Anglo-Americans

The term is ambiguous and used in several different ways. While it is primarily used to refer to people of English ancestry, it (along with terms like Anglo, Anglic, Anglophone, and Anglophonic) is also used to denote all people of British or Northwestern European ancestry.[https://web.archive.org/web/20170829162908/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/anglo Oxford English Dictionary: "Anglo"] North American A white English-speaking person of British or northern European origin, in particular (in the US) as distinct from a Hispanic American or (in Canada) as distinct from a French-speaker. It can include all people of Northwestern European ethnic origin who speak English as a mother tongue and their descendants in the New World.Mish, Frederic C., Editor in Chief Webster's Tenth New Collegiate Dictionary Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.A.:1994--Merriam-Webster See original definition (definition #1) of Anglo in English: It is defined as a synonym for Anglo-American--Page 86{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Anglo | title = Anglo – Definitions from Dictionary.com; American Heritage Dictionary | access-date = 2008-03-29 | quote = Usage Note: In contemporary American usage, Anglo is used primarily in direct contrast to Hispanic or Latino. In this context it is not limited to persons of English or even British descent, but can be generally applied to any non-Hispanic white person, making mother tongue (in this case English) the primary factor. Thus in parts of the United States such as the Southwest United States with large Hispanic populations, an American of Polish, Irish, or German heritage might be termed an Anglo just as readily as a person of English descent. However, in parts of the country where the Hispanic community is smaller or nonexistent, or in areas where ethnic distinctions among European groups remain strong, Anglo has little currency as a catch-all term for non-Hispanic whites. Anglo is also used in non-Hispanic contexts. In Canada, where its usage dates at least to 1800, the distinction is between persons of English and French descent. And in American historical contexts Anglo is apt to be used more strictly to refer to persons of English heritage, as in this passage describing the politics of nation-building in pre-Revolutionary America: "The 'unity' of the American people derived ... from the ability and willingness of an Anglo elite to stamp its image on other peoples coming to this country" (Benjamin Schwarz).|publisher=Lexico Publishing Group, LLC|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080315013806/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Anglo|archive-date=15 March 2008 |url-status=live}}

{{See also|Texians}}

In states such as Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, and California; former colonies of Spain and France, Anglo-American settlers developed a cohesive identity centered around their Protestantism, English language, and British colonial heritage.{{Cite web |title=Texas 1821-1836 < Anglo-American colonization in Texas - Kjetil Ersdal < 1801-1900 < Essays < American History From Revolution To Reconstruction and beyond |url=https://www.let.rug.nl/usa/essays/1801-1900/anglo-american-colonization-in-texas/texas-1821-1836.php |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=www.let.rug.nl}}{{Cite web |last=Association |first=Texas State Historical |title=Anglo-American Colonization in Mexican Texas (1821-1835) |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/anglo-american-colonization |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=Texas State Historical Association |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=The Anglo-Americans Settle in Louisiana |url=https://greatriverroadmuseum.org/anglo-americans#:~:text=The%20term%20%E2%80%9CAnglo-American%E2%80%9D,those%20from%20the%20United%20States. |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=The Great River Road Museum |language=en-US}} Despite the overwhelming majority of Anglo settlers being American Protestants of colonial immigrant ancestry, there were also English, French-Canadian, Irish, German, Jewish, Melungeon and even Catholic settlers as well.{{Cite web |title=Texas Jewish History |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/texas-jewish-history |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}{{Cite web |title=Melungeon Texans. |url=http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasPersonalities/Melungeon-Texans.htm |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=www.texasescapes.com}} Many Anglos married into the families of Spanish, French, and Mexican elites.{{Cite web |title=Digital History |url=https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=557 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240817143232/http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=557 |archive-date=2024-08-17 |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=www.digitalhistory.uh.edu}}

An early expression of Anglo-American nationalism occurred during the Texas Revolution, when revolutionaries created flags which included the British Union Jack, George Washington, and elements of the American flag.{{Cite web |title=Historic Flags of the Texas State Library and Archives - Austin National Flag {{!}} Texas State Library |url=https://www.tsl.texas.gov/historicflags/02872AustinNational.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250308175952/https://www.tsl.texas.gov/historicflags/02872AustinNational.html |archive-date=2025-03-08 |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=www.tsl.texas.gov |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Association |first=Texas State Historical |title=The History of Texas Flags: From Six Flags Over Texas to the Lone Star Flag |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/flags-of-texas |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=Texas State Historical Association |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2023-12-02 |title=Flags of the Texas Revolution {{!}} Texas Historical Commission |url=https://thc.texas.gov/blog/flags-texas-revolution |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=thc.texas.gov |language=en}}

The term implies a relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom (specifically England), or the two countries' shared language, English, and/or cultural heritage. In this context the term may refer to an English American, a person from the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England, a person from the United States who speaks English as their first language (see American English), a collective term referring to those countries that have similar legal systems based on common law, relations between the United Kingdom and United States, or Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, a national cataloging code.{{cite web |title=Anglo-American |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/anglo-american |website=encyclopedia.com |publisher=Oxford University Press}}

The term is also used, less frequently, to denote a connection between English people (or the English language) and the Western Hemisphere as a whole. In this context, the term can mean a person from the Americas whose ancestry originates from any English speaking country (see British diaspora) or a person from the Americas who has an English name and speaks English as their first language (see English-speaking world and Languages of the Americas), or a person from Anglo-America.

The adjective Anglo-American is used in the following ways:

• to denote the cultural sphere shared by the United Kingdom, the United States and English Canada. For example, "Anglo-American culture is different from French culture." Political leaders including Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan have used the term to discuss the "Special Relationship" between Britain and America.
• to describe relations between Britain and the United States. For example, "Anglo-American relations became more relaxed after the War of 1812."

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• Anglosphere
• English-speaking world
• British Americans
• English Americans
• British Canadians
• English Canadians

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{{Wiktionary|Anglo-Americans}}

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{{British diaspora}}

{{People of Canada}}

{{European Americans}}

{{Demographics of the United States}}

Canadian people of English descent

Category:European diaspora in the United States

Category:European diaspora in Canada

Category:Jamaican people of British descent

Category:Trinidad and Tobago people of British descent

Category:Guyanese people of British descent