The Mind of the South

W.J. Cash's The Mind of the South (1941) is a seminal analysis of white Southern culture and temperament. Cash sought to dismantle the notion of a distinct "Old South" and "New South," instead identifying romanticism, anti-intellectualism, and prejudice as core elements stemming from the region's unique climate, landscape, frontier violence, clannishness, and Calvinist influences.1

The South, generally defined as the southeastern United States, has historically been shaped by its long growing season, staple crops, the plantation system, and the labor of Black people, whether enslaved or free. White supremacy has been a defining characteristic of Southern politics and economics for centuries. Cash's work delves into these historical underpinnings to explain the enduring characteristics of the Southern mindset.21