No, but white people didn’t identify as Americans before that. Neither did they think of themselves as white but as Brits or what ever.
The concept of whiteness only makes sense when it’s in contrast to other, non-white groups. “We are Brits and the Germans aren’t” morphed into “We and the Germans are white and the natives and slaves aren’t”. Hope that makes sense.
No, but white people didn’t identify as Americans before that. Neither did they think of themselves as white but as Brits or what ever.
The concept of whiteness only makes sense when it’s in contrast to other, non-white groups. “We are Brits and the Germans aren’t” morphed into “We and the Germans are white and the natives and slaves aren’t”. Hope that makes sense.