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The Social Construction of Race during Reconstruction

Author

Listed:
  • Anjali Adukia
  • Richard Hornbeck
  • Daniel Keniston
  • Benjamin Lualdi

Abstract

We examine the social construction of race during the United States' Reconstruction Era, a critical juncture between slavery and Jim Crow segregation. We show that people with the same detailed skin tone, recorded by the Freedman's Bank (1865-1874), were more likely racialized as White or Mulatto by the 1870 Census if they were wealthier or literate. Our estimates reveal the construction – or rather, reconstruction – of race in a period of unfulfilled potential for social transformation, setting a path for racial segregation and continued racial stratification. The endogenous historical construction of race also has implications for analyses that compare individuals by race or include race as a control variable.

Suggested Citation

  • Anjali Adukia & Richard Hornbeck & Daniel Keniston & Benjamin Lualdi, 2025. "The Social Construction of Race during Reconstruction," NBER Working Papers 33502, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33502
    Note: CH DAE ED LS PE POL
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • N31 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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