Biracial

The American Legacy of Hypodescent

Miscegenation was a major force in pre–Revolutionary War America. Miscegenation refers to sexual relations between people of different races leading to the birth of children. During this time, miscegenation occurred most often between men of European descent and women of African or American Indian descent. Quite often, these sexual relations were not consensual; instead, they took the form of rape or concubinage.

Because European Americans held disproportionately more power than other racial groups in early America, they were able to establish the rules that determined the racial identity and social status of the offspring of interracial unions. For various reasons, European Americans forced individuals with multiple racial heritages to identify with and accept the social status of their heritage group that had less social power. This meant that people who had one European American parent and one African American parent were African American; they were not allowed to claim their European or Caucasian heritage. This classification system benefited European Americans in several ways. First, European Americans tended to view sexual relations across racial lines as immoral, illegal, and barbaric. As such, offspring of such unions were thought of as being biologically inferior, immoral, and barbaric. Hence, European American parents were able to distance themselves from their own behaviors and their biracial children by thrusting a non–European American identity onto them. Second, people with multiple racial heritages would serve as a cheaper source of labor if their status was non–European American. Third, and most important, forcing mixed-race individuals to accept a non–European American identity was a way for European Americans to continue to assert their dominance and clearly designate who was a member of their power group and who was not. Any individual with just a fraction of non–European American heritage was automatically excluded from holding the privileges of being European American, thereby clearly designating the lines between European American and non–European American.

This classification system is referred to as a system of hypodescent, or a system that forces all people, regardless of their racial heritage(s), to identify with only one race. Individuals with multiple racial heritages must identify with and accept the status of their racial heritage that has the least amount of social power. Therefore, hypodescent denies individuals with multiple racial heritages from having a socially accepted mixed-race identity or status and disallows them from choosing their own racial identity.

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