From what I've gathered, Europeans tend to see the Reformed and Lutheran Protestants as being as distinct from each other as Protestants and Catholics are. Meanwhile, I never saw that distinction being made in America. Is my impression faulty? Or was the distinction blurred somehow in the New World?
I'm not a historian, but just wanted to suggest that this might be a good cross-question for /r/lcms. Even though it's not a history sub, some of the mods and regular contributors there have doctoral degrees focusing on theology, church history, and doctrine. I don't hang out on /r/reformed as much, so I'm not sure about that sub.