Nederlandse Amerikanen (Dutch) | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Americans with self-reported Dutch ancestry by state as of the 2021 US census | |
| Total population | |
| 3,083,041[1] (0.93%) in combination 884,857[2] (0.27%) Dutch alone | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| California;Mountain states, especially inMontana,Wyoming, andColorado;Northeast, especially inPennsylvania,New York, andNew Jersey;Midwest, especially inIowa,Michigan,Indiana,Ohio, andWisconsin | |
| Languages | |
| American English,Dutch (0.0486% of the total US population)[3] 2009-2013 estimates, self-reported | |
| Religion | |
| 74%Protestant, 10%Roman Catholic, 15% other[4] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| OtherDutch people,Afrikaners,Frisian Americans,Pennsylvania Dutch,Belgian Americans,Dutch West Indian Americans,Surinamese Americans |
Dutch Americans (Dutch:Nederlandse Amerikanen) areAmericans ofDutch andFlemish descent whose ancestors came from theLow Countries in the distant past, or from theNetherlands as from 1830 when the Flemish became independent from theUnited Kingdom of the Netherlands by creating theKingdom of Belgium. Dutch settlement in the Americas started in 1613 withNew Amsterdam, which was exchanged with the English forSuriname at theTreaty of Breda (1667) and renamedNew York City. The English split the Dutch colony ofNew Netherland into two pieces and named themNew York andNew Jersey. Further waves of immigration occurred in the 19th and 20th centuries.
According to the 2021American Community Survey, an estimated 3.1 million[1] Americans claim total or partial Dutch heritage, while 884,857[2] Americans claimed total Dutch heritage. In 2021, 113,634 Dutch Americans were foreign-born (of which 61.5% in Europe).[5] The 2009-2013 survey estimated 141,580 people of 5 years and over to speak Dutch at home,[3] which was equal to 0.0486% of the total population of the United States. In 2021, 95.3% of the total Dutch American population of 5 years and over only spoke English at home.[5]
Prominent (partial) Dutch American political figures include PresidentsMartin Van Buren,Warren G. Harding, andTheodore andFranklin D. Roosevelt and U.S. SenatorsPhilip Schuyler,Nicholas Van Dyke,Hamilton Fish,John C. Ten Eyck,Daniel W. Voorhees,Arthur Vandenberg,Peter G. Van Winkle,Alan Simpson,Fred Thompson,John Hoeven, andChristopher Van Hollen. Two of theFounding Fathers of the United States,Egbert Benson andJohn Jay, were also of Dutch descent. GovernorsJohn Hickenlooper ofColorado,Harold G. Hoffman andThomas Kean of New Jersey,William Henry Vanderbilt III ofRhode Island,George Bell Timmerman Jr. ofSouth Carolina, andCornelius P. Van Ness ofVermont were also born to Dutch American families. Today the majority of the Dutch Americans live inMichigan,California,Montana,Minnesota,Illinois,Wyoming, Colorado,North Dakota,South Dakota,Nebraska,Kansas,Missouri,Indiana, New York, New Jersey,Wisconsin,Idaho,Utah,Iowa,Ohio,West Virginia, andPennsylvania.
Not included among Dutch Americans are thePennsylvania Dutch, a group of mainlyGerman Americans who settled in Pennsylvania in the colonial era and whose name is a derivation of the Pennsylvania DutchendonymDeitsch, which means "Pennsylvania Dutch" or "German".[6][7][8][9] Ultimately, the terms Deitsch,Dutch,Diets andDeutsch are all descendants of theProto-Germanic word*þiudiskaz, meaning "popular" or "of the people"; while all Germanic cognates of the term refer to some Germanic people, they more commonly refer to Germans than Netherlanders.[10]
In 1602, the Dutch government chartered theDutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, VOC). It sent explorers under the command ofHenry Hudson, who arrived in 1609 and mapped what is now known as theHudson River. Their initial goal was to find an alternative route to Asia, but they found good farmland and plenty of wildlife instead.
The earliest Dutch settlement was built around 1613; it consisted of a number of small huts built by the crew of theTijger (Tiger), a Dutch ship under the command of CaptainAdriaen Block which had caught fire while sailing on the Hudson in the winter of 1613. The ship was lost and Block and his crew established a camp ashore. In the spring, Block and his men did some explorations along the coast of Long Island.Block Island still bears his name. Finally, they were sighted and rescued by another Dutch ship and the settlement was abandoned.[11]
Dutch trade in the New York area led to the establishment of trade posts as early as 1613. Permanent settlers arrived in 1617 at what is nowAlbany, New York. New Amsterdam was settled in 1625. In 1629, Dutch officials tried to expand the northern colony through a plan that promised "Liberties and Exemptions" to anyone who would ship fifty colonists to America at his own expense. Anyone who did so would be allowed to buy a stretch of land along theHudson River from theDutch West India Company of about twelve miles, extending as far inland as the owner wanted. The landowners were calledpatroons and had complete jurisdiction over their domains as well as extensive trading privileges. They also received these rights in perpetuity. That was a form offeudalism, which had vanished in the Dutch Republic but was introduced in North America. The Patroonships were not a success; by 1635, the Dutch West India Company had bought back four of the five patroonships originally registered in Amsterdam.[12]
The Native Americans were no longer consulted or offered/asked to sell their lands. The Dutch were confronted with a new phenomenon, Native American raids, since the local tribes had now realized that the Dutch were not simply visitors but people set to settle their land.[13]
The Dutch realized that they had gone with the wrong approach as they offered great privileges to wealthy, not poor, citizens. It was not until 1656 that the Dutch state abandoned its passivity and decided to actively supportNew Netherland. The Dutch state issued a proclamation, which stated that "all mechanics and farmers who can prove their ability to earn a living here shall receive free passage for themselves, their wives and children".[14]
Although the Dutch were in control, only about half the settlers were ethnically Dutch (the other half consisted mainly ofWalloons, Germans, and FrenchHuguenots as well as New England Yankees). Manhattan grew increasingly multicultural. In 1664, the English seized the colony and renamed itNew York. The Dutch briefly recaptured the colony in 1673, but during peace talks with the English, they decided to trade it in 1674 forSuriname in South America, which was more profitable.[15]
In the hundred years of British rule that followed the change of ownership of New Netherland, Dutch immigration to America came to an almost complete standstill.[17]
While the Netherlands was a small country, the Dutch Empire was quite large so emigrants leaving the mother country had a wide variety of choices. New Amsterdam was not high on their list, especially because of the Native American risk. The major Dutch cities were centers of high culture, but they still sent immigrants. Most new arrivals were farmers from remote villages who, on arrival, in America scattered into widely separated villages with little contact with one another. Even inside a settlement, different Dutch groups had minimal interaction. With very few new arrivals, the result was an increasingly traditional system cut off from the forces for change. The people maintained their popular culture, revolving around their language and their Calvinist religion. The Dutch brought along their own folklore, most famouslySinterklaas (the foundation of the modern-daySanta Claus), and created their own as inThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow. They maintained their distinctive clothing, and food preferences and introduced some new foods to America, including beets, endive, spinach, parsley, and cookies.
After the British takeover, the rich Dutch families in Albany and New York City emulated the English elite and purchased English furniture, silverware, crystal, and jewelry. They were proud of their language, which was strongly reinforced by the church, but they were much slower than the Yankees in setting up schools for their children. They finally set up Queens College (now Rutgers University) in New Jersey, but it quickly became anglicized. They never attempted to start newspapers; they published no books and only a handful of religious tracts annually. Pietist leaderTheodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen (1691–1747) launched a series of revivals that challenge the mainstream church's emphasis on sacraments. Church buildings increasingly followed English rather than historic Dutch models.[18] Politically, however, there was a strong anti-British sentiment that led most of the Dutch to support the American Revolution. One famous Dutch folk hero wasRip Van Winkle, characterized by being absurdly old-fashioned and out of date, which aimed to instill the establishment of an American culture distinct from British culture.[19][20] Most farmers focused on providing subsistence for their families; about a third were chiefly oriented to market prices.[21]
Dutch Quakers came to the Philadelphia area in response to the appeal ofWilliam Penn. Penn, himself aDutch Briton (his mother being fromRotterdam), had paid three visits to the Netherlands, where he published several pamphlets.[22]
TheCensus Bureau produced estimates of the colonial American population with roots in theNetherlands, in collaboration with theAmerican Council of Learned Societies, by scholarly classification of the names of allWhite heads of families recorded in the firstU.S. census of 1790. The government required accurate estimates of the origins of thecolonial stock population as basis for computingNational Origins Formula immigration quotas in the 1920s; for this task scholars estimated the proportion of names in each state determined to be ofDutch derivation. The final report estimated about 3.1% of the U.S. population in 1790 was of Dutch origin, heavily concentrated in theMiddle Colonies of historicNew Netherland which became theBritishAmerican ColonialProvince of New York,Province of New Jersey,Province of Pennsylvania, andDelaware Colony—ultimately forming the U.S. states ofNew York,New Jersey,Pennsylvania, andDelaware.
Estimated Dutch American population in theContinental United States as of the1790 Census
[23]
| State or Territory | Dutch | |
|---|---|---|
| # | % | |
 Connecticut | 600 | 0.26% |
 Delaware | 2,000 | 4.32% |
 Georgia | 100 | 0.19% |
 Kentucky & Tenn. | 1,200 | 1.29% |
 Maine | 100 | 0.10% |
 Maryland | 1,000 | 0.48% |
 Massachusetts | 600 | 0.16% |
 New Hampshire | 100 | 0.07% |
 New Jersey | 28,250 | 16.62% |
 New York | 55,000 | 17.50% |
 North Carolina | 800 | 0.28% |
 Pennsylvania | 7,500 | 1.77% |
 Rhode Island | 250 | 0.39% |
 South Carolina | 500 | 0.36% |
 Vermont | 500 | 0.59% |
 Virginia | 1,500 | 0.34% |
 1790 Census Area | 100,000 | 3.10% |
 Northwest Territory | − | - |
 French America | − | - |
 Spanish America | − | - |
 United States | 100,000 | 3.10% |
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During the early nineteenth century, large numbers of Dutch farmers, forced by high taxes and low wages, started immigrating to America. They mainly settled down in theMidwest, especiallyMichigan,Illinois andIowa. In the 1840s,Calvinist immigrants desiring more religious freedom immigrated.West Michigan in particular has become associated with Dutch American culture, and the highlyconservative influence of theDutch Reformed Church, centering on the cities ofHolland and (to a lesser extent)Grand Rapids.
Waves of Catholic emigrants, initially encouraged in the 1840s by FatherTheodore J. van den Broek, emigrated from the southern Netherlands to form communities inWisconsin, primarily toLittle Chute, Hollandtown, and the outlying farming communities. Whole families and even neighborhoods left for America. Most of these early emigrants were from villages nearUden, includingZeeland,Boekel,Mill,Oploo andGemert. By contrast, many Protestant agrarian emigrants to Michigan and Iowa were drawn from Groningen, Friesland, and Zeeland; areas known for their clay soils.[24]
The Dutch economy of the 1840s was stagnant and much of the motivation to emigrate was economic rather than political or religious. The emigrants were not poor, as the cost of passage, expenses, and land purchase in America would have been substantial. They were not, however, affluent and many would have been risking most of their wealth on the chance of economic improvement. There were also political pressures at the time that favored mass emigrations of Protestants.[24][25][26][27]
A significant number of Dutchmen emigrated to the United States afterWorld War II arrived from Indonesia via the Netherlands. After Indonesia, formerly known as theDutch East Indies, gained independence itsIndo-European (Eurasian) population known asIndies Dutchmen (Dutch: Indische Nederlanders) repatriated to the Netherlands. Around 60,000 continued their diaspora to the United States. This particular group is also known asDutch-Indonesians,Indonesian-Dutch, orAmerindos.[28]
"Nine tenths of the so called Europeans (in the Dutch East Indies) are the offspring of whites married to native women. These mixed people are calledIndo-Europeans... They have formed the backbone of officialdom. In general they feel the same loyalty to Holland as do the white Netherlanders. They have full rights as Dutch citizens and they are Christians and follow Dutch customs. This group has suffered more than any other during the Japanese occupation." Official U.S. Army publication for the benefit ofG.I.'s, 1944.[29]
These Dutch Indos mainly entered the United States under legislative refugee measures and were sponsored by Christian organizations such as theChurch World Service and theCatholic Relief Services. An accurate count of Indo immigrants is not available, as theU.S. Census classified people according to their self-determined ethnic affiliation. The Indos could have therefore been included in overlapping categories of "country of origin", "other Asians," "total foreign", "mixed parentage", "total foreign-born" and "foreign mother tongue". However the Indos that settled in the United States via the legislative refugee measures number at least 25,000 people.[30]
The original post-war refugee legislation of 1948, already adhering to a strict "affidavit of support" policy, was still maintaining a color bar making it difficult for Indos to emigrate to the United States. By 1951 American consulates in the Netherlands registered 33,500 requests and had waiting times of 3 to 5 years. Also theWalter-McCarren Act of 1953 adhered to the traditional American policy of minimizing immigrants from Asia. The yearly quota for Indonesia was limited to a 100 visas, even though Dutch foreign affairs attempted to profile Indos as refugees from the alleged pro-communist Sukarno administration.[31]
The 1953 flood disaster in the Netherlands resulted in theRefugee Relief Act including a slot for 15,000 ethnic Dutch that had at least 50% European blood (one year later loosened to Dutch citizens with at least two Dutch grandparents) and an immaculate legal and political track record. In 1954 only 187 visas were actually granted. Partly influenced by the anti-Western rhetoric and policies of the Sukarno administration the anti-communist senatorFrancis E. Walter pleaded for a second term of the Refugee Relief Act in 1957 and an additional slot of 15,000 visas in 1958.[32]
In 1958, the Pastore–Walter Immigration Act for the relief of certain distressed aliens was passed allowing for a one-off acceptance of 10,000 Dutchmen from Indonesia (excluding the regular annual quota of 3,136 visas). It was hoped however that only 10% of these Dutch refugees would in fact be racially mixed Indos and the American embassy in The Hague was frustrated with the fact that Canada, where ethnic profiling was even stricter, was getting the full-blooded Dutch and the United States was getting Dutch "all rather heavily dark". Still in 1960 senators Pastore and Walter managed to get a second two-year term for their act which was used by a great number of Dutch Indos.[33]
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SeveralAmerican Presidents had Dutch ancestry:
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| Year | Population |
| 1910 | 126,045 |
| 1920 | 136,540 |
| 1930 | 133,142 |
| 1940 | 102,700 |
| 1960 | 130,482 |
| 1970 | 127,834 |
The first Dutch settlers lived in small isolated communities, and as a consequence were barely exposed to English. As the Dutch lost their own colonies in North America to the British, the Dutch settlers increasingly were exposed to other immigrants and their languages and the Dutch language gradually started to disappear. The 2009-2013American Community Survey estimated 141,580 people of 5 years and over to speak Dutch at home,[3] which was equal to 0.0486% of the population in the United States. In 2021, 95.3% of the total Dutch American population of 5 years and over only spoke English at home.[5]
In 1764,Archibald Laidlie preached the first English sermon to the Dutch Reformed congregation in New York City. Ten years later English was introduced in the schools. In Kingston, Dutch was used in church as late as 1808. A few years before, a traveler had reported that on Long Island and along theNorth River in Albany, Dutch was still thelingua franca of the elderly.[39]
Francis Adrian van der Kemp, who came to the United States as a refugee in 1788, wrote that his wife was able to converse in Dutch with the wives ofAlexander Hamilton and GeneralGeorge Clinton. In 1847, immigrants from the Netherlands were welcomed in Dutch by the Reverend Isaac Wyckoff upon their arrival in New York. Wyckoff himself was a descendant of one of the first settlers inRensselaerswyck, who had learned to speak English at school.
In the first half of the twentieth century, the Dutch language was hardly spoken in North America, with the exception of first generation Dutch immigrants. The marks of the Dutch heritage — in language, in reference to historical Dutch people (for exampleStuyvesant) and in reference to Dutch places — can still be seen. There are about 35 Dutch restaurants and bakeries in the United States, most of them founded in the 20th century.[40]
Adaptation of Dutch names for places in the United States was common. New York City for example has many originally Dutch street and place names, which date back to the time it was the Dutch colony ofNew Netherland. Several landmarks likeConyne Eylandt (Modern Dutch:Konijn eiland, meaning Rabbit Island) became more suitable to Anglophones (Coney Island). Additionally, Brooklyn (Breukelen), Harlem (Haarlem), Wall Street (walstraat) and Broadway (brede weg) are adapted after Dutch names or words. And up the river in New York StatePiermont,Orangeburg,Blauvelt andHaverstraw, just to name a few places. In the Hudson Valley region there are many places and waterways whose names incorporate the word-kill, Dutch for "stream" or "riverbed", including the Catskill Mountains, Peekskill, and the Kill van Kull. Also, the American state ofRhode Island is a surviving example of Dutch influence in Colonial America. In 1614, was christened asRoodt Eylandt (Rood Eiland in modernDutch), meaning "Red Island", referring to the red clay found on the island.[41]
Dutch and English are both part of theWest Germanic language group and share several aspects, due to the fact that the birthplaces of both languages (Netherlands and the United Kingdom) are only separated by theNorth Sea. Similarities between Dutch and English are abundant, as an estimated 1% of the English words is of Dutch origin.[42] Examples include the article "the" (de in Dutch), the words "book" (boek), "house" (huis), "pen" (pen), and, "street" (straat), among others.
There are also some words inAmerican English that are of Dutch origin, like "cookie" (koekje) and "boss" (baas). And in some American family names a couple of Dutch characteristics still remain. Like (a) the prefix "van" (as inMartin Van Buren), (b) the prefix "de"(/"der"/"des"/"den") (as inJared DeVries), (c) a combination of the two "van de ..." (as inRobert J. Van de Graaff), or (d) "ter"/"te"("ten") or "ver", which mean respectively (a) "of" (possessive or locative), (b) "the" (definite article), (c) "of the..." and (d) "at the" ("of the"/"in the") (locative).[citation needed]
Contact between other languages also created variouscreoles with Dutch as the base language. Two examples,Jersey Dutch andMohawk Dutch, are now extinct. This is possibly due to the ease of transition from Dutch to English, stemming from a shared linguistic genealogy.[citation needed]
Little Chute,Wisconsin, remained a Dutch-speaking community—known locally as "speaking Hollander"—into the twentieth century. As late as 1898, church sermons and event announcements were in Dutch.[43] Dutch newspapers continued in the area—mainly inDe Pere by Catholic clergymen—were published up until World War I.[44] The only remaining publication that is written exclusively in Dutch isMaandblad de Krant, which is published monthly inPenticton,British Columbia,Canada, and mailed to subscribers throughout theUnited States fromOroville, Washington.[45]
As of 1990, November 16 is "Dutch-American Heritage Day". On November 16, 1776, a small American warship, theAndrew Doria, sailed into the harbor of the Dutch island ofSint Eustatius in theWest Indies. Only four months before, the United States had declared its independence fromGreat Britain. The American crew was delighted when the governor of the island ordered that his fort's cannons be fired in a friendly salute. The first ever given by a foreign power to theflag of the United States, it was a risky and courageous act. Indeed, angered by Dutch trading and contraband with the rebellious colonies, the British seized the island a few years later. The Dutch recaptured the island in 1784.[46]
April 19 is Dutch-American Friendship Day, which remembers the day in 1782 whenJohn Adams, later to become the secondpresident of the United States, was received by theStates General inThe Hague and recognized asMinister Plenipotentiary of the United States of America. It was also the day that the house he had purchased at Fluwelen Burgwal 18 in The Hague was to become the firstAmerican Embassy in the world.[46]
Many of the Dutch heritage festivals that take place around the United States coincide with the blooming of tulips in a particular region. TheTulip Time Festival inHolland, Michigan is the largest such festival with other notable gatherings such as the Pella Tulip Time inPella, Iowa;Tulip Festival in Orange City, Iowa and Albany, New York; Dutch Days in Fulton, Illinois; Let's Go Dutch Days in Baldwin, Wisconsin; Holland Days in Lynden, Washington; Holland Happening in Oak Harbor, Washington; Holland Fest inCedar Grove, Wisconsin, and the Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest in Woodburn, Oregon. Often Dutch heritage festivals coincide with the blooming of the tulip. SeeTulip Festival for additional explanations of some of these festivals. A Dutch Festival is also held atHofstra University in Hempstead, New York; and a Holland Festival[47] in Long Beach, California. A traditional DutchKermis Festival is celebrated in October in Little Chute, WI. During late November and early December, a Dutch Winterfest is held in Holland, MI, to coincide with the traditional arrival ofSinterklaas; the cultural ancestor of the American Santa Claus."[48] There is an annual Sinterklass festival held inRhinebeck andKingston, New York where Sinterklaas crosses theHudson River and a parade is held in recognition of theGreater New York Area's Dutch cultural heritage.[49]
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Lately, many of the larger cities in the U.S. have a King's Day (Koningsdag) festival that is celebrated in the Netherlands on April 27 to celebrate the birthday ofKing Willem Alexander. The Portland Dutch Society[50] started this annual Dutch Holiday celebration inPortland, OR in 2013 and will have one again in 2015 on April 26. It is celebrated by people of Dutch heritage dressed in their Orange clothes and enjoying the sounds of Dutch music and eating typical Dutch foods like kroketten, friet met mayonaise, zoute haring, and other Dutch delicacies.
Most Dutch-Americans are white, but some arepeople of color, including Black Dutch-Americans. During the 18th and 19th centuries, many enslaved and free Black people spoke Dutch. New York City and New Jersey had notable Dutch-speaking Black populations during the colonial era and into the 1800s, dating back to the Dutch settlement inNew Amsterdam.[51][52]
The beginnings of theReformed Church in America date to 1628. By 1740, it had 65 congregations inNew York andNew Jersey, served by ministers trained in Europe. Schools were few but to obtain their own ministers they formed "Queens College" (nowRutgers University) in 1766. In 1771, there were 34 ministers for over 100 churches. Until 1764, in at least three Dutch churches in New York City, all sermons were in Dutch;Theodore Roosevelt reports hisgrandfather's church used Dutch as late as 1810. Other churches with roots in Dutch immigration to the United States include theChristian Reformed Church, theProtestant Reformed Churches, theUnited Reformed Churches, theNetherlands Reformed Congregations, theHeritage Netherlands Reformed Congregations and theFree Reformed Churches. Along with the Reformed churches,Roman Catholicism is the other major religion of Dutch Americans. Beginning in 1848, a significant number of Roman Catholics from the Dutch provinces ofNorth Brabant,Limburg and southernGelderland went to create many settlements in northeasternWisconsin. But even today, Dutch Americans remain majority Protestant.[citation needed]
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Between 1820 and 1900, 340,000 Dutch emigrated from theNetherlands to the United States. In the aftermath ofWorld War II, several tens of thousands of Dutch immigrants joined them, mainly moving to California andWashington. In several counties in Michigan and Iowa, Dutch Americans remain the largest ethnic group. In 2020, most self-reported Dutch Americans live inMichigan, followed byCalifornia andNew York.[53] While the highest concentration of Dutch Americans are found inSouth Dakota, Michigan,Iowa, andWisconsin.[54] According to 2021US Census data, 3,083,041[1] Americans self-reported to be of (partial) Dutch ancestry, while 884,857[2] Americans claimed full Dutch heritage. 2,969,407 Dutch Americans were native born in 2021, while 113,634 Dutch Americans were foreign-born, of which 61.5% was born in Europe and 62,9% entered the United States before 2000.[5]
According to the 2000US Census, more than 5 million Americans claimed total or partialDutch heritage. They were particularly concentrated aroundGrand Rapids, Michigan;Rock Rapids, Iowa;Sioux City, Iowa;Des Moines, Iowa;Fulton, Illinois,Celeryville, Ohio, andLittle Chute, Wisconsin. These areas are surrounded with towns and villages that were founded by Dutch settlers in the 19th century, such asHolland, Michigan andZeeland, Michigan;Pella, Iowa, andOrange City, Iowa. Other Dutch enclaves includeLynden, Washington,Ripon, California, and places in New Jersey. It is estimated that, by 1927, as many as 40,000 Dutch settlers, primarily fromNorth Brabant andLimburg, had immigrated to the United States, with the largest concentrations in the area nearLittle Chute, Wisconsin.[55] By the early twentieth century, Little Chute was the largest Catholic Dutch community in the United States.[56] In theChicago suburbs, there are sizable Dutch communities in and aroundElmhurst,Wheaton,Palos Heights,South Holland,Lansing,Dyer, and other surrounding communities, anchored by Reformed churches and Christian schools.
In California, theSan Joaquin Delta had a major Dutch (incl.Frisian) andBelgian influence, as settlers from those countries arrived in the 1850s, after California obtained statehood. They drained away swamps and created artificial islands known as polders, constructed dikes to back away the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers flowing into the San Francisco Bay, also turned them into fertile farmlands and set up inland ports such asStockton. Also their communities likeLathrop,Galt,Rio Vista andFrench Camp which were named for Belgians fromBelgium are of both French (Walloon) orFlemish origin. There is a Dutch community inRedlands,Ontario,Ripon andBellflower.[57]
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As of 2020, the distribution of self-reported Dutch Americans across the 50 states and DC is as presented in the following table:
| State | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
 Alabama | 30,349 | 0.62% |
 Alaska | 10,533 | 1.43% |
 Arizona | 80,124 | 1.12% |
 Arkansas | 31,550 | 1.05% |
 California | 313,233 | 0.80% |
 Colorado | 86,616 | 1.52% |
| Connecticut | 24,644 | 0.69% |
| Delaware | 7,895 | 0.82% |
 District of Columbia | 4,886 | 0.70% |
 Florida | 170,831 | 0.81% |
| Georgia | 64,164 | 0.61% |
 Hawaii | 6,567 | 0.46% |
 Idaho | 31,398 | 1.79% |
 Illinois | 145,771 | 1.15% |
 Indiana | 109,108 | 1.63% |
 Iowa | 116,971 | 3.71% |
 Kansas | 43,715 | 1.50% |
| Kentucky | 41,100 | 0.92% |
 Louisiana | 17,506 | 0.38% |
| Maine | 11,767 | 0.88% |
| Maryland | 40,293 | 0.67% |
| Massachusetts | 36,951 | 0.54% |
 Michigan | 427,818 | 4.29% |
 Minnesota | 91,012 | 1.63% |
 Mississippi | 13,356 | 0.45% |
 Missouri | 78,763 | 1.29% |
 Montana | 19,606 | 1.85% |
 Nebraska | 31,950 | 1.66% |
 Nevada | 26,471 | 0.87% |
| New Hampshire | 12,596 | 0.93% |
| New Jersey | 79,492 | 0.89% |
 New Mexico | 14,614 | 0.70% |
 New York | 204,250 | 1.05% |
| North Carolina | 83,803 | 0.81% |
 North Dakota | 8,156 | 1.07% |
| Ohio | 140,161 | 1.20% |
 Oklahoma | 47,932 | 1.21% |
 Oregon | 74,960 | 1.79% |
| Pennsylvania | 161,506 | 1.26% |
| Rhode Island | 4,459 | 0.42% |
| South Carolina | 36,482 | 0.72% |
 South Dakota | 37,913 | 4.31% |
| Tennessee | 64,028 | 0.95% |
 Texas | 178,457 | 0.62% |
 Utah | 58,948 | 1.87% |
 Vermont | 7,396 | 1.18% |
| Virginia | 64,790 | 0.76% |
 Washington | 131,299 | 1.75% |
 West Virginia | 24,445 | 1.35% |
 Wisconsin | 132,420 | 2.28% |
 Wyoming | 9,834 | 1.69% |
 United States | 3,692,889 | 1.13% |
Harmen Jansen Knickerbocker was an early Dutch settler of New York'sHudson River Valley.[58]
In art,Willem de Kooning was a leadingAbstract Expressionist painter, often depicting the human form in violent brush strokes and daring color juxtapositions. MuralistAnthony Heinsbergen interior designs are still seen today in most of the world'smovie theaters. Cowboy artistEarl W. Bascom, a sculptor known as the "cowboy of cowboy artists", is a descendant of the Van Riper family who was early settlers of New York.
In business, theVanderbilt family was once among the richest families in the United States.[59][60]
In education,Stephen Van Rensselaer III foundedRensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, in 1824, which is the oldesttechnological university in theEnglish-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere.[61] Famous accomplishments of alumni include the Ferris Wheel, Brooklyn Bridge, commercially viable television and radar, and the microprocessor.
In literature,Janwillem van de Wetering is renowned for hisdetective fiction; his most popular creation being that ofGrijpstra and de Gier.Edward W. Bok was aPulitzer Prize-winning autobiographer and magazine editor. He is also credited with coining the term "living room".Greta Van Susteren's father was a Dutch American. Prolific poetLeo Vroman escaped from the Nazi-occupied Netherlands to theDutch East Indies to end up in a harsh concentration camp for Europeans run by the Japanese army when it overran the islands. After the war, he immigrated to the United States. HisDutch Indonesian friend, fellow camp survivor, and authorTjalie Robinson also lived in the United States, where he founded several cultural institutions. The authorErik Hazelhoff Roelfzema, writer of the bookSoldier of Orange, was a Dutch resistance fighter, spy, and decorated war hero that immigrated to the United States after World War II. Born onJava in the Dutch East Indies, he died in his home in Hawaii.
In entertainment, actor,presenter and entertainerDick Van Dyke is of Dutch descent, with a career spanning sixdecades. He is best known for his starring roles inMary Poppins,Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,The Dick Van Dyke Show andDiagnosis: Murder.Dick Van Patten and his sonVincent are of Dutch descent; Dick was famous for the television showEight is Enough. Three generations of Fondas fromFonda, New York have graced the stage and screen for almost a century, includingHenry Fonda, sonPeter Fonda, daughterJane Fonda, granddaughterBridget Fonda and grandsonTroy Garity. The X-Men trilogy starred Dutch actressFamke Janssen and Dutch-descendedRebecca Romijn who is perhaps best known for her TV roles in such comedies asUgly Betty.Anneliese van der Pol, a singer and actress, is a star ofDisney'sThat's so Raven. Iconic starAudrey Hepburn was born inBelgium to a Dutch expatriate. MusiciansEddie andAlex van Halen were the lead guitarist and drummer, respectively, and co-founders of the bandVan Halen, born to a Dutch father andDutch-Indonesian mother.Bruce Springsteen's father was of Dutch and Irish heritage, from one of the original families that settled inNew Netherland. The brothers Ronny, Johnny, and Donnie van Zant, the lead singer ofLynyrd Skynyrd and founder of38 Special have Dutch ancestry. SingerWhitney Houston had Dutch ancestry. Don Van Vliet, the musician with the stage nameCaptain Beefheart, changed his middle name from Glen to the preposition to 1965 to honor his Dutch heritage. ActorMark-Paul Gosselaar, known from the seriesSaved by the Bell, was born to a Dutch father and aDutch-Indonesian mother.Matt Groening, the author ofThe Simpsons andFuturama has DutchMennonite ancestors, his family name originating from the Dutch city ofGroningen.Chevy Chase also has deep Dutch roots from colonial New York.
In politics,Peter Stuyvesant was the lastDirector-General of the colony ofNew Netherland. Stuyvesant greatly expanded the settlement ofNew Amsterdam, today known asNew York. Stuyvesant's administration built the protective wall onWall Street, and the canal that becameBroad Street, known today asBroadway. The prestigiousStuyvesant High School is named after him.Theodore Roosevelt andFranklin Delano Roosevelt, presidents of the United States, were not only of Dutch descent but cousins.Martin Van Buren was another president of Dutch descent.Martin Kalbfleisch served as aU.S. Representative for the state ofNew York.Pete Hoekstra served as congressman for the state ofMichigan's 2nd congressional district from 1993 until 2011. On January 10, 2018, he took office asUnited States Ambassador to the Netherlands.Jacob Aaron Westervelt was a renowned and prolific shipbuilder andMayor of New York (1853–1855).
In science and technology, inventor and businessmanThomas Edison was of Dutch descent.Nicolaas Bloembergen won theNobel Prize in 1981 for his work inlaser spectroscopy. He was also awarded theLorentz Medal in 1978. PhysicistsSamuel Abraham Goudsmit andGeorge Eugene Uhlenbeck proposed the concept ofelectron spin. Goudsmit was also the scientific head of theOperation Alsos mission in theManhattan Project.Tjalling Koopmans was the recipient of theNobel Prize in Economics in 1975.
In astronomy,Maarten Schmidt pioneered the research ofquasars. AstronomerGerard Kuiper discovered two newmoons in theSolar System and predicted the existence of theKuiper belt, which is named in his honor. Popular astronomerBart J. Bok won theKlumpke-Roberts Award in 1982 and theBruce Medal in 1977.Jan Schilt invented the Schiltphotometer.
In sports,Hall of Fame baseball player and two-timeWorld Series championBert Blyleven gained fame for hiscurveball.Earl Bascom was a Hall of Fame rodeo champion known as the "father of modern rodeo." GolferTiger Woods has Dutch ancestry through his mother.
In religion,Albertus van Raalte was aReformed Church of America pastor who led the Dutch immigrants who founded the city ofHolland, Michigan in 1846.Louis Berkhof, aReformedsystematic theologian, is greatly studied today inseminaries andBible colleges.Herman Hoeksema, a theologian, was instrumental in the series of events that precipitated the creation of theProtestant Reformed Church. ProminentChristian authorLewis B. Smedes wroteForgive and Forget, an influential work discussing a religious view onsexuality andforgiveness.Menno Simons (1496 – January 31, 1561) was a former Catholic priest from the Friesland region of theNetherlands who became an influential Anabaptist religious leader. Simons was a contemporary of the Protestant Reformers and it is from his name that his followers became known asMennonites.
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