# Who's the father ? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 10, 2014, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-father/692790 "2014-07-10T20:42:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![common\_good](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@common\_good](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/common_good)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-father/692790/1 "2014-07-10T20:42:29Z")
England is our (the US) mother country. Who, or what, is the father ? I know what I think. I want to know what others think. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-father/692790/2 "2014-07-10T21:11:28Z")
More IMHO, I think. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-father/692790/3 "2014-07-10T21:27:48Z")
I am sure Maury Povich can help you get to the bottom of this. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-father/692790/4 "2014-07-10T21:28:42Z")
Well considering the definition of “mother country” is considered the _country in relation to its colonies_, I would agree that England could arguably fall into that category. However the “father country” is a bit vague and the closest reference is the latin term _Pater Patriae_, or an honorific title given to the founding father(s) of a nation. In our case that is more commonly referred to as the signers of the Declaration of Independence. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-father/692790/5 "2014-07-10T21:40:15Z")
Whatever this is, it is not a debate. I am moving it to IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-father/692790/6 "2014-07-10T21:51:33Z")
Germany. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-father/692790/7 "2014-07-10T22:03:56Z")
[Here](http://i.imgur.com/Xcjh2ga.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![common\_good](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@common\_good](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/common_good)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-father/692790/8 "2014-07-10T22:06:36Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > More IMHO, I think. Why ? Is it not relevent ? How so ? It may not rank with other great questions, such as the one about the tree falling when nobody’s around to hear it, but… well. What’s wrong with it? I realize there is probably no correct answer. But it seems a perfectly fine question. Maybe I don’t take myself as seriously as I ought. And maybe others are too…oh, proper, staid, ridgid, stuffy, fosilized ? ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-father/692790/9 "2014-07-10T22:07:51Z")
I say Germany also. If anyone’s interested I’ll post my rationale… ---
**Author:** ![common\_good](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@common\_good](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/common_good)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-father/692790/10 "2014-07-10T22:09:24Z")
Why Germany ? ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-father/692790/11 "2014-07-10T22:24:07Z")
I say it’s **either** the native Americans (Indians) **or** any other country on the planet, depending on your point of view. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-father/692790/12 "2014-07-10T22:33:44Z")
George Washington ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-father/692790/13 "2014-07-10T22:37:18Z")
> [@common\_good](#): > > Why ? Is it not relevent ? How so ? It may not rank with other great questions, such as the one about the tree falling when nobody’s around to hear it, but… well. What’s wrong with it? I realize there is probably no correct answer. But it seems a perfectly fine question. Maybe I don’t take myself as seriously as I ought. And maybe others are too…oh, proper, staid, ridgid, stuffy, fosilized ? Why? IMO, because you didn’t define your terms. What do you mean by “father country?” The term has no meaning. Hard to debate. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-father/692790/14 "2014-07-10T22:45:14Z")
Senegal? ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-father/692790/15 "2014-07-11T00:47:05Z")
France. Sure, it all started as a seedy little back-alley romance, but by the time the nation was in the full throes of labor, the baby-daddy had come around, married in a quick ceremony, and acknowledged the fruit of his loins. (Seriously, without French aid - money, ammunition, military advisors, troops, and a navy, we’d probably still be celebrating the Queen’s birthday instead of the Fourth of July.) ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-father/692790/16 "2014-07-11T02:30:07Z")
I’d say the ancient Roman republic, which had a great influence on the founding fathers (eg, they would sign their writings as “Publius”) Germany is a strange choice - there wasn’t a Germany until the late 1800s. If you’re going by early non-English immigration as a criteria, I’d give it to Ulster (where the “Scotch-Irish” were from) or maybe Scotland. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-father/692790/17 "2014-07-11T04:08:14Z")
Maybe England’s just a shameless slut and there’s no hope of identifying the father. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-father/692790/18 "2014-07-11T04:16:25Z")
> [@common\_good](#): > > Why Germany ? I thought they claim to be… (a joke…De vaterland … get it ? ) If you believe in a motherland, then can you be patriotic ? (pat= prefix for father… so patriotic means “for the fatherland.” ) ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-father/692790/19 "2014-07-11T04:37:57Z")
The mailman. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-father/692790/20 "2014-07-11T04:42:34Z")
“Mother country” is an idiom that h as no literal significance. Other cultures and other languages do not necessarily have an analogous usage. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-father/692790.md?page=2)