Zion on the Hudson: Dutch New York and New Jersey in the Age of Revivals [Hardcover]

Firth Haring Fabend (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2000

"Fabend relates developments in the Reformed Dutch Church during the Second Great Awakening to larger themes in American social history, such as the evolution of ethnic identity, the changing roles of women, and the history of reform movements. It is serious scholarship, yet it is written in a style that is accessible to the general reader." --David Stephen Cohen, New Jersey Historical Commission "Zion on the Hudson is required reading for anyone struggling with the questions of why 'Dutchness' persisted in New York and New Jersey, and what eventually caused it to disappear. Making use of a wide array of previously untapped sources, Fabend unfolds the story of Dutch persistence in a beautifully written style." --Charles T. Gehring, Director, New Netherland Project The Dutch came to the New World in the seventeenth century as explorers and traders, but religion soon followed, for it was accepted in the Netherlands that state and church were mutually benefited by advancing the "true Christian religion." The influence of "Dutchness"--defined as loyalty to what are presumed to be the distinctive qualities of Dutch national character and culture--persisted in New York and New Jersey for more than two hundred years after Dutch emigration ended. Why? Firth Haring Fabend finds the explanation in the devotion of the Reformed Dutch Church membership to the doctrines and traditions of their religion. She looks at both the larger themes in American history and at the beliefs and behaviors of individuals in this often-neglected ethnic group. Thus, Zion on the Hudson presents both a broad and an intimate look at the way one mainstream Protestant denomination dealt with the transformative events of the evangelical era. As Fabend describes the efforts of the descendents of the Dutch settlers to preserve the European standards and traditions of their church while developing a taste for a new kind of theology and a preference for an American identity, she documents how Dutchness finally became a historical memory. The Americanization of the Reformed Dutch Church, Fabend writes, is a microcosm of the story of the Americanization of the United States itself. Firth Haring Fabend is the author A Dutch Family in the Middle Colonies, 1660-1800 (Rutgers University Press), winner of the New York State Historical Association Annual Book Award and the Hendricks Prize of the New Netherland Project.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Fabend relates developments in the Reformed Dutch Church during the Second Great Awakening to larger themes in American social history, such as the evolution of ethnic identity, the changing roles of women, and the history of reform movements. It is serious scholarship, yet it is written in a style that is accessible to the general reader." -- David Stern Cohen, New Jersey Historical Commission

"Zion on the Hudson is required reading for anyone struggling with the questions of why 'Dutchness' persisted in New York and New Jersey, and what eventually caused it to disappear. Making use of a wide array of previously untapped sources, Fabend unfolds the story of Dutch persistence in a beautifully written style." -- Charles T. Gehring, Director, New Netherland Project.

From the Inside Flap

The Dutch came to the New World in the seventeenth century as explorers and traders, but religion soon followed, for it was accepted in the Netherlands that state and church were mutually benefited by advancing the "true Christian religion." The influence of "Dutchness"- defined as loyalty to what are presumed to be the distinctive qualities of Dutch national character and culture-persistence in New York and new Jersey for more than two hundred years after Dutch emigration ended. Why?

Firth Haring Fabend finds the explanation in the devotion of the Reformed Dutch Church membership to the doctrines and traditions of their religion. She looks at both the larger themes in American history and at the beliefs and behaviors of individuals in this often-neglected ethnic group. Thus, Zion on the Hudson presents both a broad and an intimate look at the way one mainstream Protestant denomination dealt with the transformative events of the evangelical era.

As Fabend describes the efforts of the descendents of the Dutch settlers to preserve the European standards and traditions of their church while developing a taste for a new kind of theology and a preference for an American identity, she documents how Dutchness finally became a historical memory. The Americanization of the Reformed Dutch Church, Fabend writes, is a microcosm of the story of the Americanization of the United States itself.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press (March 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813527716
• ISBN-13: 978-0813527710
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,356,399 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Land So Fair" by Firth Haring Fabend, August 5, 2008

By 

Katherine A. Meyer - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Zion on the Hudson: Dutch New York and New Jersey in the Age of Revivals (Hardcover)

I enjoy reading about history and now have realized that my family not only comes through Peter Haring, but also through Cosyn, his brother. How exciting. I love the way the author weaves the lives of the family into history. You can almost picture these families and all their terrible hardships. Good read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excerpts from Recent Reviews, September 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Zion on the Hudson: Dutch New York and New Jersey in the Age of Revivals (Hardcover)

"With the publication of this volume, Dr. Fabend has earned the distinction of being the most knowledgeable writer on the history of the Reformed Church in America during the nineteenth century." Elton J. Bruins, Hope College, Reformed Review
"This book, with her earlier A Dutch Family in the Middle Colonies, establishes Fabend as the premier historian of Dutch American culture. . . . Highly recommended for its lucid, engaging style, solid research, and content." C. H. Lippy, University of Tennessee, Choice
"Fabend grounds her conclusions on previously untapped archival sources that . . . support her main thesis that the Reformed Dutch Church nurtured Dutchness while also being a powerful de-ethnicizing modernizing force." Robert P. Swierenga, Hope College, "Powerful, persuasive, with shrewd insights and acute descriptions and analyses." Paul Mattingly, New York University, de Halve Maen
"A rich and comprehensively researched study -a very fine book." Donna Merwick, William and Mary Quarterly
"A very scholarly work, but one that is enjoyable to read. A pioneering study." The N.Y. G&B Record
"In perhaps her most fascinating chapter . . . Fabend does well at identifying the forces that pushed and pulled the Reformed Dutch in opposite directions in the nineteenth century and deepens and complicates current understandings of how ethnic groups became Americanized." Richard Pointer, American Historical Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Valuable stuff to understand Dutchness in the Hudson valley, December 9, 2009

By 

L. H. Schreuders (Bilthoven, NL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Zion on the Hudson: Dutch New York and New Jersey in the Age of Revivals (Hardcover)

Fascinating stuff about the survival of dutch culture well into the end of the 19th century based on the traditions of the dutch reformed church. Apparently communities on the Hudson were so deeply rooted in the Dutch reformational tradition that they survived and became stronger adapting to the new context. Full of exemples, fact based with interesting figures.

At the end of the book a report of a dying scene in the early 19th century somewhere on the Hudson, that reminded me of a similar scene in my family in the Netherlands some 40 years ago.