Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I don't see how you could call California a yankee state. Granted there were the california volunteers in the civil war; but californians generally have just as much if not more apathy towards the towards the north east as southerners do...generally speaking...
Well the Northeast isnt the only part of the north there is. There's the upper Midwest. Its not just the east coast that has a north-south divide.
Its really just anyone who is non-Southern. California isn't truly yankee like New England or New York or Chicago, but its outside the demographic South, so therefore its yankee-ish to many Southerners.
I'm from South Carolina -
I've always thought "Yankee" was a very loosely defined term. It comes from the Civil War, but in the modern sense, it has nothing to do with the Civil War. What you really need to know is: The word has survived over the years because there really is a modern day cultural divide between the south and the north. Food, dress, speech, style, manners, recreation, music, religion, philosophy, literature, agriculture, weather, government, ethnicity, race, sports, history and politics are all different aspects of that divide.
At its strictest, it only refers to someone from the urban northeast or midwest. Chicago, Detroit, New York, Boston and DC are all part of that.
It is most commonly used to refer to anyone from a northeast or midwest state - which would include the wilderness of Maine or the cornbelt of Illinois even though rural southerners have a lot in common with people from these rural places. Sometimes you can expand it to "all states outside the south". I don't consider a Californian a "Yankee", but plenty of people do. Sometimes it's a political or social thing - regardless of where they're from, someone is more likely to be labeled a "Yankee" if they were an activist liberal, or an athiest, or someone who was profoundly ignorant of southern ways.
Loosely, it can refer to anyone who is less southern than you. A lot of South Carolinians think of North Carolinians as Yankees. I've been called a Yankee by a Mississippian. Or if you don't drink sweet tea or eat grits, you might qualify as a Yankee. This is usually meant as a joke.
I'm from South Carolina -
I've always thought "Yankee" was a very loosely defined term. It comes from the Civil War, but in the modern sense, it has nothing to do with the Civil War. What you really need to know is: The word has survived over the years because there really is a modern day cultural divide between the south and the north. Food, dress, speech, style, manners, recreation, music, religion, philosophy, literature, agriculture, weather, government, ethnicity, race, sports, history and politics are all different aspects of that divide.
At its strictest, it only refers to someone from the urban northeast or midwest. Chicago, Detroit, New York, Boston and DC are all part of that.
It is most commonly used to refer to anyone from a northeast or midwest state - which would include the wilderness of Maine or the cornbelt of Illinois even though rural southerners have a lot in common with people from these rural places. Sometimes you can expand it to "all states outside the south". I don't consider a Californian a "Yankee", but plenty of people do. Sometimes it's a political or social thing - regardless of where they're from, someone is more likely to be labeled a "Yankee" if they were an activist liberal, or an athiest, or someone who was profoundly ignorant of southern ways.
Loosely, it can refer to anyone who is less southern than you. A lot of South Carolinians think of North Carolinians as Yankees. I've been called a Yankee by a Mississippian. Or if you don't drink sweet tea or eat grits, you might qualify as a Yankee. This is usually meant as a joke.
DC is not very Southern, but I don't consider DC the Northeast. Its below the Mason Dixon line and across the river is Virginny. DC is often refered to as the northermost Southern city. I would put DC as a gateway city to the South. Its just not at all like Boston, or New York, or Philadelphia. People are also pretty friendly in DC.
I have never heard a South Carolinian thinking of a North Carolinian as a yankee. Thats new to me. Nor have I heard North Carolina thinking Virginians are yankees. Each Southern state has their own brand of Southern. No Southern state is really "more southern" than the other per se, they just have a different vibe. When I was out in Tennessee it felt Southern, but not Virginia-Southern.
The lady I met from Savannah, Georgia when I told her I was from Virginia she said it was nice to meet a fellow Southerner.
I'm originally from Pennsylvania. To me, Yankees are people from New England. Definitely NOT people from PA, NJ or NY. And for some reason, I think of Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire as "Yankee" states, more than southern New England... But honestly, I never use the word nor do I hear it used. And if someone called me a Yankee, my response would be "AM NOT!"
I'm originally from Pennsylvania. To me, Yankees are people from New England. Definitely NOT people from PA, NJ or NY. And for some reason, I think of Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire as "Yankee" states, more than southern New England... But honestly, I never use the word nor do I hear it used. And if someone called me a Yankee, my response would be "AM NOT!"
^^ ive never heard that before, I think of Yankee as the entire Northeast (ie Philly, NYC and Boston). Why is there the New York Yankees if this wasnt the case?
I'm originally from Pennsylvania. To me, Yankees are people from New England. Definitely NOT people from PA, NJ or NY. And for some reason, I think of Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire as "Yankee" states, more than southern New England... But honestly, I never use the word nor do I hear it used. And if someone called me a Yankee, my response would be "AM NOT!"
Actually, I've heard that before. To someone from the North, a yankee is only from New England. In the South , its anyone above the Mason Dixon line.
I have met people from the North who aren't typically yankee though. But most of those people I discover have Southern roots.
I dated a gal from upstate New York who actually had quite a bit of drawl. Her parents were from Georgia. I guess it really is a "state of mind".
why so many of these northern/southern topics? i mean, who cares? i grew up in the south, i currently live in the northeast and i plan to move to the upper midwest. i don't consider myself a southerner (even tho where i'm from sometimes isn't considered southern), or a northerner. just myself.
COMPLETELY YANKEE
New York
New Jersey
Massachusetts
Connecticut
Rhode Island
New Hampshire
Vermont
Maine
PARTIALLY YANKEE
Maryland (Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and their suburbs)
Pennsylvania (the Philly area only)
Virginia (Northern Virginia only)
Florida (everything south of Interstate 4...that cliche is true about in Florida you have to go north to go south LOL)
I don't use this term too much but when I say I don't like "northerners" I mean those from the above list. The Maryland and Virginia thing there is due to transplants from the NYC area. I especially hate people from the rich snobby New York City suburbs, though not really the city itself. 20 years ago, none of MD or VA would be Yankee.
Is Texas realy a southern state? Isn't it more Southwestern especially toward Dallas? Isn't El Paso and San ANtonio basically part of Mexico? I've met Texans who say Cancun and Acapulco are more American than El Paso.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
DC is often refered to as the northermost Southern city. I would put DC as a gateway city to the South. Its just not at all like Boston, or New York, or Philadelphia. People are also pretty friendly in DC.
