American ethnicity

American ethnicity

Total population
(20,875,080[1] 6.75% of the US population in 2012)
Regions with significant populations
Southern United States
Languages
English (American English dialects)
Religion
Protestantism (Southern Baptist, Methodist, Evangelical Christian, etc.) Roman Catholicism Mormonism
Related ethnic groups
Anglo-Americans; English Americans; European Americans; Confederados; English people; Afrikaners

Top ancestry in each U.S. county in 2000. Counties in which a plurality of residents report having American ancestry are shaded light yellow.

Americans are an ethnic group native to North America descended from predominatley British, mainly English, settlers first arriving in the 17th century and 18th centuries.^[2][3][4] The belief that Americans were a separate ethnic group arose in the earliest years of the Republic.^[5] Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson, saw the American people as an extension of Anglo-Saxon civilization and even proposed that Hengist and Horsa be on the Seal of the United States.^[6] Most Americans, however, do not identify as ethnic Americans and opt to identify as a hyphenated American (I.E. German-American, French-American, Irish-American, etc.)

"What, then, is this new man, the American? They are a mixture of English, Scotch, Irish, French, Dutch, Germans, and Swedes. From this promiscuous breed, that race, now called Americans, have arisen."

- J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur

"When America won her liberty from Great Britain, it was British liberty that she won; and it remained British in character ever since, strong enough to permeate and dominate all the other race elements which have entered into the making the American Nation."

- Winston Churchill^[7]

"At the end of the reign of Charles 11, the English colonists in America numbered 200,000. During these two hundred years, our population has increased two hundred and fifty-fold. And the expansion of this race has been no less remarkable than its multiplication. In one century the United States has increased its territory ten-fold, while the enormous acquisition of foreign territory by Great Britain-and chiefly within the last hundred years-is wholly unparalleled in history. This mighty Anglo-Saxon race, though comprising only one-thirteenth part of mankind, now rules more than one-third of the earth's surface, and more than one-fourth of its people. And if this race, while growing from 6,000,000 to 120,000,000, thus gained possession of a third portion of the earth, is it to be supposed that when it numbers 1,000,000,000, it will lose the disposition, or lack the power to extend its sway?" - Josiah Strong

^[8]

History

The emergence of a distinct American ethnic identity in the Thirteen Colonies mirrors that of the Criollo people in Spanish America, or the Afrikaner people in the Dutch Cape Colony. In the War of Jenkins Ear, 1741, local militiamen fighting under Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon were the first to be called "Americans" rather than "colonials" or "colonists".^[9]

In the 1600s, the majority of American colonists were of British origin, primarily English. In fact, in 1699 ninety percent of American colonists were of English blood, with a few scattered groups of Germans in William Penn's Pennsylvania Colony, a small group of Huguenots in New York, some Celts from Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, and of course the Dutch, Swedes, and Finns who had settled the New Netherland and New Sweden colonies conquered by the British.^[10]

In the 1700s, the Thirteen Colonies received massive immigrant waves Britain, Germany, Switzerland, and France. From 1710 to 1775, over 200,000 Ulster Scots had settled in the colonies, primarily in Appalachia.^[11] These Scots formed the core of Southern culture. They became the spearhead of the push westward and thus dominated the frontier.^[12] They were known for the hardiness and ruggedness, having inhabited the British frontier. Many famous Americans, such as Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt, George S. Patton, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Thomas Jackson were descended from Scotch-Irish immigrants.^[13][14]

By 1775, one third of Pennsylvania's population was German, which worried English-speaking Americans, including some Founding Fathers.^[15] Many of these Germans were Anabaptists escaping religious persecution in Germany. Although primarily concentrated in the Northern colonies, some Germans, distraught with land prices in Pennsylvania, decided to migrate South, where they became a large minority in the British dominated Southern colonies.^[16][17][18]

The French Huguenot presence in the Thirteen Colonies was large, but they quickly assimilated into the British population. They fled France and settled in Protestant nations because of religious persecution. Some had settled in Britain prior to settling in the Thirteen Colonies. Several prominent Americans, such as Paul Revere, George Washington, and Davy Crockett had Huguenot ancestors.^[19][20]

Although there were massive waves of non-English immigration during British rule, the English remained the majority after America had won her independence. In 1790, the English numbered 2,100,000, by far the largest ethnic group in the young Republic.^[21]

President Theodore Roosevelt had argued that the American people were a separate ethnic group. In his book, Winning the West, he claimed that the constant struggle between "savagery" and the "civilized" forged a new race of man, the American. Roosevelt stated in his presidential address to the American Historical Association in December of 12 that "we are making a new race, a new type, in this country." ^[22]

J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur, a French-born American writer, in his 1782 Letters from an American Farmer, clearly displayed the belief that the American people were separate ethnic group by stating that that the American is one who "leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced, the government he obeys, and the new rank he holds. He becomes an American by being received in the broad lap of our great Alma Mater. Here individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men, whose labours and posterity will one day cause great changes in the world." ^[23]

The immigrant main character in Israel Zangwill's play, The Melting Pot, declares "Understand that America is God's Crucible, the great Melting-Pot where all the races of Europe are melting and re-forming! Here you stand, good folk, think I, when I see them at Ellis Island, here you stand in your fifty groups, your fifty languages, and histories, and your fifty blood hatreds and rivalries. But you won't be long like that, brothers, for these are the fires of God you've come to – these are fires of God. A fig for your feuds and vendettas! Germans and Frenchmen, Irishmen and Englishmen, Jews and Russians—into the Crucible with you all! God is making the American." ^[24]

British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, in a 1918 Fourth of July speech in London, declared that the British Isles were the birthplace of both the British and American peoples. ^[25]

Regional Variations

In his 1989 book Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America, David Hackett Fischer explores the details of the folkways of four groups of settlers from the British Isles that came to the American colonies during the 17th and 18th centuries from distinct regions of Britain and Ireland. His thesis is that the culture of each group persisted, providing the basis for the modern United States. ^[26]

Theodore Roosevelt recognized that there existed distinct sub-groups of Americans in each state. He once stated the Kentuckian possessed the nobility "proper to a young and vigorous race" and the willingness to resort to violence, which he respected. ^[27]

Sam Houston saw Northerners and Southerners as two distinct groups. From a hotel window he explained that the Northerners did not possess the fiery impulsiveness of the Southerners, because they lived in a cold climate.^[28]

Richard E. Nisbett and Dov Cohen in their book, Culture of Honor: The Psychology of Violence in the South, stated that the North was settled by liberal minded, collective, and industrious British Puritans, Quakers, Dutch, and Germans, whilst the South was primarily settled by the Scotch-Irish, an ethnic group of herders from the violent, inhospitable, British frontier. ^[29]

Edmund Ruffin, a prominent Virginia slave holder and Confederate veteran, wrote in his diary, prior to committing suicide, "And now with my latest writing and utterance, and with what will [be] near to my latest breath, I here repeat, & would willingly proclaim, my unmitigated hatred to Yankee rule—to all political, social and business connections with Yankees, & to the perfidious, malignant, & vile Yankee race"

Non-White Admixture

Some ethnic Americans may have varying amounts of non-white admixture. It is estimated that at least four percent of white Americans have one percent or more Sub-Saharan African ancestry. It was common for early settlers to marry Indian women on the frontier. Descendants of the First Families of Virginia have a small amount of Powhatan blood from the marriage of John Rolfe and Pocahontas. Many Melungeons assimilated into the white population, passing by saying they were Black Dutch or Portuguese. Many descendants of New Netherlanders possess a small amount of Moroccan blood from Anthony Jandzoon van Salee, an early settler.

American ancestry in the U.S. Census

According to 2000 U.S census data, an increasing number of United States citizens identify simply as Americans on the question of ancestry.^[30][31][32] According to the United States Census Bureau, the number of people in the United States who reported American and no other ancestry increased from 12.4 million in 1990 to 20.2 million in 2000.^[33] This increase represents the largest numerical growth of any ethnic group in the United States during the 1990s.^[34] The US Census Bureau says, "Ancestry refers to a person's ethnic origin or descent, 'roots,' or heritage, or the place of birth of the person or the person's parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States".^[35] American sociologist Mary C. Waters suggests that it may be speculated that mixed ethnicity or ancestry nominate a more recent and differentiated ethnic group.^[36]

In the 2000 United States Census, 7.2 percent of the American population chose to identify itself as having American ancestry (see Race and ethnicity in the United States for a list of ancestries in the U.S.).^[34] The four states in which a plurality of the population reported American ancestry are Arkansas (15.7%), Kentucky (20.7%), Tennessee (17.3%), and West Virginia (18.7%).^[33] Sizable percentages of the populations of Alabama (16.8%), Mississippi (14.0%), North Carolina (13.7%), South Carolina (13.7%), Georgia (13.3%), and Indiana (11.8%) also reported American ancestry. In the Southern United States as a whole 11.2% reported American ancestry, second only to African American. American was the 4th most common ancestry reported in the Midwest (6.5%) and West (4.1%). All Southern states except for Delaware and Maryland reported at or above the national average of 7.2% American, but outside the South, only Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Idaho, Maine. All Southern states except for Delaware, Maryland, Florida, and Texas reported 10% or more American, but outside the South, only Missouri and Indiana did so. American was in the top 5 ancestries reported in all Southern states except for Delaware, in 4 Midwestern states bordering the South (Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio) as well as Iowa, and 6 Northwestern states (Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming), but only one Northeastern state, Maine. The pattern of areas with high levels of American is similar to that of areas with high levels of not reporting any national ancestry.^[37]

	South	Midwest	West	NE
Average	11.2%	6.5%	4.1%
Plurality	AR KY TN WV
10%+	All but DE MD FL TX	IN MO
7.2%+	All but DE MD	IN MO OH		ME
Top 5	All but DE	IN MO OH KS IA	CO ID OR UT WA WY	ME

In 2011, 20,875,080, 6.75% of the total estimated population, self-identified as having American ethnicity in the 2009-2011 American Community Survey.^[1]

The long form decennial census questionnaire was replaced by the annual American Community Survey in 2005 which has a smaller sample size. The ancestry question is largely similar to the 2000 long form census.

See also

• Race and ethnicity in the United States
• Nativism (politics)
• Indigenous peoples of the Americas
• American exceptionalism
• White Southerners
• Theodore Roosevelt

References

Notes

1. "B04006, People Reporting Ancestry". 2009-2011 American Community Survey. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
2. Walker, Jessica Lorraine (2007). Our Anglo-Saxon ancestors : Thomas Jefferson and the role of English history in the Building of the American Nation. Australia: The University of Western Australia. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
3. Di Leo, John F. "To Retain the Rights of Englishmen". Illinois Review. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
4. Fischer, David Hackett (March 14, 1989). Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
5. Morrison, Samuel Eliot. The Oxford History of the American People, Vol. 1: Prehistory to 1789. United States: Oxford University Press.
6. "Seal of the United States". Monticello.
7. New York Times Current History: the European War (16 ed.). New York, United States of America: New York Times. 1918.
8. Strong, Josiah (1891). Josiah Strong on Anglo-Saxon Predominance. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
9. Morison, Samuel Eliot (1972). The Oxford History of the American People. New York City: Mentor. p. 216. ISBN 0-451-62600-1.
10. Clemens, William Montgomery. "Introduction of American Marriage Records Before 1699". Rootsweb. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
11. "Scots-Irish Heritage". Blue Ridge Heritage. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
12. Scoggins, Michael C. "The Scotch-Irish on the American Frontier" (PDF). York County Culture and Heritage Commission. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
13. "About the Ulster Scots". Ulster Scots Society. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
14. Leyburn, James G. "Scotch Irish Emigration To America". Rootsweb. University of North Carolina Press. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
15. Yglesias, Matthew (2 February 2008). "Swarthy Germans". The Atlantic. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
16. "Who are the Pennsylvania Dutch?". Library Company. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
17. Kerchner Jr., Charles F. "Pennsylvania Dutch Are Of German Heritage, Not Dutch". Kerchner.com. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
18. "German Settlers in the Appalachians". Digital Heritage. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
19. Cronin, Jon. "The French Huguenots". French in America. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
20. "Huguenot History". Huguenot Society. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
21. Wright, Carroll D.; Hunt, William C. "History and Growth of the United States Census" (PDF). census.gov. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
22. Dyer, Thomas G. (1980). Theodore Roosevelt and the Idea of Race. United States of America: Louisiana State University Press. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
23. St. John, J. Hector. Letters from an American Farmer. Britain: Davies and Davis. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
24. Zangwill, Israel (1908). The Melting Pot. United States of America. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
25. Lyons, Justin D. (2 June 2015). "Champion of Liberty: Winston Churchill and His Message to America". Heritage.org. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
26. Fischer, David Hackett (March 14, 1989). Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
27. Dyer, Thomas G. (1980). Theodore Roosevelt and the Idea of Race. United States of America: Louisiana State University Press. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
28. Gallaway, B. P. Texas, the Dark Corner of the Confederacy. United States of America: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-7036-7. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
29. Nisbett, Richard E.; Cohen, Dov (1996). Culture of honor : the psychology of violence in the South. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press. pp. 7–8. ISBN 0-8133-1992-7.
30. Reynolds Farley, 'The New Census Question about Ancestry: What Did It Tell Us?', Demography, Vol. 28, No. 3 (August 1991), pp. 414, 421.
31. Stanley Lieberson and Lawrence Santi, 'The Use of Nativity Data to Estimate Ethnic Characteristics and Patterns', Social Science Research, Vol. 14, No. 1 (1985), pp. 44-6.
32. Stanley Lieberson and Mary C. Waters, 'Ethnic Groups in Flux: The Changing Ethnic Responses of American Whites', Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 487, No. 79 (September 1986), pp. 82-86.
33. Ancestry: 2000 2004, p. 7
34. Ancestry: 2000 2004, p. 3
35. Ancestry, U.S. Census Bureau.
36. Waters, Mary C. (1990). Ethnic options: choosing identities in America. University of California Press. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-520-07083-7.
37. http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/censusatlas/pdf/9_Ancestry.pdf p. 155 (end)

Bibliography

• "Ancestry: 2000 (Census 2000 Brief)" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. June 2004.
• Reynolds Farley (August 1991). "The New Census Question about Ancestry: What Did It Tell Us?". Demography 28 (3): 411–429. doi:10.2307/2061465. PMID 1936376. Archived from the original on July 16, 2009.