The historical context of the founding of the U.S. is important to consider. The original 13 states were all specifically British colonies and most of the 1776 generation saw themselves as Englishmen whose rights had been transgressed by the crown. There were of course non-British people in the colonies, some of which had been absorbed from the Dutch, Swedes, etc. But my point is that making the move from being specifically British to being the melting pot took a long time, considerable annexations of French and Spanish areas, suppression of native Americans, and waves of immigration from places other than the British Isles. It also required a complete change of mindset which could only happen with leaders who established a universalist world view directly emanating from the Enlightenment.

Vance’s ideas about our identity are convoluted and not well reasoned. His real aim seems to be redressment for the poor midwestern blue collar workers who have been left behind in post-industrial America. How exactly he squares that grievance with a homeland based on ancestral ties is intellectually shaky.