Mountain white facts for kids
A person from the Appalachian Mountains, as depicted in Harper's Weekly
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| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Appalachia | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| White Southerners, Poor White |
Mountain whites were a group of white Americans who lived in the Appalachia region and the inland parts of the Antebellum South (the Southern United States before the Civil War). They were often small farmers who lived in the valleys of the Appalachian mountain range. This area stretched from western Virginia down to northern Georgia and northern Alabama.
History of Mountain Communities
These communities were often quite separate from the rest of Southern society and cities during the Antebellum South (1783–1861). Because of this, very few mountain families owned enslaved people. Many were more likely to disagree with slavery. As independent farmers living in a tough frontier area, their interests were very different from those of white Southerners who lived on large farms called plantations or in big cities. They also managed to keep many of their old customs that came from their European backgrounds, which had disappeared in other places.
Mountain whites generally did not like the way society was set up in the Deep South. In the Deep South, rich plantation owners who enslaved people controlled the government and were seen as important leaders. During the Civil War (1861-1865), some mountain white communities were divided. Some supported the Union (the North), and others supported the Confederacy (the South).
Support for the Union was more common in the Upland South, where mountain whites lived. For example, in western Virginia, this strong feeling for the Union was a main reason why West Virginia broke away from the rest of the state to form its own state.
Mountain whites also created their own types of music. This music was inspired by Scottish and Irish traditions, as many of them had Scots-Irish ancestors. The music of mountain whites played a big part in forming what we now know as bluegrass music.
Who Were the Mountain Whites?
People called "Mountain whites" during the Antebellum South were known for often living in difficult economic situations. They were also known for valuing traditional beliefs, old European folk songs, and their own special way of speaking, known as Appalachian English.
