Asked about nationality, the typical American colonist of 1750 would have said English or British. In spite of substantial numbers of Dutch, Germans, and Scotch-lrish, English people and English institutions prevailed in every colony, and most colonists spoke of England as home even though they had never been there. Yet no American institutions were quite like their counterparts in England; the heritage of English ideas that went with these institutions was So rich and varied that colonists were able to select and develop those that best suited their situation and forget others that meanwhile were growing prominent in the mother country. This variety sometimes led to regional differences: in some ways New Englanders were set off from Virginians even more than from people in England. But some ideas, institutions, and attitudes became common in all the colonies and remained uncommon in England. Although colonial Englishmen were not yet aware that they shared these Americanisms with one another or that English people in England did not share them, many of the characteristic ideas and attitudes that later distinguished United States nationalism were already present by the mid-eighteenth century.
- A.Some of their beliefs were different from those of people in England.
- B.Some regional differences had developed among the English colonies in America.
- C.Some of the colonial institutions had close counterparts in England.
- D.Some specifically American ideas had become commonplace in the colonies.