Seems I've had to do a lot of reading for people lately. >sigh<
I know you're an Aussie, so I'll explain... Both the United States and Canada are on North America, and the usage "American" applies to both in some cases, but when talking about citizenship, "American" generally applies to the United States only.
I LOVE the Samuel Adams quote! If a few more of the anti-Constitution types would learn to read, perhaps they wouldn't be so quick to attack our hard-fought rights! I'm gonna drink a bottle of Sam Adams tonight in support of his quote! (Thanks for that pic upthread, RS!)
"It will bring an ever lasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men."
Who are the 'false and designing men', Gondring?