IMMIGRATION STUDIES

FAITH AND FAMILY

Dutch Immigration and Settlement in the United States, 1820–1920

In Faith and Family, Robert Swierenga presents an analytic study of the almost wholly neglected Dutch immigrant community in America. Swierenga studies the immigrants themselves, as well as their migration and settlement patterns in the United States bewteen 1820 and 1920. Emphasizing the role of religion in immigrant life, Swierenga investigates the social factors that contributed to the Dutch reformed schism, also paying due attention to Dutch Jewish immigration and its religious life.

Utilizing a wide range of sources—including the Netherlands emigration records, U.S. Customs passenger lists, and U.S. Census data—and applying a methodology that overcomes various setbacks in nominal records, Swierenga provides a fascinating account of the effects that social and economic conditions in the Netherlands had upon the United States. The author uncovers striking connections between migration and occupational change and Dutch-American voting practices in the crucial presidential election of 1860 as he examines the effects of Dutch social mobility on U.S. politics.

"In this single volume readers are introduced to the depth and breadth of Swierenga's scholarship on Dutch ethnic history in America. That scholarship readily wins readers' profound respect while it teaches them about content, method, and the author's commitment to historical truth, ardent research, and crisp writing. They also learn why Swierenga's reputation as dean of Dutch-American studies is fully deserved and unassailable. If a fourth generation of research and writing in the twenty-first century upholds the tradition of excellence established by Swierenga and his predecessors, Dutch-American history will continue to be a benchmark for ethnic studies."
—The Annals of Iowa

"The book is rich in ideas, information, analysis and statistical tables. Any researcher working in Dutch-American studies must from now on take this work into consideration. ...The book stands up with the best work done on the much later migrations. ...Dr. Swierenga has almost single-handedly brought Dutch-American studies to a much higher level with the publication of this top-flight book."
—Elton J. Bruins, AADAS News

"[Faith and Family] contains a wealth of information on Dutch Americans and their premigration background, and it is likely to remain the standard work on the subject for a long time to come."
—American Historical Review

"Faith and Family is the culmination of a life's worth of research on various aspects of Dutch Immigration to North America. On the basis of this painstaking archival research, combined with a thorough grounding in the general historiography of Dutch immigrants, Swierenga has been able to come up with new insights on various topics."
—Dutch Crossing

"The detail in some of the chapters is quite breathtaking; the painstaking research, which the author has undertaken, is also plain. Swierenga is interested in what we might call the 'totality' of the Dutch experience of America in this period. His mastery of European and American migration sources provides a solid foundation for discussions that follow on diverse subjects under a number of headings: religion, work-place and politics. ...A great strength of this book is the author's appreciation of both Dutch and American contexts. Many books written about immigrants in America demostrate a lack of appreciation of the European society that sent forth the groups who are under the microscope. It is fair to say that Swierenga shares... an understanding that migration is a double-ended, two way process. ...[T]his is a first-rate collection of essays..."
—Immigrants and Minorities

Robert P. Swierenga is a research professor at the A.C. Van Raalte Institute for Historical Studies in Michigan and has written and edited many books including The Forerunners: Dutch Jewry in the North American Diaspora.