My fam has never been one for history, but it seems likely the English Civil War might have been a factor.

The Puritans went north, the Cavaliers went south and a couple hundred years later, we had our own civil war. There were a fair number of political and economic tensions between north and south, than just slavery. It's not like anyone gave a crap about the Native Americans.

Not to say we are not still backward, but around here, Merryman is like redneck royalty.