Mountain whites were

white Americans White Americans are Americans who identify as and are perceived to be white people. This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. As of the 2020 Census, 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were white alone. This represented ...

(usually poor) living in Appalachia and the inland region of the Antebellum South. They were generally small farmers, who inhabited the valleys of the Appalachian range from western Virginia spanning down to northern Georgia and northern Alabama.

History

They were often isolated from the rest of Southern society and civilization during the Antebellum South (1783–1861). Because of this, few owned slaves and many were more likely to be critical of slavery. As independent small farmers living on the harsh American frontier, their interests were starkly different from those of white Southerners that lived on commercial

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

s or in large cities. They were also able to retain many of their customs, which they brought over from their

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an roots, that had long since died out. Mountain whites generally despised the

aristocratic Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word' ...

structure found in much of the Deep South, where rich slave-owning planters controlled legislatures and stood as cultural heroes and figures for most southerners. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, some communities of mountain whites were deeply split by those who identified with the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

and those who identified with the Confederacy. Pro-Union attitudes were likelier to prevail in the

Upland South The Upland South and Upper South are two overlapping cultural and geographic subregions in the inland part of the Southern and lower Midwestern United States. They differ from the Deep South and Atlantic coastal plain by terrain, history, econom ...

where mountain whites lived, where in the case of western Virginia, this sentiment was seen as one of the leading causes of

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

's secession from the rest of the state. Mountain whites also developed their own styles of music which borrowed from Scottish and Irish tradition as many were of Scots-Irish descent. The music of mountain whites contributed heavily to the formation of what would become bluegrass music.

Identity

People classified as "Mountain whites" during the time of the Antebellum South were noted for their impoverished conditions. They were also noted for putting cultural importance on

folk magic In religious studies and folkloristics, folk religion, popular religion, traditional religion or vernacular religion comprises various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized ...

, old European

folk songs Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...

, and their unique dialect.

References

{{White people Appalachian culture European-American culture in Appalachia Antebellum South Poverty in the United States Rural society in the United States Scotch-Irish American history White Americans 19th century in the United States

History

Identity

See also

References