1 of 13

Write now Article Tools

Page 3 of 3

during February, Black History Month. MLK day happens to fall on Robert E. Lee Day. And most Southern States celebrate Confederate Memorial Day; a state holiday during which the courthouses and other state offices are closed. There seems to be very few heritage celebrations around most of the countryI guess it's comparable to Utah's Pioneer Day, spread over 10 states and several months.

4. And now, finally, the difference that I have been so desperately trying to put my finger on. The website I mentioned earlier was a study of how Northerners and Southerners in the same Illinois community compared to or differed from each other. Their DEFINITION OF COMMUNITY.

Northern/New England communities centered around a church. It was usually the first public building erected and it was used for everything from Sunday services to town meetings and school. Their families were nuclear, and once grown children were expected to leave home and find their own way. Their homes were clapboard in fashion, small and neat looking, easy to heat. Neighbors were essential and they tended to live closely together.

Southern communities are family centered. Many southern families can trace their ancestral roots to Irish and Scottish clans and I believe they have held to that clan-like attribute through the years. Being agricultural, they acquired large tracks of land and built homes of rough hewn logs. These homes were spacious and breezyeasier to keep cool. They were also easier to add on to when the need arose. It was not uncommon for a southern family to have more children, grandparents and other extended family members in the same household, or on the same property. When a child came of age and married, they could easily set up house keeping on the same farm. Because of the spaciousness of the farms, neighboring families could be a few miles away, and many times these neighbors were distant relatives in one way or another.

According to the site I had read, Northerners felt the clannish nature of the Southerners made them seem stand-offish and isolated. The Northern folk were trying to involve the Southern families in community activities and the Southerners didn't feel a need to socialize outside of their own family. The Northerners also were put off by the Southerners ways of caring for their "own" and not the community as a whole. This perception mixed with the roughness of their homes, strange foods, and dialect, lead Northerners to deduct that the Southerners were unsophisticated. Their attitude, undoubtedly, lead the Southerners to feel that Northerners were haughty and rude.

With this new view point I have finally figured out why I have not felt I have fit in here and how I can change this. I need to identify myself with a clan. (No, I don't mean THAT Klan). I need to redefine my sense of community. Everywhere I have ever lived, I have found community in church, in friends, in school or in work. Here, I have tried to find those same connections at church, through business, at church and so forth, but have not gotten anywhere. Luckily, for me, the reason we moved here is because of my husband's family. And, although there are not many close relatives left, there are still many cousins who will and have accepted us. Maybe with my new perspective, I can finally learn how to fit into this culture and not feel so much like an outsider. Because, I think we all want feel like we belong somewhere.

Learn more about this author, Jen Hartzog.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

• << previous page
• 1
• 2
• 3

Add your voice

Know something about A comparison of the northern and southern states in America?
We want to hear your view. Write now!