Hyphenated American

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Cartoon from Puck, August 9, 1899, by J. S. Pughe. Angry Uncle Sam sees hyphenated voters and demands, "Why should I let these freaks cast whole votes when they are only half Americans?" Hyphenated Americans Voting Cartoon 1899.jpg
Cartoon from Puck , August 9, 1899, by J. S. Pughe. Angry Uncle Sam sees hyphenated voters and demands, "Why should I let these freaks cast whole votes when they are only half Americans?"

In the United States, the term hyphenated American refers to the use of a hyphen (in some styles of writing) between the name of an ethnicity and the word American in compound nouns, e.g., as in Irish-American . Calling a person a "hyphenated American" was used as an insult alleging divided political or national loyalties, especially in times of war. It was used from 1890 to 1920 to disparage Americans who were of foreign birth or ancestry and who displayed an affection for their ancestral language and culture. It was most commonly used during World War I against Americans from White ethnic backgrounds who favored United States neutrality during the ongoing conflict or who opposed the idea of an American alliance with the British Empire and the creation of what is now called the Special Relationship, even for purely political reasons. [1]

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In this context, the term "the hyphen" was a metonymical reference to this kind of ethnicity descriptor, and "dropping the hyphen" referred to full integration into the American identity. [2]

Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson were outspoken anti-hyphenates. [3] Contemporary studies and debates refer to Hyphenated-American identities to discuss issues such as multiculturalism and immigration in the U.S. political climate; however, the term "hyphen" is rarely used per the recommendation of modern style guides.

Hyphenated Americanism, 1890–1920

The term "hyphenated American" was published by 1889, [4] and was common as a derogatory term by 1904. During World War I, the issue arose of the primary political loyalty of ethnic groups with close ties to Europe, especially German Americans. In 1915, former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt in speaking to the largely Irish Catholic Knights of Columbus at Carnegie Hall on Columbus Day, asserted that, [5]

There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism. When I refer to hyphenated Americans, I do not refer to naturalized Americans. Some of the very best Americans I have ever known were naturalized Americans, Americans born abroad. But a hyphenated American is not an American at all ... The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities, an intricate knot of German-Americans, Irish-Americans, English-Americans, French-Americans, Scandinavian-Americans or Italian-Americans, each preserving its separate nationality, each at heart feeling more sympathy with Europeans of that nationality, than with the other citizens of the American Republic ... There is no such thing as a hyphenated American who is a good American. The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else.

President Woodrow Wilson regarded "hyphenated Americans" with suspicion, saying in his Pueblo speech: "Any man who carries a hyphen about with him carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of this Republic whenever he gets ready." [6] [7] [8] In the 1920s, the Wall Street Journal condemned "hyphenates" who were said to be among the supporters of the Progressive Party's Robert M. La Follette Jr.. [9]

A vocal source of criticism of Roosevelt and Wilson's "anti-hyphen" ideology and particularly to their demands for "100 percent Americanism" came, quite understandably, from America's enormous number of White ethnic immigrants and their descendants. Criticism from these circles occasionally argued that "100 percent Americanism" really meant Anglophilia, as particularly demonstrated by Roosevelt, Wilson, and other leaders of the demand to only tolerate the English language in the United States.

A prime example of this criticism, which argued that there is no contradiction between preserving ancestral heritage languages and American patriotism may be seen in Bishop John Joseph Frederick Otto Zardetti's 21 September 1892 "Sermon on the Mother and the Bride", which is a defence of German-Americans desire to preserve their ancestral culture and to continue speaking the German language in the United States, against both the English only movement and accusations of being Hyphenated Americans. [10]

Furthermore, in a letter published on July 16, 1916, in the Minneapolis Journal , Edward Goldbeck, a member of Minnesota's traditionally very large German-American community, sarcastically announced that his people would, "abandon the hyphen", as soon as English-Americans did so. Meanwhile, he argued, "Let the exodus of Anglo-Americans start at once! Let all those people go who think that America is a new England!" [11]

Hyphenated American identities

Some groups recommend dropping the hyphen because it implies to some people dual nationalism and the inability to be accepted as truly American. The Japanese American Citizens League is supportive of dropping the hyphen because the non-hyphenated form uses their ancestral origin as an adjective for "American". [12]

By contrast, other groups have embraced the hyphen, arguing that the American identity is compatible with alternative identities and that the mixture of identities within the United States strengthens the nation rather than weakens it.

"European American", as opposed to White or Caucasian, has been coined in response to the increasing racial and ethnic diversity of the United States, as well as to this diversity moving more into the mainstream of the society in the latter half of the twentieth century. The term distinguishes whites of European ancestry from those of other ancestries. In 1977, it was proposed that the term "European American" replace "white" as a racial label in the U.S. census, although this was not done. The term "European American" is not in common use in the United States among the general public or in the mass media, and the terms "white" or "white American" are commonly used instead.

Usage of the hyphen

Modern style guides, such as AP Stylebook , recommend dropping the hyphen between the two names; [13] some, including The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS), recommend dropping the hyphen even for the adjective form. [14] On the other hand, The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage allows compounds with name fragments (bound morphemes), such as Italian-American and Japanese-American, but not "Jewish American" or "French Canadian". [13]

American English

The first term typically indicates a region or culture of origin paired with American. Examples:

The hyphen is occasionally but not consistently employed when the compound term is used as an adjective. [15] Academic style guides (including APA, ASA, MLA, and Chicago Manual) do not use a hyphen in these compounds even when they are used as adjectives. [16]

The linguistic construction functionally indicates ancestry, but also may connote a sense that these individuals straddle two worlds—one experience is specific to their unique ethnic identity, while the other is the broader multicultural amalgam that is Americana.

Relative to Latin America

Latin America includes most of the Western Hemisphere south of the United States, including Mexico, Central America, South America, and (in some cases) the Caribbean. United States nationals with origins in Latin America are often referred to as Hispanic or Latino Americans, or by their specific country of origin, e.g., Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cuban Americans.

See also

Related Research Articles

The meaning of the word American in the English language varies according to the historical, geographical, and political context in which it is used. American is derived from America, a term originally denoting all of the Americas, ultimately derived from the name of the Florentine explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci (1451–1512). In some expressions, it retains this Pan-American sense, but its usage has evolved over time and, for various historical reasons, the word came to denote people or things specifically from the United States of America.

The hyphen‐ is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. Son-in-law is an example of a hyphenated word.

An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people who identify with each other on the basis of perceived shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include a common nation of origin, or common sets of ancestry, traditions, language, history, society, religion, or social treatment. The term ethnicity is often used interchangeably with the term nation, particularly in cases of ethnic nationalism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">English compound</span> Aspect of English grammar

A compound is a word composed of more than one free morpheme. The English language, like many others, uses compounds frequently. English compounds may be classified in several ways, such as the word classes or the semantic relationship of their components.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German Americans</span> Americans of German birth or descent

German Americans are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. The 2020 census results showed over 44,978,546 Americans self-identifying as German alone or in combination with another ancestry. This includes 15,447,670 who chose German alone.

Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term Anglosphere. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British descent in Anglo-America, the Anglophone Caribbean, South Africa, Namibia, Australia, and New Zealand. It is used in Canada to differentiate between French speaking Canadians (Francophones), located mainly in Quebec but found across Canada, and English speaking Canadians (Anglophones), also located across Canada, including in Quebec. It is also used in the United States to distinguish the Latino population from the non-Latino white majority.

The Preparedness Movement was a campaign led by former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, Leonard Wood, and former President Theodore Roosevelt to strengthen the U.S. military after the outbreak of World War I. Wood advocated a summer training school for reserve officers to be held in Plattsburgh, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglo-Americans</span> Demographic group in Anglo-America

Anglo-Americans are a demographic group in Anglo-America. It typically refers to the predominantly European-descent nations and ethnic groups in the Americas that speak English as a native language, making up the majority of people in the world who speak English as a first language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American nationalism</span> Nationalism in support of the collective identity of the United States

American nationalism is a form of civic, ethnic, cultural or economic influences found in the United States. Essentially, it indicates the aspects that characterize and distinguish the United States as an autonomous political community. The term often explains efforts to reinforce its national identity and self-determination within its national and international affairs.

Scotch-IrishAmericans are American descendants of Ulster Scots people who emigrated from Ulster to America during the 18th and 19th centuries. Their ancestors had originally migrated to Ulster mainly from the Scottish Lowlands and Northern England in the 17th century. In the 2017 American Community Survey, 5.39 million reported Scottish ancestry, an additional 3 million identified more specifically with Scotch-Irish ancestry, and many people who claim "American ancestry" may actually be of Scotch-Irish ancestry.

A compound modifier is a compound of two or more attributive words: that is, two or more words that collectively modify a noun. Compound modifiers are grammatically equivalent to single-word modifiers and can be used in combination with other modifiers.

The Native American name controversy is an ongoing discussion about the changing terminology used by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas to describe themselves, as well as how they prefer to be referred to by others. Preferred terms vary primarily by region and age. As Indigenous peoples and communities are diverse, there is no consensus on naming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Germany–United States relations</span> Bilateral relations

Today, Germany and the United States are close and strong allies. In the mid and late 19th century, millions of Germans migrated to farms and industrial jobs in the United States, especially in the Midwest. Later, the two nations fought each other in World War I (1917–1918) and World War II (1941–1945). After 1945 the U.S., with the United Kingdom and France, occupied Western Germany and built a demilitarized democratic society. West Germany achieved independence in 1949. It joined NATO in 1955, with the caveat that its security policy and military development would remain closely tied to that of France, the UK and the United States. While West Germany was becoming a Western Bloc state closely integrated with the U.S. and NATO, East Germany became an Eastern Bloc satellite state closely tied to the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact. After communist rule ended in Eastern Europe amid the Revolutions of 1989 and the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany was reunified and the allied powers subsequently restored full sovereignty to Germany with the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany. The reunified Federal Republic of Germany became a full member of the European Union, NATO and one of the closest allies of the United States. Since 2022 Germany has been working with NATO and the European Union to give aid to Ukraine in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the process Germany is sharply reducing its dependence on Russian oil and gas. Germany has the third-largest economy in the world, after the U.S. and China. Today, both the countries enjoy a "special relationship".

Nativism is the political policy of promoting or protecting the interests of "native-born" or established inhabitants over those of immigrants, including the support of anti-immigration and immigration-restriction measures. Despite the name, and in the US in particular, this position is usually held by the descendants of immigrants themselves, and is not a movement led by Indigenous peoples, as opposited to Nativists in Europe who are descended from native peoples such as Celts, Anglo-Saxons or Norsemen.

American ancestry refers to people in the United States who self-identify their ancestral origin or descent as "American", rather than the more common officially recognized racial and ethnic groups that make up the bulk of the American people. The majority of these respondents are visibly White Americans, who are far removed from and no longer self-identify with their original ethnic ancestral origins. The latter response is attributed to a multitude of generational distance from ancestral lineages, and these tend be Anglo-Americans of English, Scotch-Irish, Welsh, Scottish or other British ancestries, as demographers have observed that those ancestries tend to be recently undercounted in U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey ancestry self-reporting estimates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Americanism (ideology)</span> Nationalist ideology in the United States

Americanism, also referred to as American patriotism, is a set of nationalist values which aim to create a collective American identity for the United States that can be defined as "an articulation of the nation's rightful place in the world, a set of traditions, a political language, and a cultural style imbued with political meaning". According to the American Legion, a U.S. veterans' organization, Americanism is an ideology, or a belief in devotion, loyalty, or allegiance to the United States of America, or respect for its flag, its traditions, its customs, its culture, its symbols, its institutions, or its form of government. In the words of Theodore Roosevelt, "Americanism is a question of spirit, conviction, and purpose, not of creed or birthplace."

Ethnic nationalism, also known as ethnonationalism, is a form of nationalism wherein the nation and nationality are defined in terms of ethnicity, with emphasis on an ethnocentric approach to various political issues related to national affirmation of a particular ethnic group.

A hyphenated ethnicity is a reference to an ethnicity, pan-ethnicity, national origin, or national identity combined with the demonym of a country of citizenship-nationality, another national identity, or in some cases country of residency or country of upbringing. The term is an extension of the term "hyphenated American". The term refers to the use of a hyphen between the name of an ethnicity and the name of the country in compound nouns: Irish-American, etc., although modern English language style guides recommend dropping the hyphen: "Irish American".

The ancestral background of presidents of the United States has been relatively consistent throughout American history. With the exception of Martin Van Buren and perhaps Dwight D. Eisenhower, every president has ancestors from the British Isles, which in turn makes many of them distantly related to one another. John F. Kennedy was of pure Irish descent, Van Buren was of Dutch lineage; and Eisenhower was of German and Swiss heritage. Barack Obama is the only president to have ancestry from outside Western Europe; his paternal family is of East Africa ancestry. He is also believed to be a direct descendant of John Punch, a colonial-era slave born in modern-day Cameroon. Despite speculation, there is no evidence that any of the United States’ presidents have had any Indigenous American ancestry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nativism in United States politics</span> Opposition to an internal minority on the basis of its supposed "un-American" foundation

Nativism in United States politics is opposition to an internal minority on the basis of its supposed “un-American” foundation. Historian Tyler Anbinder defines a nativist as:

someone who fears and resents immigrants and their impact on the United States, and wants to take some action against them, be it through violence, immigration restriction, or placing limits on the rights of newcomers already in the United States. “Nativism” describes the movement to bring the goals of nativists to fruition.

References

  1. ↑ Sarah Churchwell. America’s Original Identity Politics Archived June 4, 2020, at the Wayback Machine , The New York Review of Books, February 7, 2019
  2. ↑ Mary Anne Trasciatti. Hooking the Hyphen: Woodrow Wilson '5 War Rhetoric and the Italian American Community, p. 107. In: Beasley, Vanessa B. Who Belongs in America?: Presidents, Rhetoric, and Immigration. College Station: Texas A & M University Press, 2006.
  3. ↑ John Higham, Strangers in the Land: Patterns of American Nativism, 1860–1925 (1955) online text p 198
  4. ↑ Charles William Penrose (July 6, 1889), "Letter from 'Junius'", The Deseret Weekly, 39 (2), Deseret News Co: 53–54
  5. ↑ "Roosevelt Bars the Hyphenated" (PDF). New York Times . October 13, 1915. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 4, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  6. ↑ Woodrow Wilson: Final Address in Support of the League of Nations Archived July 11, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , americanrhetoric.com
  7. ↑ Di Nunzio, Mario R., ed. (2006). Woodrow Wilson: Essential Writings and Speeches of the Scholar-President. NYU Press. p. 412. ISBN   0-8147-1984-8.
  8. ↑ "Explains our Voting Power in the League" (PDF). New York Times. September 27, 1919. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Mirrors of Washington", The Wall Street Journal, September 26, 1924.
  10. ↑ Vincent A. Yzermans (1988), Frontier Bishop of Saint Cloud, Park Press, Waite Park, Minnesota. Pages 117-138.
  11. ↑ Carl. H. Chrislock (1991), The Watchdog of Loyalty: The Minnesota Commission of Public Safety during World War I, Minnesota Historical Society Press. Page 21, 337.
  12. ↑ See Strasheim (1975).
  13. 1 2 Merrill Perlman. AP tackles language about race in this year’s style guide Archived July 1, 2020, at the Wayback Machine , Columbia Journalism Review, April 1, 2019
  14. ↑ Editorial Style Guide, California State University at Los Angeles, archived from the original on June 26, 2008, retrieved December 13, 2007
  15. ↑ Erica S. Olsen (2000), Falcon Style Guide: A Comprehensive Guide for Travel and Outdoor Writers and Editors, Globe Pequot, ISBN   1-58592-005-3
  16. ↑ "Hyphens, En Dashes, Em Dashes." The Chicago Manual Style Online, archived from the original on April 1, 2017, retrieved March 31, 2017

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