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Dutch Immigrant Women in the United States, 1880-1920
by Sinke, Suzanne M.
In this deftly researched ethnographic portrait, the author skillfully adapts the concept of social reproduction to examine the shifting gender roles of tens of thousands of Dutch Protestant women who crossed the Atlantic from 1880 to 1920 to make new homes in the United States. Through her articulate and captivating descriptions of real women, the statistical evidence comes to life, providing valuable and previously unexamined views on the international marriage market, language shifts, the acquisition of American customs, the church's role in adaptation, and the shifting economies that allowed women to work outside of the home. A parallel analysis of the United States and the Netherlands as developing welfare states provides a fascinating look at what Dutch immigrant women left behind, compared to what they faced in America, including healthcare, education, and quality-of-life issues. Lively and absorbing, the stories of these women's lives are told largely in their own words as preserved in personal letters and diaries. Supplemented by photographs and accounts from archived interviews and Dutch American newspapers, each chapter includes an in-depth portrait of one Dutch immigrant woman and multiple examples from the lives of others. This book is considered to be an important and groundbreaking contribution to immigration and women's history.
Paperback, 312 pages, IIlustrated
USD 44.95 / CAD 53.95