90.1k views
4 votes
After the US Civil War, the biologizing of race became extreme and people were defined as black if they had a single African ancestor, which came to be known as the.......

User Charbinary
by
8.0k points

1 Answer

3 votes

Final answer:

The term for people being defined as black if they had any African ancestry after the US Civil War is the "one-drop rule". This rule contributed to institutionalized racial segregation during the Jim Crow era and significantly impacted American societal views on race.

Step-by-step explanation:

After the US Civil War, the biologizing of race became extreme and people were defined as black if they had a single African ancestor, a criterion known as the "one-drop rule". During the Jim Crow era, this rule was part of a larger set of legislation that further entrenched racial segregation and discrimination. It is significant to acknowledge that in earlier times, there was a significant population with mixed African, European, and Native American ancestry. Over time and especially by the mid-20th century, the US Census Bureau eliminated the use of terms such as ‘mulatto’ which recognized mixed racial heritage, reinforcing a binary categorization of race into solely black or white.

The notion of race derivatives, such as mulattos, quadroons, and octoroons, were once common in the South and illustrated a societal obsession with the degree of black or European ancestry an individual possessed. Although these classifications, along with the one-drop rule, are now outdated, they have left a lasting mark on the social and political landscape of race within America.

User Petr Krampl
by
8.5k points

No related questions found

Welcome to QAmmunity.org, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of our community.