European Americans

Pamela Preston

European Americans are defined as persons of European descent living in the United States. The term European American is often used synonymously with White, Anglo , or Caucasian; however, there are differences among these groups. Both White and Caucasian denote larger groups and include persons of non-European descent (currently those tracing their ancestry to some eastern areas of the former Soviet Union and historically those from the Middle Eastern countries and Asian Indians). Anglo is a more specific term, referring to those of English descent. Additionally, there are many “racial” minorities, such as Blacks from France and the United Kingdom, Asians from the Netherlands, and Middle Easterners from Germany. Upon immigration to the United States, these “racial” minorities become subsumed under the umbrella of European Americans. Most European Americans trace their ancestry to three waves of immigration: (1) colonial stock (English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, German, and Dutch) arriving in the ...

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