Creating Whiteness: A Timeline of American History
The concept race of didn't always exist the way it does now. It came from somewhere, evolved over time, and though it has morphed in ways that alter its function in society, it continues to serve its intended purpose: tricking the white public into identifying with the ownership class rather than members of other races with whom the white public invariably has more in common.
Understanding this history helps us discern how whites and whiteness act to affect the distribution of wealth and power in the U.S. Here are some important periods, what impact they had on the concept of whiteness, and some examples of how they worked.
The Beginning (1550-1600s): First Encounters and Early Distinctions
When Europeans first encountered African peoples, they began developing racial distinctions based on skin color. The English often associated blackness with sin and moral corruption. For example:
English writings from this period linked the color black with concepts like "foul," "wicked," and "sinister," while white represented purity and virtue.
As early as 1643, Virginia created laws that taxed African women as laborers differently than English women, marking one of the first legal distinctions based on race.
Making It Official (Late 1600s): Writing Racial Hierarchies into Law
This period saw colonial governments formalize racial distinctions, granting privileges to "white" individuals while restricting Africans and their descendants.
Virginia passed a law in 1680 preventing "any negroe or other slave" from raising a hand against a white person, establishing official racial hierarchies.
After Bacon's Rebellion in 1676 (when poor whites and blacks briefly united against the colonial elite), colonial leaders intensified racial distinctions to prevent future alliances between black and white laborers, leading to laws that entrenched slavery based on race.
The "Scientific" Era (1700s): Using "Reason" to Justify Racism
During the Enlightenment, European thinkers attempted to classify humans into distinct races, often placing Europeans at the top of a supposed racial hierarchy:
Carl Linnaeus created a classification system that organized humans into hierarchical racial categories, conveniently placing Europeans at the top.
Johann Friedrich Blumenbach introduced the term "Caucasian" for white people, asserting their superiority and reinforcing racial hierarchies through what was presented as objective science.
Becoming American (1790): Whiteness and Citizenship
The U.S. Naturalization Act restricted citizenship to "free white persons," legally embedding the concept of whiteness into American law and linking it to national identity:
This act made whiteness a prerequisite for citizenship, formally excluding non-white individuals from the naturalization process.
The restriction created a foundation for a national identity built around whiteness that would persist for generations.
Growing and Changing (19th Century): Expanding What "White" Means
As the U.S. expanded westward, policies further entrenched the association of whiteness with American identity, while the definition of "white" itself evolved:
The Indian Removal Act of 1830 forcibly displaced Native American tribes, opening lands for white settlers and reinforcing the idea that America was meant for white people.
European immigrant groups, such as Irish and Italians, initially weren't considered "white" enough but gradually assimilated into the white majority. This expansion of whiteness shows how it's a social construct rather than a fixed biological category.
Enforcing "Purity" (1924): The One-Drop Rule
Virginia's Racial Integrity Act enforced the "one-drop rule," classifying individuals with any African ancestry as black and prohibiting interracial marriage:
The law defined a white person as someone with "no trace whatsoever of any blood other than Caucasian," legally codifying the idea of white "purity."
By banning interracial marriage, the state attempted to maintain rigid racial boundaries through control of family formation and reproduction.
Facing Challenges (Mid-20th Century): The Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights Movement confronted institutionalized racism, leading to the dismantling of legal segregation and challenging white supremacy:
Brown v. Board of Education (1954) struck down racial segregation in public schools, challenging the legal foundations of white supremacy.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, dismantling legal segregation and affirming civil rights for all citizens.
Examining Whiteness (Late 20th to Early 21st Century): New Awareness
Scholars and activists began to critically examine whiteness itself as a social construct:
Academic studies of whiteness emerged, exploring how it operates to maintain power structures and privilege.
Concepts like "white privilege" gained prominence, highlighting the unearned advantages given to white individuals in various aspects of society.
Re-exerting White Primacy (2008-present)
The election of the first black president along with demographic shifts generate mounting anxiety in whites:
· Whites begin to defend white supremacy more blatantly with concepts like “I want my America back” becoming more prominent in the social/political discourse.
· Trump begins his successful campaign with, “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re r^pists,” re-legitimizing the bigotry in the civil discourse that had been delegitimized (still present, but deemed unacceptable to express in the mainstream discourse) since the civil rights movement.
Why This Matters Now
The historical construction of whiteness shows that race isn't a biological reality but a social invention with real consequences. Understanding this history helps us see how deeply embedded racial thinking is in American society.
Some people think that whiteness is only a social structure with no content of its own. I don’t agree. I came to this conclusion when I realized that when I’m with a white person that I love, something is happing that is pretty white and is not oppression. We cannot end our own whiteness. What we can do is understand its origins, recognize its impact, and work toward a society where racial categories don't determine life outcomes.
As a white person, I try to respect my own perspective (a decidedly white perspective) while not insisting that it hold primacy. I try to be honest about what I like and dislike about other perspectives while still making room for them in the discourse, especially when they are the perspectives of people from non-dominant groups.
I treat whiteness like a beloved brother who is a drug addict; I love the good in him but will intervene to stop his destructive impulses from harming others. I try to love whiteness while not allowing it to do the bad things it does. Just like all people, I remain a cultural being. I don't insist, however, that my culture dominate. I insist that it does not.
