Swamp Yankee
Encyclopedia
Swamp Yankee is a colloquialism
that has a variety of meanings. Generally, it refers to Yankees
or WASP
s (northeasterners with English
colonial ancestry) from rural Rhode Island
and nearby eastern Connecticut
and southeastern Massachusetts
. The term "Yankee" connotes urbane industriousness, while the term "Swamp Yankee" signifies a more countrified, stubborn, independent and less refined subtype.
, eastern Connecticut
and occasionally southeastern Massachusetts
, to describe: "a rural dweller—one of stubborn, old-fashioned, frugal, English-speaking Yankee
stock, of good standing in the rural community, but usually possessing minimal formal education and little desire to augment it. Swamp Yankees themselves react to the term with slight disapproval or indifference...The term is unfavorably received when used by a city dweller with the intention of ridiculing a country resident; however, when one country resident refers to another as a swamp Yankee, no offense is taken, and it is treated as good-natured jest.".
Schell continues, "[t]he term is most frequently applied to older people and is often preceded by old. Sometimes it is shortened to swampy [or swamper]...[Swamp Yankees] were not among the religious and ambitious Pilgrims who had sailed to America on the Mayflower; but rather they were more often among the undesirables who had left England as the result of some form of misconduct and who retreated to the swamps when they arrived here." The typical swamp Yankee can be found in an old, rural general store
...where in the evening four or five of the immediate countryside's swamp Yankees gather and tell stories for several hours. Such a gathering has been jocularly described as a "lying contest...The term swamp Yankee is becoming less known and may be unknown in a few generations....Probably the best reason for its disappearance is the vanishing of the swamp Yankee himself as society moves toward urban and suburban life."
At one time Swamp Yankees even had their own variety of isolated country music, according to an article written by Harvard professor, Paul Di Maggio, and Vanderbilt University professor, Richard Peterson.
Today, the term is still used in Rhode Island, eastern Connecticut and southeastern Massachusetts. In 1993, the playwright, Arthur Miller
used the term in his play, The Last Yankee
, to refer to a New England carpenter who was a descendant of one of the Founding Fathers. Rhode Island cartoonist Don Bousquet
often parodies the "Swamp Yankee" in his cartoons. In a 2003 article in New England Quarterly about President Calvin Coolidge
, Kerry W. Buckley describes Coolidge as a "swamp Yankee," defined as "scion of an old family that was no longer elite or monied."
The village of Ashaway, Rhode Island
, situated on the Rhode Island/Connecticut border, sponsors a festival known as "Swamp Yankee Days" every September. The festival features traditional fare such as clam chowder
, clamcakes and johnnycakes. Additionally, various bands play during the event, and activities include an antique tractor parade, a baked bean eating contest, cow chip bingo, a flea market and assorted activities for kids.
. Others speculate that the original Swamp Yankees were colonial-era indentured servants who were paid for their service with swamp land from the farmers to whom they were indentured.
Another theory claims that the term originated during the American Revolution
when residents of Thompson, Connecticut
fled to the surrounding swamps to escape a feared British invasion in 1776. When the refugees arose from the swamps several weeks later, they were ridiculed and called "Swamp Yankees."
A 1912 Metropolitan Magazine
article describes the son of a New England mill owner as a "Swamp Yankee.". In 1935 the New York Times labeled "Swamp Yankees" as those driven out of a New England mill town by immigrants.
Colloquialism
A colloquialism is a word or phrase that is common in everyday, unconstrained conversation rather than in formal speech, academic writing, or paralinguistics. Dictionaries often display colloquial words and phrases with the abbreviation colloq. as an identifier...
that has a variety of meanings. Generally, it refers to Yankees
Yankee
The term Yankee has several interrelated and often pejorative meanings, usually referring to people originating in the northeastern United States, or still more narrowly New England, where application of the term is largely restricted to descendants of the English settlers of the region.The...
or WASP
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant or WASP is an informal term, often derogatory or disparaging, for a closed group of high-status Americans mostly of British Protestant ancestry. The group supposedly wields disproportionate financial and social power. When it appears in writing, it is usually used to...
s (northeasterners with English
English American
English Americans are citizens or residents of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England....
colonial ancestry) from rural Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
and nearby eastern Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
and southeastern Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. The term "Yankee" connotes urbane industriousness, while the term "Swamp Yankee" signifies a more countrified, stubborn, independent and less refined subtype.
Usage
Ruth Schell's 1963 article, "Swamp Yankee" in American Speech, explains in detail the characteristics and usage associated with the term. She claims that it is used predominantly in Rhode IslandRhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, eastern Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
and occasionally southeastern Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, to describe: "a rural dweller—one of stubborn, old-fashioned, frugal, English-speaking Yankee
Yankee
The term Yankee has several interrelated and often pejorative meanings, usually referring to people originating in the northeastern United States, or still more narrowly New England, where application of the term is largely restricted to descendants of the English settlers of the region.The...
stock, of good standing in the rural community, but usually possessing minimal formal education and little desire to augment it. Swamp Yankees themselves react to the term with slight disapproval or indifference...The term is unfavorably received when used by a city dweller with the intention of ridiculing a country resident; however, when one country resident refers to another as a swamp Yankee, no offense is taken, and it is treated as good-natured jest.".
Schell continues, "[t]he term is most frequently applied to older people and is often preceded by old. Sometimes it is shortened to swampy [or swamper]...[Swamp Yankees] were not among the religious and ambitious Pilgrims who had sailed to America on the Mayflower; but rather they were more often among the undesirables who had left England as the result of some form of misconduct and who retreated to the swamps when they arrived here." The typical swamp Yankee can be found in an old, rural general store
General store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...
...where in the evening four or five of the immediate countryside's swamp Yankees gather and tell stories for several hours. Such a gathering has been jocularly described as a "lying contest...The term swamp Yankee is becoming less known and may be unknown in a few generations....Probably the best reason for its disappearance is the vanishing of the swamp Yankee himself as society moves toward urban and suburban life."
At one time Swamp Yankees even had their own variety of isolated country music, according to an article written by Harvard professor, Paul Di Maggio, and Vanderbilt University professor, Richard Peterson.
Today, the term is still used in Rhode Island, eastern Connecticut and southeastern Massachusetts. In 1993, the playwright, Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
used the term in his play, The Last Yankee
The Last Yankee
The Last Yankee is a play by Arthur Miller, which premiered on January 05, 1993 at the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City. The cast included Tom Aldredge as John Frick, Frances Conroy as Patricia Hamilton, Rose Gregorio as Karen Frick, John Heard as Leroy Hamilton, and Charlotte Maier as the...
, to refer to a New England carpenter who was a descendant of one of the Founding Fathers. Rhode Island cartoonist Don Bousquet
Don Bousquet
Don Bousquet is a Rhode Island-based cartoonist. He was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. His cartoon Bousquet regularly appears in the Providence Journal, and his work has also appeared in numerous other publications, such as Yankee Magazine. Most of Don's best sellers were published by Covered...
often parodies the "Swamp Yankee" in his cartoons. In a 2003 article in New England Quarterly about President Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
, Kerry W. Buckley describes Coolidge as a "swamp Yankee," defined as "scion of an old family that was no longer elite or monied."
The village of Ashaway, Rhode Island
Ashaway, Rhode Island
Ashaway is an unincorporated village and census-designated place in the town of Hopkinton in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 1,537 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Ashaway is located at ....
, situated on the Rhode Island/Connecticut border, sponsors a festival known as "Swamp Yankee Days" every September. The festival features traditional fare such as clam chowder
Clam chowder
Clam chowder is any of several chowders containing clams and broth. Along with the clams, diced potato is common, as are onions, which are occasionally sauteed in the drippings from salt pork or bacon. Celery is frequently used. Other vegetables are uncommon, but small carrot strips might...
, clamcakes and johnnycakes. Additionally, various bands play during the event, and activities include an antique tractor parade, a baked bean eating contest, cow chip bingo, a flea market and assorted activities for kids.
History
The origins of the term "Swamp Yankee" are unclear. The term "Yankee" originated in the mid-18th century, and the variation "Swamp Yankee" seems to have developed shortly after this period. Several theories speculate that Swamp Yankees were the undesirable, troublemaking New Englanders who moved to the "swamps" of southeastern New England upon arriving in the New World in the 17th century. It is possible that the term also meant that a person was unwanted in an unestablished town for having a relationship with a Native AmericanIndigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
. Others speculate that the original Swamp Yankees were colonial-era indentured servants who were paid for their service with swamp land from the farmers to whom they were indentured.
Another theory claims that the term originated during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
when residents of Thompson, Connecticut
Thompson, Connecticut
Thompson is a rural town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The town was named after Sir Robert Thompson, an English landholder. The population was 9,458 at the 2010 census...
fled to the surrounding swamps to escape a feared British invasion in 1776. When the refugees arose from the swamps several weeks later, they were ridiculed and called "Swamp Yankees."
A 1912 Metropolitan Magazine
Metropolitan Magazine (New York)
Metropolitan Magazine, known in its later years as Macfadden's Fiction Lover's Magazine, was a monthly periodical in the early 20th century with articles on politics and literature.-History:...
article describes the son of a New England mill owner as a "Swamp Yankee.". In 1935 the New York Times labeled "Swamp Yankees" as those driven out of a New England mill town by immigrants.
Examples of use
- Swamp Yankee Days Festival in Ashaway, Rhode Island
- Swamp Yankee - A Swing/Latin Music album
- Rhode Island Swamp Yankee Striped Bass Classic
- Description of a Rhode Island Swamp Yankee by novelist Margaret L. Carter
- List of Swamp Yankee characteristics
- Swamp Yankee: The Song byFoxtrot ZuluFoxtrot ZuluFoxtrot Zulu is a seven member rock band based in Providence, Rhode Island. The band has released five albums and performed over 1000 shows.- History :...
- Swamp Yankee: Rock band based out of Dover, NH
- Swamp Yankees: 1990s Rock band based out of Rhode Island
See also
- YankeeYankeeThe term Yankee has several interrelated and often pejorative meanings, usually referring to people originating in the northeastern United States, or still more narrowly New England, where application of the term is largely restricted to descendants of the English settlers of the region.The...
- Redneck
- CrackerCracker (pejorative)Cracker, sometimes white cracker, is a pejorative term for white people. It is an ethnic slur that is especially used for the white inhabitants of the U.S. states of Georgia and Florida , but it is also used throughout the United States.-Etymology:One theory holds that the term comes from the...