Tag Archives: America

Citizenship and National Identity

19 Friday Mar 2010

Posted by in 18th century, 19th century, 21st century, America, Politics

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This morning on NPR I heard a story about the push for immigration reform, and a rally in Washington to happen this weekend. Senator Russell Pearce of Arizona, who apparently opposes reform, said of the pro-reform marchers “They’re as treasonous and as un-American as anyone I know.” The quote came on the heels of a conversation with woman who works with teenage children of illegal immigrants, trying to keep them out of gangs. The teenagers feel that no opportunity is open to them because of their uncertain immigrant status.

Now, the history of the South-West and Central America are not my area of expertise. What I know has been gathered haphazardly through media and the occasional lecture. However, the question of who is an American (or rather, what makes someone an American) has resonance. As I’ve discussed in an earlier post, how a person is identified as a citizen or subject of one nation or another was a part of what led to the War of 1812.

I know that there is scholarship on how Americans resident in the (present) US came to conceptualize themselves as a new nation. What this NPR story has me wondering about, in addition to that, is how quickly or slowly did new immigrants become “Americans”? What was the process, social or political, through which a person who moved to the US after 1783 came to be regarded by their neighbors as an American and not a Brit or Frenchman or Italian, or what have you? I am given to understand that slaves, not being thought of exactly as people, were probably not thought of as citizens either. What of indentured servants?

I have no answers to these questions. I know that at the local university there are papers from numerous families from this period, including a family whose children were all born in England to an American father and English mother, but who apparently considered themselves American citizens. Maybe some small part of the answers lie there?

Tartan societies

19 Sunday Apr 2009

Posted by in America, organizations, Scotland, Social

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Today I attended the Washington DC St Andrews Society’s Kirkin of the Tartans. As the page from the Tartan Museum points out, it’s a very Scottish-American (and 20th century) tradition. I went with my father, who is a member of the DC St Andrew’s Society as well as Clan Scott USA.

I have to admit, as much as I love going out with my family to these events to watch people celebrate their heritage(s), but as a historian of (among other things) Scottish history, it’s a little difficult as well. The notion of “clans” and “tartans” which are discussed and celebrated at these events are generally a-historical. Tartans as we know them today (and as they are actively marketed in every major tourist town in Scotland) as “clan” identifier are an invention of the early 19th century. Plaids and tartans were worn, but not regimented in the way they are now. Every time I go to one of these gatherings, I think of the Sobieski Stuarts,a pair of English men who claimed to be related to Charles Edward Stuart and marketed the “Vestiarium Scoticum” a ‘reproduction’ of an ‘ancient text of clan tartans’ (it was all a con).  Not to mention the fact that half the “clans” are for Lowland and Borders families, whose ancestors would not have worn a kilt or had a clan in the highland sense.

I was sitting today in the gorgeous National Cathedral, thinking about all of this while we waited for the event to begin, and my mind wandered to the recent discussion of fraternaties at Historiann.com. The St Andrews Society of Washington, DC, is a charitable organization open only to men. It began in the 19th century, and incoporates the St Andrews Society of Alexandria, which was founded in the 1790s. I suddenly realized that this isn’t so much about History and Heritage (although the play a role) as much as it is about people’s continual need to make social groups of some kind. The St A’s Soc is a survivor of a sort of group which used to exist much more commonly – the (relatively) exclusive charitable organization. Clan Societies are a way of sharing an interest in Heritage, but perhaps also about constructing family groups in a time when so many genetic families are scattered.

I’m sure I’ve missed some facts or relevant comparisons – social clubs in america are not something I’ve ever conciously studied. On the other hand, with this insight, I’m now ready to face a Highland Games festival with a lighter heart.