Herdenking Slavernijverleden

Commemorating 150 years

The year 2013 marks the 150th anniversary of both the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of slavery in the Dutch colonies. The John Adams Institute is partnering with the Stichting Herdenking Slavernijverleden to commemorate this dual landmark with two events: – On June 30th, Emily Raboteau, author of Searching for Zion, gave a talk about …...

Henry Hudson Sets Sail

Town Hall Meeting featuring: Geert Mak and Russell Shorto

This special event celebrates the 400-year relationship between the Netherlands and the U.S., and especially between Amsterdam and New Amsterdam – that is, New York. It features talks by Geert Mak and Russell Shorto, the presentation of the book they co-wrote for the event (1609: The Forgotten History of Hudson, Amsterdam and New York), as …...

Eduard van de Bilt

Becoming John Adams, Leiden and the Making of a Great American, 1780-1782

23 November 2005 2005 was designated as ‘John Adams Year’ to mark the 225th anniversary of this honorable American citizen’s arrival in the Dutch Republic. Adams became the first American Ambassador to the Netherlands and arranged Dutch loans to keep the American War of Independence afloat. Immediately upon his arrival in July 1780, John Adams …...

John Adams in Amsterdam

25 August 2005 Mini Exhibition 4 Juli -25 August 2005 The American Diplomat John Adams in Amsterdam,1780-1782 The Amsterdams Historisch Museum and the John Adams Institute proudly presented the first-ever exhibition commemorating the life of U.S. President John Adams in Holland. The exhibition gave an impression of the political situation in the Netherlands at the …...

Pauline Maier

The Everlasting American Dream

21 February 2005 For many American people today, the history of the American Revolution and all that went with it is still a matter of keen interest. A fact already signified by the enormous number of best-sellers written in recent years about the Founding Fathers of the United States. Pauline Maier, a historian attached to …...

Russell Shorto

New Amsterdam - The Island at the Center of the World

How did Manhattan grow into the most powerful city in the world? After literally stumbling over the gravestones of early Dutch settlers near his apartment in New York City’s East Village, Russel Shorto wanted to know more about this overlooked chapter in the history of old Manhattan. He visited archives in the city and eventually …...

Dutch-American Friendship Day

April 19, 2004

19 April 2004 On Monday, 19 April 2004, we celebrated the 222nd Dutch-American Friendship Day together with the Amsterdam American Business Club in WTC Schiphol. The Netherlands was, after France, the second country to recognize America as an independent nation. Our namesake John Adams, the second president of the United States, arranged for this on …...

Peter Gay

Schnitzler's Century: The Making of Middle-Class Culture 1815-1914

The John Adams Institute welcomed the renowned Sterling Professor of History, Peter Gay. His work, Schnitzler’s Century: The Making of Middle-Class Culture 1815-1914 (Penguin UK, 2001), had been translated recently into Dutch by Publishing House De Bezige Bij under the title De eeuw van Schnitzler: Een nieuwe geschiedenis van de negentiende eeuw. Herman Beliën, historian …...

Frank McCourt

October 6, 1990

1990 Frank McCourt is the author of ‘Tis and  autobiographical memoir Angela’s Ashes, which won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize as well as the US Critics Circle Award and sold over a million hard-back copies. McCourt already had along career as a teacher of creative writing and English at Stuyvesant High School in New York City before …...