Page "Yankee" Paragraph 23

Traditionally, Yankee was most often used to refer to a New Englander descended from the original settlers of the region ( thus often suggesting Puritanism and thrifty values ).

By the mid-20th century, some speakers applied the word to any American born north of the Mason – Dixon Line, though usually with a specific focus still on New England.

New England Yankee might be used to differentiate.

However, within New England itself, the term still refers more specifically to old-stock New Englanders of English descent.

The term " WASP ", in use since the 1960s, refers to all Protestants of English ancestry, including both Yankees and Southerners, though its meaning is often extended to refer to any Protestant white American.