"White trash" (1821) and "United States" (1719, 1695)

[Joel S. Berson]

Bonnie,

Indeed a fascinating text.  Perhaps worth (your) publishing as a note
somewhere?

What publication (periodical?) do you think the "Chronicle"
is?  Perhaps unanswerable; it's not much of an identification.

Do you think "LIBERTY AND EQUALITY" was a pseudonym, and of whom?  It
was apparently a common catch-phrase in the 1790s through the early
1800s (with some appearances earlier, although the 1700 and 1706 are
false; GBooks).

Joel

At 3/23/2014 01:26 PM, Bonnie Taylor-Blake wrote:
>Several years ago, Fred Shapiro presented an instance of "white trash"
>from 1822.  (The OED's earliest citation dates to 1831.)
>
>http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0611A&L=ADS-L&P=R13891
>
>Here's a very slightly earlier occurrence of "white trash" in Gale's
>19th Century U.S. Newspapers database.  I found the text particularly
>interesting, which explains why I included more than was necessary.
>(Italicized text is indicated by asterisks.)
>
>-- Bonnie
>
>-------------------------------------------------
>
>What has brought on the foregoing on this head at present was, an
>incident that happened in Harrisburg a few days ago. viz -- a black
>man had been advertised in some of the newspapers and was taken up as
>a runaway from Maryland on his being sent off on Friday the 18th inst.
>a considerable people of colour, both male and female, assembled who
>generally seemed reluctant to part with him their associate and
>friend, as he had lived some considerable time in this borough.  The
>males said little on the occasion, but some of the other sex gave free
>scope to their feelings, both against the Marylanders who had him then
>in their custody, and the whites in general.  I happened to be in the
>vicinity of one who spoke the English language tolerably well, she was
>at no loss for words, nor sparing in throwing out her aspersive
>epithets.  She had gone a certain distance with the man who was forced
>away, and on her return accompanied by her son, who stopped almost
>opposite where I stood, to talk with a white boy nearly his own size.
>She, the mother, on missing him, turned around, and observing how ill
>he was was [sic] paired, like a fury vociferated, with a curse upon
>her son, *why do you lag behind? Come along and do not stand there
>spending your precious time, in company too, and conversing with White
>Trash*.
>
>On hearing the phrase *white trash*, as it was altogether new to me
>when taken in her sense, I seemed as if bitten by a tarantula or stung
>by a galliniper.  I stood motionless and mum for a short period, but
>fortunately thinking of Zimmerman on the Prejudices and Pride of
>Nations, I was in a short time all serenity again, and believe now,
>that this lady of colour had as good a right and it was as natural for
>her to say *White Trash* as it would be for myself or any other of my
>colour to say *Black Trash*.  -- LIBERTY AND EQUALITY.
>
>[From "From the Chronicle. Anecdotes," The Illinois Gazette
>(Shawnee-Town, Illinois), 23 June 1821, p. 1, columns 3 and 4.]
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org