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The Secret Behind the American Civil War: How did white supremacy lead to division?
White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to other races and should therefore rule over them. This belief supports the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. Its roots can be traced back to the now-discredited theory of scientific racism, and during the course of European colonialism this belief served as a primary justification. As a political ideology, white supremacy imposes and maintains cultural, social, political, historical, or institutional domination by white people and their supporters. Throughout history, this ideology has been realized through a range of socioeconomic and legal structures, such as the Atlantic slave trade, European colonial labor and social practices, the Jim Crow laws in the United States, apartheid in South Africa, and the Apartheid), and variants such as the Neo-Confederacy that still exist today.
White supremacy in the United States is associated with ideas such as the KKK, Aryan Nations, and the White American Resistance, all of which can be considered anti-Semitic.
In today's society, different forms of white supremacy have different understandings of "who is white", not to mention that not all white supremacist organizations have a consistent understanding of their common enemy. Many white supremacists identify enemies as people of African and Asian descent, indigenous peoples of North America and Oceania, Asians, multiracial people, people of the Middle East, Jews, Muslims, and the LGBTQ+ community. In academia, the term "white supremacy" is also often used to describe a social system in which white people enjoy structural advantages at the collective and individual levels, despite legal equality.
Historical BackgroundThe ideological foundations of white supremacy can be traced back to 17th-century scientific racism, a theory that influenced international relations and racial policy, particularly from the late Enlightenment until the end of the 20th century. In the United States, white supremacy was dominant not only before the Civil War but also for decades after Reconstruction. Before the Civil War, many wealthy white Americans owned slaves and justified their economic exploitation by creating "scientific" theories of white superiority and black inferiority.
"Throughout American history, race has been used by white people to legitimize and create differences and social, economic, and political exclusion."
As American society developed, the transformation of white supremacy in the 20th century reflected the changing intensity of this ideology over time. The rise of the civil rights movement, which began with public outrage following the brutal murder of Emmett Till, once again highlighted the barbarity of white supremacy.
White Supremacy in the 21st CenturyEntering the 21st century, Donald Trump's presidential campaign prompted white supremacy and white nationalism to once again attract attention in the United States. With the rise of social media, various types of white supremacist speech and behavior have received increasing attention, and sometimes even take violent forms. The vast majority of terrorism arrests related to white supremacy, according to a 2019 FBI report, show that white supremacy remains a significant threat in the United States.
"White supremacy is an enduring threat, especially in the form of violence associated with domestic terrorism."
Additionally, the rapid growth of social media has made it easier for white supremacists to connect, organize, and recruit new members, making the spread of these ideas even easier. Social media is both a platform for the spread of hate and extremist ideas and a space for these ideologies to flourish. Against this backdrop, society and legal institutions need to re-examine their roles and responsibilities in controlling racial discrimination and extremism.
It is worth reflecting on how we can avoid repeating the mistakes of history and prevent white supremacy from rising again as technology develops day by day?
