![]() While the northern United States was settled primarily by farmers from more established European countries like the Netherlands, Germany, and especially England (particularly from areas around London), the southern United States was settled primarily by herdsmen from the more rural and undomesticated parts of the British Isles. ![]() To understand why a more primal and violent culture of honor took root in the American South, it helps to understand the cultural background of its early settlers. Herding, the Scotch-Iris h, and the South’s Culture of Honor If a man could physically dominate or kill someone who accused him of dishonesty, that man maintained his reputation as a man of integrity (even if the accusations were in fact true).Īnthropologists and social psychologists believe this form of classical honor survived and thrived in the American South and died in the North because of cultural differences between their respective early settlers, as well as the North’s and South’s divergent economies. Just as in medieval times, “might made right” in the American South. The code of honor for Southern men required having: 1) a reputation for honesty and integrity, 2) a reputation for martial courage and strength, 3) self-sufficiency and “mastery,” defined as patriarchal dominion over a household of dependents (wife/children/slaves), and 4) a willingness to use violence to defend any perceived slight to his reputation as a man of integrity, strength, and courage, as well as any threats to his independence and kin. Unlike the Northern code of honor, which emphasized emotional restraint, moral piety, and economic success, the Southern honor code in many ways paralleled the medieval honor code of Europe - combining the reflexive, violent honor of primitive man with the public virtue and chivalry of knights. ![]() While honor in the North evolved during the 19 th century away from the ideals of primal honor and towards a private, personal quality synonymous with “integrity,” the South held onto the tenets of traditional honor for a much longer period of time. Yet when most folks think about honor in the States, both then and now, what first comes to mind is invariably the South. In our last post about the history of honor, we took a look at how honor manifested itself in the American North around the time of the Civil War. I don’t imagine there’s a huge audience among blog readers for 7,000-word posts about Southern honor, but those who are interested in the subject will hopefully really dig it, and anyone who girds up his loins and reads the whole thing will be rewarded. We didn’t set out to do it, but I’m proud of the fact that this series has turned into a resource unlike any other that is out there. ![]() Also, as we shall see, because the South’s culture of honor still influences that region today, it’s a good subject to become knowledgeable about if you want to understand the country. We could have just sketched out the very basics, but truly grasping those basics necessitates an understanding of the framework which underlies them. We have done our best with that task so far, and here as well however, understanding Southern honor requires a more in-depth exploration. The complexity of traditional honor and its various cultural manifestations cannot possibly be underestimated, nor can the difficulty in distilling these complexities into an accessible, coherent narrative. Now, be prepared: this is and will be the longest post in the series by far. Today we tackle Southern honor in the 19 th century. Welcome back to our series on manly honor. This article series is now available as a professionally formatted, distraction free ebook to read offline at your leisure.
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