Who Is White in America, And Why?

A Whole Lot of Groups Weren't Always Considered White

Photo by Jonathan Kaufman at Unsplash

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Those were eloquent words penned by Thomas Jefferson, but we know he only meant them for some people. While he was composing the document in a rented room in Philadelphia. His slaves and indentured servants were in the midst of a years-long project of constructing Monticello, where, during his lifetime, he owned more than 600 enslaved people. You’ll note he had slaves AND indentured servants. When America was initially colonized, there were only indentured servants both Black and white, there was no distinction in law. Indentured servants typically served their employers for seven years and were freed.

The word “white” as it applied to a race of people didn’t occur in print until 1671. White and Black indentured servants often worked together…