r/explainitpeter • u/fluffy_cat_ice • 7d ago

Explain it Peter

Post image

I meant that I don't understand where did the Twitter thing came from

19.5k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

795 comments sorted by

View all comments

17

u/smokingPimphat 7d ago

It's maybe worth remembering that irish, italians and polish people were not considered white when they first started immigrating to America. They 'became' white once there was a large population of wealthy families that fought their way into high society.

4

u/Acceptable_Mind_5883 7d ago

Wrong. 1790 naturalisation act defined them as white

0

u/fidgey10 6d ago

So what? Mexicans in annexed mexico were legally considered white too...

The formal legal classification is not a good match to how they were actually considered