History
The Social Construction of Whiteness in Historical Context
Quick fact
In the 19th century, Irish immigrants were widely portrayed as a separate, inferior race, not 'white' in the American sense. It was only through strategic assimilation and political alignment with Anglo-Americans that they were gradually reclassified as white, a process that accelerated after the Civil War and the rise of Jim Crow.
Why this is interesting
Most of us think of race as something fixed and visible, but the boundaries of who counts as 'white' have shifted dramatically over history. The Irish were once considered non-white, so how did they become white?