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"I DO consider myself Southern and South Carolinian. "
This is a good point, in fact before there were official states in America, people even in their time, (mid 1700's) they often would tell someone if asked where they are from, they would say Virginia country ,not say Ireland or where ever it was their family came from. Even back then they identified themselves as Americans. If they didn't have that persona there might not have been a revolution in the first place. They left for a reason and wanted to plant new roots somewhere else, leave the past behind.
My family last name is one of the oldest in America and in England. My family history is well documented.
Interesting replies here and I learned some things I've never considered before. I consider myself European American. My great grandparents and those before them emigrated from Europe. I am proud to have a European backgroud and have studied much about Europe's grand history. I am raising my kids to learn about Europe and take them there in about two years when they can appreciate the place. The US seems to have only 1 goal - serve big business, something I don't share.
You know, I completely forgot about this very interesting post that apparently produced many, many replies.
So the basic reason seems to be that most Southerners (white or black) have families that have been in the country since the time of the Revolution or before, and the origins of their ancestors has been lost in the "mists of time". Maybe it's kind of like Brits or French, though the distances in time are much greater for them.
In other parts of the country, where people tend to put down "Irish" or "German" or "Italian", that's less the case. Here in Minnesota, for example, I would guess most middle-aged people (as in 40-50 years old) have an foreign-born ancestor within four or five generations. We would identify ourselves as "American" anywhere else (unless asked specifically about our ethnic heritage), but on the census form we list "German" or "Norwegian" for our ancestry, because we know it. Of course, it's becoming more and more of a mix as time goes by; my mother has Irish, German, Polish (Prussian with Polish surname), and Finnish blood; my father, British, Bohemian (Czech), and Finn-Swede (Swedish-speaking Finn), and me, all of them. It's sad that more and more often younger people around here don't know where there ancestors emigrated from. Perhaps in the future they'll put "American" too.
Yeah, up North people ask the question a lot, and everyone knows exactly what they are and are very proud of it. My two best friends are Polish and Italian, I'm Swedish. We all know what each other are, even my coworkers know I'm Swedish, and I know my boss is Irish. I grew up in a VERY proud Swedish family, even though we've all been here for hundreds of years.
I visited a friend in Arkansas who got transfered there (she's hard core Dutch), and she even commented how down there everyone thinks is "neat" that she's so proud of being Dutch. She always asks them and they just laugh or say American. She was like, well yeah, we're all American, but what ARE you. They just said they didn't have the faintest idea.
My mother was full German and my dad is Guamanian/Spanish/Swedish/Scottish but they both had ancestors who immigrated generations ago to America. What else would I call myself? I'm American, I don't call myself a german/spanish/swedish/scottish/guamanian American but just an American. When I was a kid my dad was stationed in Germany for several years so I got to know some of my relatives there and the culture a little bit. I love Germany but I don't say I'm German. I'm American, period.
My mother was full German and my dad is Guamanian/Spanish/Swedish/Scottish but they both had ancestors who immigrated generations ago to America. What else would I call myself? I'm American, I don't call myself a german/spanish/swedish/scottish/guamanian American but just an American. When I was a kid my dad was stationed in Germany for several years so I got to know some of my relatives there and the culture a little bit. I love Germany but I don't say I'm German. I'm American, period.
Ditto on the theme of what you and my friend BlueSkies say. I am a Texan, a Southerner and an American (the first two closely akin! )
I know this will probably open up a can of worms here...and likely misunderstood by many (especially those not from the South). BUT...if it came down to brass tacks, then I owe my first loyalty to my state and region. In other words, yes, I am a Texan and Southerner first....
TexasReb, I read somewhere once that, when out of the country, alot of Texans will say when asked that they are from Texas before they say United States.
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