White Ethnics, Whiteness, and Voting Rights

These flashcards cover key concepts related to White Ethnics, the Voting Rights Act, and related historical policies affecting race and citizenship.

Naturalization Act of 1790

Defined citizenship eligibility as 'free white persons' allowing European whites to naturalize but excluding non-whites.

Homestead Act of 1862

Granted 285 million acres of Native land to settlers, benefiting Anglo-Saxons and later White Ethnics.

Restrictive Covenants

Policies that barred non-whites from buying homes in white neighborhoods.

National Origins Quota Act (1921)

Introduced numerical immigration quotas that limited Southern and Eastern Europeans.

Immigration Act of 1924 (Johnson-Reed Act)

Established quotas based on the 1890 census to favor Northern Europeans, nearly halting Italian, Jewish, and Polish immigration.

Madison Grant

Creator of a racial hierarchy that ranked Nordics above Southern/Eastern Europeans.

Eugenics movement

Targeted 'undesirable' populations with sterilization laws, affecting many White Ethnics.

Padrone System

Controlled wages and living conditions for Italian immigrants, often exploiting them.

General Order No. 11 (1862)

Expelled all Jews from Grant's military district, later reversed due to Jewish mobilization.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Outlawed literacy tests and poll taxes at the federal level and increased Black political participation.

Section 4 — Coverage Formula

Identified jurisdictions with histories of discrimination that required federal preclearance for voting changes.

Baker v. Carr (1962)

Allowed federal courts to review redistricting, enabling challenges to discriminatory maps.

Shelby County v. Holder (2013)

Struck down Section 4's coverage formula, dismantling preclearance requirements, leading to voter restrictions.

Racial Gerrymandering

Illegal practice of districting that directly targets minority voters.

Partisan Gerrymandering

Legal in many states; can negatively impact minorities due to the overlap between race and party.

Felony disenfranchisement

Legal practice disproportionately affecting Black, Latino, and Native populations.