Locating the Hidden Diaspora: The English in North America in Transatlantic Perspective, 1760-1950
Lead Research Organisation:
Northumbria University
Department Name: Fac of Arts, Design and Social Sciences
Abstract
The English were the largest group of emigrants in the British World and one of the largest European groups in the US. Yet while they settled alongside the Scots, Irish and other migrant groups who powerfully exerted ethnic awareness, the English are not ascribed the attributes of ethnicity associated with other immigrant groups. The idea that the English may have been 'ethnic' in the way the Irish or Scots were, is overlooked, ignored or imagined to be false. In short, there is little acknowledgement of an 'English diaspora'. This research, therefore, will uncover the hidden English Diaspora in North America between 1760 and 1950, when expatriate culture was strong and vibrant and the written record is rich.
Drawing upon hitherto un-used historical archives, and by employing a transnational perspective that connects the US, Canada and England, the project will explore English immigrant community life, particularly English associational culture, and the wider political and cultural impact of English identity in North America. A select number of case study locations in Canada and the US have been chosen for this comparative exercise, namely New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charleston, Toronto and Ottawa. This new comparative focus is particularly crucial to advance knowledge on how English ethnicity and culture interacted with and between republican and imperial contexts.
The proposed project's overall aim is to offer an original reading of English ethnicity in North America within a transnational perspective. The objectives are to analyse the emergence, development and anatomy of English associationalism; to investigate English literary, folk and political cultures; and to explore how the formation of ethnic identities in North America contributed to a shared transatlantic identity, and influenced concomitant developments in England. The latter component of the proposed project, together with the PhD student's UK-centred research into the post-1900 period, will also throw light on current debates in UK identity politics and Englishness. At a deeper level, our questioning of the neglect of the English permits consideration of what might be learned from studying ethnic communities generally, and how ethnic groups, through the expression of their identity and culture, contributed to the making of their respective new worlds.
A wide group of academics and non-academics will benefit from the research, which offers a knowledge-shaping new approach to the transnational study of English immigrant community life and ethnicity. The core monograph and articles will make a major and original contribution to knowledge. The edited collection on ethnic culture and politics will present a wide-ranging series of multidisciplinary accounts which we hope will tap audiences beyond the historical community. The conference will bring together presenters from a wider geographical range than our project covers. The mapping of English associational life and activities is of great significance, offering new insights into the English immigrant community to those working in migration and diaspora history, but also social, cultural and economic history, opening new avenues for wider comparative research. The data mined will also be of great interest to genealogists, expatriate communities and folk groups as it relates to their immediate life experience. In view of the study's second strand, politics and identities, the findings will benefit policymakers, informing contemporary debates on Englishness in the UK. Several public events will extend considerably beyond the academy. The material gathered throughout the project, some of which will be showcased online, and the various published outputs, will become standards for courses/modules on English migration, American immigration, ethnicity in North America, and English ethnic culture.
Drawing upon hitherto un-used historical archives, and by employing a transnational perspective that connects the US, Canada and England, the project will explore English immigrant community life, particularly English associational culture, and the wider political and cultural impact of English identity in North America. A select number of case study locations in Canada and the US have been chosen for this comparative exercise, namely New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charleston, Toronto and Ottawa. This new comparative focus is particularly crucial to advance knowledge on how English ethnicity and culture interacted with and between republican and imperial contexts.
The proposed project's overall aim is to offer an original reading of English ethnicity in North America within a transnational perspective. The objectives are to analyse the emergence, development and anatomy of English associationalism; to investigate English literary, folk and political cultures; and to explore how the formation of ethnic identities in North America contributed to a shared transatlantic identity, and influenced concomitant developments in England. The latter component of the proposed project, together with the PhD student's UK-centred research into the post-1900 period, will also throw light on current debates in UK identity politics and Englishness. At a deeper level, our questioning of the neglect of the English permits consideration of what might be learned from studying ethnic communities generally, and how ethnic groups, through the expression of their identity and culture, contributed to the making of their respective new worlds.
A wide group of academics and non-academics will benefit from the research, which offers a knowledge-shaping new approach to the transnational study of English immigrant community life and ethnicity. The core monograph and articles will make a major and original contribution to knowledge. The edited collection on ethnic culture and politics will present a wide-ranging series of multidisciplinary accounts which we hope will tap audiences beyond the historical community. The conference will bring together presenters from a wider geographical range than our project covers. The mapping of English associational life and activities is of great significance, offering new insights into the English immigrant community to those working in migration and diaspora history, but also social, cultural and economic history, opening new avenues for wider comparative research. The data mined will also be of great interest to genealogists, expatriate communities and folk groups as it relates to their immediate life experience. In view of the study's second strand, politics and identities, the findings will benefit policymakers, informing contemporary debates on Englishness in the UK. Several public events will extend considerably beyond the academy. The material gathered throughout the project, some of which will be showcased online, and the various published outputs, will become standards for courses/modules on English migration, American immigration, ethnicity in North America, and English ethnic culture.
Planned Impact
The project is carefully designed to ensure that a diverse group of non-academics will benefit from the research.
First, the proposed programme of community engagement will ensure the dissemination of findings among the immediate groups to whom our research is of interest. This chiefly includes members of English expatriate communities and folk groups. The details on associations collected from our sources will also be of great interest to genealogists and current association members, offering a new perspective on their immediate life experiences. The designated project website, though not interactive, will showcase primary sources relating to St George's (and other) associations, hence benefit students, academics and the general public.
Secondly, research findings will be relevant for those involved in the heritage industry. Associations are a key channel through which the interest in the ancestral homeland of third and fourth generation descendants of English emigrants, as well as more recent emigrants, is promoted. It is hoped that research findings will aid the development of heritage programmes for English abroad in search of their roots in England. As a result, the research also holds potential to inform, and contribute directly, to educational and cultural initiatives in the heritage industry and the wider culture sector.
Finally, the focus of the research programme on English expatriate communties and folk groups is also of direct interest for policymakers as the proposed research constitutes a timely contribution to the wider debates concerning English identity within a devolved United Kingdom. We recognize that English ethnicity is a somewhat controversial topic within British politics; however, we believe that rational engagement with the wider implications of the existence of an apparent, but hidden, English diaspora will provide evidence-based thinking to enter debates about the future of Britain and the realities of the wider Anglo-world.
To ensure that the non-academic users concerned have ample opportunities to benefit from the research, dissemination activities will take place in the UK and a select number of the case study locations in North America. In view of the diverse group of beneficiaries, we have identified a range of different dissemination strategies to suit each respective group, thereby ensuring that they will benefit from the research as fully as possible. We will design an exhibition in Charleston and deliver public lectures in case study locations to ensure that expatriate community groups and folk groups will learn about our findings. We will also develop, together with Folkworks at the Sage, Gateshead, a programme of concerts and lectures to disseminate findings widely in the North East. Drawing on the expertise of Northumbria University's Centre for Public Policy, research findings will be prepared in a suitable way for dissemination among policymakers.
Media liaison will be integral to disseminating the results of this project. This, in turn, will give us the best possible chance of making the strongest impact for the project. The local press will be contacted in advance of research visits in the chosen locations to ensure wide dissemination, and also to publicise the public lectures and the exhibition. Ideally, there will also be opportunities for research findings to feed into press reports and local radio programmes. The media will be approached in England with findings and news on events. Communication channels within English expatriate communities will also be utilised to ensure effective and wide circulation of information in the communities involved.
First, the proposed programme of community engagement will ensure the dissemination of findings among the immediate groups to whom our research is of interest. This chiefly includes members of English expatriate communities and folk groups. The details on associations collected from our sources will also be of great interest to genealogists and current association members, offering a new perspective on their immediate life experiences. The designated project website, though not interactive, will showcase primary sources relating to St George's (and other) associations, hence benefit students, academics and the general public.
Secondly, research findings will be relevant for those involved in the heritage industry. Associations are a key channel through which the interest in the ancestral homeland of third and fourth generation descendants of English emigrants, as well as more recent emigrants, is promoted. It is hoped that research findings will aid the development of heritage programmes for English abroad in search of their roots in England. As a result, the research also holds potential to inform, and contribute directly, to educational and cultural initiatives in the heritage industry and the wider culture sector.
Finally, the focus of the research programme on English expatriate communties and folk groups is also of direct interest for policymakers as the proposed research constitutes a timely contribution to the wider debates concerning English identity within a devolved United Kingdom. We recognize that English ethnicity is a somewhat controversial topic within British politics; however, we believe that rational engagement with the wider implications of the existence of an apparent, but hidden, English diaspora will provide evidence-based thinking to enter debates about the future of Britain and the realities of the wider Anglo-world.
To ensure that the non-academic users concerned have ample opportunities to benefit from the research, dissemination activities will take place in the UK and a select number of the case study locations in North America. In view of the diverse group of beneficiaries, we have identified a range of different dissemination strategies to suit each respective group, thereby ensuring that they will benefit from the research as fully as possible. We will design an exhibition in Charleston and deliver public lectures in case study locations to ensure that expatriate community groups and folk groups will learn about our findings. We will also develop, together with Folkworks at the Sage, Gateshead, a programme of concerts and lectures to disseminate findings widely in the North East. Drawing on the expertise of Northumbria University's Centre for Public Policy, research findings will be prepared in a suitable way for dissemination among policymakers.
Media liaison will be integral to disseminating the results of this project. This, in turn, will give us the best possible chance of making the strongest impact for the project. The local press will be contacted in advance of research visits in the chosen locations to ensure wide dissemination, and also to publicise the public lectures and the exhibition. Ideally, there will also be opportunities for research findings to feed into press reports and local radio programmes. The media will be approached in England with findings and news on events. Communication channels within English expatriate communities will also be utilised to ensure effective and wide circulation of information in the communities involved.
Organisations
Publications
Bueltmann T
(2014)
Invisible Diaspora? English Ethnicity in the United States before 1920
in Journal of American Ethnic History
Bueltmann T
(2012)
Globalizing St George: English associations in the Anglo-world to the 1930s
in Journal of Global History
Bueltmann Tanja
(2016)
The English Diaspora in North America: Migration, Ethnicity and Association, 1730s-1950s
Gleeson, David T; Lewis, Simon (University Of Cambridge)
(2014)
The Civil War as Global Conflict: Transnational Meanings of the American Civil War
MacRaild D
(2014)
Interdependence day and Magna Charta: James Hamilton's public diplomacy in the Anglo-world, 1907-1940s
in Journal of Transatlantic Studies
Robinson L
(2014)
ENGLISH ASSOCIATIONAL CULTURE IN LANCASHIRE AND YORKSHIRE, 1890S- C. 1930S
in Northern History
Robinson Lesley Clare
(2014)
Englishness in England and the 'near diaspora': organisation, influence and expression, 1880s-1970s
Title | England, the English, and English Culture in North America |
Description | An exhibition exploring the role of English immigrants in American and Canadian life, the history of St George?s societies, and Shakespeare in America. |
Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
Year Produced | 2013 |
Impact | The College of Charleston Library wishes to develop an online version of the exhibition and to use it to front-end a series of learning resources for teachers. |
Title | English Migrants and their Legacies in Charleston, South Carolina |
Description | short video on the English immigrations to Charleston, South Carolina |
Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
Year Produced | 2013 |
Impact | It mainly strengthened our website presence, with growing hits and likes. |
URL | http://www.englishdiaspora.co.uk/charlestontour.html |
Title | YouTube video on the English in America |
Description | A short history of the English in America |
Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
Year Produced | 2011 |
Impact | These are mainly just 'hits' and watches. |
URL | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs9S4E5obDw |
Description | We set out to show that English immigrants in the US and Canada actively developed and maintained the types of clubs and societies we normally associate with "more ethnic" groups such as the Irish or Scots. In short, that the English were ethnic. We have shown that If the history of ethnicity in North America is to reach its fullest possible extent, it is vital to recognise that ethnic groups, wherever they come from, express national pride below the level of national or state identity. The English in North America cannot be viewed simply as shorthand for Anglo-American relations or as a simple case study in the easy transfer of English culture from one side of the Atlantic to the other. Anglo-Saxonism, Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Morris-men, maypoles, and St. George and the dragon crossed to the United States and were incorporated into American life, at both elite and popular levels-just as, years later, American popular culture, from minstrelsy to the cinema, travelled in the opposite direction. For the English in the United States-speakers of the same tongue as their hosts-the process of settlement and development could be protracted. It also was complicated by the geopolitical implications of Anglo-Saxonism and episodic tensions between the United States and both Britain and Canada, regardless of the idea of shared racial heritage. While we did not seek to show that the English were worse off than the famine Irish, or had a more difficult negotiations than the non-English-speaking immigrants, we nevertheless disproved notions that the English simply slotted into American and Canada society without any negotiation of barriers, tensions or difficulties. |
Exploitation Route | Societies can use the research to improve their knowledge of their own histories, and the St George's societies at home and abroad are doing this. Teachers can add the English to their consideration of immigrations in these societies, and College of Charleston Library, who are digitising our exhibition, will support this. Academics can adjust their conceptualisation of emigration and immigration as a result of this work. Museums may wish to adjust displays on immigration and settlement, adding the English who are almost universally overlooked. |
Sectors | Creative Economy Education Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
URL | http://www.englishdiaspora.co.uk |
Description | Our findings have been used by the Royal St George's Society in newsletters and public speeches. We have also helped them realise the value of their archives and are developing exhibition ideas, though these are at an early stage. It is fair to say they now understand their own history better. Our work will eventually become a research resource for teachers, via the College of Charleston Library. This will see UK knowledge utilised on an international setting. Our support enabled the Hexham Morris Men and Lasses to develop a stage show charting the history of the Morris tradition and to put it on in Charleston, SC, and in Newcastle, in 2013 and 2014. Our published works are being used by scholars. |
First Year Of Impact | 2011 |
Sector | Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
Impact Types | Cultural |
Description | Don MacRaild was funded contributor at the AHRC Network: 'Anglo-Scottish Migration and the Making of Great Britain', University of Manchester, 5-6 June 2014. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | rapporteur work, general commenting, and discussant for papers; my role was bring English and colonial dimensions into a discussion focusing on the Scots. There was an offer to develop further collaborations. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Don MacRaild: Funded Keynote address: 'Diaspora of the Discontented: Class, Ethnicity and the English in America, 1840-1914', Annual national conference of the Society for the Study of Labour History, Huddersfield University, 21 July 2014 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | 40+ scholars from across the world gathered at a major, annual national conference. The English sparked considerable debate afterwards, and sustained conversation took the focus from north America to the wider world. An offer support to apply for a fellowship at the ANU's Humanities Research Centre. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |