The religious repression practiced by the Swedish Lutheran State Church was widely resented, as was the social conservatism and class snobbery of the Swedish monarchy.
Population growth and crop failures
made conditions in the Swedish countryside increasingly bleak.
It was in the 19th century, however, that the great migration of Scandinavians to the U.S. took place. The once-prosperous Scandinavian nations were rocked by political strife and social upheaval as
regional wars and agricultural disasters
created tremendous instability in everyday life.
Why did so many Swedes move to Minnesota?
Over a quarter of a million Swedes came to Minnesota between 1850 and 1930, drawn primarily by
economic opportunities not available to them at home
. … Once Swedish immigrant settlements were established in the state, they acted as magnets, creating migration chains that drew others.
How many Swedes immigrate to America?
Swedish immigration into the Americas was primarily between the years of 1840 and 1930, where
1.3 million Swedes
traveled to America.
What kind of work did the Swedish immigrants do?
Hard labor aside, by the end of the century Swedish immigrants had fanned out across the wheat belt of the United States, working largely as
farmers
, but also finding work in mining, railroad work, and urban trades and professions.
Why are the Swedes so attractive?
Swedes are
among the most attractive people
on the planet. … They've got those extra inches where it counts: The average Swedish man stands at a little over 5 ft 11ins, with a typical woman growing to 5 ft 5ins. Height can play a big role in how attractive someone is, while long legs are also a sign of genetic health.
What is the most common last name in Sweden?
Rank Surname Number of bearers 2012 | 1 Andersson 251,621 | 2 Johansson 251,495 | 3 Karlsson 223,151 | 4 Nilsson 171,360 |
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Which state has the most Swedes?
Minnesota
became the most Swedish of all states, with Swedish-Americans constituting more than 12 percent of Minnesota's population in 1910. In some areas, such as Chisago or Isanti counties on the Minnesota countryside north and northwest of Minneapolis, Swedish-Americans made up close to 70 percent of the population.
What are typical Swedish features?
What are the characteristics of Scandinavians? The physical traits of the Nordics were described as
light eyes, light skin, tall stature, and dolichocephalic skull
; the psychological traits as truthful, equitable, competitive, naive, reserved, and individualistic.
State Rank State Percent Scandinavian Americans | – United States 3.8% | 1 Minnesota 32.1% | 2 California 3.6% | 3 Washington 12.5% |
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Scandinavians settled predominantly in rural areas
of the Midwest and Great Plains
― particularly in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and North Dakota. Prior to the 1870s, few Scandinavians made their way to the West Coast.
What law requires immigrants to read and write?
The Immigration Act of 1917 (also known as the Literacy Act and less often as the Asiatic Barred Zone Act)
was a United States Act that aimed to restrict immigration by imposing literacy tests on immigrants, creating new categories of inadmissible persons, and barring immigration from the Asia-Pacific zone.
Where did the Swedish immigrants come from?
Immigrants in Sweden are mostly concentrated in the urban areas of Svealand and Götaland. The largest foreign-born populations residing in Sweden come from
Finland, Iraq, formerly Yugoslavian countries, Poland, Iran, and Syria
.
Where do most Swedes live in America?
Today, Swedish Americans are found throughout the United States, with
Minnesota, California and Illinois
being the top three states with the highest number of Swedish Americans.
Why did Italians immigrate to America?
More Italians have migrated to the United States than any other Europeans.
Poverty, overpopulation, and natural disaster
all spurred Italian emigration. Beginning in the 1870s, Italian birthrates rose and death rates fell.
As Scandinavian immigrants arrived in the U.S., they
brought a diverse group of native languages with them
, and they quickly established institutions to nurture and promote their linguistic heritage. … Wherever Scandinavians settled, Scandinavian-language newspapers and publishing houses quickly sprang up.