.svg) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
 United States | 271,528,353 (2019)[1] |
 Canada | 22,162,865 (2016)[2] |
| Languages | |
| English | |
| Religion | |
| TraditionallyProtestant Christianity | |
Anglo-Americans are a demographic group inAnglo-America. It typically refers to the predominantly European-descent nations and ethnic groups in theAmericas that speak English as a native language, making up the majority of people in the world who speakEnglish as afirst language.
The term is ambiguous and used in several different ways. While it is primarily used to refer to people ofEnglish ancestry, it (along with terms likeAnglo,Anglic,Anglophone, andAnglophonic) is also used to denote all people of British or Northwestern European ancestry.[3] It can include all people of Northwestern European ethnic origin who speak English as a mother tongue and their descendants in the New World.[4][5]
In states such asTexas,New Mexico,Louisiana, andCalifornia; former colonies ofSpain andFrance, Anglo-American settlers developed a cohesive identity centered around theirProtestantism,English language, andBritish colonial heritage.[6][7][8] Despite the overwhelming majority of Anglo settlers being American Protestants ofcolonial immigrant ancestry, there were also English,French-Canadian,Irish, German, Jewish,Melungeon and even Catholic settlers as well.[9][10] Many Anglos married into the families ofSpanish,French, andMexican elites.[11]
An early expression of Anglo-American nationalism occurred during theTexas Revolution, whenrevolutionaries created flags which included theBritish Union Jack,George Washington, and elements of theAmerican flag.[12][13][14]
As the primary settlers of the 17th centuryAmerican colonies were predominantly English and established the foundations of the country and formed the basis of itsculture. The term implies a relationship between theUnited States and theUnited Kingdom (specificallyEngland), or the two countries' shared language, English, and/or cultural heritage. In this context the term may refer to anEnglish 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 (seeAmerican English), a collective term referring to those countries that have similar legal systems based oncommon law,relations between the United Kingdom and United States, orAnglo-American Cataloguing Rules, a national cataloging code.[4][5][15]
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 (seeBritish diaspora) or a person from the Americas who has an English name and speaks English as their first language (seeEnglish-speaking world andLanguages of the Americas), or a person fromAnglo-America.
The adjective Anglo-American is used in the following ways:
Note: The number refers to those who speak English alone consisting of 264,200,071 native born and 7,328,282 foreign born Americans
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 anynon-Hispanic white person, making mother tongue (in this case English) the primary factor. Thus in parts of the United States such as theSouthwest 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).
| Africa | |
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| North America | |
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| South America | |
