Swiss Americans areAmericans of full or partialSwiss descent.
Swiss emigration to America predates the formation of the United States, notably in connection with the persecution ofAnabaptism during theSwiss Reformation and the formation of theAmish community. In the 19th century, there was substantial immigration of Swiss farmers, who preferred rural settlements in theMidwest. Swiss immigration peaked in the 1880s and diminished after 1930, although limited immigration continues. Between 1700 and 2000, an estimated 460,000 Swiss immigrants entered the United States.
The number of Americans of Swiss descent is nearly one million. The SwissFederal Department of Foreign Affairs reported the permanent residency of Swiss nationals in the United States as 80,218 in 2015.[2] According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 26,896 individuals born in Switzerland declared that they were of Swiss ancestry in 2015, 3,047 individuals born in Switzerland declared that they were of German ancestry in 2015, 1,255 individuals born in Switzerland declared that they were of French ancestry in 2015, and 2,555 individuals born in Switzerland declared that they were of Italian ancestry in 2015.[3]
Swiss immigrants to the U.S. totaled 104,000 according to the1890 census.
The first Swiss person in what is now the territory of the United States was Theobald vonErlach (1541–1565) ofBern, a member ofRené de Laudonnière's expedition who disappeared inFlorida.[4][5] Swiss artisans, whose exact origins are unknown, participated in the construction ofJamestown, Virginia in 1608.[4] In the 17th and especially the 18th century, Swiss immigrants mostly consisted of members of religious communities from the cantons ofZurich andBern, such asAnabaptists,Pietists andMennonites, who settled inGeorgia,Pennsylvania and theCarolinas.[4] The Swiss in the British colonies, especially those fromGerman-speaking regions, were often mistaken for Germans.[4] Therefore, the figure of 25,000 Swiss immigrants in 1790, when the first American census was conducted, is significantly underestimated.[4] Most Swiss settled in cities, such asPhiladelphia,Germantown,Charleston, andSavannah, or in existing villages, while some founded colonies.[4]New Bern andPequea, both founded in 1710, andPurrysburg, founded in 1732, were among the first Swiss colonies in theAmericas.[4] Of the 25,000-30,000 estimated Swiss who had moved to the United States by 1820, most settled in Pennsylvania and the Carolinas.[6]
In the 19th century, poverty was one of the main reasons for emigration from Switzerland.[7] After the famine of 1817-1818, many Swissmunicipalities attempted to replace long-standingmercenary service with organized and subsidized civilian emigration.[7] Swiss immigration to the United States, particularly from theAlpine valleys, increased significantly in the 1850s.[7] Between 1851 and 1880, American authorities recorded the arrival of 76,653 Swiss in the country.[7] They mostly settled in theMidwest, where they founded numerous colonies and settlements, such asVevay,Tell City,Highland andNew Glarus.[7]
Between 1881 and 1893, over 100,000 Swiss citizens immigrated to the United States, amounting to nearly 8,000 arrivals per year.[7] This large exodus can be attributed primarily to the population surplus in agricultural areas, which was linked to a drop in grain prices.[7] The American economic crisis between 1894 and 1900 led to a decline in immigration.[7] In 1900, the Swiss in the United States were a diverse group: around 38% of them were agricultural workers, one of the highest proportions among immigrant communities, while 35.5% lived in cities with over 25,000 inhabitants.[7] Of Swiss immigrant involvement in theCivil War, David Vogelsanger writes, "More Swiss participated in the American Civil War than in any other foreign conflict except theBattle of Marignano in 1515 andNapoleon's Russian Campaign of 1812."[8]
From the beginning of the 20th century, the proportion of Swiss immigrants working in the third sector increased.[7] With the exception of the years of theFirst World War, immigration from Switzerland remained high until 1923, with over 4,000 Swiss arriving annually.[7] It then entered into a period of decline, particularly during theGreat Depression of the 1930s.[7] Following theSecond World War, the number of Swiss immigrants stabilized at an average of about 2,000 per year, although statistics have become less accurate.[7] 23,700 more Swiss arrived from 1930 to 1960, followed by 29,100 more between 1961 and 1990, many of whom were professionals or employees in American branches of Swiss companies who later returned to Switzerland.[9] An estimated 78.5% of immigrants returned to Switzerland between 1958 and 1974.[7] In 2010, 75,252 Swiss citizens resided in the U.S., two-thirds of whom helddual citizenship.[7]
Immigration to the United States affected allSwiss cantons, albeit to varying degrees and with different periods.[7] The U.S. was the preferred overseas destination, particularly between 1870 and 1920, when it received 83% of all Swiss emigrants.[7] The only exceptions during this period were the cantons ofFribourg,Valais andGeneva, from which fewer than 60% of emigrants went to the United States.[7] Most Swiss immigrants to the U.S. came from the cantons of Bern,Ticino, and Zurich.[7] In the early 19th century, the majority of Swiss, likeGermans andScandinavians, settled in theMid-Atlantic and the Midwest.[7] In 1870, the two regions were home to around 65% of Swiss immigrants (although only 33.7% of the total American population).[7]
The Swiss later went primarily to theWest Coast, where especially theItalian-speaking Swiss were taking part inCalifornia's winegrowing culture, or then took up residence in more industrial and urban areas such asNew York City,Philadelphia,Pittsburgh,Chicago,St. Louis,Denver orSan Francisco.[10] In 1930, the West Coast population accounted for 24.4% of the Swiss and 6.7% of the country's overall population.[7] In other regions, the differences between the proportions of the Swiss and overall American populations around 1930 were minimal, with the exception of theSouthern United States, which had never been attractive to Swiss immigrants and was home to only 5.8% of them (compared to 30.9% of the American population).[7] Although Swiss settlers also followed the general migration to the West, they were generally not among the pioneers of theAmerican frontier.[7]
Highland Historical Society, a historical society centered inHighland, Illinois, site of one of the oldest Swiss settlements in the United States. It was founded in 1831 by Swiss pioneers fromSursee, Switzerland.[19]
Orangeburgh German-Swiss Genealogical Society, a genealogical society focused on the early Swiss and German settlers ofOrangeburg, South Carolina.[20]
Santa Clara Utah Historical Society, a historical Society dedicated to the preservation of anearly Swiss Settlement inUtah.[21]
Swiss Heritage Village & Museum – begun in 1985, it is currently the largest outdoor museum innorthern Indiana. It is located inBerne, Indiana.[23]
Swiss Mennonite Cultural and Historical Association – consists of descendants of theMennonites who immigrated to the U.S. fromUkraine in the 1870s.[24] It has EIN 23-7332783 as a 501(c)(3) Public Charity.[25]
The Swiss Center of North America includes an extensive list of Swiss clubs. It has EIN 39-1982514 because of status as a 501(c)(3) Public Charity; in 2024 it claimed total revenue of $122,276 and total assets of $122,276.[26]
The Descendants of Swiss Settlers, founded in 2019, honors the legacy and achievements of Swiss men and women who settled in North America prior to March 5, 1798, which marks the end of the Old Swiss Confederacy.[27] It has EIN 88-2853635 as a 501(c)(3) Public Charity.[28]
^Vogelsanger, David. "Foreword: A Forgotten Chapter of Our Military History." Swiss American Historical Society Review 51, no. 2 (2015): 5–8. The whole issue is dedicated to the Swiss in the Civil War.
Pochmann, Henry A.German Culture in America: Philosophical and Literary Influences 1600–1900 (1957). 890pp; comprehensive review of German influence on Americans esp 19th century.online
Pochmann, Henry A. and Arthur R. Schult. Bibliography of German Culture in America to 1940 (2nd ed 1982); massive listing, but no annotations.
Schelbert, Leo. "Swiss Americans."Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 4, Gale, 2014), pp. 319–329.Online
Schelbert, Leo, ed.American Letters: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Accounts of Swiss Immigrants (Camden, ME: Picton Press, 1995).
Tritt, D. G., ed.Swiss Festivals in North America: A Resource Guide (Masthof Press, 1999).
Mennonite Historical Collections Very extensive Collection of Swiss and Swiss-American Mennonite information hosted in the Archives and Special Collections Librarian at Musselman Library, Bluffton University.
Swiss Settlers in SW Illinois—searchable English translations of 19th-century works by Swiss settlers in southwestern Illinois.
