Summary

Why Emigrate?

The main reason for emigration was freedom of religion, which didn´t exist any longer in The Netherlands as it did in Michigan. The second reason was one of economics, as The Netherlands knew many an economic crisis in the 19^th century. Around 1880, lack of food was an important reason to emigrate and after WW II, fear of a new global war reigned.
The US had survived the war relatively unscathed and Communism - in those days - didn´t pose a threat as it did to Europe.

Also, those relatives and/or acquaintances who had already emigrated, tried to persuade their kinsmen/friends to join them. Unfortunately, their stories about life in the US were rather wide of the mark and exaggerated, as those who believed them were to find out soon enough.

Voyage

          The first voyages to Michigan started in 1620. The famous "Pilgrim Fathers" were the first to set sail for America, to be followed by many others.
          The voyage took up to 6 or 7 weeks, but the duration depended mainly on the amount of money one was able or willing to pay for the crossing. For rich people the crossing could take as little as 13 days.
          The voyage itself was a disaster. There was no possibility of occupying oneself on board, the weather was bad most of the time and many passengers suffered ill-health as a result of bad food, tainted water and lack of medicine. A lot of the passengers suffered from various illnesses and a number of them even died.
          Once in America, the immigrants had to be on the look-out for swindlers and thieves, the language proved to be a problem and they were thoroughly unfamiliar with American currency.
            At first, governments were amenable and immigrants were mostly left to their own devices. Money was obtained by trading crops and other commodities with English merchants. From 1847 on (a peak year in immigration), however, governments started to interfere by imposing stricter rules concerning transport of immigrants.

Albertus Christiaan van Raalte

          The township of Holland was founded (on 9 February 1847) by the well-known minister Albertus C. Van Raalte. After a difficult journey Van Raalte and his party - they had had to hibernate in Detroit - arrived in a virtual jungle. The land had to be reclaimed, the soil made ready for crops, many huts were to be built and harmful local wildlife had to be driven away. The resulting Dutch settlements came to be called "De Kolonie" and a new sense of community developed, the Dutch helping their fellow-countrymen however and whenever they could. Once the soil had yielded the first crops, a primitive economic system came into being. In due course, timber from the vast forests was exported and factories were set up. Significant economic progress,however, was not made until after the end of the Civil War (1861-1865).
          In De Kolonie Dutch language schools as well as American language schools were founded, of which only the latter survived. Contrary to Dutch habit, not only primary schools but also secondary schools were founded at the same time. "Hope College" traces back its roots to one of those secondary schools.
          The township of Holland boomed, with an increasing amount of shops,restaurants and sundry businesses built in and around Holland. In 1871, economic growth was forcibly stopped by an enormous fire,which reduced more than half of the township to ashes. Reconstruction was impeded by the 1873 recession.

Arrival in Michigan

Once in Michigan, the hard work started.Trees had to be felled, houses built and the land cultivated: unfortunately, not all the harvests turned out well.
Still, there were some bright spots too: some immigrants settled in Dutch communities which looked exactly like the old country and where Dutch was the daily language.

          What struck people most when first arriving in Michigan? Freedom! They could do as they pleased without being criticized. Freedom had its disadvantages, however: everyone had to fend for themselves without any government support.
          Many Dutch immigrants turned to farming: there was land in abundance and prices were very low; at the start, that is, later on prices soared. Others settled down to their former professions, but even so: to start your own business you had to have money, which was more often than not, obtained by working in a factory.
          The Dutch clustered together in order to safeguard their own culture, of which practically no traces remain nowadays. Most Dutch lived in the countryside, only a few settled in urban centers. When the cities bacme too big for comfort (1870 - 1920), most of the Dutch immigrants moved to the countryside.
          Everything the Dutch emigrants had experienced and done, was laid down in letters to the "homefront", as well as tips on emigration for those who had stayed behind.

Religion

          The Michigan Dutch visited their churches regularly. The Church despised change and clung to old traditions. Church buildings were copies of those at home and services were conducted in Dutch.
          At the start the Dutch settlements were small, but some boasted as many as 3 churches, in spite of them all offering the same.
          Later on, even more churches were built. Although almost all of the Dutch joined the same religious community they had been a member of at home, malcontents founded new religious communities.
          After 1870 many communities merged into 2 main religious streams: the "Gereformeerde Protestantse Hollandse Kerk" (now named: "Hervormde Kerk") and the "Ware Hollandsch Gereformeerde Kerk" (now: "Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerk").
          This gave rise to a majot problem:those who attended the Dutch services were opposed to all things American, which did not really foster integration. A solution was sought by changing the Dutch Church into an American Church with some Dutch characteristics. Attempts were made to change the American habitat by forming exclusively Dutch political parties, editing Dutch newspapers, etc. in order to attract those Christians who didn't belong to the Dutch-American religious communities, but those attempts were bound to fail.

Membership of a religious community was flaunted and the Church often referred to. Being an active member of a congregation was mentioned in daily conversation and participation of one's children in church activities was deemed even better. It was an honour for a family member to become a minister and even for one's daughter to marry a minister was thought to be an asset for the entire family.
The Church had an administrative function as well: it laid down the law and was even considered to have jurisdiction.

Schools essentially belongen to the domain of the Church, so much attention was given to religious teaching. In theory all teaching was to be done in Dutch, but given the scarcity of Dutch teachers, before long the American language became the medium of instruction.

Success or failure?

Some Dutch emigrants really made it in Michigan. They made their fortunes and their children are very often affluent to this day. Unfortunately, many others did not succeed and remained just as poor as they had been in the Netherlands.
A number of those even became homesick for Holland and wanted their relatives in The Netherlands to fill them in on daily life in Holland. Their wishes were catered to by special newspapers featuring news from home. However much they wanted to, return to Holland was out of the question, as they had spent all their money on the crossing to America.

The Dutch language

          The first Dutch emigrants all spoke various dialects of the Dutch language, so in order to communicate amongst themselves, they had to devise one standard language.
          An adapted variety of Dutch emerged: Yankee Dutch (Dutch heavily influenced by American).
          Nowadays, only a handful of people in Michigan are able to speak Dutch, mainly members of the "Gereformeerde Kerk". They have kept up their knowledge of the Dutch language by reading The Bible in Dutch.

Keeping up the Dutch identity

At first the Dutch were averse to integrating into the American society and the Church monitored the Dutch identity very strictly. However, when Dutch people started working for American employers and children were taught in American, the tide turned. The Dutch turned into Americans. Tot this day, there is many a society for the preservation of Dutch customs and the Dutch Heritage.

Impact of the Dutch on The US

Not long after the end of the Civil War, integration took off with a will. Dutch recruits considered themselves Americans and had adopted American habits. The young didn't want to be Dutch any longer and there was no stopping the process of Americanization, much as their seniors wanted to.
A number of famous Americans are of Dutch ancestry: the Roosevelts,Thomas Alva Edison, Martin Van Buren, the Vanderbilts, to mention but a few.

The Cult of Dutch Ancestry

The former Dutch immigrants are celebrated in quite a few communities in Michigan as well as elsewhere in the US. It should be noted that Michigan boasts a "Dutch Village" and the "Tulip Time Festival" in Holland, Michigan. "Dutch-American Heritage Day" commemorates the succesful integration of the Dutch, as well as the important part Holland has played in American history: amongst other feats, the Dutch founded "Nieuw Nederland", which was a major factor in the development of America as we know it.

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