Why?
The Scandinavians, similar to the Germans, immigrated because of economic depression, political corruption, and agricultural failure. Sweden experienced the problems of overpopulation. Many people in Norway and Denmark were religiously persecuted. Life in the Scandinavian countries became unsafe, and people began to trickle into the US. They also saw the US as an opportunity for colonization, before President Monroe and the Monroe Doctrine. After that they just wanted relief from poverty in their homeland. Most of the Scandinavian countries lost around 10% of their population each to emigration.
The Journey
People came from the various countries in Scandinavia, including Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Greenland. They, too, often first went to Britain before making the journey to the US. The most immigrants came from Sweden, but Norway lost the highest percentage of its population. The Danish were also part of the Pilgrims. Swedish immigrants numbered about 1.2 million people, Danish 360,000, Norway 1 million, 200,000 from Finland, 10,000 from Iceland and some others from the other countries for a total of roughly 3 million immigrants.
![Picture](/uploads/1/4/0/9/14095505/309400476.gif?294)
Map of Scandinavia.
In the US
The Scandinavians didn't all go to the same place. The Swedes settled in the mid-Atlantic colonies early on, and later on the Swedish immigrants were farmers searching for more land in Wisconsin and Minnesota, pleasantly surprised by the resemblance to their homeland. The Norwegians also came to Wisconsin and Minnesota, but they also traveled to the west coast. The Danish introduced Mormonism to America, and the people who founded Salt Lake City were of mainly Danish decent. The Danish mainly settled in Iowa. Most of them became fairly successful farmers and created many rural areas in the mid-west. In addition to farmers, many Scandinavians also became loggers and miners.
Influence on the US
The Scandinavians could possibly be the first white people to come the the US, though historians sometimes disagree on that matter. Some say the Vikings had a few small settlements in New York as early as the 7th century. Others say they only settled as far as Greenland. Another Scandinavian influence was the introduction of Mormonism to the US, and the founders of Salt Lake City were mainly Danish. The Swedish and Norwegian were the main settlers in Minnesota and western Wisconsin, influencing many of the small towns found in that area. They also influenced their food to the Mid-West, and they have a diet very similar to that of the German immigrants. Scandinavians also played a major role in the anti-slavery movements, and an astonishing amount of Scandinavians volunteered to fight for the Union. They also contributed greatly to the US labor movement.