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The responses in this thread remind me of how Irish-Americans hate the British far more than every Irishman I have ever met. Must make them feel more Irish than a plate of corned beef and cabbage (a non-Irish dish).
Anyway, onto the actual topic:
Quote:
Originally Posted by gwillyfromphilly
Maybe it is a Southern thing because for me personally I've never meet a White American who didn't knew their European roots .
Agreed.
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Originally Posted by grapico
Just because the U.S. is relatively massive and more of a homogenous melting pot doesn't mean Europe is. The people there were in relatively small places of land, about the size of Rhode Island in some cases for a millenia. People did not traditionally travel like they used to, therefore unique cultures and ethnic groups were able to form in fairly small pockets.
I bet with genetic testing as it stands today, you would be hard pressed to find a European who doesn't have a Hun, a Moor, a Semite, or Tatar in the woodshed somewhere.
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Originally Posted by Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus
Great Britain did not exist when my ancestors relocated to the New World.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus
Back then, there was no Great Britain.
Great Britain is an island (or rather a collection of islands) that have existed separate from the European mainland since the last glacial retreat about 10,000 years ago. When exactly did your ancestors come to the New World? Maybe you mean the Kingdom of Great Britain did not exist. A different matter entirely.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stars&StripesForever
British ancestry is huge in the South. Most native southerners can trace their family line back to the 1700s. Less immigration occurred in the South during the great waves of the late 1800s and early 1900s. Since it's been such a long time, there's less connection, so many don't realize that they're actually descended from Brits and Scots. Thus, not knowing, which they should if they actually looked up the etymology or heritage of their last name, they just say "American". Many southerners also don't like the idea of being a hyphenated American, thus they're less apt to say anything but American, particularly white southerners. You also have to consider that U.S. society adopted more cultural elements that were British, such as the English language. Thus, there's less of a difference between what was adopted as normal cultural customs and the large British population. Thus, there's less need to preserve what would be viewed as different, such as those of German, Polish, or Italian roots, as the dominant culture is already that of which is descended from the Brits. Think about it. If English is the language, and if people of English descent are living within such a culture, the cultural elements aren't seen as much as different from the dominant culture, nor are they threatened. Thus, people over time don't consciously think about it being different, and they simply come to define themselves merely as "American".
The british never were the majority of white people here. They were simply the dominant group of white people. They had the most guns, gold, food, army support, money, power, connections, servants, & slaves.
Most white groups came here for religious freedom, or to escape opression. The british came here to make money, expand there empire and brought slaves (black & white) with them. This was a financial move for them so they decided to set up things in there language, etc. They also had the money and power to enforce it.
I don't think there's been a downplaying, quite simply they never were as big in numbers as many of you seem to think.
The british never were the majority of white people here. They were simply the dominant group of white people. They had the most guns, gold, food, army support, money, power, connections, servants, & slaves.
Most white groups came here for religious freedom, or to escape opression. The british came here to make money, expand there empire and brought slaves (black & white) with them. This was a financial move for them so they decided to set up things in there language, etc. They also had the money and power to enforce it.
I don't think there's been a downplaying, quite simply they never were as big in numbers as many of you seem to think.
I know it originated in Wales, but I'm sure you realise Jones is an extremely common name among the English too. Most people with the surname Jones here are of English not Welsh origin. Either way, Wales is still part of Britain of course.
Certainly Jones is popular in England, because it's right next to Wales. But if you're English and your surname is Jones you have Welsh ancestry. So if an American called Jones found out their ancestors came from England, those ancestors must have had ancestors themselves who migrated from Wales, meaning the aforementioned American must have at least some Welsh ancestry.
I suppose that's the thing with genealogy, it depends how far back you're able to go and how many generations have lived somewhere for it to count as being "from there", and as the only true origin for everyone is the middle of Africa somewhere we can only go by where our ancestors have at least been for a certain amount of time, which for all of us is probably many many different places. Our surnames are a good way to trace one line of ancestry but that only tells us where our dad's dad's dad's dad's etc. is from, and as we all have 64 great-great-great-great grandparents each, all with their own stories, there's so much history we're not even aware of. Hmm, I'm probably going on a bit too much here.
Last edited by Plutonium; 12-23-2011 at 05:58 AM..
The british never were the majority of white people here. They were simply the dominant group of white people. They had the most guns, gold, food, army support, money, power, connections, servants, & slaves.
British American were 62 % of the total population in 1790 according to the United States Census, included Native American and African American. So I don't see why you said British never were the majority.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FurbyThug
Most white groups came here for religious freedom, or to escape opression. The british came here to make money, expand there empire and brought slaves (black & white) with them. This was a financial move for them so they decided to set up things in there language, etc. They also had the money and power to enforce it.
I don't think there's been a downplaying, quite simply they never were as big in numbers as many of you seem to think.
Wha about English Pilgrims, Welsh Quakers and Scots Presbyterians ?
I agree that the main purpose was the expansion of the British Empire but British folks also escaped Europe for live their religion freely. Not all British settlers came for financial reasons.
I'm not going to bother to read through all of this so sorry if someone has already covered.
First of all you can' just go adding all those percentages up as people can choose multiple. Were I polled I could only mark German Once, but I'd also mark English, Welsh, Scotish, Irish, and Scots-Irish, which you would be adding up all together. Fact is most of those groups all married interchangibly so you get a lot of those kind of mixes.
Also to say that people in the States minimize their Irish and Scottish ancestory is insane, and completely ignorant. Never head of St. Patrick's Day? An Irish Wake? The Highland Games? Ever seen so I married an Axe Murderer?
English(8,7%)
American, who are almost all in the south and part English or Scotch-Irish ancestry(7,2%)
Scottish(1,7%)
Scotch-Irish(1,5%)
Welsh(0,6)
= 19,7%
Look at the statistics, it's a FACT that British-Americans outnumber any other group.
You can argue all you want, it doesn't change facts.
Come up with some sources, facts or statistics to back what you are saying.
First off, anyone could mark their ethnicity as American--it's not just limited to people of English and Scottish descent(or Welsh). I know people of German/Irish descent who just consider themselves to be Americans in terms of ethnicity. Secondly, the Scotch-Irish and English were pretty different culturally when they immigrated--and a good number of the so-called Scotch-Irish, were actually Protestant refugees from other parts of Europe originally including Dutch Calvinists and French Hugenots. There's not much of a thing as a British-American. I've met people who identify with their English or Welsh or Cornish or Scottish heritage--but no one who calls themselves a British-American. And it was even more pronounced when most of these groups immigrated in the 18th and 19th Century. The Scottish hated the bloody English---there were British only under political rule and threat of force.
For white southerners, based on my own observations of being a southerner and living in the South my entire life, I'd say the background is similar to the following:
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