White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
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'''''White Anglo-Saxon Protestant''''', commonly abbreviated to the [[acronym]] '''''WASP''''', is a [[sociology|sociological]] and [[culture|cultural]] [[ethnonym]] that originated in the [[United States of America|United States]].
The term originated in reference to [[White American]]s of [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] descent, who were [[Protestantism|Protestant]] in religious affiliation. However, the term does not have a precise definition, and can be used to describe greatly differing groups.<ref name="Society in Focus">{{cite book | last = Thompson | first = William | authorlink = | coauthors = Joseph Hickey | year = 2005 | title = Society in Focus | publisher = Pearson | location = Boston, MA | id = 0-205-41365-X}}</ref> It initially applied to people with histories in the [[upper class]] [[Northeastern United States|Northeastern]] establishment, who were alleged to form a powerful elite. [[Working class]] whites in the U.S. are generally not referred to as "WASPs", even if they are Protestants of Anglo-Saxon descent.<ref>http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0018-2680(198722)27%3A2%3C275%3ATACATC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-R</ref> The word ''white'' is redundant, since Anglo-Saxons — whether in the strict or popular sense of the term — are always white.
''WASP'' is gradually being replaced in U.S. liberal circles by "[[white Christian]]" as a result of diminished exclusion of [[Catholic]]s and other non-WASP whites.<ref name="Society in Focus">{{cite book | last = Thompson | first = William | authorlink = | coauthors = Joseph Hickey | year = 2005 | title = Society in Focus | publisher = Pearson | location = Boston, MA|id = 0-205-41365-X}}</ref>
Strictly speaking, many people now referred to as "WASPs" are not Anglo-Saxon – that is, the descendants of some [[Germanic peoples]], who settled in [[Britain in the Middle Ages|Britain]] between the 5th century and the [[Norman conquest of England|Norman Conquest]].<ref name="Celtic ancestry dominant in Briton">{{cite web|url=http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1393742006|title=Celtic ancestry dominant in Briton|accessdate=2006-11-29}}</ref> However, in modern North American usage, ''WASP'' may include Protestants, from [[Dutch people|Dutch]], [[German people|German]], [[Huguenot]] (French Protestant), [[Scandinavian people|Scandinavian]], [[Scottish people|Scottish]], [[Ulster-Scots|Scots-Irish]] and [[Welsh people|Welsh]] backgrounds.<ref>http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-8762(197812)83%3A5%3C1155%3ARAEIA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-0]</ref> Therefore, the term ''WASP'' is sometimes applied to individuals who are technically non-Anglo-Saxons, including people with:
* Dutch origins, such as the [[Vanderbilt family|Vanderbilt]] and [[Roosevelt|Roosevelt families]]
* German descent, such as the [[Rockefeller family|Rockefeller]] and [[Astor family|Astor families]].<ref name="Astor family referred to as WASP">{{cite web|url=http://www.irows.ucr.edu/papers/irows27/irows27.htm|title=Astor family referred to as WASP|accessdate=2006-11-28}}</ref>
* French descent, such as the [[Du Pont family]]
* Scots origins, such as the [[Carnegie]] family.
* Scots-Irish origins, such as the [[Mellon]] family.
{{cquote|
The term ''WASP'' has many meanings. In sociology it reflects that segment of the U.S. population that founded the nation and traced their heritages to ... Western Europe... The term has largely negative connotations... Today... less than 25 percent of the U.S. population [is WASP]. Nevertheless they continue to... have disproportionate influence over... American institutions. The term... has become more inclusive. To many people, WASP now include most 'white' people who are not... members of any minority group (William Thompson & Joseph Hickey, 2005, ''Society in Focus'').<ref name="Society in Focus">{{cite book | last = Thompson | first = William | authorlink = | coauthors = Joseph Hickey | year = 2005 | title = Society in Focus | publisher = Pearson | location = Boston, MA | id = 0-205-41365-X}}</ref> }}
Usage of the term ''WASP'' has grown in other [[English language|English]]-speaking countries, such as [[Canada]] and [[Australia]], which were settled by members of similar [[ethnic group]]s. Beyond the English-speaking world, the term is sometimes used in a [[metaphor]]ical sense, to refer to perceived elite social groups.
==Usage==
The term was popularized by [[sociology|sociologist]] and [[University of Pennsylvania]] professor [[E. Digby Baltzell]] in his 1964 book ''The Protestant Establishment: Aristocracy & Caste in America''. However, its first recorded use was by Andrew Hacker in 1957.<ref>Andrew Hacker, 1957, ''American Political Science Review'' 51:1009-1026. WASP was also used by Erdman B. Palmore in ''The American Journal of Sociology'' in 1962.</ref>
The original use of WASP denoted either an ethnic group, or the culture, customs, and heritage of early Western European settlers in what is today the United States. The [[New England]] Yankee elite were almost exclusively of [[English people|English]] extraction, although some early German immigrants, largely Protestant, arrived in the Dutch colony of [[New Netherland]].
[[Protestantism|Protestant Christianity]] is considered the dominant religious sect among WASPs, particularly [[mainline]] denominations such as [[Presbyterianism]], [[Congregational church|Congregationalism]], [[Episcopal Church|Episcopalianism]], and [[Unitarian Christianity|Unitarianism]].
U.S. Northeasterners who may be labeled as "WASPs" may refer to themselves as "[[Yankee]]s". In the [[Southern United States|South]], whites formed a cultural and social structure distinct from that of the Northeast and are generally not considered WASPs. Unlike the North, the South never formed a large "white ethnic" population of non-Protestant immigrants; as a result, in traditional Southern society, the only real distinctions made were between whites and blacks. By and large, most{{Fact|July=2008}} Southern whites are of [[Scots-Irish]] and [[French people|French]] ancestry. [[English-American]] Southerners historically lived mostly in the [[Upper South]],{{Fact|July=2008}} particularly in [[Virginia]].
In the Southwestern United States, "[[Anglo]]" is often used to contrast [[white people|white]] Americans of European ancestry from [[Hispanic]]s. It has a broader meaning than ''WASP'', as it is sometimes used to include all non-Hispanic [[English language|English-speaking]] [[white people|whites]], regardless of their religion or ethnicity.
When using the term, speakers vary widely in terms of which ethnic group they mean to designate, and some even apply it to all Protestants of European descent. For that reason, use of the term ''WASP'' has broadened significantly since its first use. Some people use it to refer to any powerful [[elite]], with little regard to actual ethnicity or religion. Others use it only to refer to an ethnic group and its culture.
In the United States, it is most prevalently used today to contrast early arriving, Western European, "old stock" Americans with the descendants of later arriving groups from Southern and Eastern Europe, Catholic Ireland and other parts of the world. The term ''WASP'' is also often used in a way which is synonymous with "[[The Establishment]]" or for the privilege that white Protestants in America allegedly enjoy. It is frequently used today in a derogatory fashion. In fact, many dictionaries warn the term is often "derogatory" or "insulting".
==Culture attributed to WASPs==
The original ''WASP'' establishment created and dominated the [[social structure of the United States]] and its significant institutions when the country's social structure took shape in the 17th century until the 20th century. Many scholars, including researcher Anthony Smith, argue that nations tend to be formed on the basis of a pre-modern ethnic "core" that provides the myths, symbols, and memories for the modern nation and that WASPs were indeed that core.<ref>[http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p40195_index.html The Decline of the WASP?: Anglo-Protestant Ethnicity and the American Nation-State<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Many only associate America's elite institutions with WASPs when it has always been a wider, more diverse group. The class is still imagined to dominate America's [[University-preparatory school|prep school]]s and to older universities including those in the [[Ivy League]] or small liberal arts colleges, including [[NESCAC]] schools (see the "[[Little Ivies]]"). It is true that these elite institutions were important to a certain portion of WASPs, who were taught skills, habits, and attitudes and formed connections which carried over to the influential spheres of finance, culture, and politics. While people labeled as "WASPs" were not a truly insular society, well into the 20th century, prominent families preserved an attitude toward marriage carried over from the British aristocracy: A desire to marry was carefully scrutinized by the potential groom's and potential bride's families. Marriage was often influenced by the desire to maintain each party in their social and cultural milieu. This is something that occurs in other cultures as well.
WASP families are sometimes stereotyped as pursuing traditional British diversions such as [[Squash (sport)|squash]], [[golf]], [[tennis]], [[Badminton]], [[equestrian|riding]], [[polo]], and [[yachting]], pursuits that served as a marker of affluence. [[Social register]]s and society pages listed the privileged, who mingled in the same private clubs, attended the same churches, and lived in neighborhoods — [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]]'s [[Pennsylvania Main Line|Main Line]] and Chestnut Hill neighborhoods, [[New York City]]'s [[Upper East Side]], and [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston's]] [[Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts|Beacon Hill]] are notable examples — governed by covenants designed to separate the well-bred from the merely wealthy.
It was not until after [[World War II]] that the networks of privilege and power in the old Protestant establishment began to lose significance. Many reasons have been attributed to the WASP decline and books have been written detailing it.<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE7DB153EF934A25752C0A967958260 BOOKS OF THE TIMES; The Decline of a Class and a Country's Fortunes - New York Times<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Among the reasons often cited is increased competitive pressure as the WASPs themselves opened the doors to competition. The [[GI Bill]] and government-supported mortgage programs brought higher education to the children of poor European immigrants, and the postwar era created ample economic opportunity for a growing new middle class. Nevertheless, white Protestants remain represented in the country's cultural, political, and economic élite.<ref>Davidson, James D.; Pyle, Ralph E.; Reyes, David V.: "Persistence and Change in the Protestant Establishment, 1930-1992," ''Social Forces'', Vol. 74, No. 1. (September., 1995), p. 164</ref>
While the white Protestant establishment is no longer the sole elite group in American society, it remains a significant presence throughout the nation. WASPs are still predominantly [[upper middle class|upper middle]] to [[upper class]] and well educated, as well as occasional members of the [[elite]]. Some white Protestants families have jettisoned the notion of marriage as a way to maintain culture, and marriages between WASPs and Jews or Catholics are not altogether rare; marriages between WASPs and other races are less common but are not necessarily frowned upon.
WASPs in the Northeast, Midwest, and West were once dominant in the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]]. Catholics in the Northeast, generally recent Irish or Italian immigrants, populated that region's Democratic party politics. Catholic, or "white ethnic," voters and politicians failed to find favor among WASP voters even in the liberal Northeast.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,838862,00.html Are The Wasps Coming Back? Have They Ever Been Away? - Time<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> A popular example was the 1952 senate election in Massachusetts between John F. Kennedy and [[Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.]], decisively split along sectarian lines (despite JFK's WASPish associations such as Choate, Harvard, Spee Club, Hyannisport). While affluent, white, Protestant Northerners tended at one point toward temperamental conservatism (or [[noblesse oblige]] [[progressivism]]), trends and demographics have changed these realities. The old style [[Rockefeller Republicans]] wing of the party favored by WASPs weakened, as most recent successful Republican politicians in the Northeast have been Catholics, such as [[George Pataki]]. Five of the six New England states have recently become reliably Democratic in their presidential voting, with the exception of New Hampshire. White Protestants in the South are largely Republicans. Liberalism or Progressivism has also come to define a certain portion of WASP politics, especially in the Northeast.<ref>[http://www.cercles.com/review/r27/kaufmann5.htm Cercles book reviews Kaufmann Del Guercio<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Prominent WASPs such as [[Howard Dean]] and [[Ned Lamont]] have become visible leaders of the contemporary Democratic party.
<ref>[http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1171072004 The Scotsman<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The population of religiously, at least among active Episcopalians, for instance, does not appear to be growing. One [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal church]] leader was quoted in 2006 as estimating the church's national membership as 2.2 million and attributing a low birth rate to their higher level of education. Notwithstanding, white Protestants are still the largest group of Americans with over half of Americans claiming to be Protestant vs. about 25% Catholic.<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5465761/ Poll: Protestant majority in U.S. eroding - U.S. news - MSNBC.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==Criticism==
Some object to the expression because of its inaccuracy and because the term is bandied about in a casual manner by people who may not understand its full meaning or its imprecision. As noted above, many people now referred to as "WASPs" are not Anglo-Saxon in the sense of being descendants of the Germanic settlers of Britain. In addition, some see it as a racial, ethnic, and religious slur showing contempt for European Americans and an attempt to smother European American diversity, since European Americans trace their origins to a large number of European countries with a diverse history where a variety of religions are practiced: It is therefore difficult to apply a single catch-all term.
==See also==
* [[American Dream]]
* [[Boston Brahmin]]
* [[Critical race theory]]
* [[Gentile]]
* [[Keeping up with the Joneses]]
* [[Preppy]]
==Notes==
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<references />
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==References==
*Allen, Irving Lewis: ''Unkind Words: Ethnic Labeling from Redskin to Wasp'' (NY: Bergin & Garvey, 1990)
*Cookson, Peter W.; Persell, Caroline Hodges: ''Preparing for Power: America's Elite Boarding Schools'' (NY: Basic Books, 1985)
*Davidson, James D.; Pyle, Ralph E.; Reyes, David V.: "Persistence and Change in the Protestant Establishment, 1930-1992"; ''Social Forces'', Vol. 74, No. 1. (September., 1995), pp. 157-175.
*King, Florence: ''WASP, Where is Thy Sting?'' (NY: Stein and Day, 1977)
*Pyle, Ralph E.: ''Persistence and Change in the Protestant Establishment'' (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1996)
*Schrag, Peter.: ''The Decline of the WASP'' (NY: Simon and Schuster, 1970)
==External links==
*[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=406108&in_page_id=1770&in_page_id=1770&expand=true#StartComments Anglo-Saxons and Britons]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in the United States]]
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