Nativist Mythology and the Threat of Diversity

The essay addresses an emerging patriotic mythology on the nativist right that is at odds with the historical reality of the United States:

The “Founding Ethnicity” Concept: Proponents of this view believe that “True Americans” are the cultural descendants of the founders—a “founding ethnicity” defined as Protestant, largely English-speaking, and Northwestern European—who were united by shared values.

Diversity as a Destabilizer: This ideology views the dilution of this “pure American stock” through mass immigration and growing diversity as a negative force that has made the country less culturally unified.

Trump Administration Stance: Documents submitted for White House proposals explicitly stated that the “sharp increase in diversity… has reduced the level of social trust essential for the functioning of a democratic polity.” These proposals aimed to counteract diversity by favoring white asylum seekers over nonwhite ones.

Political Endorsements: Vice President JD Vance echoed this sentiment, arguing that people whose ancestors fought in the Civil War have “a hell of a lot more claim over America,” defining the U.S. not as an idea/creed, but as “a group of people with a shared history and a common future.”

The Term “Heritage Americans”: Used on the right to denote those of Protestant faith and Anglo-European ethnicity/culture who can trace their lineage to the early republic.

Historical Reality: Pluralism, Conflict, and Cohesion

The author contends that the nativist mythology is “historically delusional,” arguing that the founding era was defined by deep division, not unity:

Pre-Revolutionary Conflict: The colonies were a “toxic stew of grievances” among ethnic and religious groups.

In 1764, largely Irish settlers rode to Philadelphia to confront the English Quaker government, following the slaughter of peaceful Indians. The potential civil war was averted only by Benjamin Franklin’s diplomacy.

Pamphlet Wars involved vicious rhetoric, such as calling for Quakerism to be “extirpated” and referring to Irish Ulster Presbyterians as “Ulceration” “Piss-brute-tarians.”

Benjamin Franklin himself referred to Irish settlers as “Christian white savages” and Germans as “Palatine boors.”

Rejection of Assimilation: Colonists responded to the pluralism not with cultural assimilation, but with the opposite—clinging to their distinct traditions as bulwarks against chaos. For instance, Quakers became more chauvinistic, and Lutherans fretted about their children adopting “vulgar English ways.”

Conclusion on American Identity: The United States is not exceptional due to a common cultural heritage; it is exceptional because it has managed to cohere despite faiths, traditions and languages that set us apart. The founders’ achievement was building a government capable of transcending these deep divisions and rejecting the pretense that one group deserves privileged status. Cultural diversity, with its prejudices and conflicts, is