Why were the Irish and Italians not considered "White" Originally?
"Whiteness" was less about biology and more about American Identity and Alignment with Power
Q: Why were the Irish and Italians not considered "White"?
A: Gemini Response:
The classification of the Irish and Italians as “not white” in the United States reflects a historical reality where “whiteness” was not a fixed biological category, but a shifting social and political construct. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the definition of who was considered “white” was often narrower than it is today, used frequently as a mechanism to gatekeep social, economic, and political power.
Tim: It would amaze many today that Anti-Catholic prejudice was a factor in considering Irish and Italians ‘non-white.’
Here is an overview of why these groups faced such exclusion and how that perception evolved.
The Irish Experience (Mid-19th Century)
When waves of Irish immigrants arrived in the U.S., particularly during and after the Great Famine (1845–1852), they faced intense discrimination.
Racialization: Nativist Americans often portrayed the Irish as a distinct, inferior “race” separate from the “Anglo-Saxon” or “Teutonic” stock that was considered standard for whiteness at the time. Political cartoons from the era frequently depicted the Irish with simian features, equating them with African Americans to suggest they were primitive or ungovernable.
Religious Prejudice: Anti-Catholic sentiment was a significant driver of this exclusion. Because the United States was culturally dominated by Protestantism, the Catholic faith of the Irish was viewed by many as incompatible with American republican values and democratic governance.
Economic Tension: As poor, unskilled laborers competing for jobs, the Irish were often viewed as an economic threat, leading to “No Irish Need Apply” hiring practices.
The Italian Experience (Late 19th – Early 20th Century)
When large numbers of Southern Italians began arriving in the late 19th century, they also encountered significant skepticism regarding their “whiteness.”
The “Mediterranean” Status: Italians were often categorized as “Mediterranean” or “swarthy.” During this era, racial theories—often pseudoscientific—placed “Nordic” peoples at the top of a hierarchy, with Southern Europeans placed below them.
“New Immigration” Skepticism: The influx of Italians coincided with a period of rising xenophobia in the U.S. They were frequently grouped with other “non-white” or “foreign” groups in public discourse, characterized as clannish, uneducated, and prone to criminality.
Institutional Violence: This discrimination could be lethal. A stark example is the 1891 lynching of 11 Italians in New Orleans, an event that demonstrated how, in the eyes of some Americans, Italians lacked the protections afforded to “true” white citizens.
How They “Became White”
The transition of these groups into the American definition of “white” did not happen overnight; it was a sociopolitical process that occurred over several decades.
Social Distancing: Sociologists often point to the process of “becoming white” as a strategy of social alignment. By establishing clear social and spatial distance from African Americans—who were legally and systematically marginalized—these immigrant groups were able to align themselves with the existing white power structure.
Political and Labor Integration: Through the Democratic Party machines (like Tammany Hall in New York) and the formation of labor unions, the Irish and Italians gained political agency and collective bargaining power. This helped move them into the middle class and solidified their social status.
Post-WWII Assimilation: The aftermath of World War II was a turning point. GI Bill benefits, suburbanization, and the common goal of the war effort helped integrate these immigrant populations into the mainstream. As their economic status rose and their cultural practices (and Catholic faith) became more integrated into the American fabric, the “racial” distinction between them and the “native-born” white population effectively vanished.
Summary
Ultimately, the exclusion of the Irish and Italians was less about biology and more about the boundaries of American identity. “Whiteness” has historically expanded to incorporate European immigrant groups once they achieved:
economic stability,
political influence, and
cultural assimilation.
By the mid-20th century, the definition of “whiteness” had broadened to include anyone of European descent, leaving behind the racialized categorizations of the previous century.
Detail:
When America Despised the Irish: The 19th Century’s Refugee Crisis
Forced from their homeland because of famine and political upheaval, the Irish endured vehement discrimination before making their way into the American mainstream.
The refugees seeking haven in America were poor and disease-ridden. They threatened to take jobs away from Americans and strain welfare budgets. They practiced an alien religion and pledged allegiance to a foreign leader. They were bringing with them crime. They were accused of being rapists.
These undesirables were Irish. (Read more)
Anti-Italian sentiment (Wikipedia).
Anti-Italianism arose among some Americans as an effect of the large-scale immigration of Italians to the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The majority of Italian immigrants to the United States arrived in waves in the early 20th century, many of them from agrarian backgrounds. Nearly all the Italian immigrants were Catholic, as opposed to the nation’s Protestant majority. Because the immigrants often lacked formal education and competed with earlier immigrants for lower-paying jobs and housing, significant hostility developed toward them.[1]
The vast majority of Italian immigrants worked hard and lived honest lives, as documented by police statistics of the early 20th century in Boston and New York City. Italian immigrants had an arrest rate that was no greater than those of other major immigrant groups.[4] As late as 1963, James W. Vander Zander noted that the rate of criminal convictions among Italian immigrants was less than that among American-born whites.[5]
A criminal element that was active in some of the Italian immigrant communities in the large eastern cities used extortion, intimidation and threats in order to extract protection money from the wealthier immigrants and shop owners (known as the Black Hand racket), and it was also involved in other illegal activities as well. When the Fascists came to power in Italy, they made the destruction of the Mafia in Sicily a high priority. Hundreds fled to the United States in the 1920s and 1930s in order to avoid prosecution.
When the United States enacted prohibition in 1920, the restrictions proved to be an economic windfall for those in the Italian-American community who were already involved in illegal activities, as well as those who had fled from Sicily. They smuggled liquor into the country, wholesaled and sold it through a network of outlets and speakeasies. While members of other ethnic groups were also deeply involved in these illegal bootlegging activities, and the associated violence between groups, Italian Americans were among the most notorious.[6] Because of this, Italians became associated with the prototypical gangster in the minds of many, which had a long-lasting effect on the Italian-American image.