| Luke888 said: I'm fine with the US, even though the whole country seems to be kinda too bossy sometimes, just to make an example that doesn't affect politics or really important topics: why do you call yourselves "Americans" ? you aren't the only Americans, Brazilians are americans, mexicans are americans and so on is everyone who lives in the American Continent. I know, I know, you can't call yourselves Unitians or Statians but you could simmply say the name of the state you come from (?). That said I believe that a state that commands other states is necessary but just don't exagerate. |
The term "American" for people living in the United States really took off after the first World War. During the colonial era people referred to themselves as Virginians or New Yorkers. To the British empire they were all lumped together as Colonists or Americans. After breaking off from the empire commonly thrown around American because to them difference between a Vermonter and a Carolinian was negligable. As the United States grew and especially after the Civil War the identity of many citizens shifted from state level to a national one. As stated earlier the first World War was the US emerging on the world scene as a major player and a sense of national pride and identity solidified itself during second World War and Cold War period.
Today in most parts the national identity dominates, but you have large states like California and Texas where I meet people who still have attachment to state level. Know a few Texans that perfer to be addressed as such as opposed to American. Personally I don't really care. It would be nice to be called Kentuckian, but from my experience most foriengers don't even know where we are. Just this past week in Boston was talking to a Spaniard and he asked if Kentucky was a state. If you want to remember all fifty states thank you, but I get lumping us all together.
