There is a story behind everything, as historians know. There is a reason for everything, as scientists know. But what most many people don’t know is their dominant ancestry, and especially the dominant ancestry of those around them. Interest in genealogy has been a recent trend, and thanks to the 2000 census, we can view at least what ancestry we live among.
This is part of an infographic I would like to create, or at least do research for. Because of prejudices, this topic may be tough to breach, but it can be very informative. The part that I was most interested in involved how the ancestry affected the area, and include the time of immigration.
Every country has its own identity, just as every area of every country does. The South is different from the North, a war was fought over this. But why are these two areas so different? This particular map gives the option of American, and so origins centuries ago may not be able to be deduced, but it still shows a lot about how people feel in an area.
One will notice that the South is largely mixed between American and African American. This could mean that these people have been here for generations and no longer feel as though they affiliate with their ancestors who immigrated here. The North is largely filled with those who would affiliate closer with various European descents. This could mean that they immigrated in more recent generations, or have stronger ties to the “home country.”
My theory goes into a little more depth. My family is mostly Scotts-Irish and German on my mom and dad’s side. Both came over in the 1700s, both to the Charlotte, NC area (and west) through Pennsylvania, and both families have mostly stayed here. (I will just refer to both sides as a single group despite major differences.) During this time, there was war, famine and persecution in Europe and many people were immigrating. The North became industrialized because it held the first successful long-term colonies. While North Carolina held the first colony, the North held more towns and cities that thrived by the 1700s. For this reason, many people came here first to learn about the country from those who lived here to decide what to do next. With people, comes business. Some immigrant came with enough to start out immediately and so they set off on their own lives. To the best of my knowledge my family went straight down to the Charlotte area and settled with others from their home country. But they needed food and shelter while still up North. Other families came over with nothing and sought jobs immediately, which led to industry.
Based on my knowledge, those who largely came over in the 1700s with my family lived off the land (grocery stores were still a thing of the future). They were slower people, farmers. I believe, for this reason, the South is thought to be slower, and often is. It also still has many farms. During this time good families were asked, and possibly paid to come over. Investors in “The New World” were looking to make a good thing out of it.
People who have settled in the North came over during the 1900s. They came because of war and famine in desperation. They went straight to work. Also during the 1900s everything was becoming industrialized. While the South was largely set in their ways to stay slow and continue to farm, the North had a large number of new people (who were criticized and hated by the citizens) who were willing to work dangerous machinery jobs for little money.
Then the weird people just went West.
All of this is speculation based on regional stereotypes and history that may pertain to this. My apologies if I offended anyone, I know where my home is but every part of this country is necessary to keep it running and to make it what it is. But to me it explains why people in different regions act in different ways. A large number of major cities are in the North and a large number of rural areas are in the South and West. To me it had to do with timing and who came during that time.
Blog: http://goo.gl/J44XT
Infographic: http://goo.gl/O9bVF