It was in the late 1800s when writers from the North started referring to the hayseed faction of Southern homesteaders as crackers. "[Those writers] decided that they were called that because of the cracking of the whip when they drove slaves," Ste. Claire said. But he said that few crackers would have owned slaves; they were generally too poor.
Very interesting.
Years ago I attended a "Cowboy Show" here in south Florida (I'm in Palm Beach Gardens, about 15 minutes from Mar-A-Lago)), and the host explained the origin of "Florida Cracker", based on the abilities of the old-time Florida cowboys cracking their bull whips as they drove cattle.
I'm 60, and I've been hearing locals refer to themselves as Florida Crackers my entire life. Generally this just means they are born-and-raised native Floridians.
Florida Cracker here, 5th generation. Born, raised, and still on a farm. Many longtime native Floridians call themselves Florida Crackers out of pride to identify their longevity in this crazy state. Has absolutely zero racial connotation. My family came here at the beginning of the civil war largely inspired by events in Georgia where the locals were hiding, sheltering, and feeding blacks who had their entire homes and farms torched by Union soldiers. The Union soldiers returned periodically to the town to water their horses at the artesian well, and if they would have seen the black families, they would have been captured and sent to Mississippi to be sold back into slavery. My family traveled to Florida then to enlist and fight, joining Finnegans Brigade. He fought -- and was wounded -- in the Battle of Olustee, simply because of inspiration from the events of Georgia.
A 1783 pejorative use of crackers specified men who "descended from convicts that were transported from Great Britain to Virginia at different times, and inherit so much profligacy from their ancestors, that they are the most abandoned set of men on earth".[5] Benjamin Franklin, in his memoirs (1790), referred to "a race of runnagates and crackers, equally wild and savage as the Indians" who inhabit the "desert[ed] woods and mountains".[6]
The term could have also derived from the Middle English cnac, craic, or crak, which originally meant the sound of a cracking whip but came to refer to "loud conversation, bragging talk".[7] In the Elizabethan era (1558-1603) this could refer to "entertaining conversation" (one may be said to "crack" a joke) and cracker could be used to describe loud braggarts; this term is still in use in Ireland, Scotland and Northern England, also adopted into Gaelic and Irish as craic in the late 20th century. It is documented in William Shakespeare's King John (c. 1595): "What cracker is this same that deafs our ears with this abundance of superfluous breath?"[8][9] This usage is illustrated in a letter to the Earl of Dartmouth which reads:[10]
You should read or listen to this book. If you don't know who Thomas Sowell is, and you have a college degree (I dont), you should do some soul searching. One of the greatest minds alive today. Reknown economist and historian.
Very interesting. Years ago I attended a "Cowboy Show" here in south Florida (I'm in Palm Beach Gardens, about 15 minutes from Mar-A-Lago)), and the host explained the origin of "Florida Cracker", based on the abilities of the old-time Florida cowboys cracking their bull whips as they drove cattle. I'm 60, and I've been hearing locals refer to themselves as Florida Crackers my entire life. Generally this just means they are born-and-raised native Floridians.
Some of my family lives in West Palm Beach and across 60 in Punta Gorda - I grew up all over the state so I’m definitely a Florida cracker
Florida Cracker here, 5th generation. Born, raised, and still on a farm. Many longtime native Floridians call themselves Florida Crackers out of pride to identify their longevity in this crazy state. Has absolutely zero racial connotation. My family came here at the beginning of the civil war largely inspired by events in Georgia where the locals were hiding, sheltering, and feeding blacks who had their entire homes and farms torched by Union soldiers. The Union soldiers returned periodically to the town to water their horses at the artesian well, and if they would have seen the black families, they would have been captured and sent to Mississippi to be sold back into slavery. My family traveled to Florida then to enlist and fight, joining Finnegans Brigade. He fought -- and was wounded -- in the Battle of Olustee, simply because of inspiration from the events of Georgia.
There were also wealthy black slave owners. Were they "crackers", too?
Pumpernickel crispbreads
Lol
I'm not sure what they call them. I didn't come up with this stuff. Ask the people who did.
Nope it pre-dates even that.
Got a source? I love to learn.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cracker_(term)
EtymologyEdit
A 1783 pejorative use of crackers specified men who "descended from convicts that were transported from Great Britain to Virginia at different times, and inherit so much profligacy from their ancestors, that they are the most abandoned set of men on earth".[5] Benjamin Franklin, in his memoirs (1790), referred to "a race of runnagates and crackers, equally wild and savage as the Indians" who inhabit the "desert[ed] woods and mountains".[6]
The term could have also derived from the Middle English cnac, craic, or crak, which originally meant the sound of a cracking whip but came to refer to "loud conversation, bragging talk".[7] In the Elizabethan era (1558-1603) this could refer to "entertaining conversation" (one may be said to "crack" a joke) and cracker could be used to describe loud braggarts; this term is still in use in Ireland, Scotland and Northern England, also adopted into Gaelic and Irish as craic in the late 20th century. It is documented in William Shakespeare's King John (c. 1595): "What cracker is this same that deafs our ears with this abundance of superfluous breath?"[8][9] This usage is illustrated in a letter to the Earl of Dartmouth which reads:[10]
Thank you!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Rednecks_and_White_Liberals
You should read or listen to this book. If you don't know who Thomas Sowell is, and you have a college degree (I dont), you should do some soul searching. One of the greatest minds alive today. Reknown economist and historian.