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YA N K E E
Forthecompleteencyclopedicentrywithmediaresources,visit:
http://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/yankee/
“Yankee”isawordalmosteveryonehasheard—butmostofusdon'tknowquite
whatitmeans.Somepeopleloveit—especiallybaseballfanswhorootforthe
NewYorkYankees.Somepeoplehateit—thewordstartedasaninsult.Some
peoplethinkit'ssimplyasillydescriptionforpeoplewholiveinacertainareaof
theUnitedStates.
Yankeeissometimesabbreviatedas“Yank.”Peoplefromallovertheworld,
includingGreatBritain,Australia,andSouthAmerica,usethetermtodescribe
Americans.(InSpanish,it’sspelledyanqui.)Sometimes,it'sanegative
description.Othertimes,it'saplayfulterm.
IntheUnitedStates,thetermspecificallyreferstoresidentsofNewEngland.
NewEnglandincludesthestatesofConnecticut,Maine,NewHampshire,
Vermont,Massachusetts,andRhodeIsland.
DuringtheCivilWar,andevenafterthewarcametoanend,Yankeewasa
termusedbySouthernerstodescribetheirrivalsfromtheUnion,ornorthern,
sideoftheconflict.Afterthewar,Yankeewasonceagainmostlyusedto
describeNewEnglanders.
Yankeeshavebeenimportantplayersinpolitics.Often,thereisastereotype
associatedwithYankeepoliticians:theyarewhite,wealthy,andattendedelite
collegeslikeHarvardUniversity.Yankeepoliticiansareoftenassociatedwith
civicprideandpublicservice.
FormerPresidentsJohnF.Kennedy(fromMassachusetts),CalvinCoolidge(from
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Vermont),andGeorgeH.W.Bush(fromMassachusettsandMaine)are
consideredculturalYankees.
NooneisreallysurewherethewordYankeecamefrom.SomesayaBritish
generalnamedJamesWolfeuseditfirstin1758whenhewascommanding
someNewEnglandsoldiers.OtherssaythewordcomesfromtheCherokee
wordeankke,whichmeanscoward.SomesayitcomesfromaDutchword,
sincemanyimmigrantsfromtheNetherlandssettledinthenortheastpartofthe
UnitedStates.
Thesong"YankeeDoodle"isafamiliaronetomanywhogrewupintheUnited
States.Itstartedoutasawell-knownBritishsong,datingbacktotheearly
1700s.Thesongdescribesasloppyperson.Itslyricsweresungoriginallyby
Britishmilitaryofficerstomocktheamateur"Yankee"soldiersoftheAmerican
Colonies.
Eventually,thesong,nowthestateanthemofConnecticut,becamethefirst
nationalanthemoftheUnitedStates.Infact,"YankeeDoodle"wassungatFort
McHenry,Maryland,whenFrancisScottKeywrote"TheStar-SpangledBanner"
nearby.
TheAmericanauthorE.B.Whitecameupwithafunnysummaryofhowtokeep
thetermstraight.Itshowshow,intheend,whoisandisn'taYankeeisallabout
thegeographicperspective:
Toforeigners,aYankeeisanAmerican.
ToAmericans,aYankeeisaNortherner.
ToNortherners,aYankeeisanEasterner.
ToEasterners,aYankeeisaNewEnglander.
ToNewEnglanders,aYankeeisaVermonter.
AndinVermont,aYankeeissomebodywhoeatspieforbreakfast.
Vocabulary
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Term
amateur
Partof
Definition
Speech
personwhostudiesandworksatanactivityorinterest
adjective
withoutfinancialbenefitorbeingformallytrainedinit.
13areasinNorthAmericagovernedbytheBritishuntilthe
American
Colonies
AmericanRevolutionof1776.NewHampshire,
noun
Massachusetts,RhodeIsland,Connecticut,NewYork,New
Jersey,Pennsylvania,Delaware,Maryland,Virginia,North
Carolina,SouthCarolina,andGeorgia.
anthem
noun
Cherokee noun
civicpride noun
CivilWar noun
E.B.Whitenoun
elite
England
peopleandculturenativetothesoutheasternUnitedStates.
placingvalueinalocalityorworkingtomakethatlocality
better.
(1860-1865)AmericanconflictbetweentheUnion(north)
andConfederacy(south).
(1899-1985)Americanwriter.(BornElwynBrooksWhite.)
adjectiveexclusiveorthebest.
immigrant noun
New
songofstrongbeliefinfaithorpatriotism.
personwhomovestoanewcountryorregion.
areaintheUnitedStatescomprisingthestatesof
noun
Connecticut,Maine,Massachusetts,NewHampshire,Rhode
Island,andVermont.
stereotypenoun
ageneralcharacteristicassociatedwithagroupofpeople.
Union
havingtodowithstatessupportingtheUnitedStates(north)
adjective
duringtheU.S.CivilWar.
Yankee
noun
Yankee
Doodle
noun
termforanAmericanorsomeonefromthenortheastcoast
oftheUnitedStates.
patrioticAmericansong.
Articles&Profiles
LibraryofCongress:YankeeDoodleSongCollection
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Audio&Video
YouTube:AYankeeDoodleDandy
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