The purpose of this volume is the show in specific terms what people of Swedish birth or ancestry have contributed in the past three hundred years to the development & civilization of America. Each one of the thirty-nine chapters is devoted to a particular field, & has been written by a specialist in that field. This is the first time that the history of the Swedes in this country, & their contributions to American life have been so fully set forth in one volume. This book was published in June 1938 in connection with the celebration of the three-hundredth anniversary of the New Sweden colony founded in 1638 on the Delaware River by settlers from Sweden.

"What happens to a people ... when it becomes divided and separated through a great overseas migration? ... how do the two parts of such a divided people relate to each other? What ideas do they have regarding each other as the process continues and as time and circumstance cause them to develop in separate ways of their own? The purpose of this book is to seek answers to such questions in the case of the Swedes during the period of their great migration, between roughly 1840 and 1940." -- Pref.

Sweeping survey of 150 years of colonial history (1607–1763) offers authoritative views on agrarian society and leadership, non-English influences, religion, education, literature, music, architecture, and much more. 33 black-and-white illustrations.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, large numbers of Swedish immigrants came to Michigan seeking new opportunities in the United States and relief from economic, religious, or political problems at home. In addition to establishing early farming communities, Swedish immigrants worked on railroad construction, mining, fishing, logging, and urban manufacturing. As a result, Swedish Americans made significant contributions to the economic and cultural landscape of Michigan, a history this book explores in engaging and illustrative depth. Swedes in Michigan traces the evolution of hard-working people who valued education and assimilated actively while simultaneously maintaining their cultural ties and institutions. Moving from past to present, the book examines community patterns, family connections, social organizations, exchange programs, ethnic celebrations, and business and technical achievements that have helped Swedes in Michigan maintain a sense of their heritage even as they have adapted to American life.

This book reconstructs the settlement patterns of thirty-three immigrant groups and confirms the emergence of discrete culture regions and regional way stations. Meyer argues that midcontinental Illinois symbolizes a historic test-strip of the diverse population origins that unfolded during the Great Migration.