When considering the founding of our nation, it becomes apparent that the brave men who dared to defy tyranny not only brought forth a new nation, but also a new identity: American.
Before the unrest, revolution, and declaration of independence, the colonists were residents of the North American continent, however, they were ultimately citizens of the British North American colonies and therefore still had ties to Europe, but when they resolved to establish a new nation, independent of all other nations, they threw off this European identity and founded the American identity. From that moment forward, we were no longer Virginians, New Yorkers, Massachusettsans, and Pennsylvanians, but Americans.
This does raise the question: who was the first American? Here are a few of my best answers to that question.
George Washington
Washington seems to me a likely answer for many people because he is not only one of the most well renowned Americans, but also the first President of the United States. If you consider Washington’s inauguration to be the point at which he truly became an American, then one of the greatest issues with this argument is that Washington didn’t become president until 1789, nearly 13 years after the United States was established — that would suggest that the United States existed, but without a single citizen for 13 years.
John Hancock
It could be argued that Hancock became the first American when he became the first to sign the Declaration of Independence — the document that officially founded our nation — on August 2, 1776.
Roanoke
One could say that the settlers of Roanoke Colony were the first Americans because, in 1585, they became the first to establish an English colony on North American soil.
Jamestown
It’s also possible to say that the roughly 105 passengers aboard the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery who founded Jamestown in 1607 were the first Americans as they were the first inhabitants of the first successful English colony in North America, which would later become the United States.
The People
In my opinion, the most correct answer is this one: that each of the 2.5 million residents of the 13 colonists immediately and simultaneously became Americans the instant that the nation was established, which was when the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776.
Who do you think were the first Americans?
Onward American 