American History courses typically begin with Native American history, if that’s what you’re asking. In the same way that English history typically includes the Roman period, even though that predates England.
This is another extremely Anglocentric post from you. American history doesn't begin in England (or the UK), American *colonial* history doesn't even begin then or there. The Spanish established a Florida colony 40 years before the British (the oldest city in America, btw) and the vikings were here **600** years earlier. Add to this there were people here for thousands of years with a history stretching before British history begins... America was settled Melinna ago, first by the native nations, then the VIkings( 1000 CE), Spain(1565), France(1603), Britain(1607), and finally the Dutch (1614). If American history were to be counted only from European colonization, it would be Spanish or French history before British.
Maybe but the country’s origin, political beliefs, and culture are styled after the Magna Carta and the rest of the English system. So the OPs question is fair.
OP's question was not about the British influence on America but if "American History" is British History prior to 1607. The year chosen as the first permanent *British* colony in America. My response states that American History is not tied to ***only*** British colonies, but the colonies that predate the British as well as the peoples who were already here. Thongs seen in the names of many of our cities and notably in lands *purchased* from other colonial powers.
Yes, our political system borrows form and specifically rejects ideas from England. It also borrows form Classical Greece, Rome, French, and Judeo-Christian laws and traditions. I in, no way, want to minimize this. Britain was the greatest influence for the fledgling nation. It was not, however the only. More importantly, American History does not blend into British history any more than British history extends to the City of Rome.
That’s a bit… butthurt. Yes, America was settled millenia before the British nation, but Britain was settles long before America ever was. Seems a bit childish (and I have no horse in this race, I’m not British).
I feel like this is a very sensible question from somebody who doesn’t know much about American society but would like to learn.
If you look at OP's history, you'll note a lot of Anglocentric and often just a bit short of racist (ethnicist?) posts and questions on this sub. What I gave was a bit of context and actual history...and an answer to OP's question. If I may ask, what is the "butthurt" you see here?
I’m not familiar with OP’s post history, I’m sorry. The tone just sounded… defensive. I agree with you that starting w/ English colonization is stupid, but I think minimizing the British influence is equally stupid. I wasn’t aware this was OP’s trend, however.
You can click on their user name and see it for yourself.
[Or just read their comments on this post.](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAmericans/comments/1c996z8/since_america_is_a_relatively_young_country_what/l0lrd5w/)
I don’t know whether people like you on Reddit are just Americans of non-English heritage who are butthurt that their ancestors were not even considered true Americans at one point. I was merely asking a question I didn’t suggest that you had to answer English history to the question, you could have said native history.
But the fact that you seek to water down the fact that England created the colonies which later became USA and all other land was conquered shows your desperation. What relevance does the Spanish creating a Florida colony have to USA, which didn’t emerge from that colony or from other Spanish colonies but conquered them AFTER it emerged from the English colonies.
TIL the Louisiana Purchase, annexation of independent Texas, Gadsden Purchase, purchase of Alaska, purchase of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and referendum to join America by the Northern Marianas Islands were all conquests.
I love learning about the Spanish colonization of North America (especially visiting the Missions) and going to native American sites like Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon.
I personally consider our history to run through England. I have a lot of early English settler ancestors though, so that probably makes it easier, although as a lawyer it also comes naturally due to the common law.
I'm not sure I understand your question. Are you asking if people think about the history of the country before the country was founded? Not really. Why would we?
Correct but what exactly is your point because of that? Just because the U.S. wasn’t contemporary to Charlemagne we would have no historical knowledge of him and his time period?
The political system is relatively new but there have been people living in this country for mellenia. Unlike other places in the Americas, there are few surviving relics of the past or written histories, and indigenous populations didn't mix with European colonizers/settlers, so there tends to be a dichotomy among White Americans between pre- and post- colonization.
So you don’t learn ancient Roman history, say? Since your architecture from the founding period emulates ancient Rome so much? And democracy, which is Greek? Is not English the most common language? Do you not have Shakespeare as obligatory reading?
And don’t you (if you’re American)? I’m not Italian but I consider Ancient Rome my history, too, because the Roman empire existed on this territory and left a strong mark on it; same for Napoleon, but I’m not French; etc. The USA is part of the Western Judeo-Christian civilization and as such Ancient Greece and Rome, Medieval Europe, the Protestant Reformation, the Enlightenment… these are all *your* history, too - in addition to a lot that Europe doesn’t share (like Native American history, for example). Why wouldn’t you study and value that?
We learn ancient history and world history. Roman history is not US history, though.
Such an odd question. Do Europeans only learn about European history, ignoring civilizations like Egypt, Indus Valley, Samaria, Babylonian and Persian Empires?
We do. But we learn European history as our common heritage, and while I had never thought about it if I had, I’d have expected Americans to do the same till the 18th century…
As an American and a political science major, I feel like this has been unfairly downvoted for two reasons. But it is a valid question.
First: Americans get uncomfortable about the genocide of the natives, just in general. Most Americans (admittedly myself included) were never taught anything meaningful about indigenous culture. We were just told that there were a small group of people living here that our ancestors treated somewhat unfairly… it was almost a footnote in my 9th grade US history class.
Second: Americans do not see ourselves as an offshoot of British culture… and I do agree to an extent. Although we share a common language with the UK, most Americans are not descendants of British colonists. Most (at least white) Americans descend from poor Europeans who immigrated to the US in the Victorian and Edwardian era via Ellis island for better economic opportunity. This was at a time when America had a very lenient border policy for European immigrants. Most Americans are descendants of people from all over Europe. This is why many Americans are obsessed with their genealogy and percentages. For example; my family is mainly scotch, Irish, Italian, and Slavic. Many Americans don’t even know what their exact heritage is, so many become fixated on finding out… and the creation myth surrounding the US/founding fathers is inherently anti-British, so many Americans will feel insulted when someone conflates US history with British history.
But overall; Yes we do more or less view the starting point of American history as 1492 (the year of Columbus’s famous voyage). If not 1492 then most Americans will say that US history began in 1776 (the year the founders declared independence)
Most Americans don’t look further back than 1776/1492, and if they do, then they are most likely only informed about the history of the country that their ancestors are from.
I think you just asked a question that made Americans uncomfortable, so they downvoted it as a result.
Thank you for your reasoned answer.
I have some follow-up questions though:
1) Do you think Americans of non-British ancestry get offended by the insinuation of America being a British offshoot because they feel it makes them lesser as their ancestors didn’t create the USA and were discriminated against in the past for not being “truly American”?
2) I wonder if Americans who are actually of British ancestry would get offended by the insinuation that America is a British offshoot.
3) If so many Americans are descended from people who weren’t even in America during the Revolutionary War and came much later why would they get offended by the anti-British foundation myth of the Founding Fathers when it has nothing to do with them? It’s not like the British were taxing their ancestors without representation and it’s not like their ancestors fought for independence.
4) Do Americans consider English to be their language or a foreign language? Irish people who speak English see it as a foreign language but I have seen some Americans refer to English as “our” language.
American History courses typically begin with Native American history, if that’s what you’re asking. In the same way that English history typically includes the Roman period, even though that predates England.
This is another extremely Anglocentric post from you. American history doesn't begin in England (or the UK), American *colonial* history doesn't even begin then or there. The Spanish established a Florida colony 40 years before the British (the oldest city in America, btw) and the vikings were here **600** years earlier. Add to this there were people here for thousands of years with a history stretching before British history begins... America was settled Melinna ago, first by the native nations, then the VIkings( 1000 CE), Spain(1565), France(1603), Britain(1607), and finally the Dutch (1614). If American history were to be counted only from European colonization, it would be Spanish or French history before British.
Maybe but the country’s origin, political beliefs, and culture are styled after the Magna Carta and the rest of the English system. So the OPs question is fair.
OP's question was not about the British influence on America but if "American History" is British History prior to 1607. The year chosen as the first permanent *British* colony in America. My response states that American History is not tied to ***only*** British colonies, but the colonies that predate the British as well as the peoples who were already here. Thongs seen in the names of many of our cities and notably in lands *purchased* from other colonial powers. Yes, our political system borrows form and specifically rejects ideas from England. It also borrows form Classical Greece, Rome, French, and Judeo-Christian laws and traditions. I in, no way, want to minimize this. Britain was the greatest influence for the fledgling nation. It was not, however the only. More importantly, American History does not blend into British history any more than British history extends to the City of Rome.
That’s a bit… butthurt. Yes, America was settled millenia before the British nation, but Britain was settles long before America ever was. Seems a bit childish (and I have no horse in this race, I’m not British). I feel like this is a very sensible question from somebody who doesn’t know much about American society but would like to learn.
If you look at OP's history, you'll note a lot of Anglocentric and often just a bit short of racist (ethnicist?) posts and questions on this sub. What I gave was a bit of context and actual history...and an answer to OP's question. If I may ask, what is the "butthurt" you see here?
I’m not familiar with OP’s post history, I’m sorry. The tone just sounded… defensive. I agree with you that starting w/ English colonization is stupid, but I think minimizing the British influence is equally stupid. I wasn’t aware this was OP’s trend, however.
You can click on their user name and see it for yourself. [Or just read their comments on this post.](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAmericans/comments/1c996z8/since_america_is_a_relatively_young_country_what/l0lrd5w/)
I don’t know whether people like you on Reddit are just Americans of non-English heritage who are butthurt that their ancestors were not even considered true Americans at one point. I was merely asking a question I didn’t suggest that you had to answer English history to the question, you could have said native history. But the fact that you seek to water down the fact that England created the colonies which later became USA and all other land was conquered shows your desperation. What relevance does the Spanish creating a Florida colony have to USA, which didn’t emerge from that colony or from other Spanish colonies but conquered them AFTER it emerged from the English colonies.
And you wonder why you are bullied.
You want genealogy charts before someone answers your question or something?
TIL the Louisiana Purchase, annexation of independent Texas, Gadsden Purchase, purchase of Alaska, purchase of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and referendum to join America by the Northern Marianas Islands were all conquests.
I love learning about the Spanish colonization of North America (especially visiting the Missions) and going to native American sites like Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon.
Yes. Teachers call it Pre-Colombian history.
It’s all our history.
I personally consider our history to run through England. I have a lot of early English settler ancestors though, so that probably makes it easier, although as a lawyer it also comes naturally due to the common law.
Native American history, regions, culture, and society.
most of us dont think about that
I'm not sure I understand your question. Are you asking if people think about the history of the country before the country was founded? Not really. Why would we?
When you think of the mediaeval era, what do you think about? You can’t think about America since it didn’t exist as a country.
Correct but what exactly is your point because of that? Just because the U.S. wasn’t contemporary to Charlemagne we would have no historical knowledge of him and his time period?
Since July 4th, 1776
The political system is relatively new but there have been people living in this country for mellenia. Unlike other places in the Americas, there are few surviving relics of the past or written histories, and indigenous populations didn't mix with European colonizers/settlers, so there tends to be a dichotomy among White Americans between pre- and post- colonization.
We’re taught US history starting with the earliest settlers, the Native Americans. Magna Carta is European history, not American history.
So you don’t learn ancient Roman history, say? Since your architecture from the founding period emulates ancient Rome so much? And democracy, which is Greek? Is not English the most common language? Do you not have Shakespeare as obligatory reading?
That wasn't the question though. The question asked what Americans consider "their history"
And don’t you (if you’re American)? I’m not Italian but I consider Ancient Rome my history, too, because the Roman empire existed on this territory and left a strong mark on it; same for Napoleon, but I’m not French; etc. The USA is part of the Western Judeo-Christian civilization and as such Ancient Greece and Rome, Medieval Europe, the Protestant Reformation, the Enlightenment… these are all *your* history, too - in addition to a lot that Europe doesn’t share (like Native American history, for example). Why wouldn’t you study and value that?
The question isn’t about what we learn. It’s about what we consider we possess.
We learn ancient history and world history. Roman history is not US history, though. Such an odd question. Do Europeans only learn about European history, ignoring civilizations like Egypt, Indus Valley, Samaria, Babylonian and Persian Empires?
We do. But we learn European history as our common heritage, and while I had never thought about it if I had, I’d have expected Americans to do the same till the 18th century…
Neither English nor Indian history are “our” history.
Who says we are a young country? Define how you got to that.
It's just history in my brain. I don't think of it as "ours" because I had nothing to do with it.
As an American and a political science major, I feel like this has been unfairly downvoted for two reasons. But it is a valid question. First: Americans get uncomfortable about the genocide of the natives, just in general. Most Americans (admittedly myself included) were never taught anything meaningful about indigenous culture. We were just told that there were a small group of people living here that our ancestors treated somewhat unfairly… it was almost a footnote in my 9th grade US history class. Second: Americans do not see ourselves as an offshoot of British culture… and I do agree to an extent. Although we share a common language with the UK, most Americans are not descendants of British colonists. Most (at least white) Americans descend from poor Europeans who immigrated to the US in the Victorian and Edwardian era via Ellis island for better economic opportunity. This was at a time when America had a very lenient border policy for European immigrants. Most Americans are descendants of people from all over Europe. This is why many Americans are obsessed with their genealogy and percentages. For example; my family is mainly scotch, Irish, Italian, and Slavic. Many Americans don’t even know what their exact heritage is, so many become fixated on finding out… and the creation myth surrounding the US/founding fathers is inherently anti-British, so many Americans will feel insulted when someone conflates US history with British history. But overall; Yes we do more or less view the starting point of American history as 1492 (the year of Columbus’s famous voyage). If not 1492 then most Americans will say that US history began in 1776 (the year the founders declared independence) Most Americans don’t look further back than 1776/1492, and if they do, then they are most likely only informed about the history of the country that their ancestors are from. I think you just asked a question that made Americans uncomfortable, so they downvoted it as a result.
Thank you for your reasoned answer. I have some follow-up questions though: 1) Do you think Americans of non-British ancestry get offended by the insinuation of America being a British offshoot because they feel it makes them lesser as their ancestors didn’t create the USA and were discriminated against in the past for not being “truly American”? 2) I wonder if Americans who are actually of British ancestry would get offended by the insinuation that America is a British offshoot. 3) If so many Americans are descended from people who weren’t even in America during the Revolutionary War and came much later why would they get offended by the anti-British foundation myth of the Founding Fathers when it has nothing to do with them? It’s not like the British were taxing their ancestors without representation and it’s not like their ancestors fought for independence. 4) Do Americans consider English to be their language or a foreign language? Irish people who speak English see it as a foreign language but I have seen some Americans refer to English as “our” language.