English is the largest ethnic origin for white Americans, followed closely by German

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I’m watching too much outlander but I’m surprised the English aren’t from Scotland considering the issues in England at the time and how against the English the Americans were

The English arrived early enough that they were behind the American Revolution. Many of the Scottish arrived later and were Loyalists despite leaving Scotland for economic reasons. That’s why so many also ended up in Canada.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I’m watching too much outlander but I’m surprised the English aren’t from Scotland considering the issues in England at the time and how against the English the Americans were

Scotland is included in the count. In fact, Scotland immigrants are probably included in both English and Irish numbers---the Scotch-Irish came here in massive numbers in the eighteenth century.

Yep. But the Scottish and Irish Protestants have intermarried with English in the South, such that many now have predominantly English ancestry.

[Anonymous]

Eh, the labels are a bit arbitrary. Nearly all of Europe was "Germany" during WW2 for example. Lots of empires throughout history so you can argue how far back you want to go.

Maybe Germanic and Anglo Saxon are better terms

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eh, the labels are a bit arbitrary. Nearly all of Europe was "Germany" during WW2 for example. Lots of empires throughout history so you can argue how far back you want to go.

Maybe Germanic and Anglo Saxon are better terms

Wait, what? You think being occupied by Germany made them Germans?

Do you think all the Ukrainians have turned into "Russians?"

[Anonymous]

The findings are curious to me only because for many many decades German heritage has been the largest demographic in America. That said, most English are German in some part, including the current royal family of the UK, so . . .

[Anonymous]

https://www.economist.com/united-states/2015/02/05/the-silent-minority

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eh, the labels are a bit arbitrary. Nearly all of Europe was "Germany" during WW2 for example. Lots of empires throughout history so you can argue how far back you want to go.

Maybe Germanic and Anglo Saxon are better terms

It’s really not that ambiguous for most areas of Europe - maybe just some border areas. I have some ancestors from an area that switched between two countries a few times but when they came to the US they identified with the country of their primary language.

[Anonymous]

I am a mix of English, Irish, German and Italian, and those are just the grandparents and ancestors I know of. I'm sure it's similar for many Americans. My kids are even more ambiguous because DH was adopted and we don't know his background.

[Anonymous]

Aren’t these results incredibly unreliable? It relies on self-classification. If I have one or two German ancestors who arrived in the 1800s, I might tick the German and white combo box. Someone with the same German ancestors but also with a parent who immigrated from England might tick the English box.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:uh.. yea. I mean, just look at US history.

Lol I came here to post this in response to title.
Seriously is this an actual surprise to anyone? Is it really true that people don’t know anything about US history?

They don't. Many schools today are too busy teaching feel good lessons and fluff classes by teachers who are minimally educated and can't speak or write with correct grammar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many of those Germans came here right after WW2?

Most Germans arrived between 1830 and 1870, when the area was still called Prussia, along with significant numbers of Polish. Between 1845 to 1855, Germans left to escape economic hardship and political rebellion related to the revolution in 1848. More than a million Germans arrived in the U.S. in that decade alone (and the US population then was only just over 17 million).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many of those Germans came here right after WW2?

Almost none. US immigration was very controlled in the mid to late 20th century. The big waves of immigration were earlier.

Right.

E.g., in Indiana: " In Fort Wayne, skilled German workers were recruited for local industries. By the late nineteenth century, that city’s population was said to be 80 percent German." It varied from rural to city, and by occupation, but the big waves were the 1800s. https://immigrationtounitedstates.org/606-indiana.html

Ha, my German ancestors came to the Ft Wayne area in the 1850s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many of those Germans came here right after WW2?

Almost none. US immigration was very controlled in the mid to late 20th century. The big waves of immigration were earlier.

Right.

E.g., in Indiana: " In Fort Wayne, skilled German workers were recruited for local industries. By the late nineteenth century, that city’s population was said to be 80 percent German." It varied from rural to city, and by occupation, but the big waves were the 1800s. https://immigrationtounitedstates.org/606-indiana.html

It's easy to remember you are German in Indiana. My family is from the Swabian area, and our Christmas table was full of springerle and pfeffernüsse. Long live the Tell City pretzeals, with that reciped unchanged from 1858!
Ha, my German ancestors came to the Ft Wayne area in the 1850s.

[Anonymous]

My German ancestors wrote the German areas like Bavaria and Hesse-Darmstadt on the US census records from 1850 through 1870, but wrote Prussia on the census records in 1880, then switched to Germany in 1900.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My German ancestors wrote the German areas like Bavaria and Hesse-Darmstadt on the US census records from 1850 through 1870, but wrote Prussia on the census records in 1880, then switched to Germany in 1900.

How do you confuse Bavaria and Prussia?