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Scandinavian immigration to the United States and Canada

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Title: Scandinavian immigration to the United States and Canada

1
Scandinavian immigration to the United States and
Canada

2
General

Most Scandinavian immigrants to North America
from Norway and Sweden
- 1830-1930 two and a half million emigrants
from the Nordic countries (5 of the European
total)
Many immigrants travelled via Britain several
hundreds of the passengers who died on Titanic
were Swedes or Finns (3rd class tickets)
3.7 (11-12 million people) of U.S. residents
have Scandinavian ancestors
- Scandinavians represent about 6 of the white
population in the USA and more than 25 of the
white population of the Upper Midwest
160.000 Americans speak a Scandinavian language
at home

3
Reasons for immigration

6
Swedish immigration

Between 1846-1930 1.3 million (20) of the
Swedish population left the country
United States (1840-1910) Minnesota, Michigan,
Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois
In the beginning of the 20th century, Minnesota
had the highest ethnic Swedish population in the
world after the city of Stockholm
8 million Swedish-Americans today
- over half a million still speak the language
Canada Western Canada from northern Ontario to
British Columbia
1st wave from the end of the 19th century until
WW1
2nd wave between the World Wars
3rd wave since the 1950s
300.000 people in the Swedish-Canadian community
west of Lake Superior, primarily in Winnipeg,
Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver
- 20.000 Swedish speakers

7
Norwegian immigration

Between 1825 and 1925, more than 800.000 (about
1/3 of Norway's population) Norwegians immigrated
to America
United States (1850-1920s) Wisconsin, Minnesota,
the Dakotas
More than 4.5 million Norwegian-Americans today
- mostly live in the Upper Midwest or in the
Pacific states of Washington, Oregon, and
California
Canada (same time) Alberta, Saskatchewan
360.000 Canadians of Norwegian ancestry today

8
Danish and Icelandic immigration

Denmark Utah, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin,
Illinois and Kansas
Between 1820 and 1920 over 300,000 immigrants
came from Denmark
- Mormon recruits had a fertile soil in Denmark,
because there was a freedom of religion gtgt
converts
Danes were the least cohesive group of
Scandinavian immigrants and quickly disappeared
into the melting pot
Iceland southern Manitoba (New Iceland),
Minnesota, Utah, Wisconsin, Washington,
Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries,
thousands of Icelanders emigrated to North America

9
Finnish immigration

United States
The Great Migration of Finns 1870-1930 gtgt over
300.000 immigrants from Finland
- 1867 severe crop failure in Finland gtgt
migration via Norway to United States
most Finnish emigrants were from impoverished
rural regions of Ostrobothnia, but also from
Northern Savonia and Thorne Valley
The US set up quotas to Finnish immigrants in the
20s gtgt immigration to Canada instead
80 of Finnish immigrants in America went to the
United States, 20 to Canada
Most immigrants young, unmarried men
- later more immigrants were married and the
whole family moved to the new country

Destination Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin
- strong Finnish-American culture in Duluth and
Detroit
- in Hancock, Michigan still bilingual street
signs (Finnish/English)
another Finnish community in Lake Worth, Florida
Americans of Finnish origin 800.000
- actual Finnish speakers 20.000-50.000
Canada
Finns started coming to Canada in the early
1880s, the flow continued to the middle of the
20th century gtgt 80.000 immigrants
Destination Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec
Number of Finnish-Canadians today 114.000 (2001)
the largest concentration of Finnish Canadians in
Thunder Bay

12
Reasons for Finnish emigration

many emigrants from impoverished rural areas
- Finland, a Grand Duchy of Imperial Russia,
excluded from the industrialisation process
Many traditional professions lost their meaning
Unemployment was rising because of population
growth not much land left to cultivate
The eldest son inherited the farm, and younger
siblings had to earn their living elsewhere
1899 a campaign for Russification of Finland
Earlier migrants sent letters to home and
encouraged new people to go
Professional recruiters were employed by mining
and shipping companies

13
Attitudes and influences at home

The officials disapproved emigration at first,
because there were worries on its influence on
the Finnish population
- also some newspapers frowned upon the
phenomenon, while others supported it
Change in the structure of the population
- lower birth rate and a great number of old
people
Eased the pressure at the job market
The immigrants sent money and packages home
- products that were hard to get in Finland
Returning immigrants brought their earnings and
new inventions to Finland

14
Life in the new country

Men worked in mining, construction and the forest
industry women as maids
- Finns had to settle with less-skilled jobs,
because they had more problems with the English
language than other Scandinavians
Newly arrived Finns quickly became involved in
political organisations, churches, athletic clubs
and other forms of associational life
Most Finnish migrants had planned to stay only a
few years in North America, but only about 20
returned
- 10.000 Finns returned to Soviet Union in the
1920s-30s for ideological reasons

15
Language

In some cases the immigrants started learning
English already in the home country (Danish
Mormons)
Finns had more problems with English than other
Scandinavians
- In many immigrant families the parents spoke
Finnish and the children English (learned in
school)
religious, social, and cultural activities in the
mother tongue
- organizations Dansk Broderskab (Danish
Brotherhood), Vasa Order of America (Swedish)
Periodicals in the native language
- Danish-Norwegian newspaper Bikuben (The
Beehive) in Salt Lake City
- Finnish-Canadian weeklies Canadan Sanomat
Canadian News in Thunder Bay and Vapaa Sana
Free Speech in Sudbury

16
Suomi College (Finlandia University)

17
Finnish-American Heritage Center (FAHC)

At Finlandia University in Hancock, Michigan
offers a variety of exhibits, lectures, plays,
musical programs and community events
the Finnish American Historical Archive has the
largest collection of Finnish-North American
materials in the world
- includes genealogical resources, information
about Finnish culture, artifacts, and North
America's largest collection of Finnish-American
artwork
annual events Finnish Independence Day, the City
of Hancock's Heikinpäivä festival, the
university's Nordic Film Series

18
Famous Finnish-Americans and -Canadians