Alyxra t1_it7wrqk wrote on October 21, 2022 at 4:04 PM

Reply to comment by Crack_Expert in [OC] US counties required to provide non-English ballots under the Voting Rights Act, by number of languages by USAFacts_Official

Is it? Or did it become one rather recently historically and so laws and society haven’t adjusted?

People love to say this, but until a few decades ago the majority of the population were descendants of the English colonists.

Crack_Expert t1_it7y3r7 wrote on October 21, 2022 at 4:13 PM

White people are immigrants, too.

Alyxra t1_it7z1j6 wrote on October 21, 2022 at 4:19 PM

True, but I was not excluding based on race. Including white immigrants, the majority of the US population were descendants of the colonists until fairly recently.

Large demographic changes like that take a while for complex government systems to adapt to.

Especially considering most of the change is localized to particular areas.

Crack_Expert t1_it7ztpa wrote on October 21, 2022 at 4:24 PM

Colonists are immigrants.

Just illegal ones.

Unless you're a native... youre from an immigrant family.

Thats my point.

Almost all us Americans.. are immigrants.

At least my take on it.

There were also plenty of Irish and Scots.

My family was all here by 1650 and its half Irish. (I've traced all my family back to what boat).

Alyxra t1_it80xw7 wrote on October 21, 2022 at 4:32 PM

By this logic all humans in America are immigrants including “natives” because they crossed over a land bridge from Asia thousands of years ago.

Humans did not evolve in the New World.

There is a difference between colonists and immigrants which is why they are not the same word.

In simple terms, colonists are people who move to an area that is not yet established and build a state. Immigrants are people who move to an already established area.

Crack_Expert t1_it825nv wrote on October 21, 2022 at 4:40 PM

Natives were the first humans in a place. Making them the "default" human.

I would agree they EMigrated.... but not that they IMmigrated. As they set the default.

Either way, only the first trip was all English.

There was a large Irish and Scot group in the US by 1650. (Large by ratio)