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Wouldn't this topic apply to all Americans with Northern European backgrounds? Even British.
My own family came over from the UK centuries ago so I have no idea how they originally were or how the UK was back then, but most are conservative. I have Scandinavian relatives who grew up in Scandinavia in the 20th century and they're ultra-conservative.
Maybe it's (1) self-selection plus (2) leaving the "homeland" when it was different than it is today plus (3) having different experiences in the US versus back in the "homeland".
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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All Euro Americans and more conservative than their cousins that stayed in Europe. Probably the people who left were more restless individualistic. I'd guess British Americans are the most conservative rather than Dutch, German, etc.
I'm interested in any replies, because, now that I come to think of it, the Dutch Americans I know (those who actually emigrated from the Netherlands and their first-generation children, not Americans with distant Dutch ancestry) are all staunch Protestant conservatives. I don't know how they vote.
There is a reason/link why they left their liberal land and vote conservative now.
Many ultra-religious people from all over Europe immigrated to the US because of the freedom of religion which was not prevalent in Europe at the times. Thus, many of these immigrants were not mainstream Catholic or Protestant. That could be a reason why many times white Americans are more conservative than their European counterparts. Groups like Amish, Mennonites and many Evangelical churches hardly exist any more in Europe.
Don't know why you're shocked, but the two South African families I know personally (people who left South Africa in the 1990s) are VERY conservative.
I'm shocked, because someone's comparing conservative Americans to Boers!!
The SA escapees I know, all single women, are liberal and wonderful. They say, that not only was the regime brutal toward the Native population, it was brutal toward women as well. Well, not on a policy level, but domestic violence was common.
Many ultra-religious people from all over Europe immigrated to the US because of the freedom of religion which was not prevalent in Europe at the times. Thus, many of these immigrants were not mainstream Catholic or Protestant. That could be a reason why many times white Americans are more conservative than their European counterparts. Groups like Amish, Mennonites and many Evangelical churches hardly exist any more in Europe.
My history high school teacher explained to us that the less tolerant people were kicked out of europe, and once they settled on the east coast, the less tolerant people of the new amercans were kicked out and moved to the midwest, where the less tolerant of the remaining people were kicked out to finally settle in places like Utah or other remote areas where they could bother no one else.
That probably explains the different attitudes between euros and their american counterparts.
My history high school teacher explained to us that the less tolerant people were kicked out of europe, and once they settled on the east coast, the less tolerant people of the new amercans were kicked out and moved to the midwest, where the less tolerant of the remaining people were kicked out to finally settle in places like Utah or other remote areas where they could bother no one else.
That probably explains the different attitudes between euros and their american counterparts.
This jibes with info I'd found, when researching genealogy. I was surprised at the time, because you never hear about this in history classes, usually (you had a good teacher!), but the first arrival of my grandmother's lineage, to the early colony, was said to be a Puritan, and he was run out of town, or out of the settlement, for that. Thanks for posting this nugget of info.
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