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'{{for|Americans living in the United Kingdom|Americans in the United Kingdom}} {{Infobox ethnic group |group = British Americans |poptime =Self reported: '''40,234,652''' (2009) <ref>[http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-state=dt&-context=dt&-ds_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_&-mt_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G2000_B04003&-CONTEXT=dt&-tree_id=4001&-redoLog=true&-all_geo_types=N&-currentselections=PEP_2007_EST_G2007_T001&-geo_id=01000US&-search_results=01000US&-format=&-_lang=en [[American Community Survey]]: Total British ancestry reported as a collective group.]</ref><ref name="British-American ancestry ACS 2009">[http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-qr_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_DP2&-geo_id=01000US&-ds_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-format= British-American ancestry ACS 2009.]</ref> <br>13.0% of the total U.S. population.<br>Other estimates: '''72,065,000''' <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ancestry.co.uk/about/default.aspx?section=pr-2006-11-9a|title=About Ancestry.co.uk|publisher=|accessdate=17 March 2015}}</ref><br>23.3% of the total U.S. population |popplace = South, Northeast, and West regions |langs = [[English language|English]] <small>([[American English|American English dialects]])</small> |rels = [[Christian]]<br> Mainly [[Protestant]] (especially [[Baptist]], [[Congregationalist]], [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopalian]], [[Methodist]], [[Presbyterian]], and [[Quaker]]) and to a lesser extent [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] and [[LDS Church|Mormon]] |related = {{hlist| [[Australian American]]s | [[British people|Britons]] | [[Cornish American]]s | [[Canadian American]] | [[English American]]s | [[Scottish American]]s | [[Scotch-Irish American|Scots-Irish American]]s | [[Welsh Americans]] | [[Irish Americans]] }} }} '''British Americans''' are [[Americans]] whose [[ancestry]] originates wholly or partly in the [[United Kingdom]] ([[England]], [[Wales]], [[Scotland]] and [[Northern Ireland]]). People seldom use the term to describe themselves (1,172,050 chose it in the 2009 [[American Community Survey]]); it is primarily a demographic or historical research category. According to [[American Community Survey]] in 2009, Americans reporting British ancestry are 40,234,652, or 13.0% of the total U.S. population, a significant drop from the [[1980 United States Census]] where 49,598,035 reported as having [[England|English]] ancestry and 61,311,449 reported as having [[Great Britain|British]] ancestry.<ref name="British-American ancestry ACS 2009">[http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-qr_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_DP2&-geo_id=01000US&-ds_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-format= British-American ancestry ACS 2009.]</ref> Using the self reported 2010 census figures British Americans are the [[Ethnic groups in the United States#Racial makeup of the U.S. population|second largest European ancestry group]] after [[German Americans]]. However, this figure is likely a serious undercount, as a large proportion of Americans of British descent have a tendency (since the introduction of a new 'American' category in the 2000 census) to identify as simply [[American ethnicity|Americans]]<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=SVoAXh-dNuYC&pg=PA57&dq=Sharing+the+dream:+white+males+in+multicultural+America++english+ancestry&cd=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false Sharing the Dream: White Males in a Multicultural America] By Dominic J. Pulera.</ref><ref>Reynolds Farley, 'The New Census Question about Ancestry: What Did It Tell Us?', ''Demography'', Vol. 28, No. 3 (August 1991), pp. 414, 421.</ref><ref>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.</ref><ref>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.</ref> Eight out of the ten most common [[surname]]s in the United States are of British origin.<ref>[http://www.census.gov/genealogy/www/data/2000surnames/index.html Genealogy Data: Frequently Occurring Surnames from Census 2000]</ref> ==Number of British Americans== {|class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin-left:1em; font-size:88%;" |- ! colspan="6" | Comparison between the 1790 and 2000 census |- !colspan=3| 1790 estimates<ref name="The Source: Gen">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jw3kn_AgNTkC&pg=PA361&dq=English+US+census+1790|title=The Source|publisher=|accessdate=17 March 2015}}</ref> !colspan=3| 2000 Census<ref name="The Source: Gen"/> |- ! style="background:#efefef;" |Ancestry ! style="background:#efefef;" |Number ! style="background:#efefef;" |% of total ! style="background:#efefef;" |Ancestry ! style="background:#efefef;" |Number ! style="background:#efefef;" |% of total |- | '''English'''||'''1,900,000'''||'''47.5'''||[[German American|German]]||42,885,162||15.2 |- | [[African American|African]]||750,000||19.0||[[African American|African]]||36,419,434||12.9 |- | '''[[Scotch-Irish American|Scotch-Irish]]'''||'''320,000'''||'''8.0'''||[[Irish American|Irish]]||30,594,130||10.9 |- | [[German American|German]]||280,000||7.0||'''English'''||'''24,515,138'''||'''8.7''' |- | [[Irish American|Irish]]||200,000||5.0||[[Mexican American|Mexican]]||20,640,711||7.3 |- | '''[[Scottish American|Scottish]]'''||'''160,000'''||'''4.0'''||[[Italian American|Italian]]||15,723,555||5.6 |- | '''[[Welsh American|Welsh]]'''||'''120,000'''||'''3.0'''||[[French American|French]]||10,846,018||3.9 |- | [[Dutch American|Dutch]]||100,000||2.5||[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic]]||10,017,244||3.6 |- | [[French American|French]]||80,000||2.0||[[Polish American|Polish]]||8,977,444||3.2 |- | [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]]||50,000||1.0||'''[[Scottish American|Scottish]]'''||'''4,890,581'''||'''1.7''' |- | [[Spanish American|Spanish]]||20,000||0.5||[[Dutch American|Dutch]]||4,542,494||1.6 |- | [[Swedish American|Swedish]] <small>or other</small>||20,000||0.5||[[Norwegian American|Norwegian]]||4,477,725||1.6 |- | || || ||'''[[Scotch-Irish American|Scotch-Irish]]'''||'''4,319,232'''||'''1.5''' |- |-class="sortbottom" bgcolor="lightgrey" |'''{{flagcountry|USA}}'''||3,929,326 <ref>[http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/files/table-2.pdf U.S 1790 Census]</ref>||100||'''{{flagcountry|USA}}'''||281,421,906||100 |} ===1790 Census=== [[File:Declaration independence.jpg|thumb|305px|[[Declaration of independence]]. Most of the [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Fathers]] had British ancestors.]] The ancestry of the 3,929,214 population in 1790 has been estimated by various sources by sampling last names in the very first United States official census and assigning them a country of origin.<ref name="lieberson1">[https://books.google.com/books?id=SoOXrMVp5BsC&pg=PA38&dq=From+many+strands:+ethnic+and+racial+groups+in+contemporary+Am%C3%A9rica+ear%3Blier+ethnic+composition+1790&hl=en&ei=4G7BTPP6C4LAswbrsenpCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false From many strands: ethnic and racial groups in contemporary América] By Stanley Lieberson, Mary C. Waters</ref> The estimate results indicate that people of British ancestry made up about 62% of the total population or 74% of the [[European American]] population. Some 81% of the total United States population was of [[European ethnic groups|European]] heritage.<ref>[http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/tab01.pdf Historical U.S population by race]</ref> Around 757,208 were of African descent with 697,624 being slaves. Of the remaining population, more than 75% was of British origin.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rrf_HrCTXdgC&pg=PA21&dq=ethnic+groups+united+states+1775&hl=en&ei=Z1bBTO6kGIHOswbuxvzrCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=ethnic%20groups%20united%20states%201775&f=false|title=Ethnicity in Contemporary America|publisher=|accessdate=17 March 2015}}</ref> ===1980 Census=== The '''Twentieth''' '''[[1980 United States Census]]''', 61.3 million (61,311,449) Americans reported British ancestry.<br> The total [[U.S]] population in 1980 was 226,545,805 and was the first census-form that asked peoples [[ancestry]].<ref>[http://www.census.gov/population/censusdata/pc80-s1-10/tab02.pdf United States 1980 Census]</ref> These include: In 1980, the total census reported that British ancestry was (32.56%) of the total U.S population. Triple ancestry response:''English-Irish-Scotch'': 897,316 There are no concrete figures for the [[Scots-Irish American|Scots-Irish]] and some group responses were under-counted, but in 1980, 29,828,349 people claimed Irish and another ethnic ancestry. These figures make British Americans the largest "ethnic" group in the U.S. and would have naturally increased in population with more people of British origin than in 1980. This is true when counted collectively (the Census Bureau does give the choice to count them collectively as one ancestry, and also count them in a separate ethnic group, that is English, Scottish, Welsh or Scots-Irish). In 2000, [[German people|Germans]] and [[Irish people|Irish]] were the largest self-reported ethnic groups in the nation. ===1990 Census=== The '''Twenty-first''' '''[[1990 United States Census]]'''.<ref>[http://www.census.gov/population/www/CPH-L-97.pdf United States 1990 Census]</ref> ===2000 Census=== The '''Twenty-Second''' '''[[2000 United States Census]]''', 36.4 million Americans reported British ancestry.<ref name=Ancestry2000>{{cite web |publisher=United States Government |url=http://www.census.gov/history/pdf/ancestry.pdf |title=Ancestry: 2000 |date=June 2004}}</ref> Most of the population who stated their ancestry as "American" are said to be of old colonial [[British people|British]] stock. * [[American ethnicity]] 20,625,093 (7.3%) {|class="sort wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%" |- !Ancestry||1980||% of U.S||1990||% of U.S||2000||% of U.S |- |[[English American|English]] |49,598,035 |26.34% |32,651,788 |13.1% |24,515,138 |8.7% |- |[[Scottish American|Scottish]] |10,048,816 |5.34% |5,393,581 |2.2% |4,890,581 |1.7% |- |[[Scots-Irish American|Scots-Irish]] |no data |no data |5,617,773 |2.3% |4,319,232 |1.5% |- |[[Welsh Americans|Welsh]] |1,664,598 |0.88% |2,033,893 |0.8% |1,753,794 |0.6% |- |[[British people|British]] |no data |no data |no data |no data |1,085,720 |0.4% |- |[[American ethnicity|American]] |no data |no data |12,395,999 |5.0% |20,625,093 |7.3% |} ===Distribution=== Following are the top 10 highest percentages of people of English, Scottish and Welsh ancestry, in U.S. communities with 500 or more total inhabitants (for the total list of the 101 communities, see the reference):<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/Scottish.html|title=Scottish Ancestry Search - Scottish Genealogy by City - ePodunk.com|work=epodunk.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/English.html |title=Top 101 cities with the most residents of English ancestry (population 500+)|accessdate=2007-08-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/Welsh.html|title=Welsh Ancestry Search - Welsh Genealogy by City - ePodunk.com|work=epodunk.com}}</ref> ====English==== # [[Hildale, UT]] 66.9% # [[Colorado City, AZ]] 52.7% # [[Milbridge, ME]] 41.1% # [[Panguitch, UT]] 40.0% # [[Beaver, UT]] 39.8% # [[Enterprise, UT]] 39.4% # [[East Machias, ME]] 39.1% # [[Marriott-Slaterville, UT]] 38.2% # [[Wellsville, UT]] 37.9% # [[Morgan, UT]] 37.2% ====Scottish==== #[[Lonaconing, MD]] town 16.1% #[[Jordan Township, Whiteside County, Illinois|Jordan, IL]] township 12.6% #[[Scioto Township, Jackson County, Ohio|Scioto, OH]] township 12.1% #[[Randolph Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana|Randolph, IN]] township 10.2% #[[Franconia, NH]] town 10.1% #[[Topsham, VT]] town 10.0% #[[Ryegate, VT]] town 9.9% #[[Plainfield, VT]] town 9.8% #[[Saratoga Springs, UT]] town 9.7% #[[Barnet, VT]] town 9.5% ====Welsh==== #[[Malad City, ID]] city 21.1 #[[Remsen, NY]] town 14.6 #[[Oak Hill, OH]] village 13.6 #[[Madison Township, Jackson County, Ohio|Madison, OH]] township 12.7 #[[Steuben, New York|Steuben, NY]] town 10.9 #[[Franklin Township, Jackson County, Ohio|Franklin, OH]] township 10.5 #[[Plymouth, PA]] borough 10.3 #[[Jackson, OH]] city 10.0 #[[Lake Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania|Lake, PA]] township 9.9 #[[Radnor Township, Delaware County, Ohio|Radnor, OH]] township 9.8 {{multiple image | align = right | footer = Dark red and brown colors indicate a higher density. (see also [[Maps of American ancestries]]). | image1 = English1346.gif | width1 = 188 | caption1 = [[English American]] | alt1 = | image2 = Census Bureau Scottish Americans in the United States.gif | width2 = 188 | caption2 = [[Scottish American]] | alt2 = | image3 = Scotch irish1346.gif | width3 = 188 | caption3 = [[Scots-Irish American]] | alt3 = | image4 = Welsh1346.gif | width4 = 188 | caption4 = [[Welsh American]] | alt4 = }} ==History== [[File:Writing the Declaration of Independence 1776 cph.3g09904.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Benjamin Franklin]], [[John Adams]] and [[Thomas Jefferson]] writing the [[Declaration of independence]] (1776) were all of British descent.]] [[File:The Great Rapprochement.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The [[National personification]] of the [[United States]] and [[Great Britain]]. [[Uncle Sam]] embracing [[John Bull]], while [[Britannia]] and [[Columbia (name)|Columbia]] hold hands and sit together in the background (1898).]] ===Early British emigration=== The [[British diaspora]] consists of the scattering of [[British people]] and their descendants who [[emigrated]] from the [[United Kingdom]]. The diaspora is concentrated in countries that had mass migration such as the [[United States]] and that are part of the [[Anglosphere]]. A 2006 publication from the [[Institute for Public Policy Research]] estimated 5.6 million British-born people lived outside of the United Kingdom.<ref name="BritsAbroad">{{cite news | title= Brits Abroad| url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/brits_abroad/html/| work= | publisher= [[BBC News]]| date= 2006-12-06| accessdate=2009-04-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last= Sriskandarajah | first= Dhananjayan |author2=Drew, Catherine | title= Brits Abroad: Mapping the scale and nature of British emigration| url= http://www.ippr.org.uk/publicationsandreports/publication.asp?id=509| date= December 11, 2006| work= | publisher= [[Institute for Public Policy Research|IPPR]]| accessdate=2009-04-13 }}</ref> After the [[Age of Discovery]] the British were one of the earliest and largest communities to emigrate out of [[Europe]], and the [[British Empire]]'s expansion during the first half of the 19th century saw an "extraordinary dispersion of the British people", with particular concentrations "in [[Australasia]] and [[North America]]".<ref name="BritDis47">{{Harvnb|Ember et al|2004|p=47}}.</ref> The British Empire was "built on waves of migration overseas by British people",<ref name="Marsh254">{{harvnb|Marshall|2001|p=254}}.</ref> who left the United Kingdom and "reached across the globe and permanently affected population structures in three continents".<ref name="BritDis47"/> As a result of the [[British colonization of the Americas]], what became the [[United States]] was "easily the greatest single destination of emigrant British".<ref name="BritDis47"/> Historically in the [[1790 United States Census]] estimate and presently in [[Australia]], [[Canada]] and [[New Zealand]] "people of British origin came to constitute the majority of the population" contributing to these states becoming integral to the [[Anglosphere]].<ref name="Marsh254"/> ===Settlement and colonization=== {{main|British colonization of the Americas}} An English presence in North America began with the [[Roanoke Colony]] and [[Colony of Virginia]] in the late-16th century, but the first successful English settlement was established in 1607, on the [[James River (Virginia)|James River]] at [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]]. By the 1610s an estimated 1,300 English people had travelled to North America, the "first of many millions from the British Isles".<ref name="BritDis48">{{Harvnb|Ember et al|2004|p=48}}.</ref> In 1620 the [[Pilgrim (Plymouth Colony)|Pilgrims]] established the English imperial venture of [[Plymouth Colony]], beginning "a remarkable acceleration of permanent emigration from England" with over 60% of trans-Atlantic English migrants settling in the [[New England Colonies]].<ref name="BritDis48"/> During the 17th century an estimated 350,000 English and Welsh migrants arrived in North America, which in the century after the [[Acts of Union 1707]] was surpassed in rate and number by Scottish and Irish migrants.<ref name="BritDis49">{{Harvnb|Ember et al|2004|p=49}}.</ref> The British policy of [[salutary neglect]] for its North American colonies intended to minimize trade restrictions as a way of ensuring they stayed loyal to British interests.<ref name="history of colonial"/> This permitted the development of the [[American Dream]], a cultural spirit distinct from that of its European founders.<ref name="history of colonial">{{Citation|last=Henretta|first=James A.|title=History of Colonial America|url=http://encarta.msn.com/text_1741502191___0/History_of_Colonial_America.html|encyclopedia=Encarta Online Encyclopedia|year=2007|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5kwQNGHIn|archivedate=2009-10-31|deadurl=yes}}</ref> The [[Thirteen Colonies]] of [[British America]] began an armed rebellion against British rule in 1775 when they rejected the [[Rights of Englishmen|right]] of the [[Parliament of Great Britain]] to govern them [[No taxation without representation|without representation]]; they proclaimed their independence in 1776, and subsequently constituted the first thirteen states of the United States of America, which became a [[sovereign state]] in 1781 with the ratification of the [[Articles of Confederation]]. The [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|1783 Treaty of Paris]] represented Great Britain's formal acknowledgement of the United States' sovereignty at the end of the [[American Revolutionary War]].<ref name="road">{{Citation|title=Chapter 3: The Road to Independence|url=http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/histryotln/road.htm|work=Outline of U.S. History|publisher=usinfo.state.gov|date=November 2005|accessdate=2008-04-21|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080409035942/http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/histryotln/road.htm |archivedate = April 9, 2008|deadurl=yes}}</ref> ===Today=== Nevertheless, longstanding cultural and historical ties have, in more modern times, resulted in the [[Special Relationship]], the exceptionally close political, diplomatic and military co-operation of [[United Kingdom – United States relations]].<ref name="wither">{{Citation | last =James| first =Wither|date=March 2006| title =An Endangered Partnership: The Anglo-American Defence Relationship in the Early Twenty-first Century| journal =European Security| volume =15| issue =1| pages =47–65| doi =10.1080/09662830600776694|issn=0966-2839| accessdate =2007-01-09}}</ref> [[Linda Colley]], a professor of history at [[Princeton University]] and specialist in Britishness, suggested that because of their colonial influence on the United States, the British find Americans a "mysterious and paradoxical people, physically distant but culturally close, engagingly similar yet irritatingly different".<ref>{{Harvnb|Colley|1992|p=134}}.</ref> ==Identity== British Americans have [[Cornish people|Cornish]], [[English people|English]], [[Scottish people|Scottish]], [[Ulster Scots people|Ulster Scots]], and/or [[Welsh people|Welsh]] family heritages, or came from [[Canada]] where their ancestors were of British descent, and are those Americans who were British born. Catholic [[Irish-American]]s are not usually categorized as having British ancestry; they do not usually consider themselves as being British Americans.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} Immigrants from Canada of British ancestry tend to call themselves [[Canadian Americans]]. Similarly, most British Americans tend to differentiate to being specifically Cornish, English, Northern Irish, Irish, Scottish, Welsh or ethnic minorities (e.g. Pakistani Scottish) and do not identify with the UK as a whole, therefore tending ''not'' to refer to themselves as British American ''(see: [[Cornish American]], [[English American]], [[Scottish American]], [[Welsh American]], or [[Scots-Irish American]])'' and settlers of British heritage from other former [[British overseas territories|British territories]] like [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]] and [[South Africa]] also consider themselves by their nationalities, [[Australian American]]s, New Zealand Americans and South African-Americans. ==1790 - 2000 Census== In the [[1790 United States Census]], people of British origin constituted the majority with 62.5% of the United States population. {|class="sort wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%" style="float:left; |- !colspan=3| 1790 U.S Ancestry<br><small>Based on Evaluated census figures</small> <ref name="The Source: Gen">{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jw3kn_AgNTkC&pg=PA361&dq=English+US+census+1790|title=The Source|publisher=|accessdate=17 March 2015}}</ref> !colspan=3| 2000 U.S Ancestry<br><small>from the official U.S census</small> <ref name="The Source: Gen"/> |----- ! style="background:#efefef;" |Ancestry group ! style="background:#efefef;" |Number<br><small>(1790 estimate)</small> ! style="background:#efefef;" |% of <br>total ! style="background:#efefef;" |Ancestry ! style="background:#efefef;" |Number<br><small>(2000 count)</small> ! style="background:#efefef;" |% of <br>total |----- | '''[[British people|British]] (Total)'''||'''2,500,000'''||'''62.5'''||'''British (Total)'''<br>||'''36,564,465'''||'''12.9''' |----- |'''[[English American|English]]'''||'''1,900,000'''||'''47.5'''||[[German American|German]]||42,885,162||15.2 |----- | [[African American|African]]||750,000||19.0||[[African American|African]]||36,419,434||12.9 |----- | '''[[Scotch-Irish American|Scotch-Irish]]'''||'''320,000'''||'''8.0'''||[[Irish American|Irish]]||30,594,130||10.9 |----- | [[German American|German]]||280,000||7.0||'''[[English American|English]]'''||'''24,515,138'''||'''8.7''' |----- | [[Irish American|Irish]]||200,000||5.0||[[Mexican American|Mexican]]||20,640,711||7.3 |----- | '''[[Scottish American|Scottish]]'''||'''160,000'''||'''4.0'''||[[Italian American|Italian]]||15,723,555||5.6 |----- | '''[[Welsh American|Welsh]]'''||'''120,000'''||'''3.0'''||[[French American|French]]||10,846,018||3.9 |----- | [[Dutch Americans|Dutch]]||100,000||2.5||[[Hispanic]]||10,017,244||3.6 |----- | [[French Americans|French]]||80,000||2.0||[[Polish American|Polish]]||8,977,444||3.2 |----- | [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]]||50,000||1.0||'''[[Scottish American|Scottish]]'''||'''4,890,581'''||'''1.7''' |----- | [[Spanish American|Spanish]]||20,000||0.5||[[Dutch American|Dutch]]||4,542,494||1.6 |----- | [[Swedish American|Swedish]] <small>or other</small>||20,000||0.5||[[Norwegian American|Norwegian]]||4,477,725||1.6 |----- | Total||3,929,326 <ref>[http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/files/table-2.pdf U.S 1790 Census]</ref>||100||'''[[Scotch-Irish American|Scotch-Irish]]'''||'''4,319,232'''||'''1.5''' |----- |} ==American cultural icons== {{multiple image | align = right | footer = [[Grand Union Flag]] was first flown on December 2, 1775. The current flag has fifty stars on the flag represent the [[50 states]] and the 13 stripes represent the original British [[thirteen colonies]]. | image1 = Grand Union Flag.svg | width1 = 170 | caption1 = | alt1 = | image2 = Flag_of_the_United_States.svg | width2 = 213 | caption2 = | alt2 = }} {{main|American flag}} [[File:Founders of Harley-Davidson The North Shore Bulletin Dec 1920.jpg|thumb|right|270px|Founders of [[Harley-Davidson]], from left: William A. Davidson, Walter Davidson, Sr., [[Arthur Davidson (motorcycling)|Arthur Davidson]], of [[Scottish people|Scottish]] descent, and [[William S. Harley]], of [[English people|English]] descent.]] Harvard was founded by Englishmen who sought to reproduce the environment of academic excellence they experienced at Cambridge University, England where many of the founders of New England has been educated. The first public school in America, The Boston Latin School, was founded by Englishman John Cotton, Esq., former Dean of Emmanuel College, Cambridge University, England to replicate a public Latin School in England. Yale University was founded by Englishmen who considered Harvard too liberal for the education of New England gentlemen. The Declaration of Independence is a creation of British Americans. The Constitution of the United States is a creation of British Americans. The American Bill of Rights is a creation of British Americans. The American system of government: a Constitutional Republic with a separation of executive, legislative, and judicial powers is a creation of British Americans. Most American Presidents, Senators, and Congressman, Governors and Ivy League University Presidents have been British Americans. The [[Grand Union Flag]] is considered to be the first national [[Flag of the United States#First flag|flag of the United States]] {{Citation needed|date=June 2011}}. This flag consisted of 13 red and white stripes with the British [[Union Flag#History|Union Flag]] of the time (before the inclusion of [[Saint Patrick's Flag|St. Patrick's cross]] of [[Ireland]]) in the [[canton (flag)|canton]]. The flag was first flown on December 2, 1775 by [[John Paul Jones]] (then a Continental Navy lieutenant) on the ship ''[[USS Alfred|Alfred]]'' in Philadelphia).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=DelVol02.xml&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=537&division=div1#n537.1|title=Letters of delegates to Congress, 1774-1789, Volume 2, September 1775-December 1775|work=virginia.edu}}</ref> The ''Alfred'' flag has been credited to [[Margaret Manny]].<ref>Leepson, 51</ref> It was used by the American Continental forces as a naval ensign and garrison flag in 1776 and early 1777. It is widely believed that the flag was raised by [[George Washington]]'s army on New Year's Day 1776 at Prospect Hill in [[Charlestown, Massachusetts|Charlestown]] (now part of [[Somerville, Massachusetts|Somerville]]), near his headquarters at [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]], [[Massachusetts]], and that the flag was interpreted by British observers as a sign of surrender.<ref>Preble (1880) p. 218</ref> Some scholars dispute this traditional account, concluding that the flag raised at Prospect Hill was likely a British [[union flag]].<ref>Ansoff (2006)</ref> The aristocratic American Republic from the founding of the United States through 1820 was a British American invention. ==Place names in the United States== {{Main|List of places in the United States named after places in England|List of place names of Scottish origin in the United States}} {{multiple image | align = right | direction = vertical | image1 = Boston Financial District skyline.jpg|Boston, Massachusetts | width1 = 270 | caption1 = [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], is named after [[Boston, Lincolnshire|Boston]], England. | alt1 = | image2 = Statue of Liberty with One World Trade Center.jpg | width2 = 270 | caption2 = In 1664, the English [[Geographical renaming|renamed]] "New York" after the [[James II of England|Duke of York]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Historical Atlas of New York City: A Visual Celebration of 400 Years of New York City's History |author=Homberger, Eric |year=2005 |page=34 |publisher=Owl Books |isbn=0-8050-7842-8}}</ref> | alt2 = }} There are many places in the United States named after places in Great Britain as a result of the many British settlers and [[explorer]]s. These include the region of [[New England]] and the some of the following: ===Alabama=== *[[Birmingham, Alabama|Birmingham]] after [[Birmingham]], England ===Massachusetts=== *[[Boston]] after [[Boston, England]]<ref>[http://www.iboston.org/mcp.php?pid=taleOfTwoBostons Boston History].</ref> *[[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]] after the [[University of Cambridge|university]] of [[Cambridge]], England *[[Gloucester, Massachusetts|Gloucester]] after [[Gloucester]], England *[[Southampton, Massachusetts|Southampton]] after [[Southampton]], England<ref>[http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=3141 Southampton, Massachusetts].</ref> ===New Hampshire=== *[[New Hampshire]] state (after [[Hampshire]]<ref>[http://www.netstate.com/states/intro/nh_intro.htm Netstate - New Hampshire].</ref>) *[[Manchester, New Hampshire|Manchester]] after [[Manchester, England]]<ref>[http://boulter.com/nh/ Manchester History].</ref> ===New York=== *[[New York City]] (after the [[James II of England|Duke of York]]<ref>[http://www.50states.com/newyork.htm 50 States - NY].</ref>) In addition, some places were named after the [[English royal family]]. The name Virginia was first applied by Queen [[Elizabeth I]] (the "Virgin Queen") and Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584.,<ref>In 1584 [[Sir Walter Raleigh]] sent [[Philip Amadas]] and [[Arthur Barlowe]] to lead an exploration of what is now the [[North Carolina]] coast, and they returned with word of a regional "king" named "Wingina." This was modified later that year by Raleigh and the Queen to "Virginia", perhaps in part noting her status as the "Virgin Queen." {{cite book |title=Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States |last= Stewart|first=George |authorlink=George R. Stewart|year=1945 |publisher= Random House|location=New York |page= 22}}</ref> the [[Carolinas]] were named after [[Charles I of England|King Charles I]] and [[Maryland]] named so for his wife, [[Queen Henrietta Maria]] (Queen Mary).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.netstate.com/states/intro/md_intro.htm|title=The State of Maryland|work=netstate.com}}</ref> ==See also== {{portal|United States|United Kingdom}} *[[Anglo-Celtic Australians]] *[[Hyphenated American]] *[[English diaspora]] *[[List of English Americans]] *[[List of Scots-Irish Americans]] *[[List of Scottish Americans]] *[[List of Welsh Americans]] *[[Jiah Khan]] == References == {{Reflist|20em}} * [http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:WJGw9z2RkkYJ:www.uen.org/Lessonplan/downloadFile.cgi%3Ffile%3D1041-6-15955-AF_Census_Data.pdf%26filename%3DAF_Census_Data.pdf+49,598,035&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=uk References] ==Scholarly sources== * [[Oscar Handlin]], Ann Orlov and Stephan Thernstrom eds. ''Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups'' (1980) the standard reference source for all ethnic groups. * [[Rowland Tappan Berthoff]]. ''British Immigrants in Industrial America, 1790-1950'' (1953). * [[David Hackett Fischer]]. ''[[Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways In America]]'' (1989). ==External links== *[http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/pc80-s1-10.html 1980 U.S Census ancestry lists] * [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_QTP13&-geo_id=01000US&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-_sse=on 2000 Census Bureau ancestry figures] {{European Americans}} {{British diaspora}} [[Category:British American| ]] [[Category:American people of British descent| ]] [[Category:British diaspora by country|American]] [[Category:European-American society]]'