Southern Honor

In the mid-19^th Century, an elite southern white man’s reputation could make him or break him. He worked to demonstrate honor through honest dealings, activity in church and community life, respect for white women, generosity to lower classes, and controlling his temper. Honor was essential for financial success, political clout, high standing in the community, and legitimacy as the head of a household. Southern men of the planter class believed only themselves capable of honor, so the concept of southern honor buttressed the slave system and white women’s restricted roles and rights. (UNC School of Education, “Southern honor”)

References

UNC School of Education. “Southern honor.” Learn NC: North Carolina Digital History. http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-antebellum/5337 (Accessed November 20, 2012).