Diss. Göteborg : Univ. / Titel från omsl.

Between 1860 and 1940 approximately 1,1 million Swedish citizens emigrated to North America. But over 200 000 of them returned to Sweden. In this essay I have tried to estimate the impact of these people on the Swedish society. To make a deeper analyze possible, I have studied the parish of Glimåkra in southern Sweden and tried to trace the immigrants’ lives after their return to Sweden and thus estimate their impact on society. By statistical analysis of migrants between Sweden and USA and between the parish of Glimåkra and USA I have concluded that the result can be used as a model for Sweden on a national basis. The impact of returned emigrants on the parish of Glimåkra is significant. I have been able to identify important areas in the development of the local society that are clearly linked to these people, returning with new knowledge, ideas and money. This is especially obvious in the establishment of independent religious congregations and in the organizations for sobriety.

Denna uppsats har behandlat hur svenskamerikaner förhöll sig till och placerade sig i de amerikanska rasliga och etniska hierarkierna genom att undersöka den svenskamerikanska pressen i Chicago mellan 1890 – 1920. Hypotesen för uppsatsen var att det fanns ett motstånd motsammansmältningen på grund av två skäl: Dels att de inte ville ge upp sin identitet som svenskamerikaner, dels att de inte ville dras ned från deras gynnsamma position i hierarkierna. Med hjälp av studier kring vithet och ras samt svenskamerikaners etnicitetsskapande har uppsatsen argumenterat för att den svenskamerikanska pressen kunde hävda den egna immigrantgruppen som en önskvärd del i det amerikanska samhället. Detta genom upprätthållandet av en färglinje gentemot den icke-vita befolkningen, fragmentisering av vithet samt kritiserandet av sammansmältningar mellan svenskamerikaner och andra grupper i samhället. Hypotesen kunde bekräftades då förlusten av svenskamerikanernas etniska och rasliga identitet vid en eventuellsammansmältning kunde resultera i en lägre gynnsam position i hierarkierna.

The present dissertation deals with how a segment of the Swedish immigrant group mobilized to be included in American society. Three Swedish-American working class organizations have been studied as to how they interacted to promote their interests in Chicago and the Lake View district during the first decades of this century. Reflecting political, cultural and economic aspects of the immigrant workers' lives the case studies indicate that Swedish immigrant workers constructed an organizational network parallel to the one they had left in the old country known as "folkrörelsesamverkan" (popular movement cooperation). Like in Sweden this network was constructed as a haven for social mobilization, with the exception that in the American context an ethnic aspect was added.In the formative phase of their haven, historical retrospect and the defence of organized labor in the old country were important aspects of their activities. Through the educational and cultural programs that were organized, the group articulated and consolidated its position for interaction with American society including other ethnic groups. Political radicalism, including a pro-labor temperance movement, distinguished the group both within the Swedish enclave and the American labor movement. Nevertheless, in constant conflict and cooperation with other groups, new bonds of solidarity were developed which gradually enabled a re-definition of the group to include fewer ethnic and more class aspects. Once a wider definition of the group was implemented, the need for separate Swedish-American organizations decreased. Hence in the 1930s, by which time the Swedish immigrants had been included in the American labor movement, the Swedish-American labor movement also withered. / digitalisering@umu