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Everyone I've ever met in the Midwest knows which ancestry they are, in Iowa it was big with Germans and Irish, my family was Swedish from the southwest part of the state. Chicago is big with Polish, Greek, Italians and Germans. My husband is from Detroit and his family is Polish. My friends from the west side of Michigan were Dutch.
This is common to the Midwest just as it is in the Northeast, I don't know why the west wouldn't. In the south it is by far the largest region where people identify with "American" more than their actual makeup, (German, British). I'm not entirely sure why this is a factor in the south and not the Northeast or Midwest.
That tier through the south that's lighter in color is only so because it's the heart of the black belt, where people would put black as opposed to American, but for white-majority counties they're all down south or in the very southern areas of the Midwest.
I feel its less common out west but I do know plenty of people in Texas who identify with their European ancestry. People who identify as Irish, German or Czech. And of course in Louisiana you got people proud of their Cajun (French) roots.
True that New Orleans is one of the few cities in the South that has seen the waves of Irish, Italian, and German immigration that the Northeast and Midwest saw. People in Cajun country tend to specifically identify as Cajun rather than "French" or "French Canadian" even though many do have that Acadian background. Most of the South didn't see large amounts of immigration until the second half of the 20th century and most of these came from Hispanic countries or Asia.
I know many people in West Virginia who just identify as "American" or "white" because they don't know their specific ancestry. However a surprising amount of people in WV are part Native American though they don't check that box.
In New Orleans and Baltimore it seems most white people are a heavy mix of the various ethnicities, often 3 or 4, while further up in the Northeast like NJ and NY you have large amounts of people with a single European ancestry. Its been pointed out that the Northeast is segregated not just on the racial level but on the ethnic level and in many parts of Boston and Rhode Island you are not welcomed unless you are specifically Irish, Italian, Jewish, etc. The Italians on Jersey Shore specifically wanted to hang out/date other Italians for example.
I live in the Northeast and I've never noticed this.
My dad has referred to us as "Scottish", though my ancestors mostly immigrated in the 1600s and 1700s, with the most recent being from England in the 1820s. So much for having photos of immigrant ancestors when they all immigrated before photography was invented.
My ancestry (in the U.S.) is mostly from the south, though I know my ethnic makeup somewhat well. Mostly English and Scottish, but also French Huguenot, German, Austrian, Swiss, Irish, Welsh, and Dutch.
I think most white Americans identify with thier ancestors nation of origin, even celebrate it all while identifying as proud Americans. Many black people do this as well with thier African ancestors. Indians and hispanics celebrate thier culture. I think this is true throughout America and it is part of our culture to do this regardless of the part of America you are from.
I think that the South, not the Northeast, is most distinctive, given most "white" people who aren't recent transplants have ancestors who go back to colonial times and are so thoroughly mixed that it's hard to exactly quantify what they are (English, Scots-Irish, Scottish, some German thrown in, etc).
It does seem like whites in the Midwest and West are more likely to have colonial stock than whites in the Northeast, but I think it's overall more similar to the Northeast than the South overall. It varies a lot depending upon state though. Ethnic white identification is very strong in Wisconsin or Minnesota, where most people have ancestors who were ethnic Germans or Scandinavians. On the other hand, in Utah most Mormons are descended from old-stock Yankees, and thus don't have any "ethnic" background to speak of.
Yes and it is due to many being first to third generation Americans.
There's that. There's also the fact that their numbers and percentages are larger in the Northeast. And there's also the fact that many (in the NYC metro anyway) are more visibly distinguishable from other White people.
The bigger difference between the Northeast and other parts of the country, though, is that this phenomenon isn't limited to people of European ancestry.
Single Ancestry Reported (Irish + Italian + Polish + Russian + Ukranian) and % of Non-Hispanic White Population
New York - 2,548,022 (26.6%)
Chicago - 959,318 (18.6%)
Philly - 841,819 (22.0%)
Boston - 717,538 (20.9%)
Los Angeles - 422,376 (10.5%)
Detroit - 399,560 (13.8%)
Pittsburgh - 316,924 (15.6%)
San Francisco - 223,014 (12.0%)
Cleveland - 216,302 (14.8%)
Baltimore - 207,296 (12.8%)
It does seem like whites in the Midwest and West are more likely to have colonial stock than whites in the Northeast, but I think it's overall more similar to the Northeast than the South overall. It varies a lot depending upon state though. Ethnic white identification is very strong in Wisconsin or Minnesota, where most people have ancestors who were ethnic Germans or Scandinavians. On the other hand, in Utah most Mormons are descended from old-stock Yankees, and thus don't have any "ethnic" background to speak of.
Well, where did those "old-stock Yankees" come from? The largest ancestry groups in Utah are 26.0% English, 11.9% German, and 11.8% Scandinavian. Huge numbers of the early Mormons came directly to Utah from the Old Country, and not from the northeastern U.S. at all.
I live in the Northeast and I've never noticed this.
I agree. Many Americans have a natural curiosity about their roots and history but that's about it. In a sense it more an appreciation of the patchwork that makes up the national fabric. I don't think they embrace or put great value in some artificial label. If they do they will be deflated very quickly by a simple DNA test.
I agree. Many Americans have a natural curiosity about their roots and history but that's about it. In a sense it more an appreciation of the patchwork that makes up the national fabric.
I agree with this, personally. From an Italian-American perspective, I find myself thinking less about the old country than one might expect, and more about the Italian influences in America, and the contributions and achievements of Italian-Americans.
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