Maybe all you American boys and girls don't realize it, but the Dutchmen have had a big impact on what we nowadays call America. We were the first country in the world (according to old president George Bush Senior) to salute the USA and recognize its independence. There were three US presidents who trace their roots back to the Netherlands: Martin Van Buren, Theodore Roosevelt and of course Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Even further back, it were the famous Pilgrims who had lived in Leiden - a city in the Netherlands - before going on board of the Mayflower and sail to the New World. We were once the rulers in Nieuw Amsterdam - nowadays called New York City. We were an example of religious freedom for the US (according to George Bush Senior, that is) with the way we welcomed the French Huguenots, and even further back, the Jews fleeing the Inquisition.
The following Americans can be proud of their Dutch ancestors: Thomas Alva Edison; Herman Melville (the writer of Moby Dick); Cornelius Vanderbilt (one of the richest Americans all time); Audrey Hepburn; Eddie Van Halen; and many more.
Why I am posting this thread? I don't know. I think the EC Soccer has caused some rising nationalism in me.
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