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Swedish American

Swedish Americans
Svenskamerikaner
Total population
(Swedish descent
4,347,703
1.4% of the US population (2009)
)
Regions with significant populations
Most Prevalent in the Midwestern United States
Plurality in Minnesota, Wisconsin, The Dakotas, Iowa, Michigan, New York, New England, and New Jersey
Languages
American English, Swedish
Religion
Predominantly Lutheranism, Church of Sweden, Protestantism, Catholicism, Mormonism.
Related ethnic groups
Swedes, Swedish Britons, Swedish Canadians, Swedish Australians, Scandinavian Americans, Finnish Americans, Danish Americans, Norwegian Americans, Icelandic Americans

Swedish Americans (Swedish: Svenskamerikaner) are an American ethnic group of people who have ancestral roots from Sweden. They primarily include the 1.2 million Swedish immigrants during 1885–1915 and their descendants. They formed tight-knit communities, primarily in the American Midwest, and intermarried with other Swedish-Americans. Most were Lutheran Christians who were affiliated with predecessor bodies of what are now the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) or Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod or North American Lutheran Church (NALC); some were Methodists.

Historically, Swedish Americans have been concentrated in the Midwest, roughly in the area west and northwest of Chicago. Many of them came to Minnesota. A contingent also settled in the woods of northern Maine.

The first Swedish Americans were the settlers of New Sweden. A colony established by Queen Christina of Sweden in 1638, it centered around the Delaware Valley including parts of the present-day states of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. New Sweden was incorporated into New Netherland in 1655 and ceased to be an official territory of the Realm of Sweden. However, many Swedish and Finnish colonists remained and were allowed some political and cultural autonomy.

Present day reminders of the history of New Sweden are reflected in the presence of the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia, Fort Christina State Park in Wilmington, Delaware, Governor Printz Park and The Printzhof in Essington, Pennsylvania.


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