Poor White
In the United States, Poor White (or Poor Whites of the South for clarity) is the historical classification for an American sociocultural group, of European descent, with origins in the Southern United States, particularly in Appalachia. They first emerged as a social caste in the Antebellum South, consisting of white, agrarian, economically disadvantaged laborers or squatters often possessing neither land nor slaves. In certain contemporary context the term is still used to pertain to their descendants; regardless of present economic status. While similar to other White Americans in ancestry, the Poor White differ notably in regard to their history and culture.
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Books/Sources
- The Confessions of Edward Isham: A Poor White Life of the Old South - Edward Isham
- The Color of Class: Poor Whites and the Paradox of Privilege - Kirby Moss