Are hillbillies the only real true Americans these days? What countries did they come from?

Question

I'm joking of course, but if you consider people who are immigrating from Mexico right now to be non-Americans which most people do then as a matter of time you have to consider who's been longest entrenched as a "real" American. Where did the hillbillies and rednecks come from?

Answer 1

Most of whom you call hillbillies were lowland Scot, highland Scot and Scots-Irish, and they came at different times.  In the 18th century, many Scots were transported to the colonies as indentured servants as punishment for rebelling against the English (and being Catholic in some cases).  Many Scots-Irish were also transported.  As soon as they were free from indenture, they often moved to the "frontier" at the time, and many ended up in the Appalachian range.  "Moonshine" is from Scottish days when the English refused to allow Scots to brew their own but required purchase of more expensive English liquor.  Bluegrass music is directly related to Scottish reels, and to Irish jigs.  

They were among the earliest, but certainly not the earliest of European settlers.  Since Mexico owned most of what is now SW US, many of the Mexicans are actually "coming home."  (Many more are from the south and other areas in Latin America, though).  

There has always been problems with immigration throughout the ages.  Most are absorbed--Spanish language imimigrants do seem different in that they comprise a large voting block and that definitely changes the political and social background.

Answer 2

Well, most of the people immigrating from Mexico right now are NOT Americans because they are Illegal!  

Scotch-Irish.  As am I.  

What's your point?

Answer 3

I consider "hillbillies" and "rednecks" as true americans in the following context:  Most all of them are grounded in real values, including faith, family, work ethic, and believe in their country even if they disagree or even hate the leadership we may have.

Answer 4

Most people in Mexico (the poor ones, who tend to move north faster than someone with pure Spanish blood and 100,000 hectares - or senior partnership in a law firm) are part Native American. While they are not US Citizens, they have lines to this continent that are make them (North) Americans much longer than the Mayflower-come-latelies.

Most of the Appalachian Mountain folks came from the Scotch who stayed in Northern Ireland for 200 years, then came here in the 1700s. They called themselves "Scotch-Irish" so people would know they were not Catholic.

Answer 5

"We-e-l-l Doggies"

The general answer is Scots-Irish, as many emigrated here from northern Ireland in the 17th century. There are also English elements. A documentary on the History of the English language called the kind of talk we usually associate with hill folk as closest to pure English. In Britain and in America, language has been evolving over time, but the language spoken by the Hillbillies is closer to the Elizabethan speech that arrived here.

The people who were here before them are the closest we have to a native population. Of course, their ancestors arrived from elsewhere as well.

Answer 6

Williams answer as about as accurate as I could put it.

They were mostly Irish, usually followers of William of Orange ... King 'Billy'

Answer 7

The "hillbillies & rednecks", as you call them, came from mostly immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Those who came from an agricultural background migrated from cities like New York and Philadelphia to places where they could farm.  The lands of West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee were well suited for this purpose.  Since a lot of the land was on rolling hills, they became know as "hill people".  I don't know when "-billies" was added to the term.  As farmers, being out in the sun all day, they wore long sleeve shirts (short sleeves were unknown at the time) and had an open neck.  Thus, they had red necks. Life was tough and they had to be tough to survive.  The term "redneck" came from that beginning, denoting a person capable of handling a rough life.  Some even doubt that the American, or Native, Indian is not a "real" American.  The theory is that centuries ago, natives crossed the Bering Sea, into Alaska and migrated South into the land now known as the United States, and remained the only people until the New World was discovered by explorers. To answer your question: No one knows for certain who the only true real Americans are.

Answer 8

English, Scottish, & Scots-Irish

Many of these people answer "American" on surveys about their ancestry.

And there are no "real" Americans and "fake" Americans. This is a country created by immigrants and defined by waves of immigration.

Answer 9

Mostly Scotch-Irish, I believe.

Answer 10

As a matter of basic definition, ‘real Americans’ as you put it, are those who have American Citizenship.  It really doesn’t matter how long that they have been here or if they are naturalized or born here.  Those who are immigrating to the United States are within the process of working to become a citizen of the United States.

It really isn’t clear what is the intent of your question.  The terms of Hillbillies and rednecks are apparently used here in their pejorative sense to assert a stereotypical image of some segment of the American population and such terms are often applied to a wide range of individuals.  A range of individuals so wide as to cover individuals from many different ethnic origins.  

If, by chance, you are referring to those from Appalachian Mountains of the United States (such as my antecedents) they are generally from Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Cornwall.  Most such families came to these shores prior to the revolution and migrated into the mountains.

Answer 11

I would guess they have English or Scottish descent.

Have you heard of the Hatfield and the McCoy feuds?

They sound like English and Scottish names.