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Yourwebbrowser(Safari7)isoutofdate.Formoresecurity,comfortand thebestexperienceonthissite: Updateyourbrowser Ignore 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 1of4 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 2of4 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 3of4 Audio&Video YouTube:AYankeeDoodleDandy ©1996–2017NationalGeographicSociety.Allrightsreserved. 4of4