Read the book:
"Albion's Seed",
Four British Folkways in America is a 1989 book by David Hackett Fischer that describes the folkways of four groups of people that moved from distinct parts of England {Albion} to the USA.
All you have to do is read chapter 4, The Borderlands to the Back Country. It's been a while since I read this rather lengthy book but it is instructive to see why the White South acts the way it does.
If you read this chapter, it really goes a long way to explain why the South is the way it is and how and why what the above poster said will hold true.
The best thing that could've happened to the US would that another ethnic group had settled there. Or,... if the original White settlers had either died out or moved on IMO.
Next, read the book by Thomas Sowell, "
Black Rednecks and White Liberals". This excellent book explains much as well and here's a quote:
" Sowell argues that the black ghetto culture, which is claimed to be "
authentic black culture", is historically neither authentic nor black in origin. Instead, Sowell argues that the black ghetto culture is in fact
a relic of a highly dysfunctional white southern redneck culture which existed during the antebellum South. This culture came, in turn, from the "Cracker culture" of the North Britons and Scots-Irish who migrated from the generally lawless
border regions of Britain.
Sowell gives a number of examples that he regards as supporting the lineage, e.g.,
an aversion to work, proneness to violence, neglect of education, sexual promiscuity, improvidence, drunkenness, lack of entrepreneurship,… and a style of religious oratory marked by strident rhetoric, unbridled emotions, and flamboyant imagery.
Sowell further argues that this "culture" did not exist uniformly among blacks, especially those considered "free persons of color", those trained in schools operated by people immersed in New England culture (who were, in turn, passing
that culture to black students, specifically the need for a
strong work ethic), and black immigrants from Caribbean islands (where slavery also existed). His essay argues that, among those groups, educational statistics were on par with similarly-trained whites (and higher than
southern whites in general), and continued on an upward trend until the advent of multiculturalism."
The underlining, italics, and red coloring is mine.
Cheers,
Joho