ChrisH
07-05-2005, 11:11 AM
As some of you may know I am Welsh, born and raised, and have a real fondness for all people and things American so this article was of great interest to me. And I hope it will be of some of you too! :D
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4634291.stm
Here is most of it.
As America celebrates its most important date in the calendar - Independence Day - there is likely to be little thought given to Wales. And why should there, you may ask? Compared to the impact and influence groups such as the Irish, Italians and Spanish, the Welsh appear to fade into insignificance.
Well, you only have to scratch the surface of US history to discover why the Welsh-American links are something far stronger and worthy of some celebration.
For starters, the Welsh were by far the largest ethnic group involved in the drawing up of the American Constitution, and it was Welsh descendant Thomas Jefferson who wrote the Declaration of Independence. Little wonder then that George Washington declared "good Welshman make good Americans".
You only have to glance at a map of the US to spot umpteen towns and villages called Wales, stretching across Alaska, Utah, Maine, Michigan and New York. Alternatively, you could visit Swansea, Pembroke, Penrhyn, Flint or Neath, or even Bryn Mawr, Cambria, Barry, Bala or Cardiff by the Sea.
A census at the end of the 19th century, which claimed 100,000 people in America were born in Wales, was probably wrong, and the real figure could be closer to 200,000.
Why then, is there so little awareness of what Welsh settlers achieved in the US. In 1971, Thomas M Rees addressed the House of Representatives in an attempt to redress the balance.
"Mr Speaker, very little has been written of what the Welsh have contributed in all walks of life in the shaping of American history," he said. "Twenty percent of the Pilgrim Fathers were Welsh, as was the captain of the Mayflower. How many know that nine Welsh presidents were Welsh or of Welsh descent?"
And it does not stop there. In industry, miners from south Wales set up the Tredegar Ironworks in Richmond, Virginia, which played a key role in the Civil War, while David Thomas - from Neath - became known as the iron master of America and Joshua Humphreys founded the US Navy. Welsh soldiers were also at the front, quite literally, in the Civil War, with prominent generals of Welsh descent on both sides of the conflict.
'Low visibility'
So why do the Welsh struggle for recognition in the US?
One of the main differences is simple maths - the numbers of Irish and Italian settlers far outweighed the numbers of Welsh Quakers or miners who crossed the Atlantic.
Dr Arturo Roberts, editor of the North American Welsh newspaper Ninnau, explained why the numbers were against them.
"There are 20 people of Irish descent for every one with Welsh descent - that makes a big difference," he said. "Most people don't know about Wales - it is not as important as the Irish. On 17 March [St Patrick's Day], everyone is Irish, but it is not the same on 1 March [St David's Day]. "The Welsh have low visibility."
Another reason for this "low visibility" seems to be the way that Welsh people integrated themselves into their new society, with George Washington himself saying: "Good Welshmen make good Americans".
Howard Stringer, who was born in Barry, headed Sony in America before taking over as the firm's chief executive. He told the BBC Wales programme Star Spangled Dragon that the Welsh disappeared as part of the "immigrant experience". "The Welsh slipped very easily into the US," he said. "You can find Welsh people all over the place, but the Welsh have never tried to sell themselves on the international stage like the Irish."
Professor John Roper, from the American Studies department at the University of Wales, Swansea, agreed. "The Welsh went over and spread out -the language was lost pretty soon - they seemed keen to lose themselves rather that assert their culture," he said.
Philip Davies, president of the North Welsh American Foundation, said "It is truly amazing as to how many places across the US have Welsh names," he said. "They were given 100-200 years ago, but the communities have evolved to have little or no link with when they were named. The Welshness of places is being diluted."
They may be diluted, but some are less diluted than others. One of the strongest communities still going is in a place called Bangor in Pennsylvania, which was established by slate miners from north Wales. Pennsylvania itself is one of the areas with the biggest links to Wales, when William Penn started bringing Welsh Quakers across the Atlantic with the promise of a new life, free from persecution.
Chris
P.S
Thirty-sixth U.S President Nixon is descended from landed gentry who lived on what is now Wrexham's Caia Park estate - which is exactly where I live! :)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_east/4076854.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4634291.stm
Here is most of it.
As America celebrates its most important date in the calendar - Independence Day - there is likely to be little thought given to Wales. And why should there, you may ask? Compared to the impact and influence groups such as the Irish, Italians and Spanish, the Welsh appear to fade into insignificance.
Well, you only have to scratch the surface of US history to discover why the Welsh-American links are something far stronger and worthy of some celebration.
For starters, the Welsh were by far the largest ethnic group involved in the drawing up of the American Constitution, and it was Welsh descendant Thomas Jefferson who wrote the Declaration of Independence. Little wonder then that George Washington declared "good Welshman make good Americans".
You only have to glance at a map of the US to spot umpteen towns and villages called Wales, stretching across Alaska, Utah, Maine, Michigan and New York. Alternatively, you could visit Swansea, Pembroke, Penrhyn, Flint or Neath, or even Bryn Mawr, Cambria, Barry, Bala or Cardiff by the Sea.
A census at the end of the 19th century, which claimed 100,000 people in America were born in Wales, was probably wrong, and the real figure could be closer to 200,000.
Why then, is there so little awareness of what Welsh settlers achieved in the US. In 1971, Thomas M Rees addressed the House of Representatives in an attempt to redress the balance.
"Mr Speaker, very little has been written of what the Welsh have contributed in all walks of life in the shaping of American history," he said. "Twenty percent of the Pilgrim Fathers were Welsh, as was the captain of the Mayflower. How many know that nine Welsh presidents were Welsh or of Welsh descent?"
And it does not stop there. In industry, miners from south Wales set up the Tredegar Ironworks in Richmond, Virginia, which played a key role in the Civil War, while David Thomas - from Neath - became known as the iron master of America and Joshua Humphreys founded the US Navy. Welsh soldiers were also at the front, quite literally, in the Civil War, with prominent generals of Welsh descent on both sides of the conflict.
'Low visibility'
So why do the Welsh struggle for recognition in the US?
One of the main differences is simple maths - the numbers of Irish and Italian settlers far outweighed the numbers of Welsh Quakers or miners who crossed the Atlantic.
Dr Arturo Roberts, editor of the North American Welsh newspaper Ninnau, explained why the numbers were against them.
"There are 20 people of Irish descent for every one with Welsh descent - that makes a big difference," he said. "Most people don't know about Wales - it is not as important as the Irish. On 17 March [St Patrick's Day], everyone is Irish, but it is not the same on 1 March [St David's Day]. "The Welsh have low visibility."
Another reason for this "low visibility" seems to be the way that Welsh people integrated themselves into their new society, with George Washington himself saying: "Good Welshmen make good Americans".
Howard Stringer, who was born in Barry, headed Sony in America before taking over as the firm's chief executive. He told the BBC Wales programme Star Spangled Dragon that the Welsh disappeared as part of the "immigrant experience". "The Welsh slipped very easily into the US," he said. "You can find Welsh people all over the place, but the Welsh have never tried to sell themselves on the international stage like the Irish."
Professor John Roper, from the American Studies department at the University of Wales, Swansea, agreed. "The Welsh went over and spread out -the language was lost pretty soon - they seemed keen to lose themselves rather that assert their culture," he said.
Philip Davies, president of the North Welsh American Foundation, said "It is truly amazing as to how many places across the US have Welsh names," he said. "They were given 100-200 years ago, but the communities have evolved to have little or no link with when they were named. The Welshness of places is being diluted."
They may be diluted, but some are less diluted than others. One of the strongest communities still going is in a place called Bangor in Pennsylvania, which was established by slate miners from north Wales. Pennsylvania itself is one of the areas with the biggest links to Wales, when William Penn started bringing Welsh Quakers across the Atlantic with the promise of a new life, free from persecution.
Chris
P.S
Thirty-sixth U.S President Nixon is descended from landed gentry who lived on what is now Wrexham's Caia Park estate - which is exactly where I live! :)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_east/4076854.stm