Re: Yankees and roundabouts
> Especially Johnny Reb Yankees, as found in Kentucky [ ... ]
KY is not, and has never been, a Yankee state.
Originally, Yankee referred to people from New England - ME, NH, MA, VT, CT, RI.
During the Western Expansion the word evolved to describe any settlement by people of English Protestant origin - a Yankee settlement - as opposed to people of German Protestant origin - a German settlement. This meaning is prevalent in the Midwest.
During the Civil War the term evolved again to loosely define anyone from the Northern US fighting for the Union side of the conflict. Today, Southerners still refer to Americans from the Northern States as Yankees.[*]
At the start of the Civil War, KY declared itself neutral, but ended up under Union control after some confederate general tried to engineer a coup to bring KY to the CSA. KY then asked the Union for help, and stayed under Union control for the duration of the Civil War.
Today, Yankee loosely refers to anyone from the Northeast Coast of the US. The precise meaning of the word varies by region.
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[*] They also refer to the Civil War as The War Of Northern Aggression. Go figure. If you visit a Southern State, it's best to stay clear of the Civil War topic altogether.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
