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What does the "one-drop rule" refer to in terms of race in America?

In American political history, Southern states enacted laws that for every white
voter, one black voter could be "dropped" from voter rolls, effectively canceling
out the black vote.
In some states, white criminal defendants could have one of their felony charges
against them "dropped" to a misdemeanor as long as the alleged crime was
committed against a non-white person.
to
in American history, a classification that held that anyone from 1/8 to 1/16
1/32 to any known trace of African or black ancestry was to be categorized as
black and treated accordingly
In American history, as long as a person could prove their ancestry contained at
least "one drop" of European blood, they would be treated as white.

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Final answer:

The "one-drop rule" was a classification system used in American history to determine a person's race based on their ancestry. Anyone with even a small amount of African or black ancestry was considered black, while those with European ancestry were treated as white.


Step-by-step explanation:

The "one-drop rule" refers to a classification system that was used in American history to determine a person's race based on their ancestry. According to this rule, anyone with even a small amount of African or black ancestry, ranging from 1/8 to 1/32 or even a known trace, was considered to be black and treated accordingly. The one drop of African or black blood was seen as enough to categorize a person as non-white, regardless of their appearance or social status. On the other hand, if a person could prove that they had at least "one drop" of European blood, they would be treated as white.


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