Thread by @istvaeonic

In the early 20th century visionaries in America sought to defend their nation from waves of foreign immigrants as to preserve the original ethnic stock of their country that had made it great. This begged the question: what was the original ethnic makeup of America?
🧵

The Federal Government wanted to restrict future migration to America in proportion to those ethnicities' share of the population of the USA at its founding, so they analyzed the first census conducted in 1790. Previous research had failed, so they appointed a new committee.

The committee under the American Council of Learned Societies analyzed common surnames to ethnicities that were not likely to be anglicized (i.e. Müller to Miller) in respect to the census location. This way the report would be more consistent with known settlement locations.

After collecting the data, the committee further revised the data due using contemporary overrepresentation of English names to correct many of the states in their data having over or under 100% totals. This final revision of English blood yielded the results in the table below:

In addition to simply measuring the populations of the states, the study also estimated percentages for what would become the entire continental United States, thus including the Northwest Territory as well as French and Spanish possessions the U.S. would later acquire.

Englishmen (including Welsh) were almost a supermajority in 1790 at 60.9%. The English came from all parts of England and are simply too diverse of a group to fully tackle in a Twitter thread. I would highly recommend "Albion's Seed" to understand the different English groups.

Germans were the second largest ethnicity but only made up 8.7% of the U.S. Germans mainly settled in New York and Pennsylvania and spread into the backcountry seeking opportunity on the frontier. Most Germans assimilated quickly, strange PA religious sects being the exception.

Scots made up the third largest group at 8.3%. Most Scots were from the Lowlands, especially in 1790 since most Highlanders fled the country as British Loyalists after the war. Like the Germans, Scots also quickly moved to the frontier to push America ever westward.

The Irish contributed 6% from Ulster and 3.7% from the other three provinces, but this total also includes Scots and English that migrated to Ireland before America. Analysis suggested 6.3% of America was Celtic-Irish, with the remaining 3.4% being of Scottish or English origin.

The Dutch were the largest minor stock at 3.4% with the population coming entirely from the New Netherland colony annexed by the English. Unlike other groups that were immigrants, the Dutch population existed in their own right and joined forces with the English to form America.

French made of 1.7% of America (2.3% including French colonies and Northwest territory). The American French were descendants of Huguenot immigrants that dispersed all over America. These do not include the ancestors of today's Cajuns, who owe the origin to French colonialism.

Swedes are the final group, at 0.7% of America in 1790. They came primarily from New Sweden as well as migration to New Netherland. Although small, this group still contributed greatly to the American frontier lifestyle, spreading the quintessential model of the log cabin.

Yes, America was overwhelmingly Germanic, but it is important to recognize both the dominant English share of the population and that the non-English stocks assimilated into English culture. America is primarily English, secondarily Germanic. Any minimization of this fact is cope

It is very telling that the progenitor of my family in this country, born in 17th-century Germany, wrote his last will and testament here in America in English. Many of his sons and grandsons went onto fight for American independence.

Today America's very essence is under attack, and we must fight to realize the vision of those who sought to return America to its foundational demographics. This nation is our birthright and always will be no matter how many deny it.