How Did Jews Become White Folks?
How Societies Construct Race and Ethnicity
Societies define race/ethnicity via historical experiences. European immigrants once considered nonwhite were later included as "white folks" after WWII.
Views on race led to discriminatory immigration restrictions in the 1920s.
Post-WWII, European immigrants were accepted as model middle-class white suburban citizens due to affirmative action.
"Whitening" highlights shared experiences among Euroimmigrants and America’s institutional racism.
U.S. Discovery of Inferior and Superior European Races
Late 19th-century immigration led the U.S. to perceive inferior/superior European races.
Immigrants' concentration in cities post-1880 caused development of ethnic communities.
The Red Scare of 1919 linked anti-immigrant and anti-working-class sentiments.
Belief in European races emerged among wealthy Protestants, fearing an unassimilable working class.
Eugenics and Scientific Racism
Eugenics gained legitimacy via aristocrats/scientists.
Madison Grant identified superior Nordics versus inferior Alpines, Mediterraneans, and Jews.
Grant intertwined race/class, viewing upper class as Nordic.
Scientific community held mainstream views.
Racism fused with eugenics, shaping army intelligence tests during WWI.
Racism and Immigration Laws
By the 1920s, scientific racism deemed real Americans as white from northwest Europe.
Laws excluded Chinese (1882) and restricted Asian/European immigration (1924).
White, Christian race was defined in the 1705 Virginia Act.
The 1930 census distinguished native whites by parentage, reflecting eugenicist views.
Anti-Semitism in Higher Education
Racism, anti-immigrant sentiment, and anti-Semitism flourished in higher education.
Jews faced discrimination as the first Euroimmigrants in colleges.
Elite schools set anti-Semitic standards, normalizing it.
Exclusionary techniques (fixed class sizes, chapel requirements) decreased Jewish enrollment.
Euroethnics into Whites
Jews assimilated into whiteness by adolescence.
Ethnic backgrounds became irrelevant in high school culture.
Individuals identified as middle class, overlooking race/immigrant history.
Money Whitens
Jews/Euroethnics became white through middle-class status and expanded whiteness.
Anti-Semitism/anti-European racism lost respectability post-fascism war.
The 1940 census made Euroimmigrants more securely white.
Nurture/culture replaced nature/biology theories.
Euroethnic suburbs symbolized U.S. democracy’s victory over racism.
Economic Prosperity and Whitening
Anti-Semitism persisted but was less visible.
Economic mobility relied on U.S. postwar prosperity and government aid.
The GI Bill (1944) provided affirmative action for Euro-origin GIs.
It aimed to prevent labor strife/radicalism after WWII.
College education and cheap home mortgages were significant GI Bill benefits.
Education and Occupation
College was previously for Protestant elites.
GI benefits transformed higher education.
Veterans gained higher earning capacity.
Postwar expansion made college accessible to Euromales and Jews.
Jewish small businesses declined; Jewish professionals increased.
The postwar boom expanded the U.S. middle class.
Wartime Racism and Postwar Sexism
GI benefits favored white males, excluding African Americans/women.
White male privilege was contrasted by wartime racism and postwar sexism.
Black people faced discrimination in jobs/housing.
Women were laid off to create jobs for servicemen.
African American GIs were denied GI benefits due to segregation and dishonorable discharges.
Federal Government and Institutionalized Racism
The federal government didn't combat institutionalized racism.
Programs systematically discriminated against African Americans.
White men were treated equally regardless of European ancestry.
GI Bill/FHA mortgages enabled white ethnics to become homeowners/professionals.
Government offered segregation/discrimination to African Americans.
Unequal gains perpetuate racial inequality.
Today, children/grandchildren of beneficiaries have advantages, widening the gap.