Why are Americans ashamed of there English ancestry?

Question

More Americans self define themselves as having German and Irish then English ancestry which demographers believe to be a huge undercount. Why do Americans with English ancestry not want to identify it?

Answer 1

I don't know what you're talking about. All four of my grandparents' families came from England in the 1600's (including the Mayflower) and I'm proud of it. By the way, that should be "...their (not there) English ancestry".



P.S. But how many of those 1980 "English" respondents had died by the time of the 2000 census? Also, the birth rate of traditionally Catholic Irish households is probably higher than that of Protestant English families.

Answer 2

It is quite possible that there are fewer people of English ancestry than in 1980. Many white people in this country have no or one child. Two children would be needed just to keep the number level. And the three or more children needed to increase the number for white people is rare.



The fact is most English immigration to this country had stopped by 1800, when the US was no longer a British colony. The Germans were already so plentiful in parts of the country by the Revolutionary War, that German almost became the language Congress used (it lost by one vote in Congress). However, unlike the British who started emigrating to Canada and other colonies after the Revolutionary War, the Germans kept coming. And in the 1800s, so did the Irish to escape the years of famine there.



I would find it hard to believe that 1/5 to 1/4 of the US population is of English ancestry. Immigrants now coming to this country are primarily coming from Latin America and Asia. So the percentage of those with English ancestry will only decrease.

Answer 3

I am English German Irish Danish French Dutch Indian and I am not ashamed of any of my ancestry

Answer 4

Most of us Americans can claim some English ancestry and we should be proud of it. Most of the people I know are and I am proud of it as well. I happen to be a mix of English, Irish, Scottish, German, and Greek. I am proud of all of it...