Norwegians and Swedes in the United States

Friends and Neighbors

Edited by Philip J. Anderson, Edited by Dag Blanck, Foreword by Donna Gabaccia

Minnesota Historical Society Press (December 1, 2011)

Eighteen essays explore interactions among Swedish and Norwegian immigrants to America, focusing on themes of friendship and competition through the lenses of identity, language, religion, and politics.

Description

To early American immigrants, nineteenth-century newcomers from the Scandinavian peninsula likely seemed all of a type. to immigrants hailing from Norway and Sweden, however, differences in language, culture, and religion sorted them into distinct groupings: not Scandinavian, but Norwegian or Swedish—and proud of their lineage.

How did these differences affect relationships in the new world? In what ways did Swedes and Norwegians preserve their cultures in the city and in rural areas? On what political subjects did they disagree—or perhaps agree? Did they build communities together or in opposition to each other? Where they were neighbors, were they also friends? In this groundbreaking volume, scholars from the United States, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark debate these issues and more, sharing perspectives on context, culture, conflict, and community.

Essayists include Philip J. Anderson, Jennifer Attebery, H. Arnold Barton, Ulf Jonas Björk, Dag Blanck, Jørn Brøndal, Angela Falk, Mark Granquist, Per Olof Grönberg, Ingeborg Kongslien, James p. Leary, Joy K. Lintelman, Odd S. Lovoll, David Mauk, Byron J. Nordstrom, Kurt W. Peterson, Harald Runblom, and Mark Safstrom.

Author information

Philip J. Anderson is professor of church history at North Park University in Chicago.

Dag Blanck is director of the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center at Augustana College, Rock Island, and associate professor of history at Uppsala University, Sweden.

• This title is also available at your favorite e-book vendor.
• 344 pages
• 40 b&w illus., 3 maps, notes, index, tables, bibliography
• 6 x 9 inches
• ISBN: 9780873518161