Swedish Chicago: The Shaping of an Immigrant Community, 1880–1920

Abstract

As immigrants came to America during the late 1800s and early 1900s, they often settled in specific areas. Thus, the early records of a city can identify the various ethnic enclaves—German, Irish, Italian, and Swedish, to name a few—who lived in close-knit groups. As the immigrants gained work and flourished in their financial well-being, many moved to other areas of the city. Many times, the dispersion of people weakened their immigrant ties.Anita Olson Gustafson in Swedish Chicago: The Shaping of an Immigrant Community, 1880–1920 focuses strictly on the Swedes in Chicago who settled between 1880 and 1920 and challenges the view that the community life “eroded” when people moved to other areas. Gustafson argues that even as Swedes moved, the Swedish ties remained, establishing a strong Swedish presence throughout the city.The many Swedish churches and newly formed organizations and clubs were the catalysts of the Swedish influence in many neighborhoods of Chicago. Even though there were often divisive views in religious dogma and social mores, the result, Gustafson writes, “was a very dynamic, diverse, divided and dispersed Swedish community, rooted solidly on the proliferating and changing neighborhoods in which Swedish immigrants lived.”Gustafson traces the trend of Swedish immigration to America. Some made the journey alone; some in groups, joining others already living in the city; women often were accompanied by a male member of the family. The women often took domestic work, considered respectable; men worked in factories.By 1910, one-fifth of all people born in Sweden lived in the United States. The Swedish population in Chicago was larger than any other city in the United States and second in the world only to Stockholm.With the advent of elevated train lines in Chicago, people began moving to the outskirts of the city; truck farms were established, specializing in produce that could be taken into the city. By 1920, Gustafson says, “the Swedish enclaves, no longer as centralized as they had been in 1880, spread throughout the city.” Swedish businesses popped up.Letters between the immigrants and those back home created transatlantic ties. Excerpts from letters and journals showcase the pains, joys, health, homesickness, and struggles they faced. Gustafson claims the rural Swedes may have known more about Chicago than Stockholm.As people settled in new areas of Chicago, they built churches. These created a network where people spoke in their native language and shared in social events. The churches offered new immigrants a feeling of family. Several denominations—Augustana Lutheran, Mission Covenant, Swedish Baptist, and Swedish Methodist—each held differing views, often splintering groups apart, but establishing churches in newly settled areas was always a focus of the people. Gustafson provides an in-depth look at each of these denominations and their development, including a list of all the churches, the year established and location in Chicago.In addition to churches, social organizations unified Swedes: 145 organizations were established between 1880 and 1920, offering social interaction, intellectual discussions, and recreational activities, all while maintaining an ethnic identity. Groups formed: the Templars (improving life through temperance and education), Vikings (exploring Viking mythology), Svithiod (helping sick members). Swedish associations were created around a specific focus—music, athletics, theater. Most were all-male, excluding women except in auxiliaries; the women took it upon themselves to form their own social groups and lodges. Another well-researched and documented chapter by Gustafson helps show the influence of the Swedish organizations not only on Chicago but also on other parts of the world. Some groups that started here gained momentum in Sweden. The Scandinavian Fraternity of America, formed in other parts of the US, united into one group in Chicago in 1915.The Swedes in Chicago earned a good reputation. As early as 1895 the Chicago Tribune declared, “No nationality stands higher in the estimation of the native-born Americans than Swedes.”Gustafson's assertion that the Swedes did not break apart but rather developed a network that transformed sections of Chicago holds true throughout her well-researched, well-documented, and easy-to-read treatise.