White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. It includes people who reported “White” or wrote in entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Near Easterner, Arab, or Polish."[5] Like all official U.S. racial categories, "White" has a "Not Hispanic or Latino" and a "Hispanic or Latino" component,[5] the latter consisting mostly of White Mexican Americans and white Cuban Americans. The term "Caucasian" is often used interchangeably with "White".[6][7]
German Americans (16.5%), Irish Americans (11.9%), English Americans (9.0%), Italian Americans (5.8%), French Americans (4%), Polish Americans (3%), Scottish Americans (1.9%), Dutch Americans (1.6%), Norwegian Americans (1.5%), and Swedish Americans (1.4%) constitute the ten largest White American ancestries.[8] Whites constitute the majority, with a total of 223,553,265 or 72.4% of the population in the 2010 United States Census.
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Today, the term "white American" or "European American" can encompass many different ethnic groups. Although the United States Census purports to reflect a social definition of race, the social dimensions of race are more complex than Census criteria. The 2000 U.S. census states that racial categories "generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country. They do not conform to any biological, anthropological or genetic criteria."[9]
The Census question on race lists the categories White, Black or African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Asian, plus "Some other race", with the respondent having the ability to mark more than one category. The Census Bureau defines White people as follows:
The term "White" refers to people having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. It includes people who reported "White" or wrote in entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Near Easterner, Arab, or Polish.[5]
In U.S. census documents, the designation white overlaps, as do all other official racial categories, with the term Hispanic or Latino, which was introduced in the 1980 census as a category of ethnicity, separate and independent of race.[10][11] Hispanic and Latino Americans make up a racially diverse group, and as a whole are the largest minority in the country.[12][13]
Many Arab and other Middle Eastern Americans and North African Americans, as well as non-European Jewish Americans, conflate race and geographic/national origin. In cases where individuals do not self-identify, the U.S. census parameters for race give each national origin a racial value.
Additionally, people who reported Muslim (or a sect of Islam such as Shi'ite or Sunni), Jewish, Zoroastrian, or Caucasian as their "race" in the "Some other race" section, without noting a country of origin, are automatically tallied as white.[14] The US Census considers the write-in response of "Caucasian" or "Aryan" to be a synonym for white in their ancestry code listing.[15]
According to race scholars such as Karen Brodkin, in the United States, essentially anyone of European descent is considered white and Jews are also considered white.[17] However, while the census asserts that "race" and "ethnicity" are separate, some Hispanics of primarily European descent may not consider themselves white and may not be considered white by others, possibly because of the long-held stereotype of Hispanics being given a non-white racial value.[18][19][20] Likewise, while people of Middle Eastern and North African descent are included in the white category in the census, studies have found that Arab American teenagers may sometimes construct identities that distinguish them from "white society".[21]
The cultural boundaries separating white Americans from other racial or ethnic categories have changed significantly over the course of American history. Even among Europeans, those not considered white at some time in American history include Ashkenazi Jews, Southern Europeans(Spaniards, Greeks, Italians etc.), Irish Catholics, Eastern Europeans and Germans.[22][23] Early on in the United States, white generally referred to those of British Isles or northwestern European descent.[24]
David R. Roediger argues that the construction of the white race in the United States was an effort to mentally distance slave owners from slaves.[25] The process of officially being defined as white by law often came about in court disputes over pursuit of citizenship.[26] In the early 20th century, it became common for white supremacists to promote the features of the blond, blue-eyed Nordic race as the "master race".
Critical race theory takes, as one of its founding influences, the nonfiction essays of James Baldwin, who argued that Whiteness was a fictional category, a construct without reference to any culture at all except for the purposes of domination and genocide. Scholars such as David Roediger, Paul Gilroy, and others have based some of their work on this notion.
As whites are the dominant racial and cultural group, according to sociologist Steven Seidman, writing from a critical theory perspective, "White culture constitutes the general cultural mainstream, causing non-White culture to be seen as deviant, in either a positive or negative manner. Moreover, Whites tend to be disproportionately represented in powerful positions, controlling almost all political, economic, and cultural institutions."
Yet, according to Seidman, Whites are most commonly unaware of their "privilege" and the manner in which their culture has always been dominant in the US, as they do not identify as members of a specific racial group but rather incorrectly perceive their views and culture as "raceless", when in fact it is ethno-national (ethnic/cultural) specific, with a racial base component.[27]
| White Americans 1790 – 2010[28][29] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Population | % of the U.S | Year | Population | % of the U.S |
| 1790 | 3,172,006 | 80.7 | 1910 | 81,731,957 | 88.9 |
| 1800 | 4,306,446 | 81.1 | 1920 | 94,820,915 | 89.7 |
| 1810 | 5,862,073 | 81.0 | 1930 | 110,286,740 | 89.8 (highest) |
| 1820 | 7,866,797 | 81.6 | 1940 | 118,214,870 | 89.8 (highest) |
| 1830 | 10,532,060 | 81.9 | 1950 | 134,942,028 | 89.5 |
| 1840 | 14,189,705 | 83.2 | 1960 | 158,831,732 | 88.6 |
| 1850 | 19,553,068 | 84.3 | 1970 | 177,748,975 | 87.5 |
| 1860 | 26,922,537 | 85.6 | 1980 | 188,371,622 | 83.1 |
| 1870 | 33,589,377 | 87.1 | 1990 | 199,686,070 | 80.3 |
| 1880 | 43,402,970 | 86.5 | 2000 | 211,460,626 | 75.1[30] |
| 1890 | 55,101,258 | 87.5 | 2010 | 223,553,265 | 72.4[31] (lowest) |
| 1900 | 66,809,196 | 87.9 | |||
Whites (non-Hispanic and Hispanic) made up 79.8% or 75% of the American population in 2008.[32][33][12][13] This latter number is sometimes recorded as 77.1% when it includes about 2% of the population who are identified as white in combination with one or more other races. The largest ethnic groups (by ancestry) among white Americans were Germans, followed by the Irish and the English.[34] It is likely that many Americans who are descended of English, Irish, or Scottish peoples, or perhaps even more commonly a combination of these and of these and other ethnic groups, simply identify as "American" in the census, and that Americans of English descent are far greater in number than those of German descent. For a better idea on why Americans of English ancestry are likely far undercounted, see English American. In the 1980 census 49,598,035 Americans cited that they were of English ancestry, making them 26% of the country and the largest group at the time, and in fact larger than the population of England itself.[35] Slightly more than half of these people would cite that they were of "American" ancestry on subsequent censuses and virtually everywhere that "American" ancestry predominates on the 2000 census corresponds to places where "English" predominated on the 1980 census.[36][37]
White Americans (again, non-Hispanic and Hispanic Whites) are projected to remain the majority, though with their percentage decreasing to 72% of the total population by 2050. However, the projections are that the non-Hispanic White population will become less than 50% of the population by 2041, in part because Non-Hispanic Whites have the lowest fertility rate of any major racial group in the United States and largely due to mass-immigration.
While over ten million white people can trace part of their ancestry back to the Pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower in 1620 (this common statistic overlooks the Jamestown, Virginia foundations of America and roots of even earlier colonist-descended Americans, such as Spanish Americans in St. Augustine, Florida), over 35 million whites have at least one ancestor who passed through the Ellis Island immigration station, which processed arriving immigrants from 1892 until 1954. See also: European Americans.
According to the Census definition, white Americans are the majority racial group in almost all of the United States. They are not the majority in Hawaii, many American Indian reservations, parts of the South known as the Black Belt, and in many urban areas throughout the country.
Overall the highest concentration of those referred to as "White alone" by the Census Bureau was found in the Midwest, New England, the Rocky Mountain states, Kentucky, and West Virginia. The lowest concentration of whites was found in southern and mid-Atlantic states.[5][38][39]
Although all large geographical areas are dominated by white Americans, much larger differences can be seen between specific parts of large cities.
States with the highest percentages of White Americans, as of 2007:[40]
States with the highest percentages of non-Hispanic whites, as of 2007:[41]
White Americans have the second highest median household income and personal income levels in the nation, by cultural background. The median income per household member was also the highest, since White Americans had the smallest households of any racial demographic in the nation. In 2006, the median individual income of a White American age 25 or older was $33,030, with those who were full-time employed, and of age 25 to 64, earning $34,432. Since 42% of all households had two income earners, the median household income was considerably higher than the median personal income, which was $48,554 in 2005. Jewish Americans rank first in household income, personal income, and educational attainment among white Americans.[42] In 2005, white households had a median household income of $48,977, which is 10.3% above the national median of $44,389. Among Cuban Americans, with 86% classifying as White, those persons born in the US have a higher median income and educational attainment level than most other whites.[43]
The poverty rates for White Americans are the second-lowest of any racial group, with 10.8% of white individuals living below the poverty line, 3% lower than the national average.[44] However, due to Whites' majority status, 48% of Americans living in poverty are white.[45]
Whites' educational attainment is the second-highest in the country, after Asian Americans'. Overall, nearly one-third of White Americans had a Bachelor's degree, with the educational attainment for whites being higher for those born outside the United States: 37.6% of foreign born, and 29.7% of native born Whites had a college degree. Both figures are above the national average of 27.2%.[46]
Gender income inequality was the greatest among whites, with White men outearning white women by 48%. Census Bureau data for 2005 reveals that the median income of white females was lower than that of males of all races. In 2005, the median income for White females was only slightly higher than that of African American females, indicating that income inequities seem to run along gender lines more so than along racial lines.[47]
| State/Territory | Pop 2000 | % pop 2000 | Pop 2010 | % pop 2010 | % growth 2000-2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 3,162,808 | 71.1% | 3,274,119 | 68.5% | +3.5% |
| Alaska | 434,534 | 69.3% | 473,724 | 66.7% | +9.0% |
| Arizona | 3,873,611 | 75.5% | 4,666,172 | 73.0% | +20.5% |
| Arkansas | 2,138,598 | 80.0% | 2,245,257 | 77.0% | +5.0% |
| California | 20,170,059 | 59.5% | 21,458,278 | 56.7% | +6.4% |
| Colorado | 3,560,005 | 82.8% | 4,088,736 | 81.3% | +14.8% |
| Connecticut | 2,780,355 | 81.6% | 2,773,500 | 77.6% | -0.2% |
| Delaware | 584,773 | 74.6% | 618,676 | 68.9% | +5.8% |
| District of Columbia | 176,101 | 30.8% | 231,663 | 38.5% | +31.6% |
| Florida | 12,465,029 | 78.0% | 14,100,982 | 75.0% | +13.1% |
| Georgia | 5,327,281 | 65.1% | 5,783,529 | 59.7% | +8.5% |
| Hawaii | 294,102 | 24.3% | 335,994 | 24.7% | +14.2% |
| Idaho | 1,177,304 | 91.0% | 1,396,716 | 89.1% | +18.6% |
| Illinois | 9,125,471 | 73.5% | 9,173,902 | 71.5% | +0.5% |
| Indiana | 5,320,022 | 87.5% | 5,465,845 | 84.3% | +2.7% |
| Iowa | 2,748,640 | 93.9% | 2,781,322 | 91.3% | +1.2% |
| Kansas | 2,313,944 | 86.1% | 2,390,913 | 83.8% | +3.3% |
| Kentucky | 3,640,889 | 90.1% | 3,809,964 | 87.8% | +4.6% |
| Louisiana | 2,856,161 | 63.9% | 2,837,891 | 62.6% | -0.6% |
| Maine | 1,236,014 | 96.9% | 1,293,160 | 95.2% | +4.6% |
| Maryland | 3,391,308 | 64.0% | 3,360,207 | 58.2% | -0.9% |
| Massachusetts | 5,367,286 | 84.5% | 5,264,294 | 80.4% | -1.9% |
| Michigan | 7,966,053 | 80.2% | 7,798,192 | 78.9% | -2.1% |
| Minnesota | 4,400,282 | 89.4% | 4,524,248 | 85.3% | +2.8% |
| Mississippi | 1,746,099 | 61.4% | 1,753,672 | 59.1% | +0.4% |
| Missouri | 4,748,083 | 84.9% | 4,958,831 | 82.8% | +4.4% |
| Montana | 817,229 | 90.6% | 884,537 | 89.4% | +8.2% |
| Nebraska | 1,533,261 | 89.6% | 1,572,480 | 86.1% | +2.6% |
| Nevada | 1,501,886 | 75.2% | 1,787,764 | 66.2% | +19.0% |
| New Hampshire | 1,186,851 | 96.0% | 1,236,165 | 92.3% | +4.1% |
| New Jersey | 6,104,705 | 72.6% | 6,031,239 | 68.6% | -1.2% |
| New Mexico | 1,214,253 | 66.8% | 1,408,479 | 68.4% | +16.0% |
| New York | 12,893,689 | 67.9% | 12,731,413 | 65.7% | -1.2% |
| North Carolina | 5,804,656 | 72.1% | 6,531,806 | 68.5% | +12.5% |
| North Dakota | 593,181 | 92.4% | 605,332 | 90.0% | +2.0% |
| Ohio | 9,645,453 | 85.0% | 9,540,689 | 82.7% | -1.1% |
| Oklahoma | 2,628,434 | 76.2% | 2,708,475 | 72.2% | +3.0% |
| Oregon | 2,961,623 | 86.6% | 3,202,778 | 83.6% | +8.1% |
| Pennsylvania | 10,484,203 | 85.4% | 10,403,248 | 81.9% | -0.7% |
| Rhode Island | 891,191 | 85.0% | 856,790 | 81.4% | -3.8% |
| South Carolina | 2,695,560 | 67.2% | 3,061,991 | 66.2% | +13.6% |
| South Dakota | 669,404 | 88.7% | 699,381 | 85.9% | +4.5% |
| Tennessee | 4,563,310 | 80.2% | 4,924,577 | 77.6% | +7.9% |
| Texas | 14,799,505 | 71.0% | 17,702,475 | 70.4% | +19.6% |
| Utah | 1,992,975 | 89.2% | 2,379,705 | 86.1% | +19.4% |
| Vermont | 589,208 | 96.8% | 596,331 | 95.3% | +1.2% |
| Virginia | 5,120,110 | 72.3% | 5,488,702 | 68.6% | +7.2% |
| Washington | 4,821,823 | 81.8% | 5,198,070 | 77.3% | +7.8% |
| West Virginia | 1,718,777 | 95.0% | 1,739,961 | 93.9% | +1.2% |
| Wisconsin | 4,769,857 | 88.9% | 4,902,182 | 86.2% | +2.8% |
| Wyoming | 454,670 | 92.1% | 510,846 | 90.7% | +12.3% |
| American Samoa | 682 | 1.2% | |||
| Guam | 10,666 | 6.9% | |||
| Northern Mariana Islands | 1,274 | 1.8% | |||
| Puerto Rico | 3,064,862 | 80.5% | 2,824,148 | 75.8% | -7.8% |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 12,275 | 11.3% | 13,939 | 13.1% | +13.6% |
| United States of America | 211,460,626 | 75.1% | 223,553,265 | 72.4% | +5.7% |
White American culture derived its earliest influences from English, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish and Irish settlers and is quantitatively the largest proportion of American culture. From their earliest presence in North America, White Americans have contributed literature, art, agricultural skills, foods, clothing styles, music, and language to American culture.
In his 1989 book "Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America" (ISBN 0-19-506905-6), David Hackett Fischer explores the details of the folkways of four different groups of settlers from the British Isles that came to the American colonies during the 17th and 18th centuries from distinct regions of Britain and Ireland. His thesis is that the culture of each group persisted (albeit in modified form), providing the basis for the modern United States.
According to Fischer, the foundation of America's four regional cultures was formed from four mass migrations from four different regions of the British Isles by four distinct ethno-cultural groups. New England's formative period occurred between 1629 and 1640 when Puritans, mostly from East Anglia in England, settled there, thus forming the basis for the New England regional culture. The next mass migration was of southern English cavaliers and their Irish and Scottish servants to the Chesapeake Bay region between 1640 and 1675. This spawned the creation of the American Southern culture.
Then, between 1675 and 1725, thousands of Irish, Cornish, English and Welsh Quakers plus many Germans sympathetic to Quaker ideas, led by William Penn, settled the Delaware Valley. This resulted in the formation of the General American culture, although, according to Fischer, this is really a "regional culture," even if it does today encompass most of the U.S. from the mid-Atlantic states to the Pacific Coast. Finally, a huge number of settlers from the borderlands between England and Scotland, and from northern Ireland, migrated to Appalachia between 1717 and 1775. This resulted in the formation of the Upland South regional culture, which has since expanded to the west to West Texas and parts of the U.S. Southwest.
In his book, Fischer brings up several points. He states that the U.S. is not a country with one "general" culture and several "regional" culture, as is commonly thought. Rather, there are only four regional cultures as described above, and understanding this helps one to more clearly understand American history as well as contemporary American life. Fischer also asserts that it is not only important to understand where different groups came from, but when. All population groups have, at different times, their own unique set of beliefs, fears, hopes and prejudices. When different groups came to America and brought certain beliefs and values with them, these ideas became, according to Fischer, more or less frozen in time, even if they eventually changed in their original place of origin.
Many whites have varying amounts of Native American and African ancestry. In a recent study, Gonçalves et al. 2007 reported Sub-Saharan and Amerindian mtDna lineages at a frequency of 3.1% (respectively 0.90% and 2.2%) in White Americans of European descent.[49] In another study, about 30% of all White Americans, approximately 66 million people, have a median of 2.3% of Black African admixture.[50]
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