Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1942, Side 69

SWEDISH EMIGRATION TO AMERICA
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extended pari passu with, or even in advance of, the demands
of a growing population, it was all to the good that emigration
should have provided a safety valve. To this was added the
by. no means inconsiderable economic assistance furnished by
emigrants to their relatives at home, in the form of remittances
which improved the balance of payments of the whole country.
Nevertheless, it became increasingly clear that this large-scale
outflow of population brought grave dangers in its train. At-
tempts were indeed made to reduce it, such as the creation of
small holdings, and the establishment of new settlements on re-
claimed land in the Northern parts of the country, but these
measures had hardly time to prove their efficacy before other
causes put a stop to emigration.
That emigration from Sweden, and from the other European
countries, came to assume such great dimensions, was not, of
course, due solely to unsatisfactory conditions in the countries
from which the emigrants came. It was also due to that fact
that in America there were large tracts of fertile virgin soil and
other natural riches (gold and other metal deposits) which were
only waiting for people to exploit them. Moreover, the Amer-
ican climate was, on the whole, suitable for Europeans. To the
Scandinavians with their love of independence and liberty the
prospect of becoming independent farmers was a great attrac-
tion, and the unprecedented growth of American trade and indu-
stry gave them a better chance than that offered by any other
country of getting on in the world and bettering themselves
socially.
The choice of the localities in North America in which the
Swedish emigrants settled was chiefly determined by geographical
and climatic factors. As the bulk of the Swedish emigrants were
agriculturists, they naturally settled in those parts of America
where land was to be obtained on reasonable terms. A natural
desire to choose their new homes in surroundings similar to those
to which they were already accustomed led them to avoid the
open prairies, at least during the early period of colonization,
and to prefer broken country. Later on, however, a dispersal
took place into other territories, and gradually as the rapid in-
crease of population in the U.S.A. resulted in the growth of
towns, an increasing proportion of the emigrants were attracted
to urban occupations.
According to American records, the Swedish emigration to