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Megan Jones
25-9-97
Blood Status Classification System and Their Effect on Society
During the first war, institutions such as Hogwarts are proud to say that they did not succumb to the social pressures of blood status classification system. However, schools in areas like eastern Europe during that time, took heart to ideals of a pureblood nation and supported the idea that the dilution of blood with Muggles and Muggleborns were the cause behind the current state of economic distress and the strain on the welfare system.
Muggleborns and Half-bloods that were direct descendants of Muggles were the target of such criticisms. They were viewed by politicians as a drain on the economy, taking good jobs for the current Wizarding community. They were seen by social advocates as the explanation for failing family structures and weakening moral values. During that time, many areas passed laws that made certain marriages between Muggles and Wizards (after a certain date) not legally binding. This act created a huge backlash, by making children born from these relationships as“born out of wedlock”, thus supporting the idea that mixed blood relationships were teeming with loose morals. Also, due to the strain these laws cause, many mixed couples (even those married prior to the date prohibiting such unions) separated or divorced. All of these statistics, despite the fact that correlation does not equal causation, were used to support the arguments of the benefits of a pureblood nation.
One of the most important debates regarding children of mixed or Muggle blood was the idea that they were lowering the standards of the Magical Education System. Again, there were significant research to support this idea, such as the famous Weinstein study in Germany that Muggleborn and Half-blood children scored significantly lower in all courses - both in theory and practicum. After the fall of Grindelwald, however, the results of this studies were concluded to be biased. In the schools where theses studies were taken, it had not been revealed that a blood status classification was in effect. Students were sorted according to their blood status and worn armbands of various colours to show that. Purebloods under the rules of seize quartiers (where all sixteen of the individuals great-great-grandparents were wizards) wore white. Any student who was a Half-blood, but both of their parents were wizards wore purple. Any student who had at least one Muggle parent wore orange and children who were Muggleborn wore brown. Some historians stand by the notion that this casting system and thebrown armbands the Muggleborns wore was the origination of the term “mudblood”, however most argue that the term pre-dates this event.
Because of the casting system, professors could quickly and easily determine the blood status of each student. This led to two different types of discrimination. With fundamentalist teachers, they often ignored the actual efforts of the children and presented them with grades that showed a direct correlation that the purer the blood the better the marks. The second type of discrimination went even deeper, psychologically. In this scenario, children were treated so differently by their teachers and their peers to the point that mixed and Muggleborn students became convinced of the fact that they were inferior to their more pureblooded counterparts and their performances suffered as a result.