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HARLAN, KENTUCKY
Erin Barry
Willem Glans
Emily Meccia
James DenBleyker
Summary
In chapter 6, the main topics are rage and anger, and how it was prevalent in people
who lived in the south, mainly Harlan Kentucky. There were many cases of violence
and death among families who lived in Harlan. In specific, there were two families
called the Turners and Howards. Many members from both families were killed over
a cow that belonged to one family and went on the other family's property. This was
one of the many cases of murder that occurred in Harlan, Kentucky among families.
Researchers conducted a test to detect the amount of rage a Southerner has
compared to a Northerner. The researchers would insult the people from the south
in order to get a response. Using the word “asshole,” caused the greatest reaction. It
was miraculous to see that when researchers performed this test on people from
the north, there was almost no reaction.
Culture of Honor
What is the “culture of honor” that takes place throughout the Appalachian Mountains?
“When one family fights with another it is a feud, when
lots of families fight with one another in identical little
towns up and down the same mountain range, it’s a
pattern.”
•
“Culture of Honor” describes the social behavior patterns of
the families not only in Harlan, Kentucky, but in other places
in the South as well.
•
Psychologists from the University of Michigan wanted to
study the “Culture of Honor” so they studied the people of
Harlan, Kentucky.
Herdsman
•
Herdsman were clans of families that were very
tight and close and placed loyalty to blood above
all else.
•
Most of these clans were from Ireland or
Scotland and moved over to North America.
•
When they lived in Ireland they lived on rocky,
infertile land and when they came to America
they moved into the center of America to
reproduce the culture of honor they had created
in Ireland.
Violence
Why is violence required throughout Harlan Kentucky?
•
Violence and anger was a common occurrence for people in
the south.
•
Many of the people that lived in the southern region were quickly
enraged when insulted.
•
For northerners there was almost no effect.
•
In Harlan Kentucky the people that lived there were notorious
for having anger and seeking revenge in foes.
•
In Harlan Kentucky there was a story about the Howards and
the Turners, which were two families that killed each over
small arguments that escaladed to death. There were many
families just like the Howard’s and Turner’s.
Cultural Legacies
This chapter speaks of cultural legacies. What is the significance of these?
•
cultural legacies give a region, or a family a sense of pride, a
sense of confidence, and a sense of morality.
•
families that have a large amount of pride about
themselves tend to protect their legacy, and usually go out
of there way to protect it.
•
When they go out of their way they usually commit crimes
or start wars with other families that did them wrong.
•
The Hatfield's & McCoy’s had their legacies that they tried
to live up to, and that meant not to let the other family ruin
their legacy.
Questions
Why did the psychologists at the University of Michigan decide
to study Harlan, Kentucky?
 The psychologists decided to study the town of Harlan, Kentucky because
they found that the town had the highest “Culture of Honor”.
What made the psychologists want to experiment these
people?
 They wanted to experiment because they wanted to know why the people
from the South got more angry by insults then people in the North did.
Questions
Why do families take it to the extreme?
The reason why families take things to the extreme is due to jealousy to
other families, weather it comes from wealth, the amount of land they
have, or what their attitudes are towards you .
Why would they stay so close with their families?
 The families that stay closer together end up being very dependent on
each other and cared a lot about each other.
Connections
Study Finds School Shootings More Likely in
'Culture of Honor' States
•
This article is about researchers from the
University of Oklahoma studying how school
shootings occur more in the “Culture of Honor”
states. They found that students from states
considered to be high for their culture of honor
were a lot more likely to bring a weapon to school
than students from other states.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/inside-schoolresearch/2009/10/study_finds_school_shootings_m.html