Ward 1

Layla Ward
Professor Flowers
Edu 280
15 April 2015
The Identity and Origin of European Americans
The identity of the European race consists of fair skinned individuals from
many parts of the world. There are many races that are part of the European race
including Early Icelanders, Icelanders, Saami, Albanians Bosnian Muslims, Croats,
Greeks, Montenegrins, Serbs, Slovenes, Basques and Imperial Roman races (EHAF
World Cultures). The English established their first colony in 1607. This colony,
Jamestown, consisted of 104 men and boys (Walker 7). The Dutch settled in
Manhattan, New York in 1624. The Swedes settling in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1683
(Walker 7). The trip to the United States was extremely dangerous. While crossing
the Atlantic many people suffered constant sea sickness and disease (Sandler 18)
More than 70% of early Europeans arrived through a great port in New York City
(Sandler 22). The European race to venture to America was the British in 1497
(European Exploration). Shortly after, many other people from Europe began the trip
to America. He was looking for the Northwest Passage (England).
There is much more to European background than the time in America. In the
15th century Europeans began exploring all parts of the world. Navigators could
voyage to the corners of the world, which helped the trade industry bloom. This
time in European history was dubbed the, Age of Exploration which was a wild
tangent from the Renaissance age that occurred shortly before (Age of Exploration).

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Science was now somewhat accepted, and the knowledge of astronomy rocketed.
This new age of Europe was one of great intellectual prosperity. Prior to this great
age, Europe faced a deal of challenged including famine and war. By The 1480s,
stability began to immerge as King Henry VII took control (England). There was a
gap in the exploration shortly after until Queen Elizabeth started to send explorers
once again in the 1570s (England).
For many immigrants it was not easy when entering the new America. Florence
Norris, an English immigrant, states, He asked me a lot of silly questions. You know
what I mean? About America, and if I knew all about America, Well, I didnt know
anything about America. From the start, America was not the melting pot that we
are commonly told it is. It was a long, difficult process to assimilate into American
culture although the Europeans had an advantage over many other racial
minorities.
In the period of 1800 to 1960 Europeans had a great pull on intercontinental
migration committees. With over 80 percent of the members being of European
background, they had an advantage over many other races. They could choose to
improve their living conditions and economic situations (Taylor, 141). This, in turn,
resulted in many advantages for white people migrating to America for the first
time. Europe benefited greatly from these advantages as well.
European colonists first began to settle in the 1600s where they originally
lived peacefully with the Native Americans. These early colonist had not mixed
racially and were entirely one heritage. The original colonies were self-governed,
however that came to an abrupt and unwelcome end when they were once again
under English rule. Many of the colonists had left Europe in order to be free of

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tyranny. Now, they are facing the same tyranny in the new Land of America (Native
Americans and Europeans).
Not only did the early colonists face grievances from their home country, they
also faced resistance from Native Americans. There were few conflicts in the 1600s,
however, the Europeans began to expand and this began conflicts. In addition to
this, many Europeans befriended one Native American tribe and it would make
another tribe their rival (Conflict with Europeans). While this type of occurrence was
common, it often did not lead to wars. Only until the 18 th century did wars really
begin between the Europeans and the Native Americans. In short, Europeans did
face a struggle when coming to the newly discovered America. This fight would
eventually cause wars and the segregation of Native American and European
peoples.
The European identity consists of many different races, from many different
parts of Europe. Most people of European identity are categorized as white and
non-Hispanic, with fair skin. Their ancestors traveled from Europe and faced many
forms of resistance when trying to assimilate into a new culture. I dont feel that
there ever was a true assimilation, instead, many Europeans mass murdered Native
American tribes to claim the new land of America for their own (Conflict with
Europeans).

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Works Cited
"Age of Exploration (Overview)." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 18 Apr.
2015.
Berlatsky, Noah. "Despite Demographic Change, Race and Racism Remain
Important." Interracial
America. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2011. Print.
"Conflict with Europeans." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2015.
"EHAF World Cultures." Human Relations Website Files. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.
<http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu.ezproxy.library.csn.edu/ehrafe/regionsCult
ures.do>.
"England." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2015
"European Exploration (Overview)." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 15 Apr.
2015.
Walker, Paul Robert. "European Immigrants." A Nation of Immigrants. New
York: Kingfisher :, 2012. Print.
"Native Americans and Europeans (Overview)." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2015.
Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
Sandler, Martin W. Immigrants. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1995. Print.
Taylor, Charles, and Amy Gutmann. Multiculturalism: Examining the Politics of
Recognition.

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Princeton, N.J.: Princeton UP, 1994. Print.