Can't all north Americans be considered Americans?
955551
North and South Americans can refer to themselves as Americans, to be technical about it.  \n\nIt goes back to the genesis of our country.  Canada and Mexico are actual names of countries.  The states all have names, too.  But the United States was at the begining a discription, and it was meant that way.  The federal government was supposed to have as little power as possible, with responsibility that COULD be allocated to the states BEING allocated to the states.  Therefore, the federal government was referred to as "the federal government of these united states."  Note no capital letters, and the plural tense.  In popular culture the federal government was just a entity on paper, necessary but not wanted.  People used to say, for example, "The united states are in recessions", referring to all the states as entities, not a single country as an entity.  People did not refer to themselves in terms of a country, only states - Californian, Texan, Virginian.\n\nThat all changed with the Civil War.  The influence of the Civil War was so profound that the entire mindset of popular culture in the US changed.  "united states" went from being a discription to the name of our country, "The United States".  Even though grammatically it is wrong ("The United States is in a recession" is not grammatically correct) the accepted usage changed.\n\nThis creates a problem - as a name, we could call ourselves "United Statesers" or "United Statesians" but these are clumsy and awkward.  Before the Civil War, when people wanted to refer to themselves at the federal level, they just called themselves "Americans" because the country didn't have a name, only the government did (Federal), so they just used the name of the continent.  The term also applies to Mexicans, Canadians, and everyone else in the New World - but these countries started out with names so the citizens had no need to refer to themselves as Americans.  By the Civil War, there was already a 250 year history of referring to ourselves first by the State, then by the Continent.  \n\nAt this point, even by the end of the Civil War, precident made it impossible to change.
337797
Of course. People seem to think that americans somehow have more rights than people from other countries. Why? Because we were lucky enough to be born in the richest country in the world? Our instrinsic value is the same no matter what country we're from or race we are. "American" rights are rights that our founding fathers believed that ALL humans deserved.
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.
1141126
if you were born in america, YOU are american, NOT your parents and all your brothers and sisters, and everyone you know.  just you.
684979
Because the USA's name actually has the word America in it. I.E. The United States of America. Someone from Canada is known as Canadian, so on and so on. It would be silly to call us "Staters" or something like that. When referring to the whole North American continent people often refer to everyone as "North Americans".
42369
You're American. I guess you can be considered both. I pressume, even if both your parent's were born in America, but you look Mexican, most people will consider you "Mexican-American". \n\nI think you should just be a plain "American", because we don't say Irish-American or French-American, this is the only country built on the welcoming principle, that shouldn't change. We can change the world on person at a time.
56797
No I don't think so. Look at us americans we will always act all proud to be americans, also if you went to mexico you could ask any of them and they would tell you that they were pround to be that I think it depends on how you carry that pride. I'm glad that you are proud of who you are, too few are
1054110
Yes, this same question keeps popping up over and over again...\n\nThink about it.  The word "America" is part of the name of the country called, United States of America.  The word "America" isn't part of the name of the countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Canada, etc.  \n\nOn a different note, there are 3 American sections of the continent:  There is North America, Central America, and South America.  There is NOT a country that is called, "The United States of Central America."  There is NOT a country that is called, "The United States of South America."  We are not called "The United States of North America."  \n\nIs this really so very terribly hard to understand?
340938
I'm Latin, I don't live in the states and hopefully will never have to, even though I have a self owned house there, anyway here in my country we have some ilegal north americans and I'm not ignorant enough to judge them by their inmigration status,but I guess that's because of the different educational and cultural background we have with some egomaniac countries.Some people are really pathetic.
839379
ummmmm....technically speaking... aren't all White Americans immigrants?
139942
none, we are all americans and should not be listed as a group of this or that.
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".
197914
Yes.\n\nNative Americans were a part of this great nation long before the English took over. Native Americans proudly established communities that promoted togetherness and unity and respect for the land.
1072192
What makes you think that these people don't consider themselves Americans first? And why do personally you find it so difficult to accept the fact that some people have numerous identities, one associated with their country and another with their race or ethnicity? Is it wrong to identify with people in your country who happen to share a similar ethnicity or culture that is somewhat unique or different from other cultures in the U.S.?\n\nAnd what on Earth makes you think you have to call yourself an Irish-German-Scottish-Welsh-French-American to be politically correct? How is that politically correct? Call everyone just plain old American if you want, for heaven's sake. Where did you get the idea that they would be offended if you did so?\n\nSince when did it become a crime to have more than one identifying personal trait?
188073
Technically you're correct.  You'd do a better job making your point without the capital letters.\n\nYes, Mexico is part of North America, thus Mexicans are also Americans.  As a matter of fact they're a member of the Organization of American States (OAS).  \n\nThe answer to your question is "history."  The U.S.A. is the only country to use "America" in it's name.  It's a lot short to refer to someone as an "American" rather than a "United States of American".  Over time that was just the accepted terminology.  There's lots of terminology out there that isn't 100% precise.  Get over it.  It's no denigration of other countries.
42673
You can't put America in such simple terms. We are a nation that is by definition a melding of cultures from around the globe. We are everyone. Good, bad, smart, stupid, rich, poor, black, white, and everything in between. There are awful people here and there are incredible ones as well. It is as hard to explain it as it would be to explain the nature of the people on the planet Earth.
441187
Geographically no, the continent consists of North and South American, so in that sense (and if you also lump Europeans, Arabs, Indians, Chinese etc. together as Eurasians) they are all American.\n\nCulturally, politically and as inhabitants of a country that calls itself 'America the free', whatever its correct title then of course they are...by definition.\n\nGenetically or even biologically if you regard Homo sapiens as having sub-species, most Americans are in fact European or African etc. The only true Americans in historical times are full-blood native Indians.