Author Archives: michaeljdouma
Discovering Dutch Letter Collections
Today, I met with someone Maryland who is interested in donating their family Dutch letter collection to an archive. This is the kind of material that I am most familiar working with. After an hour reading through the letters, I determined a general overview of the contents and informed the proper archive. At fourteen boxes […]
Old Letters in a Log Cabin
Yesterday, I visited a neighbor to look at some letters he found years ago in a log cabin. Mostly from the 1890s, the letters were between a Albert Scanlon and Mollie Smith (later Mollie Scanlon).
Early Capitalism in the Netherlands
I’ve got a new article up on SSRN. It’s called: McCloskey’s Dutch Problem: Capitalist Rhetoric and the Economic History of Holland (Journal of Private Enterprise). I am a fan of Deirdre McCloskey, but I also like to be a fierce critic of anyone who attempts to venture into a subject field without mastering the literature.
Gordon Clark: Presbyterian Philosopher
My brother’s new book is now available. It is an intellectual history of an underappreciated Presbyterian thinker. Friends interested in religious history should consider reviewing this for journals.
Evidence for earliest Humans in North America
I just read a fascinating new archaeology article providing evidence for humans in North America (Alaska/Beringia) at 24,000 years before present. I’m not familiar with the journal, PLOS, because it is outside of my field, but the research and argument look pretty strong. Two general ideas flow from this. One is the possibility that humans […]
Writing for The Hill
The folks over at The Hill tell me that they liked my previous piece, and have encouraged me to write for them more often. Apparently, my article on Trump from Dec 8, 2016, was one of their top 8 contributing articles for 2016. So, today, I sent them something new.
A Franked Envelope
The Dutch word “to stamp” is “frankeren.” I’ve never seen it used in English, like this: “a franked envelope” ! Also, in the spirit of the mid-19th century, I would like to end every communication with “Please accept the renewed assurance of my very high consideration.”
Vintage Rollerskating Stickers
I inherited two books with over 600 total rollerskating rink stickers from the early and mid 1940s. I’m trying to figure out how to sell the collection – either in part or as a single unit. Let me know if you are interested. The stickers were collected by one person, Jorma Urban, of Holland, Michigan. […]
Alexander Trumpilton and the Whigs
I’ve long tried to avoid contributing to the D.C. political echo-chamber, but The Hill asked for me to write something, and I agreed on the condition that I could write about the ever-relevant Whig Party . http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/economy-budget/309491-trumps-attempts-to-pick-industry-winners-and-losers-will
Legal History
Here’s a paper I’ve been working on in my free time since last spring. “How the First Ten Amendments Became the Bill of Rights”
Michael J Douma 