Swedish emigration

Emigration from Sweden to North America

During the emigration from Sweden to North America in 1800 - and early 1900's left about 1.3 million people leaved Sweden and moved to the United States.

Svenska Amerikalinjen, one of many emigrant lines

The Swedish emigration to North America reached its peak after the Civil War (1861-65). The U.S. census in 1890 indicated the number of Swedish-Americans to nearly 800 000.

Most of the immigrants were typical settlers who cleared and planted up the Prairie, while others live in cities, especially Chicago. Young, unmarried women who at home in Sweden had worked as agricultural workers began often directly as domestic servants of families in American cities.

Many of the emigrants who established themselves in the U.S. went back to Sweden later in the 1800s, and there are many stories of how their customs and habits had changed.

Some returned to spend their last years in Sweden, but many changed when they met in what they considered to be an arrogant aristocracy, a rough and granular working class and lack of respect for women.

American-Linien
Eearlier Inmanlinien