Most of us realize that only so-called White folks have historically enjoyed the full privileges of U.S. citizenship. And most of us know that the definition of “White” has widened over the centuries. But grasping these points does not avoid all historical pitfalls. For instance, some think that, although the definition of “White” has changed, northern Europeans have always been considered White. Not so. Irish, Scots, even Germans were once seen as too dark-complexioned to pass for White. Another error is that African-Americans are finally assimilating into mainstream society. Again, not so. Census-reported intermarriage shows that acceptance comparable to that of Jews, say, or Japanese-Americans, remains far out of reach for African-Americans. Finally, some claim that White Americans will soon be in the minority. In fact, we shall show in detail that “White” has just been a synonym for “mainstream” throughout U.S. history. Hence, most Americans will be mainstream (called “White”) for centuries to come. As we shall see momentarily, Puerto Ricans became White in the 1960s, Asian-Americans are becoming White as we speak, and British West Indians (Jamaicans, Barbadians, Trinidadians) are well on their way. This essay examines four surprisingly complex linkages between America’s “race” notion and its assimilation of immigrant cultures.

Only White Immigrants Could Apply for Citizenship
The first odd linkage is that, until a few decades ago, only White people could become naturalized citizens. The federal Naturalization Act, signed into law on March 26, 1790, by President Washington, explicitly barred anyone not of the White “race” from applying for U.S. citizenship. This law remained in effect until the 1950s, although its enforcement was tightened in the late nineteenth century regarding Asian immigrants, and by the Johnson-Reed act of 1924 imposing immigration quotas. In short, until late in the twentieth century, only immigrants of the White “race” could hope to become naturalized citizens.1

The Naturalization Act of 1790 was not a dead letter. For nearly two centuries, it was rigidly and routinely enforced. Tens of thousands of would-be citizens of color were turned away by White America’s legal system. Over the centuries, Turks, East Indians, Greeks, Sicilians, Japanese, and Arabs filed lawsuits in federal court, asking to be ruled White within the intent of the law. Ian F. Haney-Lopez, in White by Law: The Legal Construction of Race (New York: New York University, 1996) narrates the arguments and outcomes of these trials. They are worth studying because each reveals precisely who was considered White in that particular period.
Who is White?
The second odd linkage is that in practice, “White” has always been defined as “assimilated into the American mainstream.” I know this sounds circular: you cannot apply for citizenship until you become White, and your ethnic group cannot be considered White until it assimilates into mainstream U.S. culture. Bear with me; it will shortly become clear.


The United States holds up a core set of cultural standards as ticket for admission into the mainstream. Although the standards have slowly changed over centuries, they include customary attitudes towards language, religion, dress, food, music, folklore, dance, child-rearing practices, and so forth. Not that America demands homogeneity, of course, but it sets limits. You need not become Christian, but you must abandon any dogma that demands the slaying of infidels or apostates. You need not switch to meat and potatoes, but Australians are discouraged from turning over flat rocks to snack on juicy grubs–at least not in public. Your family may hand down its own values, but these must not include preventing your children from learning to read. The three stages of acculturation have become cliche. The first generation weeps over loss of heritage. Their Americanized children shrug with incomprehension. Their nostalgic grandchildren rediscover and adopt a quaint sanitized version of ethnicity.

The United States is not unusual in this regard. All melting-pot countries (Brazil, Argentina, Canada) have similar social norms–especially regarding language. Most norms are common to Western culture, after all (what used to be called Christendom many years ago). What is unique about the United States is that U.S. standards are ascribed to hereditary Whiteness. Even today, the U.S. label “White” is reserved for only those immigrant groups who have been accepted into the mainstream.

How Americans first came to think of culture as genetic–when even medieval Iberians, say, considered a Christian infant raised by Moors to be a fully Moorish adult and vice versa–is a fascinating tale but irrelevant to this essay. Instead, our focus is on how “colored” immigrants (a probationary non-White status) earned admission and so became White after each wave of immigration.

Word-use is important. Americans use the terms “people of color” and “race” to designate immigrant groups who have not yet assimilated (1860 Irish, 1900 Italians, 1920 Jews, 1940 Chinese, 1950 Puerto Ricans, 1990 Haitians). Conversely, they use “White” and “ethnicity” to denote groups who have been accepted into the mainstream (1920 Irish, 1930 Italians, 1950 Jews, 1970 Chinese, 1980 Puerto Ricans). This is so very important that I must clarify. In other words, it is useless to ask whether Irish or Chinese or Puerto Ricans are really people of color or whether they really belong to the White “race.” You cannot apply the adverb “really” to social fiction–it is like asking whether the Tooth Fairy is really married, or if the Easter Bunny is really a hare. There is no “really” about it. According to both U.S. law and popular culture, each of the above groups belonged to a “colored race” before they became accepted, and the very same group belonged to a “White ethnicity” after that instant.2

In short, since 1607, when English-speaking colonists first disembarked in what was to become the United States, the land has received enormous diversity. Within the first century, colonists invented the label “White” to distinguish themselves from non-English newcomers. Wave after wave of immigrant groups were absorbed over the next four centuries. Each newly arrived group was labeled non-White or colored and treated badly by the White mainstream until it was assimilated. Upon becoming White, each new group then proceeded to mistreat the next wave of colored newcomers in turn. As we shall see in a moment, the process continues today.
Rest of essay at the source.

What's your opinion on the essay? Personally, I largely disagree. Especially on the idea that Hispanics, Asians and even West Indian Blacks are now "White" or quickly getting there.