‘I’m a PROUD Anglo-Saxon!’ - Why Far-Right Americans LOVE and Identify as Anglo-Saxons

In England, talk of Anglo-Saxons is usually relegated to The Last Kingdom and Vikings or the study of the historical period between 445AD and around 1066AD. However, in America, the belief that many are direct descendants from the Anglo-Saxons is very popular. Many believe America was founded on Anglo-Saxon political and religious traditions and the Founding Fathers created the USA as a true successor to Anglo-Saxon England. Thomas Jefferson being one of the most prominent Founding Fathers pushing this.

Often ignored by American historians, the role of Anglo-Saxon history in founding America is only rivalled by Greek and Roman history. However, starting in the 16th century, and gaining massive prominence in the 1800s, Britain and America created a racial identity of ‘Anglo-Saxon’. While it has massively decreased in the UK towards irrelevance, it is still common enough in America Marjorie Taylor Greene and certain members of the GOP tried to create a caucus last year based on supposed Anglo-Saxon political traditions.

.00:00:00 - Intro
00:04:10 - Anglo-Saxon as a modern identity
00:07:07 - Anglo-Saxon Caucus
00:07:50 - Ben Shapiro and the Right defends the Anglo-Saxons
00:12:54 - How the Anglo-Saxons came to England
00:17:50 - Anglo-Saxonism in America in the 1800s
00:24:00 - Closing Thoughts

[TheKavernacle]

So to address one thing I think I left out. Just like English people today, there will be some Americans who have ‘Anglo-Saxon’ DNA but in 2022 it’ll be slim unless they have exclusively married into other English families (which does happen). But overall the amount of these people who have Anglo-Saxon DNA is probably small due to decades of (likely) having children with other ethnic groups.

And it’s not like they actually know they are even descended from Saxons either. And the fact they think this makes them the standard bearer for a series of kingdoms that perished 1000 years ago is completely ridiculous.

[WerewolfofEpicness]

right wing: slavery was 200 years ago get over it
right wing: do not forget 1066 when the Normans attacked

[chrisbovington]

I'm Anglo-Saxon. My mother was a set-square and my father was a saxophone.

[JasonAtlas]

Anglo-Saxon is used because claiming "English" heritage would be cringe and un-American.

[Hercules_the_Great]

Americans never let history get in the way of a good story.

[tripwire]

Thought they hated "i identify as" woke "nonsense" 👀

[elettner]

Anglos and Saxons were Germanic tribes who migrated to England.

[Ralius-svnz]

american logic: i am white, hence i am anglo-saxon.

[KaptainKirk]

Not only Americans. I live in Slovakia and the whites here LOVE to identify themselves with Norse culture. Slovaks are in no way related to them. It's hilarious how much it doesn't make sense

[kisikisikisi]

As a Finland-swede, I'm going to need people, especially Americans, to stop calling themselves "norse" lmao

Edit: feel free to call yourself swedish, norwegian, danish or nordic, regardless of where you live and what language you speak. "Norse" however refers to a historical group of people who are our ancestors. We, living today, are not norse. This shouldn't be controversial or rile anyone up. I wrote this comment because it's comical to have a smartphone in your hand and call yourself norse of all things.

[puckerings]

Right-wingers: "Anglo-Saxons were indigenous to Britain!"

The Welsh: "Fucking what?"

[ryujitzu]

Anybody wanna tell these folks where Saxony is? Cause It's not in England.

[pkmcburroughs]

You're all just jealous that I can trace my ancestry back to every great civilization in history, including Atlantis. In fact, one of my direct descendants was the king of Atlantis, who routinely communicated with marine life via telepathy and rode around on a giant seahorse.

[hikmetvural]

Anglo-Saxons: Invade
White supremacists: “They are the indigenous inhabitants of the isles”
Brilliant reasoning

[grapeshot]

Nobody said you don't have to be proud to be whatever you are but when you say hey mine's is superior to yours, then that's where the problem comes in.

[benmaynard]

America is so caught up in genealogy that it’s just hilarious, I’m English, live in England, and have never once heard someone refer to themselves as Anglo-Saxon 😂 whenever I hear someone in America claim they are anything other than American I can’t help but laugh. You can’t live your whole life staying in one country and claim to be from another, especially after the first few generations of your family moving to the states. I’ll allow some leeway for first and second generation immigrants, they probably are heavily influenced by their elders and are actually aware of their original countries culture enough to claim it. But when I hear someone say they’re “Irish” when the only link is some grandparents a couple hundred years ago….. no you’re not…

[clementmckenzie]

I am black and the descendant of an English Duke and he wasn't even an Anglo Saxon. He was Norman. Something you should know. You got it wrong, The Spanish did enslave the native population. The Spanish considered the natives of The Americas natural slaves. Most natives were enslaved in the silver mines of Mexico and south America. The natives of the Caribbean were also enslaved by the Spanish. unfortunately they kept dying in large numbers at an unacceptable level for both the Spanish crown and the Church. Pope Paul III issued a decree, “Sublimus Deus, ” opposing the enslavement of indigenous peoples and calling them “true men.

[panqueque]

"My great grand father was English so I'm a proud Anglo-Saxon"
Literally the prior generation could've immigrated from mainland Europe and he'd have no idea. He could be half French for all he knows. No matter how far back you can trace your family, the moment you can't anymore, you don't know where your family comes from. You could have a Chinese merchant who traveled to Europe hundreds of years ago and got a random woman pregnant as an ancestor and you would have no idea.

[blue]

I’m from the United States and the myths we have about our ancestry here are only rivaled by our ignorance of history

[blakeanderson]

I like how you use your audience to educate yourself on the topics you discuss. It’s easy to beg for engagement like “what do you guys thin, reply in the comments” or something very generic like that, but when you ask if Americans were taught this, or if people dealt with this or that growing up, etc… you’re asking good questions that bolster your own understanding on the subjects you make videos about. Hope you hit 100k soon, man.