Interesting...
Benjamin Franklin proposed a clear distinction between "white" Europeans and "swarthy" Europeans, stating that immigration to the newly-born United States should favor the "white" Northern Germans and Englishmen rather than the "swarthy" Southern Germans, French, and Italians. Franklin believed the "white" Europeans to be of a higher degree of culture than that of "swarthy" Europeans.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_theory