In the late 19th century and the early part of the 20th century, Georgia ranchers came to be known as "Georgia Crackers" by Floridians when they drove their cattle down into the grassy flatlands of Central Florida to graze in the winter, stopping where the citrus groves began. In order to get the cattle's attention they became very adept at cracking a bullwhip.
The term "cracker" was in use during Elizabethan times to describe braggarts. The original root of this is the Middle English word crack meaning "entertaining conversation" (One may be said to "crack" a joke; a witty remark is a "wisecrack"). This term and the Gaelic spelling "craic" are still in use in Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. It is documented in Shakespeare'sKing John (1595): "What cracker is this... that deafes our eares / With this abundance of superfluous breath?"
By the 1760s the ruling classes, both in Britain and in the American colonies, applied the term "Cracker" to Scotch-Irish and English settlers of the remote southern back country, as noted in a passage from a letter to the Earl of Dartmouth: "I should explain to your Lordship what is meant by Crackers; a name they have got from being great boasters; they are a lawless set of rascalls on the frontiers of Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia, who often change their places of abode." The word was later associated with the cowboys of Georgia and Florida, many of them descendants of those early frontiersmen.[1]
Among some Georgians, the term is used as a proud or jocular self-description. Since the huge influx of new residents into Georgia from the northern parts of the United States in the late 20th century, "Georgia cracker" has become used informally by some white residents of Georgia of Scots-Irish and English stock, to indicate that their family has lived there for many generations.
However, other Georgians find the term highly offensive and insulting: "'Cracker' has a murky history but generally describes poor whites. The slur is widely considered an insult among white southerners. . . . . for plenty of rural, white southerners, "cracker" is a demeaning, bigoted term . . . the equivalent of redneck."[2]
The "Cracker Party" was a Democratic Party political machine that dominated city politics in Augusta, Georgia, for over 25 years, and exerted considerable political influence for roughly four decades after its 1946 defeat.[3][4][5][6]
For several years before baseball's "Braves" National League franchise moved to Atlanta from Milwaukee, that city was home to an International League team called "the Atlanta Crackers".
Notable Georgia Crackersedit
Bill Arp, Georgia's foremost 19th-century humorist[7]
georgia, cracker, pejorative, cracker, term, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books. For the pejorative see Cracker term This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Georgia cracker news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2013 Learn how and when to remove this message Georgia crackers refer to the original American pioneer settlers of the Province of Georgia later the State of Georgia and their descendants A pair of Georgia Crackers 1873In the late 19th century and the early part of the 20th century Georgia ranchers came to be known as Georgia Crackers by Floridians when they drove their cattle down into the grassy flatlands of Central Florida to graze in the winter stopping where the citrus groves began In order to get the cattle s attention they became very adept at cracking a bullwhip The term cracker was in use during Elizabethan times to describe braggarts The original root of this is the Middle English word crack meaning entertaining conversation One may be said to crack a joke a witty remark is a wisecrack This term and the Gaelic spelling craic are still in use in Ireland Northern Ireland and Scotland It is documented in Shakespeare s King John 1595 What cracker is this that deafes our eares With this abundance of superfluous breath By the 1760s the ruling classes both in Britain and in the American colonies applied the term Cracker to Scotch Irish and English settlers of the remote southern back country as noted in a passage from a letter to the Earl of Dartmouth I should explain to your Lordship what is meant by Crackers a name they have got from being great boasters they are a lawless set of rascalls on the frontiers of Virginia Maryland the Carolinas and Georgia who often change their places of abode The word was later associated with the cowboys of Georgia and Florida many of them descendants of those early frontiersmen 1 Contents 1 Usage 2 Notable Georgia Crackers 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksUsage editAmong some Georgians the term is used as a proud or jocular self description Since the huge influx of new residents into Georgia from the northern parts of the United States in the late 20th century Georgia cracker has become used informally by some white residents of Georgia of Scots Irish and English stock to indicate that their family has lived there for many generations However other Georgians find the term highly offensive and insulting Cracker has a murky history but generally describes poor whites The slur is widely considered an insult among white southerners for plenty of rural white southerners cracker is a demeaning bigoted term the equivalent of redneck 2 The Cracker Party was a Democratic Party political machine that dominated city politics in Augusta Georgia for over 25 years and exerted considerable political influence for roughly four decades after its 1946 defeat 3 4 5 6 For several years before baseball s Braves National League franchise moved to Atlanta from Milwaukee that city was home to an International League team called the Atlanta Crackers Notable Georgia Crackers editBill Arp Georgia s foremost 19th century humorist 7 Roy V Harris a Cracker Party boss 3 Lauretta Hannon Georgia s Cracker Queen humorist 8 John B Big John Kennedy Augusta Georgia Public Safety Commissioner 1942 1946 and another Cracker Party boss 3 9 10 Doyle Lawson Musician known for his mandolin piece Georgia Cracker 11 See also edit nbsp State of Georgia portal Atlanta Black Crackers a Negro league baseball team 1919 1952 Atlanta Crackers minor league teams 1901 1965 Country identity Cracker term Florida cracker Georgia U S state References editNotes Crackers New Georgia Encyclopedia Georgiaencyclopedia org 2002 07 24 Archived from the original on 2012 10 09 Retrieved 2013 08 15 Foreman Tom Cracker conveys history of bigotry that still resonates CNN com 2 July 2013 accessed 30 July 2013 a b c Staff Reports Newspapers helped end long rule of corrupt Cracker Party The Augusta Chronicle web site 29 August 2010 1 Archived February 12 2005 at the Wayback Machine Augusta New Georgia Encyclopedia Georgiaencyclopedia org 2013 02 05 Retrieved 2013 08 15 2 Archived March 24 2005 at the Wayback Machine Bill Arp Georgia s Premier Humorist Freepages history rootsweb com 1903 08 09 Retrieved 2013 08 15 http www thecrackerqueen com a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Missing or empty title help Obituary Wounds Fatal to Politician Shot by Wife The Chicago Tribune web archives from 8 July 1951 Mayhew David R 1986 Placing Parties in American Politics Princeton University Press p 414 ISBN 9781400854523 Retrieved 9 November 2014 Geoghegan S Favorite Ibiblio org 1964 07 28 Retrieved 2013 08 15 Further reading Georgia BackroadsExternal links editThe Georgia Encyclopedia Archived 2012 10 09 at the Wayback Machine Okefenokee Folk Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Georgia cracker amp 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