This document discusses social classes in the American South in the late 19th century, including slave ownership statistics from the 1860 census and the rise of tenant farming. It notes that while a small minority owned the most slaves and land, the vast majority of white southerners owned no slaves. By 1880, blacks occupied 30% of the land in the South and most were tenant farmers, while the percentage of white southern farmers who were tenants increased significantly between 1880 and 1930. It also lists several popular TV shows and films that featured depictions of southern hillbillies and poor rural whites.

1. Millhands, Hillbillies, and
Rednecks:
Class in the South

2. Social Classes in Old South – 1860 Census
Out of total U.S. white population of 27 million about 8 million
whites lived in the south.
383,637 people owned slaves
46,274 owned more than 20 slaves
8,000 owned more than 50 slaves
2,292 owned more than 100 slaves
11 owned more than 500
In 1860, wealthiest 20% of southerners owned 75% of the land
¾ of southern white households owned no slaves at all
Southern African-American population in 1860 – about 4 million
262,000 free blacks lived in the slave states
488,000 free blacks in the nation as a whole
½ of slaves lived on plantations with 20 or more slaves
¼ of slaves lived on plantations with 50 or more slaves

3. Portrait of the South in 1880
Whites Occupied 70% of the land
Blacks Occupied 30% of the land
Whites Farmers
Land owners 74%
Tenants 26%
Black Farmers
Owners 32%
Tenants 68%

4. Rise of Tenant Farming
1880 – 36.2% of all southern farms were
operated by tenants
1920 - 49.2% of all southern farms were
operated by tenants
1930 - 55.5% of all southern farms were
operated by tenants

5. Li'l Abner was a satirical American comic strip appearing in many newspapers in the
United States and Canada, featuring a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished
town of Dogpatch, Kentucky. Written and drawn by Al Capp (1909-1979), the strip ran
for 43 years, from August 13, 1934 through November 13, 1977

6. The Real McCoys is a television situation comedy from Danny Thomas Productions.
The program aired on the ABC network from 1957 through 1962.

7. The original Andy Griffith Show ran from 1960 to 1967.

8. The Beverly Hillbillies ran from 1962 to 1971 on CBS.

9. Norma Rae (1979): Norma Rae is a southern textile worker employed in a factory with
intolerable working conditions. This concern about the situation gives her the gumption
to be the key associate to a visiting labor union organizer.

10. Loretta Lynn

11. Ernest T. Bass, the Mad Hillbilly

12. Easy Rider (1969)