The concept of whiteness and definitions of who is considered white have changed dramatically over time. In the past, whiteness was associated with specific ethnic groups like Anglo-Saxons or Nordic peoples. The definition was also tied to concepts of racial purity and supremacy. Today, the social construction of whiteness is understood to be much more complex. This article will provide an overview of how the meaning of white identity has evolved in America, from the colonial era to the present day.
Colonial America and Early Definitions of Whiteness
In colonial America, white identity was intrinsically linked to English and Protestant heritage. The colonists saw themselves as free Englishmen defending their rights, while people of color were considered “other” and not embraced as equals.
The Naturalization Act of 1790 reveals the early American conflation of whiteness with English and Protestant identity. The act allowed only “free white persons” to become naturalized citizens, restricting this privilege from other ethnic and religious groups.
Religion was also a core component of whiteness. As Yale history professor David Blight states, “To be ‘really’ white meant to be not Catholic, or Jewish, or certainly not black.”
America’s racist “one-drop rule” also began to take shape at this time. Whites were defined in opposition to blackness – anyone with any trace of African ancestry was considered black, while only those of pure European descent were white.
19th Century Definitions of Whiteness
In the early to mid 19th century, American whiteness began expanding beyond just the Anglo-Saxon or English identity, but still excluded anyone with African ancestry.
As millions of immigrants from Ireland, Germany, Italy and other parts of Europe arrived, the boundaries of whiteness were contested and redrawn. While these groups faced initial discrimination, they slowly became incorporated into the white American mainstream over time.
For instance, the Irish were first racialized as non-white. Anti-Irish sentiment led to the formation of the Know Nothing political party in the 1850s, which was anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant. But as Gráinne O’Malley notes:
“Eventually, after much struggle, the Irish were accepted as white by the greater American public, but it required essentially erasing facets the Irish identity and assimilating into Anglo-centric cultural norms.”
Italians, Jews, and Eastern Europeans faced similar struggles for inclusion in the white mainstream during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Yet all these groups were able to access privileges denied to African Americans and Asians.
The 1854 California Supreme Court case People v. Hall highlighted how the legal system only defined true whiteness as distinct from blackness. George Hall, one quarter black but appearing white, was convicted under a law prohibiting Black, Mulatto and Indian persons from testifying against whites. But his conviction was overturned on appeal since the intent was to exclude anyone with visible African ancestry.
Early 20th Century Definitions
In the early 20th century, definitions of whiteness continued to center on people of European descent without any trace of African ancestry. New waves of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe sparked continued debate, as did increased migration of people from Asia and Mexico.
The eugenics movement of the early 1900s sought to protect white racial purity and superiority through selective breeding and anti-miscegenation laws. This prompted even more stringent legal definitions of whiteness.
For example, a 1909 Virginia law defined a white person as someone with “no trace whatsoever of any blood other than Caucasian.” Atlanta courts ruled in 1911 that Mexicans would be considered white “if not obviously Indian or Negro.”
These kinds of arbitrary and prejudiced attempts to police the boundaries of whiteness intensified in the Jim Crow era of racial apartheid in the American south. The one-drop rule was enforced through segregation laws and bans on interracial marriage.
Mid to Late 20th Century Definitions
By the mid 20th century, American whiteness was still closely associated with European heritage and tied to political rights and socioeconomic privileges. However, the boundaries became more permeable over time, shifting along with evolving cultural attitudes.
The postwar era saw a weakening of explicitly racialist definitions of whiteness. Discriminatory ethnic exclusion laws from earlier in the century, like the Chinese Exclusion Act, were repealed. Interracial marriage bans were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1967.
The Jewish and Catholic immigrant groups that had previously faced discrimination were now widely accepted as white Americans. Still, whites and non-whites continued to experience segregation in housing and education.
In 1977, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued Directive 15, which standardized racial and ethnic categories for statistical reporting to the federal government. Whites were defined as “having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.” This pan-ethnic definition marked a departure from older notions of whiteness as centered on Northwest European ancestry.
21st Century Definitions
Today, whiteness is understood as a social construct rather than a biological absolute. Scholar Paula Rothenberg describes it as an “arbitrary social classification based on superficial physical characteristics.”
The Distinction between “white” as a census racial category and whiteness as a social privilege is now emphasized. Being white affords unearned advantages in areas like wealth, education, and treatment by police and the courts.
However, the boundaries remain fluid. For example, debates continue over whether Middle Eastern and North African immigrants should be counted as white or a separate ethnic category. These ambiguities highlight the limitations of our racial classification systems.
Many scholars argue whiteness is now defined more by what it isn’t than what it is. As Rothenberg states: “White means not being a person of color in America…the characteristics of whiteness are in large part whatever those in power say they are.” From this perspective, whiteness is a position of structural advantage and racial privilege rather than skin color alone.
