O.K., here comes the demagoguery. It should have been obvious to you, that I was addressing the origin of the group that came to define American at the time of the Revolution. Those whom you call "Native Americans"--an insult to the Indians, because they had their own very distinct ethnicities (plural) at the same time, and American is a European word coined to refer to the original white settlers--in many cases fought with great bravery and suffering to preserve their ways and values from the encroaching "American" development. That they lost is no reason to deny them their actual identities (again plural).
With regard to the Negroes, present largely in the South, they did indeed contribute a great deal to the developing Southern culture of the times and those immediately subsequent; and to this day are a part of that culture. But it is not accurate to suggest that they were really considered a part of the American ethnicity at the time. Whether you like it or not, they were not, both because of the racial aspect, and the fact that initially most of them were in bondage. But certainly, their interest today is one as the hand, to use Booker T. Washington's metaphor, with their White neighbors, over this question of immigration. They are the immediate victims of open borders; the jobs being taken, taken primarily from the least skilled (and least able to defend themselves) class of their race.
The Spanish were not found in any significant numbers in the original 13 States. There was an old Spanish culture in Florida, which was acquired in 1819; and which like those of the Indians, must be considered a rival ethnicity prior to that acquisition. Having never been to Florida, I do not know if it has survived to this day, or in what form--as opposed to the new Cuban-American group in South Florida--but they are not one group. While we respect both, they are distinct in their historic development, as would be other Spanish language ethnic groups, encountered with the annexation of Texas and in the Mexican War and its aftermath.
There are also old minority groups from Northern Europe, that have maintained a certain ethnic separation, such as the Amish.
No one is demeaning any of these people. But none of these other ethnic groups, to which you refer, or the broader spectrum to which I refer, had a hand in setting up the entity known as the United States of America, from a compact of the 13 sovereignties, recognized in the Treaty of Paris, which we call the Constitution. That Constitution reflects the values discussed in the Declaration of Independence; and those values--and the unique slant on them--reflect the experiences of those whom I described earlier.
William Flax
I'll make sure my girlfriend knows that being called a "Native American" is an insult.
The Spanish were not found in any significant numbers in the original 13 States.
Really?? Check your history about Georgia.
And just slightly beyond the 13 original colonies... who do you think Louisiana belonged to before the French??? Who explored the Missouri river first... I'll give you a hint their is a rare American half dollar from 1935 dedicated to him... and just slighlty beyond that, where did the names of half the states come from as well as the Ocean to the west?? And who was first to try and controll the Missispi??
And what nations do you think donated to the American rebels during the Revolutionary War??? Russia?? No. China?? Wrong again. And what nation was one of the first to identify the US as an independent nation???
Spain and the Independence of the United States
" The role of Spain in the birth of the United States is a little known and little understood aspect of U.S. independence. Through actual fighting, provision of supplies, and money, Spain helped the young British colonies succeed in becoming an independent nation. Soldiers were recruited from all over the Spanish empire, from Spain itself and from throughout Spanish America. Many died fighting British soldiers and their allies in Central America, the Caribbean, along the Mississippi River from New Orleans to St. Louis and as far north as Michigan, along the Gulf Coast to Mobile and Pensacola, as well as in Europe.
Based on primary research in the archives of Spain, this book is about United States history at its very inception, placing the war in its broadest international context. In short, the information in this book should provide a clearer understanding of the independence of the United States, correct a longstanding omission in its history, and enrich its patrimony. It will appeal to anyone interested in the history of the Revolutionary War and in Spain's role in the development of the Americas. "