After the civil war, political policies failed to boost diversity and ‘the melting point’ regardless of the intensive prejudices driven by a few. According to the census bureau in 1890, United States was made up of over 60,000 octoroons, over 6,000,000 Negroes, over 100,000 quadroons and over 900,000 mulattoes. Moreover, in the early decades of the 20th century, the United States census bureau reported that the whites in the US were a mixed parentage. The whites were made up of a quarter Indians, some Hawaiians, and Malays, and some had black and white blood. Nonetheless, in the 1930s this changed since the mixed parentage was ignored ( Schultz & Kevin, 2018) . Those who had black blood were considered Negroes.
The government’s ignorance of the mixed parentage created divisions among the groups. People were grouped according to the ethical systems. The dominant groups could determine where other people should go and what they should get ( Harjo, 1996) . The classification system defined other aspects such as ownership of property, marriage, citizenship and whether or not a person could get into the United States. The classification system also touched on some rights such as the right to vote, the right to join the fire brigade, schooling and the kind of medical service and care one could receive. The classification system gave the majority groups more power, and they could suppress the minority. The majority groups were dominant since they were responsible for implementing roles. This made it difficult for minorities such as African Americans to attain higher status in their communities.
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The classification system created racial disparity in the United States and this significantly affected employment and opportunities for tertiary education. African Americans could not attend the same schools as the whites who had better schools with more efficient facilities. consequently, the US was ridden by economic, social as well as political inequality where the whites remained superior. Due to their low levels of education, African Americans could not get equal employment opportunities since they were less qualified. The dominant groups solely relied on racial differences to divide the nation and this significantly affected society. The dominant groups failed to consider the similarities among the groups, and this resulted in imbalances in the society. This is illustrated through the policies that failed to address diversity due to the prejudices of some.
The racial classification was connected to racial inequality. Despite their lineage, African Americans were called mulatto or Negroes in the early decades of the 20th century. Those who were not very black or had different skin color were called minuet. In 1869, the census bureau categorized black people as full black, and mixed races and the white people were categorized as soldiers, students and sailors ( Abu-Laban & Lamont, 1997) . Due to their higher status, the black population was mostly made up of the mulattoes regarding influence and numbers.
During this period, the white people tried to ensure that African Americans stayed in a new form of slavery. The government came up with policies such as the Jim Crow policy that did not contribute to the wellbeing or stability of the United States. The United States has experienced some damages due to the Jim Crow policy, and the African Americans have suffered the most. Today, some of the limitations in the society are due to the social classifications built-in history. For instance, today, it is difficult for a black woman to move upward whether in the government or other professions. White woman has an easier time a while black woman have to work twice as hard.
After the civil war, political policies did not uphold diversity and the melting point. Although some officials and organizations promoted equal treatment of people, the political policies at the time tried to ensure that some groups remained dominant. Nonetheless, in the recent century, the United States government and the society as s whole has tremendously promoted diversity.
References
Abu-Laban, Y., & Lamont, V. (1997). Crossing Borders: Interdisciplinarity, Immigration and the Melting Pot in the American Cultural Imaginary. Canadian Review Of American Studies , 27 (2), 23-43. doi: 10.3138/cras.1997.27.2.23
Harjo, S. S. (1996). Now and then: native peoples in the United States.
Schultz, Kevin M. (2018). HIST5: Volume 2: U.S. History Since 1865 (Student edition). Boston: Cengage.
