Editing Anglo-Americans (section)

== Usage ==
The term is ambiguous and used in several different ways. While it is primarily used to refer to people of [[England|English]] ancestry, it (along with terms like ''[[Anglo]]'', ''Anglic'', ''[[English-speaking world|Anglophone]]'', and ''Anglophonic'') is also used to denote all people of British or Northwestern European ancestry.<ref>[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.''</ref> It can include all people of Northwestern European ethnic origin who speak English as a mother tongue and their descendants in the New World.<ref name="auto">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</ref><ref name="dictionary.com">{{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}}</ref>

=== In the American Southwest ===
{{See also|Texians}}
In states such as [[Texas]], [[New Mexico]], [[Louisiana]], and [[California]]; former colonies of [[New Spain|Spain]] and [[New France|France]], Anglo-American settlers developed a cohesive identity centered around their [[Protestantism]], [[English language]], and [[British colonization of the Americas|British colonial heritage]].<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> Despite the overwhelming majority of Anglo settlers being American Protestants of [[Old Stock Americans|colonial immigrant ancestry]], there were also English, [[French-Canadian Americans|French-Canadian]], [[Stagger's Point, Texas|Irish]], German, Jewish, [[Melungeon]] and even Catholic settlers as well.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Texas Jewish History |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/texas-jewish-history |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Melungeon Texans. |url=http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasPersonalities/Melungeon-Texans.htm |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=www.texasescapes.com}}</ref> Many Anglos married into the families of [[Spaniards|Spanish]], [[French people|French]], and [[Mexicans|Mexican]] elites.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

An early expression of Anglo-American nationalism occurred during the [[Texas Revolution]], when [[Republic of Texas|revolutionaries]] created flags which included the [[Union Jack|British Union Jack]], [[George Washington]], and elements of the [[Flag of the United States|American flag]].<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref>