Why is Caucasian often used as an ethnic term for white people in the USA?

by PolskiHussar548

I am British and have never heard this term here but have heard it countless times in American media and pop culture. Personally it makes no sense to me as the Caucuses are barely European so to use their name seems illogical. I’m guessing it has some sort of historical reason for this and I was hoping someone here could shed some light on this.

Thanks in advance

gelatinousdessert

Hi! You might be interested in a couple of discussions from years past, though there is still plenty to be said, such as why it is popular in some places and not others and how the use of the term has changed over the years.

Here's one from two years ago, with an answer by /u/NutBananaComputer and /u/Karvlig focusing on Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (please note the spelling).

Here's one from seven years ago, including a discussion about the construction of race in general and some interesting notes about Blumenbach and Christoph Meiners, who were contemporaries.