The Invention of the White Race, Volume 1 : Racial Oppression and Social Control

When the first Africans arrived in Virginia in 1619, there were no “white” people there. Nor, according to colonial records, would there be for another sixty years. In this seminal two-volume work, The Invention of the White Race , Theodore W. Allen tells the story of how America’s ruling classes created the category of the “white race” as a means of social control. Since that early invention, white privileges have enforced the myth of racial superiority, and that fact has been central to maintaining ruling-class domination over ordinary working people of all colors throughout American history. Volume I draws lessons from Irish history, comparing British rule in Ireland with the “white” oppression of Native Americans and African Americans. Allen details how Irish immigrants fleeing persecution learned to spread racial oppression in their adoptive country as part of white America. Since publication in the mid-nineties, The Invention of the White Race has become indispensable in debates on the origins of racial oppression in America. In this updated edition, scholar Jeffrey B. Perry provides a new introduction, a short biography of the author and a study guide. Groundbreaking Analysis Of The Birth Of Racism In America, Telling The Story Of How America's Ruling Classes Created The Category Of The White Race As A Means Of Social Control. Since That Early Invention, White Privileges Have Enforced The Myth Of Racial Superiority, And That Fact Has Been Central To Maintaining Ruling-class Domination Over Ordinary Working People Of All Colors Throughout American History. Volume I Draws Lessons From Irish History, Comparing British Rule In Ireland With The White Oppression Of Native Americans And African Americans. Allen Details How Irish Immigrants Fleeing Persecution Learned To Spread Racial Oppression In Their Adoptive Country As Part Of White America. Volume Ii Explores The Transformation That Turned African Bond-laborers Into Slaves And Segregated Them From Their Fellow Proletarians Of European Origin. In Response To Labor Unrest, Where Solidarities Were Not Determined By Skin Color, The Plantation Bourgeoisie Sought To Construct A Buffer Of Poor Whites, Whose New Racial Identity Would Protect Them From The Enslavement Visited Upon African Americans.--from Publisher Description. V. 1. Racial Oppression And Social Control -- V. 2. The Origin Of Racial Oppression In Anglo-america. Theodore W. Allen. Prev. Ed.: 1994. In This Updated Edition, Jeffrey B. Perry Provides An Introduction, New Appendices, A Select Bibliography And A Study Guide. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "Análisis innovador del nacimiento del racismo en Estados Unidos, que cuenta la historia de cómo las clases dominantes de Estados Unidos crearon la categoría de "raza blanca" como un medio de control social. Desde esa primera invención, los privilegios de los blancos han reforzado el mito de la superioridad racial, y ese hecho ha sido fundamental para mantener el dominio de la clase dominante sobre los trabajadores de todos las etnias a lo largo de la historia estadounidense. El volumen 1 extrae lecciones de la historia de Irlanda, comparando el dominio británico en Irlanda con la opresión "blanca" de los nativos americanos hacia los afroamericanos. Allen detalla cómo los inmigrantes irlandeses que huían de la persecución aprendieron a difundir la opresión racial en su país adoptivo como parte de la América blanca." (Editor)