Historical Analysis: White Supremacy and Xenophobia in America

This historical essay delves into the pervasive issue of white supremacy and xenophobia in American history. It meticulously examines the origins of white supremacist ideologies, tracing them back to the 17th century and the rise of scientific racism. The essay explores the impact of these beliefs on various ethnic groups, including Native Americans and African Americans, detailing the atrocities of slavery, disenfranchisement, and the Jim Crow laws. It analyzes key events like the Civil Rights Movement, highlighting the struggles against institutional oppression and racial discrimination. The essay concludes by reflecting on the enduring presence of white supremacy and the ongoing fight for racial equality in contemporary America. The essay uses scholarly sources to support its claims.

Running head: WHITE SUPREMACY
WHITE SUPREMACY
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Author Note

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White supremacy is a blot to the mankind. White supremacy is a racist stereotypical
belief that white European people are racially supreme than the other races and for their
supremacy, they should be dominant on the other races (Inwood, FJ, and Alderman). Throughout
the annals of history, there have been evidences of oppression of the diverse races by the white
European people who have been heavily prejudiced by Euro- centrism. The land of America has
witnessed a plethora of events and movements against white supremacy, one of them being the
Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. The respective paper is a historical essay that seeks to
analyze and evaluate in details, the records and events of white supremacy and xenophobia in the
American history. The paper tries to understand the role of white supremacy across different
regions and times in the American history.
White supremacy is a stereotypical belief that suggests that white people (supposedly
people from European descent) are superior to the people from the other races and therefore,
have the discretion to dominate and rule over the other races. White supremacy is built upon the
foundations of scientific racism and pseudoscientific arguments that institutionalizes falsified
notion about supremacy of the European white race. Throughout the history and till now, the
white supremacists have always opposed and criticized people from other races, including the
Jews (Jews are Semitics) in political, economic, educational and social milieu. White supremacy
is not only a social phenomenon that grappled the United States in the past. It was also a political
ideology and a political tool that helped them establish a Eurocentric thought process
marginalizing the ethnic diversities of the nation (Newitz). The roots of white supremacy can be
traced back to the period of 17th century when scientific racism was in fashion in political and
intellectual discourse. Scientific racism ideals were fueled by the historical events such as Age of
Enlightenment and the massive colonization of the other continents and countries by the

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European imperialists (Wilson). White supremacy was dominant in the United States both before
and after the American civil war and even after the Reconstruction era of American history.
Racism in the United States began when the land of America that was discovered by Christopher
Columbus was ventured by the Europeans in search of replacements and resources. Millions and
millions of Native Americans were ruthlessly and mercilessly killed as they were overpowered
by the fine and progressive technologies of the European invaders. The Native Americans were
also used in chattel slavery and they were completely denied all kinds of basic humanistic
freedom by the European imperialists (Horne). Then, they were at the hands of mercy of the
Europeans who not only used them as their personal property, but also used them for economic
gains by purchasing and selling them to different slave traders. Lives of the ethnic minorities in
the American land became horrible than a living hell. They were also oppressed at the name of
“purging” them and “civilizing” them by instilling in them Christian faith and forcefully
converting them from their indigenous religions to Christianity. The Native American children
were forced to attend Christian schools where, in the name of reviving them, they were
mercilessly abused, both physically and sexually.
In many parts of the United States, the ethnic minorities, who were the non- whites, were
disenfranchised, which means that they were denied the right to vote or hold any political
freedom. They were prohibited from the government offices and were not awarded any
government job or profession. Most of the blue collar professions that required physical labor
and were low in the society were titled to them. The native Americans were termed “savage” by
the whites of the United States and were selectively separated and ostracized from the rest of the
society through a racist attitude which is popularly known as apartheid (Pettus).

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According to the events analyzed by going through the Black history on the land of
America, it can be noticed that the Blacks or the Africans who were taken to America as slaves
during the imperialistic period had a painful history of their own (Shipler). The first slaves
arrived in America in the year 1619. The European Americans were permitted ownership of the
slaves (including men and women) where the women slaves were raped, used for sexual fun and
pleasure, exhibited and assaulted whenever the masters wanted. The child that was the outcome
of the rape by the slave women were also not a free child and it (he/she) was also forcefully
made slave in their upcoming years. A law passed in the year 1669 in America stated that the
slaves could be killed if they ever dared to resist the authority. Many slave codes that were
passed after 1669 resisted the slaves from gathering together in groups, growing or possessing
their own food or learning to read and write (Aclu.org). White supremacy gave the message to
the slaves that they should remain slaves and should dare not try to become polished and
civilized like their masters. Such attitude was again fueled and accelerated by scientific racism
where many pseudo scientists and anthropologists (who were white supremacists) claimed that
the genes of the “slaves” (the African genes) were not capable of ruling themselves because they
were inferior, and that genetically the whites have always been superior than any race that
belonged to the tropics or other regions of the earth. The civil rights movement that broke out in
the 1960s in America was a massive outcry and protest against white supremacy and apartheid
where the racial minorities and racially oppressed people of the United States came out on the
streets to fight against the institutional oppression and torture they have been subjected to,
therefore, the civil rights movements remain as one of the most influential movements in the
history of America and mankind as well (Fletcher Hill).

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The Jim Crow laws were an outstanding examples of white supremacy in America. that
pervaded in the American cities and towns stated the constitutional mandate of segregation and
separation of public schools, public places and transportation along with segregation of the
restrooms, hotels, restaurants, cafes and drinking water areas for the blacks and the whites. The
Jim Crow laws were also imposed in the US military and paramilitary forces as well. However,
the Jim Crow laws were also applicable to the other racial minorities apart from black, such as
Chinese, Japanese, Indians, Asians and Native Americans. Many Jim Crow laws stated that
people in America who are of Japanese descent needed to be added in the list of undesirable
marriage partners. The white servicemen were barred from marrying Japanese women and
women from other races through stringent and draconian laws and statutes. There have also been
cases of imposing Jim Crow laws on the Mexicans and lynching of the Mexican Indians for not
following such laws (Fremon).
Even though there have been many rebellion, revolution and movements that have
opposed racial prejudices and white supremacy in the past in America, the present situation of
the country is still bleak. With Trump shouting “Make America great again”, there have been
instances of hate crimes against ethnic minorities (Huber). White supremacy is a highly toxic and
obnoxious racial prejudice that has served to be a blot to the humanity and civilization till now
but the fight still continues. The respective paper concludes to be a historical essay that seeks to
analyze and evaluate in details, the records and events of white supremacy and xenophobia in the
American history. The paper concludes by understanding the role of white supremacy across
different regions and times in the American history.

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References:
Aclu.org. Available at: https://www.aclu.org/issues/racial-justice/five-truths-about-black-history
Fletcher Hill, Jeannine. The sin of white supremacy: Christianity, racism, & religious diversity in
america. Orbis Books, 2017.
Fremon, David K. The Jim Crow laws and racism in United States history. Enslow Publishing,
LLC, 2014.
Horne, Gerald. The apocalypse of settler colonialism: The roots of slavery, white supremacy, and
capitalism in 17th century North America and the Caribbean. NYU Press, 2018.
Huber, Lindsay Perez. "Make America great again: Donald Trump, racist nativism and the
virulent adherence to white supremecy amid US demographic change." Charleston L. Rev. 10
(2016): 215.
Inwood, Joshua FJ, and Derek Alderman. "Taking down the flag is just a start: Toward the
memory-work of racial reconciliation in white supremacist America." Southeastern geographer
56.1 (2016): 9-15.
Newitz, Annalee, and Matt Wray, eds. White trash: Race and class in America. Routledge, 2013.
Pettus, Katherine Irene. Felony disenfranchisement in America: Historical origins, institutional
racism, and modern consequences. SUNY Press, 2013.
Shipler, David K. A country of strangers: Blacks and whites in America. Vintage, 2016.
Wilson, Erika K. "The Legal Foundations of White Supremacy." DePaul J. Soc. Just. 11 (2018):
1.