Mass Emigration

A new epoch in the Swedish emigration to the United States began after the American Civil War (1861 – 1865). The emigration from Sweden to the United States then changed in character. The early emigrants were enterprising people who made the journey to the United States either alone or together with like-minded people. After the Civil War began an organized mass emigration up to the beginning of the 1930’s led to 1,200,000 emigrated Swedes. Before 1850 families were the core of the emigration and this lasted only until the beginning of the 1870’s. Thereafter the number of sole emigrants increased but entire families still dominated the emigration from cities. Families constituted about 30 to 40% of the city emigrants. It was from typical rural areas like Kronoberg Län, Småland where sole emigrants were in majority. The early emigration had a special character; when you left the old farm in Sweden, there were no turning back — the future was in the New Land. Later a supplementary emigration arose where the emigrants went to already established relatives in the United States. At the end of the 19th century the period of free homestead land was over. Then the emigrants had to settle in already cultivated areas or work in industry. This encouraged sole emigration but made it tougher for family emigration.

Peaks of Swedish Emigration

There have been three major peaks in the emigration from Sweden to the United States: 1. 1868 – 1872 2. 1880 – 1893 3. 1901 – 1914 1868 – 1872: The first of these peaks is attributed to the years of famine in Sweden while at the same time there was a boom in the United States. It was primarily the wooded districts of the Län Kristianstad in the South up to Kopparberg and Gävleborg in the North that was hit by the famine in 1868. About 54,000 people emigrated between 1868 and 1869 and up to 1873 another 50,000. You have to consider that the statistic from the 1860’s are somewhat uncertain. 1880 – 1893: There was a recession in the United States after 1873 which affected the emigration. In 1879 there was crisis in the sawmill industry in Sweden at the same time as the ironwork industry had difficulties which caused another peak in the Swedish emigration. Then it was primarily the struck distressed areas that had an increased emigration. The emigrations increased tenfold from sawmill and forestry areas like Västernorrland Län (Mid Sweden). The industrialism in Sweden was very well in progress from 1880 and ahead which meant that crises in the the industry struck hard and affected the emigration. At the same time there were difficulties within farming with a downward tendency in the prices of grain. During the 1880’s about 325,000 Swedes emigrated to North America and another 52,000 to other places in the world. The top years in the emigration were 1880 – 1882 and 1887 – 1888 when there was a boom in the United States and a large demand for laborers. In 1882 and 1888 about 45,000 Swedes emigrated respective year. 1901 – 1914: There was another peak in Swedish emigration in the beginning of the 20th century. After a smaller decline in the 1890’s emigration then increased again. About 35,000 emigrants left Sweden in 1903. The numbers remained high until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. About 20% of all Swedes then lived in the United States. This caused a nationwide concern in Sweden and an Emigration Commission was appointed by the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag) in 1907 to look into the question. The Commission recommended social and economic reforms to restrain the emigration. A general strike, the so-called Storstrejken, broke out in 1909 in Sweden. The ongoing recession pressured many companies and SAF (The Swedish Employers' Confederation) planned to cut wages and salaries in certain areas. To enforce their demands, about 80,000 employees in textile, sawmill and paper pulp industries were locked-out at the end of July 1909. The answer from LO (The Swedish Trade Union Confederation) was a general strike in all areas; a general strike where only public medical service and other important social and public functions were excluded. At most there were 300,000 laborers on strike all over Sweden (the population of Sweden at the time was about 5 million so the number of people on strike was large). The strike funds were small and the trade union had to gradually reduce the extent of the strike after only a month. This was not popular among the strikers and caused a widespread defection from LO (the trade union). The employers also took advantage of the opportunity and fired about 20,000 laborers. This also contributed to the defection from the trade union since there was a demand from the companies to reemploy laborers during the ongoing strike. The strike lasted for three months. The emigration from Sweden increased as an effect of the strike. The emigration stopped entirely during WW I (1914 – 1918) but speeded up again after 1918 with a peak before 1924. Immigration to the United States was reduced from 1924 due to a new legislation in the United States which required immigrants to obtain Visa. With Visa’s issued by US Consulate offices in their country of origin, questions and medical inspections were done there at the time. Done at the Consulate, there was no longer a need for Ellis Island and other processing stations. The new Act also contained an immigrant quota. The Swedish emigration to the United States was greatly decreased by the end of the 1920’s and almost stopped after 1930.

The emigration was remarkably sensitive to economic fluctuations. Information sent back home about the conditions in the United States was obviously fast and the signals about the conditions were immediately apprehended. This has of course to do with the large number of Swedish emigrants in the United States. The many letters sent back home had naturally been in proportion to this.

Other Countries

The Swedish emigrants not only went to the United States but with 1,200,000 emigrants it was the major country of the Swedish emigration.

Regional Distribution of the

Emigration From Sweden

The many Swedish emigrants came from different areas of Sweden. During the 1870’s the emigrants came from Län like Östergötland, Jönköping, Värmland, Kristianstad and Kalmar. In the 1880’s Värmland and Älvsborg Län topped the list followed by Östergötland. See the charts below.

Distribution According to Sex

At first, the men dominated the emigration. The proportion between 1851 and 1870 was 70 women to 100 men. This later developed to an increased balance in the distribution according to sex, not the least when the emigration from cities grew. The surplus of women was greater there.

Plenty of Job Opportunities in the

United States

Not only agricultural workers emigrated. In the United States there were plenty of opportunities for everybody willing to work. America was a nation under development and had a great need for laborers. This need spanned to all kinds of branches of occupations. The Midwest had a large need for unqualified laborers. This was about the same area that offered free homestead land. This combination was important since it gave the settlers an opportunity for livelihood through temporary jobs before they had cultivated their own land and it became productive. The need for lumberjacks, farm workers and unskilled laborers was huge. Railroad construction attracted large numbers of the workforce. As railroad constructions progressed these job opportunities headed west. Another type of work was offered in the Eastern States where industries were being developed. Large cities like Chicago also attracted a huge labor force. As the settling of the Midwest ended, i.e. at the end of the 19th century, it was the cities need for workforce that tempted the laborers, both within industry and service occupations. Newly arrived emigrants often worked for relatives and friends who had emigrated earlier and settled in the new country. Most farmers / farmhands in Sweden worked in farming during the summer and in the forests in winter as lumberjacks. So, a great deal of the Swedish emigrants were experienced lumberjacks and were appreciated in the United States. For example many Swedes worked as loggers in the forests of Maine.

High Salaries

It was not just the job opportunities in the United States that attracted the Swedish emigrants but also the high salaries. The pronounced shortage of laborers in the expanding areas of the United States forced up the salaries. A farm hand’s salary was for example three times as high as in Sweden. Salaries for skilled workers like carpenters and smiths were even higher. When information about these salaries reached Sweden it had a greater “pulling-effect” than any other emigrant propaganda. The industrial salaries were also higher than in Sweden. On the other hand, development for better working conditions was not as progressive as in Sweden. The men among the Swedish emigrants often worked as skilled laborers like tailors, shoemakers, carpenters and industrial workers. Their wives sewed in the homes and the girls served as maids for the established Americans. At the turn of the century 1900 many of the Swedish emigrants’ lived in suburbs of the big cities with homes of their own and in all respects had a better social environment. An important factor to the success of the Swedes was their calm attitude at working sites. They were regarded loyal and hardworking people. Germans were often considered socialists and the Irish troublemakers. The Swedes calmer attitude made them often attractive for employers. The so- called "Swedish Maids" also were highly in demand.

Age and Marital Status

The emigrants were primarily all younger people. The largest age group were those 20 to 25 years old followed by those 25 to 30 years old. 1. 20 – 25 years old 2. 25 – 30 years old 3. 15 – 20 years old The average age of the emigrants in other words was remarkably low. The marital status among the emigrants saw a shift. It was primarily married couples with children that emigrated during the mass emigration era. They constituted then 61% of all emigrants. However, the number of families later diminished. In the beginning of the 20th century families constituted only 28%. In other words the number of unmarried emigrants increased, particularly the unmarried women. One reason for this was the need for maids and servant girls in the United States.

Social Distribution

The majority of Swedish emigrants were non- landowners. It is estimated that about 80% of all emigrants from farming were non-landowners. Among these different types of farm laborers were sons of freehold farmers, farmhands, maids, tenant farmers (torpare), “backstugesittare”, dependent lodgers (inhyseshjon), agricultural laborer receiving allowance in kind (statare) and day laborers. The non-landowners who emigrated before the end of the 19th century were certainly attracted by the possibility of obtaining free Homestead land in the United States.

Casual Jobs

It was common for the settlers to take casual jobs in the beginning. To clear the land and cultivate the ground required money. The settlers therefore took casual jobs to obtain necessary capital. These jobs could, for example, be at railroad companies that needed laborers for the many railroad construction projects. The Swedes earned the reputation to be the best navvies (railroad laborers). A railroad tycoon once said, “Give me moist snuff (snus), whiskey and Swedes and I will build a railroad to Hell”. Another possibility for the Swedish settlers was logging in the forest areas. The Swedes were skilled loggers. Large forest regions were clear-cut in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan during the 19th century. The logging was rushed but gave good income to the loggers. However, the intensive felling caused troublesome soil erosion which still is present in these parts of the country. The men handed over their settlements to the women and went logging in the forest areas during the first two or three winters and returned in summer to carry on with farming. Snus: Snus is a Swedish moist powder tobacco product originating from a variant of dry snuff in early 18th century Sweden. It is consumed by placing it under the upper lip for extended periods of time. Snus does not result in the need for spitting. In the 19th century, Swedish producers began to manufacture moist snus. “Ljunglöfs Ettan” (meaning "Ljunglöf Number One"), registered since 1822, is the oldest brand of snus still sold. The Swedish emigrants brought the snus to their new homeland. The image to the right shows a modern snus box from Ljunglöf Ettan. To the left is an image of a "snusdosa" (snuff box). In former days' snus was bought loose, by weight. Therefore, most people in Sweden had a personal “snusdosa”, small boxes where they had their daily ration of snus. A “snusdosa” could be made of different materials such as silver, steel or wood. They were often engraved. I would say that a typical snuffbox was about 3 inches wide. The "snusdosa" to the left might be made of silver and is engraved. The inscription is “J. Sjöberg, Hismofors, 1905”. Below is another name engraved “Pål Olsson, Wånga”. Hismofors (modern spelling Hissmofors) referes to Hismofors village, Rödön parish, Krokom town, Jämtland province, Sweden. J. Sjöberg is Jöns Sjöberg, Hismofors. Pål Olsson in Wånga (Vånga) is the maker of the snusdosa. There was a tobacco company in the area, Krokom Tobacco Company which manufactured snus. The tobacco company was located in Krokom, Rödön parish, Jämtland. The company was established in 1871 and had about 70 employees. The company only existed for 21 years; 1871 to 1893. The box belongs to Sonja (Carlson) Thomas in Orlando, Florida. This "snusdosa" came to America with her Swedish ancestors when they immigrated to the USA. The image is shown with consent of Sonja Thomas. Read the full story about the snusdosa and the Sjöberg family

Credit

Settlers who bought land owned by the railroad companies normally did not have to make down payments during the first two years. The settlers were also often offered to work for the railroad companies during that time. The railroad companies usually owned more land than needed for the tracks. It could be up to 15 - 20 km (15 miles) on both sides of the tracks; therefore they sold excess land to settlers and thereby were able to further finance their projects.

Source References

• Source references Top of page