[[image:Freddouglas.jpg|225px|thumb|[[Frederick Douglass]], historic [[Abolitionism|abolitionist]] activist, historic member of the [[Republican Party]] of the United States.]]
'''African American''', otherwise known as a nigger, is a [[politically correct]] term some use to describe the ethnic background of Americans with [[Africa]]n ancestry. The great majority of African Americans are descended from Africans brought to North America as [[slavery|slaves]] beginning four centuries ago. Others (like [[Colin Powell]]) were twentieth century immigrants from the [[West Indies]] or Africa. Many American [[conservative]]s believe that the use of terms such as "African-American" or "Mexican-American," collectively referred to as "[[hyphenated American|hyphenated Americanism]]," make the mistake of "putting America second" and emphasize racial differences over common national identity <ref>http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/05/on_becoming_an_unhyphenated_am.html</ref>
==Terms==