Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2011 The Evolution of Dutch American Identities, 1847-Present Michael J. Douma Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact
[email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES THE EVOLUTION OF DUTCH AMERICAN IDENTITIES, 1847-PRESENT By MICHAEL J. DOUMA A Dissertation submitted to the History Department in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2011 i The members of the committee approve the dissertation of Michael J. Douma defended on March 18, 2011. _____________________________ Dr. Suzanne Sinke Professor Directing Dissertation ______________________________ Dr. Reinier Leushuis University Representative ______________________________ Dr. Edward Gray Committee Member ______________________________ Dr. Jennifer Koslow Committee Member ______________________________ Dr. Darrin McMahon Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation was written on napkins, the reverse sides of archival call slips and grocery receipts, on notebook paper while sitting in the train, in Dutch but mostly in English, in long-hand, scribble, and digital text. Most of the chapters were composed in a fourth floor apartment on the west side of Amsterdam in the sunless winter of 2009-2010 and the slightly less gloomy spring of 2010. Distractions from the work included Sudoku puzzles, European girls, and Eurosport broadcasts of the Winter Olympics on a used television with a recurring sound glitch. This dissertation is the product of my mind and its faults are my responsibility, but the final product represents the work and activity of many who helped me along the way.