“Let me emphasize that while a girl is hired to work, she is also a human being, who must have her hours of rest and play.  She will be all the better for having been treated with respect,” wrote Inge Lund, a female Swedish journalist, in 1916.  Lund travelled to Chicago in the early 20^th century to work incognito in the wealthy homes of Chicago’s elite.  Her goal? To reveal the harsh working conditions experienced by Swedish American domestic servants through a series of exposés in the Chicago Daily News.  The Swedish American Museum lauds Lund as the Swedish American’s “Undercover Maid.”  Lund’s story is just one among many recounted at the Swedish American Museum’s permanent exhibition “A Dream of America: Swedish Immigration to Chicago.”  The exhibit follows the story of Swedish immigration to and settlement in Chicago, with special emphasis upon the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

“A Dream of America” recounts the narrative of Swedish immigration to Chicago with original artifacts, many of which the Museum’s Swedish American patrons donated throughout the years.  Continue reading “Museum Review: “A Dream of America” Exhibit” →