Dutch American - Dutch (American) Influence On America

Dutch (American) Influence On America

• During the American war of Independence the Dutch were active allies of the American rebels. From the island of Sint Eustatius they gave the Thirteen colonies one of the few opportunities to acquire arms. In 1778, British Lord Stormont claimed in parliament that "if Sint Eustatius had sunk into the sea three years before, the United Kingdom would already have dealt with George Washington".

• The Dutch were the first to salute the flag, and therefore the first to acknowledge the independence of, the United States on 16 November 1776.

• The Louisiana Purchase, also known as the "Great Land Acquisition", of 1803, is often seen as one of the most important events in American history after the Declaration of Independence. At the time it had a total cost of $15.000.000,- and it was financed in three ways. First of all by a down payment of $3.000.000,- in gold by the US government, and then two loans, one by the London-based Barings Bank, and one by the Amsterdam based Hope Bank. The original receipt still exists and is currently property of the Dutch ING Group, which has its headquarters in Amsterdam.

• In 1626, Peter Minuit obtained the island of Manhattan from the Indians in exchange for goods with a total value of 60 guilders ($24). He established the town of New Amsterdam, the future New York. The names of some other settlements that were established still exist today as boroughs and neighborhoods of New York: Brooklyn (Breukelen), Staten Island (named after the Dutch parliament, the 'Staten Generaal'), Harlem (Haarlem), Coney Island (Konijnen Eiland, means Rabbit Island) and Flushing (Vlissingen) .

• At least five American presidents had Dutch ancestry:
  • Martin van Buren, was the eighth President of the United States. He was a key organizer of the Democratic Party and the first president who was not of English, Irish, Scottish, or Welsh descent. He is also the only president not to have spoken English as his first language, but rather grew up speaking Dutch.
  • Theodore Roosevelt, was the 26th President of the United States. Roosevelt is most famous for his personality; his energy, his vast range of interests and achievements, his model of masculinity, and his “cowboy” persona. In 1901, he became President after the assassination of President William McKinley. Roosevelt was a Progressive reformer who sought to move the Republican Party into the Progressive camp.
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt, was the 32nd President of the United States. Elected to four terms in office, he served from 1933 to 1945, and is the only U.S. president to have served more than two terms. A central figure of the twentieth century, he has consistently been ranked as one of the three greatest U.S. presidents in scholarly surveys.
  • George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, were the 41st and 43rd Presidents of the United States respectively. They count members of the Schuyler family and the related Beekman family among their ancestors.