• Source: Ancestral background of presidents of the United States

The ancestral background of presidents of the United States has been relatively consistent throughout American history. The most common ancestry of U.S. presidents is English, due to its origins as a group of former English colonies. With the exception of Martin Van Buren and possibly Dwight D. Eisenhower, every president has ancestors from the British Isles; Van Buren was of Dutch (New Netherlander) lineage and Eisenhower was of German (Pennsylvania Dutch) and Swiss heritage. John F. Kennedy and Donald J. Trump are the only known presidents who did not have ancestors who arrived during the colonial period. Barack Obama is thus far the only president to have ancestry from outside of Europe; his paternal family is of Kenyan Luo ancestry. He is also believed to be a direct descendant of John Punch, a colonial-era slave born in modern-day Cameroon. There is no evidence that any president has had Indigenous American ancestry.
The most common ethnic groups in the Thirteen Colonies were those from either Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) or Ulster (north Ireland). Those of Irish, Dutch, German, or French backgrounds would see attempts to assimilate them into the dominant English and predominately Protestant culture. A majority of presidents trace their ancestries to the American colonists, in which they are known as Old Stock Americans.
Some nativist political groups within the United States were adamantly opposed to identifying with a foreign nation and would coin those who did as hyphenated Americans. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson were outspoken opponents of hyphenated Americans, with Wilson once remarking, "Any man who carries a hyphen about with him, carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of this Republic when he gets ready."




Ancestry table


Summary:

(British) English – 38
(British) Scottish – 23
(British) Ulster Scots – 23
(British) Welsh – 17
French – 12
German – 11
Irish – 9
Dutch – 6
Swiss – 3
Swedish – 2
Canadian – 1
(British) Guernsey – 1
Kenyan (Luo) – 1




See also


Ancestral background of vice presidents of the United States
African-American heritage of presidents of the United States
Most royal candidate theory
Lists of Americans (lists of people from the United States by various criteria, including ethnic or national origin)




References






Further reading


Roberts, Gary Boyd (2009). Ancestors of American Presidents (2nd ed.). Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society. ISBN 978-0-88082-220-6.




External links


Presidential Family Trees and Famous Kin, famouskin.com

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Ancestral background of presidents of the United States
• Ancestral background of vice presidents of the United States
• African heritage of presidents of the United States
• Historical rankings of presidents of the United States
• John Adams
• African-American candidates for President of the United States
• European Americans
• Adams political family
• Native Americans in the United States
• Most royal candidate theory