European American
A
European American, or a
Euro-American, is a person who resides in the
United States and is either the descendant of
European immgrants or from Europe him or herself. They are classified as
White in the
United States Census, 2000, along with Americans of Middle Eastern and North African ancestry.
Use
The term European American is more specific than
White American in that these terms in their official usage include Americans of
European,
North African,
Southwest Asian, and
Middle Eastern ancestry. The term also has a more neutral point of view than either
White American or
Caucasian-American since both of these terms include a larger group of people than is acknowledged in
Europe. Also, whereas
White American and
Caucasian American vary in the peoples they include and are politically charged, European American has a more stable definition and scope. It also may be preferred over
Anglo, a term commonly used in the southwestern US, because of that term collapses a number of distinct ethnicities under a single rubric with origins in
England.
It should, however also be mentioned that the term "Eruopean Americans" is sometimes used as a synonym for White Americans in certain government publications.
Origin
The term was coined in response to the increasing racial
diversity of the United States, as well as in recognition of this demographic diversity moving more into the mainstream of the society in the latter half of the 20th century. As a
linguistic concern, the term is often meant to discourage a
dichotomous view of the
racial landscape, in which "Whites" are conceived as separate from the rest of the
racial groups, which have dual-name terms denoting
ancestry, such as
African Americans or
Asian Americans. Use of the term also represents a shift from the socioethnic disunity among Americans of different European ancestry (
e.g. Irish Americans,
Italian Americans) partially caused by increasing numbers of non-European Americans, including the homogenization of culture and intermarriage that took place during the 20th century. Although it should be noted that one can be a European American and still belong to a specific ethnic group.
*
White American*
Caucasian American*
Anglo*
Melting pot
