New Amsterdam, the early Dutch settlement that would later become New York as it appeared in 1651. The drawing appeared in Arnoldus Montanus's "De Nieuwe en Onbekende Weereld" in 1671.
Although the Netherlands had begun to colonize the North American continent as early as 1609 (1), they remained a minority ethnic enclave in the New York and New Jersey areas throughout the pre-unification days preceding the Revolutionary War. They were already under British rule by the time of American Independence, and had adjusted somewhat to certain English sentiments.
Many Dutch colonists nonetheless retained some of the ideas brought from their former homeland. Furthermore, American merchants, intellectuals, and politicians were well aware of Dutch culture, and the colonies had been on friendly terms with Holland for much of their history. Such contact and knowledge carries with it a high likelihood that the process of American nation-building was influenced by Dutch precedents. John Adams himself wrote that, “The originals of the two republics [Dutch and American] are so much alike that a page from one seems but a transcript from the other...” (2)
During the Revolutionary War, the Dutch colonists were instrumental in the patriots’ victory. In his article “The Dutch-American Guerrillas of the American Revolution,” William Marina notes that “the most accurate appraisal is that the Jersey Dutch Whig majority was solidly in favor of defending American rights.”
“Early in 1775,” he says, “New Jersey was one of those states that made the transition from Royal to revolutionary government ‘without the firing of a gun.’” (3)
Despite years of good relations with England, the Netherlands also sided with the Americans during the fight for independence. George M. Welling explains in his book The United States of America and the Netherlands:
“The city of Amsterdam in the meantime, however, started its negotiations with the Americans in secret. A plan was drafted for a treaty of trade and friendship to become effective as soon as Holland would recognize the independence of the United States. But by then relations between Holland and England had deteriorated still further on the issue of the Dutch trade with the rebels. When England got hold of a copy of the secret treaty, it used it as a pretext to declare war on the Netherlands.” (4)
Holland was the second country (after France) to join the battle on the American side, and it was the second to officially recognize American Independence, in 1782 (5). From both inside and out, the Dutch played a pivotal part in the actual effort that made the U.S. a sovereign society in the first place.
When the war ended and America was left with the task of constructing a constitution for itself, all delegates, including those from New York and New Jersey, contributed. The Dutch colonies had been lost to the British in 1664 (6). However, these colonists stayed connected to Holland and did not forget some of the peculiar institutions they had brought with them. One freedom this ethnic group had brought which did not exist in England was the free press. This concept was one of the tools used to spark and fuel the Revolution, and later made it into the first Amendment of the Bill of Rights (7).
Also present in the First Amendment are the words: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…’ (8) Although religious tolerance was promoted in a few other colonies, the level of religious liberty granted by the Constitution most closely follows the precedent set by New Netherland. According to Eric Foner, author of Give Me Liberty: An American History, “Most striking was the religious freedom that attracted to New Netherland a population far more diverse than the Chesapeake or New England… Religious toleration was extended not only to Protestants but also Catholics and, grudgingly, to Jews.” (9)
Some sources have attributed a myriad of other early American institutions to Dutch origins. In 1915, The Nation published a review of a paper written by H. A. Van C. Torchiana titled “Holland: An Historical Essay.” Torchiana is said to have enumerated a number of colonial inheritances:
“Even in American pre-national and colonial days, ‘we find a certain unity of political ideas’ – freedom of religious belief, proclaimed by William the Silent in 1577; ‘no taxation without representation,’ enunciated by the Netherlands in 1477; a comprehensive school system supported by taxation, easily traced in Holland to the thirteenth century and made general after the Reformation; written Constitutions, of which the Union of Utrecht, made in 1579, was one; and the supremacy of the judiciary, which in the low countries was a fixed principle in the time of Charles V.” (10)
Critics meanwhile have downplayed the strength of the connections between the American and Dutch societal developments. Sydney George Fisher argued instead that American institutions were the organic and unique products of individual circumstances. He believed that conscious influence on the Constitution by Dutch example is highly overrated:
“If it really had been an imitation from the Dutch, there would be some evidence of it in the debates of the Constitutional Convention. The Dutch resemblance would have been urged by some as a reason in its favor and by others as a reason against it. Afterwards, when the Constitution was before the people for adoption and closely discussed and criticised in numerous pamphlets and newspapers, the Dutch imitation, if there had been one, would have been surely referred to either by friends or by enemies.” (11)
Americans may not have had the Netherlands specifically in mind when they formed their new government. Even so, it is clear that Holland had at least an indirect impact on the American system. After all, Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution guarantees “every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government.” (12) Years before, the Netherlands had been the first to pioneer such a foundational administrative style.
References:
1. Eric Foner. Give Me Liberty! An American History. Seagull Edition, Volume 1. (New York: Norton and Company, 2006) 74
2. Adams, Charles Francis. The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States. Vol. VII. (Boston: Little, Borwn and Company, 1852) 400
3. William Marina. “The Dutch-American Guerillas of the American Revolution.” May 1, 1983.
4. George M. Welling. The United States of America and the Netherlands.
5. Ibid.
6. Eric Foner. Give Me Liberty! An American History. Seagull Edition, Volume 1. (New York: Norton and Company, 2006) 83
7. Constitution of the United States of America.
8. Ibid.
9. Eric Foner. Give Me Liberty! An American History. Seagull Edition, Volume 1. (New York: Norton and Company, 2006) 75-76
10. Paul Elder. “Origins of American Institutions.” Published in The Nation. October 28, 1915. 523
11. Sydney George Fisher. The Evolution of the Constitution of the United States. (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippencott, 1897)
12. Constitution of the United States of America.
Many Dutch colonists nonetheless retained some of the ideas brought from their former homeland. Furthermore, American merchants, intellectuals, and politicians were well aware of Dutch culture, and the colonies had been on friendly terms with Holland for much of their history. Such contact and knowledge carries with it a high likelihood that the process of American nation-building was influenced by Dutch precedents. John Adams himself wrote that, “The originals of the two republics [Dutch and American] are so much alike that a page from one seems but a transcript from the other...” (2)
During the Revolutionary War, the Dutch colonists were instrumental in the patriots’ victory. In his article “The Dutch-American Guerrillas of the American Revolution,” William Marina notes that “the most accurate appraisal is that the Jersey Dutch Whig majority was solidly in favor of defending American rights.”
“Early in 1775,” he says, “New Jersey was one of those states that made the transition from Royal to revolutionary government ‘without the firing of a gun.’” (3)
Despite years of good relations with England, the Netherlands also sided with the Americans during the fight for independence. George M. Welling explains in his book The United States of America and the Netherlands:
“The city of Amsterdam in the meantime, however, started its negotiations with the Americans in secret. A plan was drafted for a treaty of trade and friendship to become effective as soon as Holland would recognize the independence of the United States. But by then relations between Holland and England had deteriorated still further on the issue of the Dutch trade with the rebels. When England got hold of a copy of the secret treaty, it used it as a pretext to declare war on the Netherlands.” (4)
Holland was the second country (after France) to join the battle on the American side, and it was the second to officially recognize American Independence, in 1782 (5). From both inside and out, the Dutch played a pivotal part in the actual effort that made the U.S. a sovereign society in the first place.
When the war ended and America was left with the task of constructing a constitution for itself, all delegates, including those from New York and New Jersey, contributed. The Dutch colonies had been lost to the British in 1664 (6). However, these colonists stayed connected to Holland and did not forget some of the peculiar institutions they had brought with them. One freedom this ethnic group had brought which did not exist in England was the free press. This concept was one of the tools used to spark and fuel the Revolution, and later made it into the first Amendment of the Bill of Rights (7).
Also present in the First Amendment are the words: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…’ (8) Although religious tolerance was promoted in a few other colonies, the level of religious liberty granted by the Constitution most closely follows the precedent set by New Netherland. According to Eric Foner, author of Give Me Liberty: An American History, “Most striking was the religious freedom that attracted to New Netherland a population far more diverse than the Chesapeake or New England… Religious toleration was extended not only to Protestants but also Catholics and, grudgingly, to Jews.” (9)
Some sources have attributed a myriad of other early American institutions to Dutch origins. In 1915, The Nation published a review of a paper written by H. A. Van C. Torchiana titled “Holland: An Historical Essay.” Torchiana is said to have enumerated a number of colonial inheritances:
“Even in American pre-national and colonial days, ‘we find a certain unity of political ideas’ – freedom of religious belief, proclaimed by William the Silent in 1577; ‘no taxation without representation,’ enunciated by the Netherlands in 1477; a comprehensive school system supported by taxation, easily traced in Holland to the thirteenth century and made general after the Reformation; written Constitutions, of which the Union of Utrecht, made in 1579, was one; and the supremacy of the judiciary, which in the low countries was a fixed principle in the time of Charles V.” (10)
Critics meanwhile have downplayed the strength of the connections between the American and Dutch societal developments. Sydney George Fisher argued instead that American institutions were the organic and unique products of individual circumstances. He believed that conscious influence on the Constitution by Dutch example is highly overrated:
“If it really had been an imitation from the Dutch, there would be some evidence of it in the debates of the Constitutional Convention. The Dutch resemblance would have been urged by some as a reason in its favor and by others as a reason against it. Afterwards, when the Constitution was before the people for adoption and closely discussed and criticised in numerous pamphlets and newspapers, the Dutch imitation, if there had been one, would have been surely referred to either by friends or by enemies.” (11)
Americans may not have had the Netherlands specifically in mind when they formed their new government. Even so, it is clear that Holland had at least an indirect impact on the American system. After all, Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution guarantees “every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government.” (12) Years before, the Netherlands had been the first to pioneer such a foundational administrative style.
References:
1. Eric Foner. Give Me Liberty! An American History. Seagull Edition, Volume 1. (New York: Norton and Company, 2006) 74
2. Adams, Charles Francis. The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States. Vol. VII. (Boston: Little, Borwn and Company, 1852) 400
3. William Marina. “The Dutch-American Guerillas of the American Revolution.” May 1, 1983.
4. George M. Welling. The United States of America and the Netherlands.
5. Ibid.
6. Eric Foner. Give Me Liberty! An American History. Seagull Edition, Volume 1. (New York: Norton and Company, 2006) 83
7. Constitution of the United States of America.
8. Ibid.
9. Eric Foner. Give Me Liberty! An American History. Seagull Edition, Volume 1. (New York: Norton and Company, 2006) 75-76
10. Paul Elder. “Origins of American Institutions.” Published in The Nation. October 28, 1915. 523
11. Sydney George Fisher. The Evolution of the Constitution of the United States. (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippencott, 1897)
12. Constitution of the United States of America.
No comments:
Post a Comment