The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-04-26
ANGLO-SAXONISM.

1t is not even true that all the original
colonies settled in the territory now en-
braced in the United States, were of Eng
lish blood The first settlers on the site
of Philadelphia and in Delaware were
Swedes: the first settlers of New York
were German; large colonies in Central
Pennsylvania were Holland Dutch; and
beyond them the earliest occupants OF
that country were Celtic Irish. There
were large settlements of Huguenot
French in South Carolina; while the
Catholic French colonized New Orleans,
ST. Louis, Detroit, and much OF the Miss
issippi valley. There was also large set
Element of Protestant Irish in New
Hampshire
But it was the good fortune of the Eng
1ish people that they preponderatcd along
the Atlantic coast and this gave the
country its language, a good deal Of its
institutions, and still more of its prejud-
ices.
There has been great deal of foolish
talk about Anglo-Saxonism. The popula-
ton OF England consists of mixture of
Scandnavians and Celts. The Angles, if
they were anything, were Scandinavians:
and the Saxons we're local offshoot
from the same great stock. The Saxons
were conquered, overridden and degraded
into serfs. by the Normans, Ga mixture OF
Scandinavans and French.) The Low
land Scotch are all almost unmixed COL
ony from Norway; their languages are
perfectly dentical-whole sentences being
the same.
Mr.. Wharton Barker in the Philadel-
phia American" has some very sensible
utterances upon this question. We quote
We hear OF ties of blood being thicker
than water and uniting Britain and Amer
lea. But those ties OF blood are slender
strands, ties no thicker and not so recent
ly spun as those that unite us to Ireland
or even to Germany Since the revolt
ton, since we launched forth in Our
career as an independent nation, not
mere than ten per cent of those who have
come to settle among us, throw in their
fortunes with our fortunes, develop con-
tinent have been English born. AS the
German-Americans already referred to
declared at Chicago: Not England but
the whole OF Europe is the mother coun-
try OF the white inhabitants OF the United
States y
Further back than two generations we
cannot trace the lineage of our people,
the country from which they have sprung
nor is it necessary. for in the third gen
Grafton they have lost the distinguishable
characteristics OF their race, they cease to
be 1risll-Americans, or German Ameri-
cans, have ceased to be Americans by
adoption, have become SO by absorption.
But Of our population, foreign born and
born of foreign parentage. The last CEN
sus. and there is no later data, shows that
in 1890. of our total white population OF
54,083,o8o 37N perct., or 20, 5Io,643, were
OF foreign parentage. and of these 4,oI3,-
238 were IrisA Americans, 6,851,564 Ger
manAmericans, I,o22,638 British 4Ameri-
cans, with the men OF Scandinavian de-
scent coming next Put in percentages
OF Our white population, foreign born OF
born OF foreign parents. 1894 per cent
was Irish, 1880 per cent German, only
9. 81 per cent English
Since 1890 there has been a large pro-
portionate gain in our population OF Latin
and Slavish origin so that the percen-
ages of Irish and Germans and English
to DIR foreign population, though still
holding their ranking position. are TN
doubleday somewhat smaller than eight
years ago. OF this population of foreign
parentage and in excess OF twenty mil