How Dutch Americans stayed Dutch

This study explores Dutch identity in the United States, demonstrating how over time Dutch Americans have remained persistently present as a distinct group, yet at the same time have represented a wide range of perspectives on "Dutchness" itself. Exploring the long history of Dutch identity, Michael J. Douma argues that the very flexibility of the concept of Dutchness has enabled this ethnic group to evolve to meet changing circumstances even as it has allowed Dutch Americans to retain a sense of themselves as fundamentally Dutch.

-Michael J. Douma is an Assistant Professor of History at James Madison University. Author of Veneklasen Brick (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005), he has also written for the New York Times, American Studies, South African Historical Journal, and Dutch Crossings.