant numbers of Swedish immigrants began arriving in America. The first organized group of Swedes arrived in New York and settled in Iowa and Illinois. By the 1930s nearly 1.3 million Swedes had reached America, making Sweden the seventh most important country in terms of American immigration.
The motivation behind Swedish emigration to America was different than that of many of the early English colonists there was no element of religious descent. The Swedish Crown organized the establishment of a royal colony of New Sweden in what is now Delaware. It was a short-lived enterprise. The colony was seized by the Dutch (1655) and subsequently by the English. The settlers, however, remained in America. There was no forced cultural assimilation and in the era before public education, the Swedes were able to retain their cultural identity for several generations. Some Swedes in Delaware were prominent in the American Revolution. John Morton cast the decisive vote for independence at the Continental Congress. Count Axel von Fersen fought with the Continental Army. Sweden was one of the first European countries to recognize the independent Unites States and sign a trade treaty (1783).
Most Swedish immigrants came to the United States and settled in the Midwest where they left and indelible imprint. Small numbers of individuals came to America in the late 18th and early 19th century. It was note until the 1840s, however that significant numbers of Swedish immigrants began arriving in America. The first organized group of Swedes arrived in New York and settled in Iowa and Illinois. By the 1930s nearly 1.3 million Swedes had reached America, making Sweden the seventh most important country in terms of American immigration.
Sweden in the early 19th century was still largely an agricultural country, untouched by the Industrial Revolution. Sweden had no tradition of primogeniture. Over generations family farms were divided into smaller and smaller parcels. This put increasing pressure on the land and marginal land was tilled. Despite the agricultural situation, the population continued to grow. Swedish bishop and
poet Esaias Tegne'r explained why the population expanded so significantly, "peace, vaccination and potatoes." Some parishes reported the population tripling. As a result, the population of tenant farmers and landless laborers increased enabling large landowners to obtain labor at low cost and reducing many Swedes to abject poverty. Unlike other countries such as England and France, there was no growth significant of industry in the early 19th century to supply jobs to the expanding rural population. There were liberal efforts to reform Swedish agriculture which included the enclosure movement, farm schools, technological innovation. Swedish agriculture proved to resist to change. These programs had very little impact. Some of the reformers, gave up in frustration such as Gustav Unonius who is now known as the "the father of Swedish emigration". Sweden did begin to industrialize after the mid-19th century. The same kind of Dickensian conditions began to develop in Sweden as often reported in England. Even so the great bulk of Swedish emigration came from rural areas.
As emigration began in the 1840s, letters home from successful immigrants attracted the interest of new emigrants. The accounts of those able to acquire high-quality agricultural land at low cost was a major attraction to landless farm workers and tenant farmers who hungered for their own land. Not only were there letters homes, but accounts about America appeared in magazines, newspapers, and pamphlets. While many Swedes were poor, most were literate. The Lutheran Church as other Protestant churches attached great importance to literacy so that individuals could read the Bible. The Elementary School Act of 1842 virtually ended illiteracy in Sweden, especially among young people. Eventually steamship and railroad companies began to promote emigration, helping to create the growing popular conception of America as a bountiful land of virtually endless opportunity.
Swedish emigration to the United States increased significantly after the American Civil War (1861-65). Here there were several reasons. First, the danger of being drafted discouraged many potential emigrants. Second, technological advances, some fueled by the War, made emigration easier and less costly. One of the most important was the development of the modern high-capacity Atlantic liner. Third, Sweden in the late-1860s experienced a series of agricultural disasters. There were disastrous crop failures. 1867 was a "the wet year" in which grain rotted. 1868 was a "dry year" of parched fields. 1869 became known as "the severe year" with epidemics and starving children reduced to begging. Fourth, the Homestead Act passed during the Civil War made it possible for even the poorest immigrate to obtain land in the West (1862). Fifth, the Civil War had created an industrial boom and a burst of railroad construction that greatly eased the ability of homesteaders to reach land. As the railroads were subsidized by land grants, emigrants were needed to buy land and become customers. As a result of these and other factors Swedish authorities estimate that 60,000 Swedes left emigrated during 1867-69 alone. The mass emigration began during these years and with the exception of a few short periods continued until World War I.
The Republican Congress passed the Homestead Act of 1862. The Act and the end of the War initiated an era of mass immigration on Swedes and other Europeans. The Homestead Act mean land for penniless immigrants. The Swedes in particular were especially drawn to the Homestead Triangle of the northern Midwest. Here no state was more important than Minnesota--sometimes referred to as the Swede State of America. Minnesota established a state immigration office to attract immigrants (1867) just as agricultural crisis were devastating Sweden. Hans Mattson, a Civil War colonel of Swedish origins, was appointed as the first director Minnesota immigration office. The result was the population of Minnesota and other Mid-Western states with Swedish farmers. (One estimate suggests that Swedish-owned farms in America equaled two-thirds the area under cultivation in Sweden.) Not only did Swedish farms appear throughout Minnesota, but Swedish settlements which were the basis of future towns grew up along the railroad lines. Swedish labor played a major role on both the railroads and lumber industry. Railroad magnate James Hill exclaimed, "Give me snuff, whiskey and Swedes, and I will build a railroad to hell."
Mass emigration to America ended with World War I. Shipping was no longer available as it had been before. News accounts of U-boats did not encourage emigration. After World war I the United states began restricting immigration and further tightened restrictions as a result of the Great Depression. At the same time economic conditions in Sweden were improving reducing the desire to emigrate.
We notice the Baker boys in 1967 at something called a Vasa Festival in America. We are not sure whatv that means. Vasa means vase in Swedish. It is probably best know as a famouis Swedish 16th century ship that sunk and has been recovered in remarkable condition. I has its own museum in Sweden. We think a Vasa festival is a kind of Scandanavian folk festival, hopefully our Scandanavia readers will enligten us.
Studies of European emigration often focus on their impact on the country to which they emigrated. That impact was significant. Less well studied is the impact on the country they left. The impact must be assessed with the basic fact that about 1.3 million Swedes emigrated to America. This was important in building America, but even so much larger numbers came from other countries. What is significant about Swedish emigration is the proportion of the population that left their country. By 1910 America had about 1.4 million Swedes (first and second generation). The entire Swedish population at the time was about 5.5 million people. Only the British Isles and Norway contributed a larger share of their population to America. This level of emigration must have had profound consequences on Sweden. Surely the exodus of landless farm workers and urban workers must have had the impact of helping to raise wage rates. Sweden today is one of the wealthiest countries in the world with high living standards. Swedes today debate as to who made out better, those who stayed or those who emigrated. One question which is often not asked here is if the exodus of such a large number of Swedes was not a factor in gradually improving national living standards. We presume that Swedish historians have addressed this issue, but we are not yet familiar with their work and assessments.
We have begun to collect some in formation on Swedish families, but our information is still very limited.
Charles (Carl Oscar) did not inherit the family farm in Sweden. We believe this is why he moved to the U.S. Although, he did not begin farming when he first arrived in Rock Island, Illinois. He started a horse and dray business, which is like a taxi service. Carl Oscar and Sophia met in Illinois. I believe they both had relatives that came to the U.S. before them and settled in Illinois, this was the general pattern for immigrants. They married in 1883 and started a family. Allen Frederick Miller Sr. was the oldest. Nine more children followed, so ten altogether, eight surviving to adulthood. Rhoda passed away as an infant and Gilbert passed away of Diphtheria at age nine. By 1905, the family had moved to Minnesota to start a farm. They also ended up farming in North Dakota.
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