Negotiating the Transnational Moment: Immigrant Letters as Performance of a Diasporic Identity

Abstract

As snapshots of moments in transnational migration, immigrant letters offer a rich record of liminal experiences. This article explores the important role of immigrant correspondence in the evolution of diasporic identities. As a form of performative discourse, such letters functioned rhetorically as a means of maintaining familial connections, providing justification for migration and serving as a space for the negotiation of changing identities. This research project analyses one set of Dutch letters written during the immigration journey in the spring of 1916 and focuses specifically on the exigencies prompting and shaping the transition.

Keywords:

• immigration
• diaspora
• identity
• letter writing
• performance
• Dutch

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful for the thoughtful responses provided by the journal's editors and anonymous reviewers. The author also thanks Robert Westerfelhaus of the College of Charleston for his insightful advice on earlier versions of this essay.

Notes

1. I have made the argument elsewhere that narrative is an intrinsic component of immigrant letters (DeHaan, 2001).

2. When considering authorial intent in mass-migration communication, it is important to question the motives of the messages as letters are immigration residue. Authorial intent is important as the letters are subjective documents revealing the writer's perspective of experience. Furthermore, what was left out is just as important in shaping an identity anew.

3. Of course, it should be noted that not all immigrants penned such letters. Literacy, finances and Old World contacts were key.

4. For further discussion of the immigrants' ability to define and translate their own reality see Bodnar (1985, Chapter 7).

5. If we are to understand the full scope of letters as performance, we must consider the materiality of the letters as well. Choices included: quills, pens, paper, envelope, seals, sealing wax, inkwells, pen cases, stamp boxes, letter openers, letter clips, writing desks, blotting paper, inks, pencils and sharpeners. ‘People chose letter writing equipment carefully. [As it] represent[s] who one is, what one believes one is, where one belongs, and how one wants to be perceived by others’ (Hall, 1999, p. 87). Materiality was a powerful way to make a public statement about one's rank, class, prestige, wealth and general success.

6. Scholarship on immigrant letters includes: Bailey and Ramella (1998); Barton (1993, 1975); Beltman (1996); Blegen (1995); Brinks (1995, 1986); Erickson (1972); Hustvedt (1984); Kamphoefner (1991); Lucas (1997); Miller (1985); Sinke (1993); Thomas and Znaniecki (1927); Van Hinte (1985); Zempel (1991). This is by no means an exhaustive or representative list.

7. There are large Dutch immigrant letter archives at both Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Hope College in Holland, Michigan. The two archives total nearly 9,000 works, of which 90% are translated. I have studied in both archives and written about letter collections contained in their holdings.

8. Dutch immigration history is well-documented. Key works include: De Jong (1975); Lucas (1997, 1955); Swierenga (1985a, 1985b, 1994); Vanderstel (1985, 1983); Van Hinte (1985).

9. Blokker letters were originally written in Dutch and literally translated by Sophie Blokker, Aldert's oldest daughter. There are nearly thirty pages of single-spaced letters in this family-held collection, from which material for this article was selected. History on the Blokker family was taken from various family documents and discussions with family members. Primary information came from Clarence Blokker, Aldert's youngest son, Marilyn Orloff, a granddaughter, and Byron DeHaan, a grandson.

10. Lucas (1955, p. 618) noted that because of the high tariff and embargo ‘raised on the pretext that bulbs grown in The Netherlands were diseased, a guaranteed market [in the US] was created’. As a result, Van Hinte (1985, p. 615) writes: ‘There was little alternative for these ruined people than to proceed to the den of the murderer: to settle in America!’

11. Interestingly enough, as evidence of this Americanisation, the family name was eventually changed from the original Bloekker (pronounced bloo-ker) to the easier Blokker (pronounced block-er). (The name eventually ended up as Blocker.)

12. Morawska (1996, p. 213) suggests that the general incorporation of the immigrant into the American socio-cultural system depended upon four factors: the state of the sending society, historical timing, regional settlement choice, and urban or rural settlement environment. A ‘proletarianization of immigrant families’, therefore, was not necessarily mediated by ethnicity; rather, ‘residential dispersion, low concentration in the labor segment, or a lack of intragroup resources to form enduring communal networks’ facilitated this change (Morawska, 1996, p. 215).

13. For various discussions of Calvin and Calvinism, see, e.g., Stepanek (1987); Pelikan (1984); Bratt (1959); Whale (1955); Fosdick (1952); Troeltsch (1931); Leonard (1968); Hall (1930); McNeill (1954); Cunliffe-Jones (1981); Bratt (1984).

14. All of the letters in this collection were written to Clazina and the four children. While there are no surviving return letters (Netherlands to United States), we can infer an ongoing debate occurring between husband and wife, son and mother based upon Aldert and Piet's responses. Discussions with Clarence Blokker, the youngest child, affirm that Clazina was an equal participant in this marriage. Her opinion was respected and valued by her husband.

15. John Bodnar (1985, pp. 45–56) makes the argument that emigration fostered a nationalism via various means, such as an awareness of a new economic orders and a desire to enrich the former cultural heritage. Bodnar does not believe that strong nationalistic tendencies were inherent in these Old World cultures. However, according to family interviews, it was especially important for the Blokkers that their Dutch nationality be apparent. In 1916, people of German descent were discriminated against both in Europe and in the United States. For this reason, Blokker was adamant that the family learn English as soon as possible.

16. Specific immigrant reaction to this change in the nature of their work resulted in frequent absences, Blue Mondays, the unofficial observance of former ethnic holidays and a highly mobile workforce. Job data from 1905 to 1917 reveals that a ‘majority of industrial workers changed jobs at least every three years’. And in a United States Bureau of Labor Statistics report, the normal turnover rate of 115% was said to have been underestimated (Rodgers, 1978, p. 163). Injuries were frequent – resulting in lost wages. There was no modern-day workers' compensation in place. Immigrants made note of regular hours, perks such as housing and food, and the quality of the American worker. This is significant as immigrants found themselves in a world where the democratic organisation of work offered newfound choice and control in their employment. Typically, they came from an environment where employment choices were quite limited.

17. Interesting examples of sources about the nature and history of work in the United States from the mid-1800s into the early 1900s include: Baron (1991); Cantor (1979); Cronin and Sirianni (1983); Cross (1988); Fink (1994); Hahn and Prude (1985); Gilbert (1977); Gutman (1976); Joyce (1987); Laurie (1989); Rodgers (1978); Tilly and Scott (1989).

18. Taylor's Scientific Management was ‘consciously attempting to remove any intellectual or moral content that remained in labor’ (Gilbert, 1977, p. 6). Workers were asked not to think, design or create – just produce – generating a ‘devitalized and disoriented’ population (Gilbert, 1977, p. 6). Order was bound to technology. Skilled labour was replaced by ‘modernization, labor-saving techniques [and] new social and market conditions’ (Cantor, 1979, p. 19). The Industrial Revolution engendered virtues of ‘self-control, self-denial and self-improvement’ (Dawley & Faler, 1979, p. 61).

19. Aldert and Piet met a bulb salesman on board their ship during their ocean crossing. This man gave the Blokkers the name and address for Vaughn's Nursery in the Chicago area, as well as a recommendation letter. Through the kindness of strangers, Aldert and Piet were ushered onto the correct train which transported them to Chicago. Once there, another stranger fed them and walked them to the address they had been given on board the ship.

20. Many other immigrant letters are not nearly as optimistic as the Blokkers' letters. Often the departure was equated to a death. The pathos of these letters is very nearly mournful in their expressions of longing and sorrow.

21. The surgery was eventually done in Chicago. The reader will note that in the family picture, Clarence, the smallest boy, has crossed eyes. The portrait was done prior to departure.

22. The phrase, ‘I think’, could also be interpreted as a simple linguistic tag that does not typically invite dialogue. For discussion on issues in translation, see Hatim and Mason (1990).

23. Unfortunately, after Aldert had settled in the United States and sent for the rest of the family, tragedy struck. The entire household – dishes, linens, clothes, pictures, personal items and bulbs – which had been packed and shipped via freighter, was lost when the freighter was torpedoed and sunk. So the family truly began with nothing. Nevertheless, the family still prospered, established a thriving business and nurtured successful generations. Aldert and Clazina's descendants continue to thrive today. In fact, Clarence Blokker celebrated his 96th birthday in 2010.