What is "hemlandet"

Hemlandet was a Swedish-American newspaper begun in 1855 in Galesburg, Illinois. It was the first Swedish-language newspaper in America.

Founded by Lutheran Minister Tuve Hasselquist, the newspaper moved to Chicago in 1859 along with his Swedish Lutheran Publication Society. Its original content was primarily religious, but when P.A. Sundelius became its editor in the late 1860s, its coverage on general issues began to change from denominational to more political. In 1869, Sundelius left for another Swedish language newspaper, Svenska-Amerikanaren.

Johan Alfred Enander (1842-1910) subsequently became the editor-in-chief. Over time, Enander became publisher of Hemlandet. During the 40 years he spent editing Hemlandet, he helped change the weekly church periodical into a general newspaper for Swedish-Americans.