When did we first call ourselves "Americans?"?
606417
When America was established therefore the term "Americans" comes in place.\nP.S. Please rate this well.http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Am_XfrPtleQlcdWCo.W47iXsy6IX?qid=1006050821180
653056
Native Americans were here first. They are the original americans. Indians are not from India. They were only called "Indians" because the first settlers didn't have GPS systems or anything and thought they were in India instead of what we now call the U.S.\n\nThe native americans are Asians and originally came here by crossing the Berring Straight from Russia.
998024
Yes, Native Americans are the only "true americans."\n\nBut honestly, i don't think that that is the definition that comes to mind when people ask that question. \n\nIf you believe in this country and don't agree with some aspects of it, and don't terrorize america, I think that is what truly makes you an american.
590706
I don't think its Americans.  Its our government. I'd say the majority of Americans want to take care of our own.  But our government seems to have other ideas.  Should we say they are un-American?  I feel ya.
704592
when we became our own country things just gradually changed...i doubt it was on purpose but it was more a "cultural diffusion" type senerio
889592
They started as Brits and ended as Americans.
259543
Use of the word American\n\nWhether usage of America or the Americas is preferred, many people living in the Americas refer to themselves as American. However, most of the English-speaking world (including Canada), use the word to refer solely to a citizen or resident of the United States of America. This may be due, at least in part, to the fact that the phrase "United States" does not easily translate into an adjective or descriptive noun in English. While Spanish-speaking peoples in Latin America use the word estadounidense (literally, "United-States-ian" or "of the United States"), calling someone a "United States-man" or "United States'er" or other such constructions sound awkward in English. This has led to the use of the word "American". Nevertheless, calling a U.S. citizen simply americano or americana in Spanish is considered offensive in some areas of Latin America. Some Latin Americans, however, will use "americano" or "americana" to refer to people from the United States in colloquial speech while still considering themselves "American", just as Germans or Spaniards would consider themselves "European".
869856
United Statesian is an English translation for a term people in Latin America like to use when referring to Americans.  They made it up.  At some point, they got the bright idea that Americans shouldn't be calling themselves Americans because the continent is called America.\nThey think that we use the term America exclusively, leaving them out.  For some (stupid) reason, they think we don't know that the continent is called America.  In their minds, they are Americans, too, so they took it upon themselves to rename us.\n\nI had this explained to me over and over by Mexicans when I was travelling there and they asked me where I was from.  They also like to call us North Americans.  \n\nThey get real irritated when you point out to them that Mexico is also called United States of Mexico, and is located in North America, so they are United Statesians and North Americans, by their own wording.  Then they get this dumb look on their face when you show them a map and tell them that the continent called America and the nation called America are two different things.
120976
There are many answers to this question, there are several countries in the America's.  However most of the time when you say America you mean the United States and again there are lots of different answers.  We fired the Shot heard around the world in April, 1775.  We Declared our Independence in July, 1776.  Our Revolution was won in 1781, our current government started in 1789.  However throughout the America's there had been great Civilizations Built and around for many years before the White man came to America.  Columbus Came in 1492, the Vikings came about 400 years before and the Phonecians very probably visited the America's about 3,000 years ago.  The earliest City founded still around is St. Augustine, Florida settled by the Spainish.  The earliest English settlement was Jamestown, Virginia settled in 1607.  The Pilgrims came in 1620 and so forth.  There are many different answers to your question as you asked it, I hope that one of these is what you needed.
1178995
Ok sweetie, first of all ignore the ignorants, they are partially right but they still don't know how to answer the question. Ok here we go.\n\n Amerigo Vespucci or Américo Vespucio in spanish (see the relationship?) was an italian explorer that in 1501 arrived in what now is Guyana (North of "South" América) he sailed through the Amazona River and ended up in Patagonia (The very south of the American Continent). \n\nAmérico was the first European that realized that this was a new CONTINENT instead of Asia (What they thought at the begining, that's why we call our natives Indians because that was the destination of Columbus). The news spreaded rapidly over Europe and in 1507 a publication of a map made by the German Martin Waldseemüller using the description given by amerigo (Américo) showed the new land name as AMERICUS (In Latin) or América (Spanish because Americo was with the Spanish explorers) in honor of Americo.\n\nThe actual concept of América is the name of what people call North Central and South America which at the end and technically AND CORRECTLY speaking is the name of the whole land that starts in Canada and ends in Argentina. Back then, and, some countries now call americans refering to all people of the new continent (Not only the USA).\n\nNow in the USA, This country was called in honor to that name and also was the first country that became independent from a European authority.\n\nBeing called United States of America means States unified in a land called America which means in some kind of selfish and honorable way that the name of USA is America.\n\nThe only thing I ask you to do is please know and spread the word because there's people that really don't know how they became what they are, and yes, you can and should refer to American or americans to all people in the new continent and the nationality of the USA citizens, but you have to explain when you mean which one. To finish my answer is that everybody that know the difference and knows how to explain it is right and everybody in this WHOLE CONTINENT is an AMERICAN, the north, central and south definitions came after.\n\nThanks for letting me finally explain this to everybody. It took me a long time to figure the why's and the how's (I was born in the USA but raised in Venezuela so it helped expand my mind and knowledge).\n\nTootles
136107
yes, I am certainly aware of this.  North America has 3 countries, Central America has 7 or 8 (I forget) and South America has a lot (sorry, I don't know that either).\n\nI think it all started when we called ourselves The United States of America.  We were already refered to as "The Americans" in England (since England owned the Colonies and Canada I guess it was a natural thing to do when refering to the far away place.  We still do it today when we speak of African or Asian people).\n\nIt isn't so much of a stereotype as it is a missuse of words.
1174663
Technically, yes, Mexicans are Americans. The reason being, there is no country called America. There is a country called the United States of America, and there are two continents called the Americas. You are completely correct and anyone who says different does not know what they are talking about. I challenge anyone to find a map that calls this country America as opposed to the United States of America, America being the continent within which the states are united.
489271
I more important question is that:  If we, as americans, who live in North America, are in fact called American, they why aren't the people who live in South America called Americans????....why, tell me, why ?????
979067
You are American, aren't you?...
718003
Your question made me curious enough to do a little searching.  Turns out nobody is sure of where the term "Yankee" actually originated.  During the American Revolution, the Brits called us Yankees as a cut-down, and being the Americans they were, after they kicked the Brits butts, they adopted the term for themselves.  Perverse bunch, aren't we?  Best guess has to do with the Dutch being called Yankees well before our little party in 1776.
1119005
The first city in America was Jamestown, VIrginia established in about 1620, so the colonists first settled here approximately 386 years ago. However, if your talking about the continent itself or when Indians first came here, I'm not so sure, but Indians did come during the Ice Age.\n\nBTW America didn't gain independence in 1776 thats when the Declaration of Independence was signed, they gained independence after they won the Revolutionary War
572694
You are wise in your history.  YES! English did become the official language of the U.S. of A. by a one vote margin.