Swedes were ready to back Lincoln on the battlefield as they did in the polls. …This country is in danger a mighty power has engage it in war, threatening its very life and freedom itself…We have the same duty as the native born the road to glory and honor is open to us as it is to them and we have sworn allegiance to this government…Let us prove ourselves worthy of it and of the land of our fathers…let us, without hesitation, place ourselves on the side of freedom and our adopted country, not with words alone but with arms and our lives if necessary…We shall be happy in fulfilling our duty and if death meets us in the strife, our parents, wives, children and friends will find comfort in having made sacrifices for the sake of right and freedom.” -Hans Mattson, published in Minnesota Swedish papers “We have among us Germans, Irish, French, and Scandinavians-men that have come from Europe themselves or whose ancestors have come hither and settled here, finding themselves our equals in all things.” -A. The Swedes instead found themselves aligning with Lincoln’s anti-slavery, pro-temperance platform and largely supported him for President in 1860 and again in 1864. However, after 1852, Swedes turned away from the Democratic Party when it advocated the extension of slavery. Initially, many Swedes were Democratic as the party portrayed itself as the friend of the immigrant. Naturalization was necessary to take up homestead claims, and most of the Swedish immigrants were eager to own land. Once the Swedes had settled in their new land, they quickly obtained the right to vote. The United States census of 1860 listed some 18,625 Swedish immigrants in the country, most of them in the Midwest.

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