[Ads-l] Major Antedating of "Tarheel" (SLIGHTLY CORRECTED POSTING)

[Peter Reitan]

As early as 1844, tar on the heels was specifically associated with North Carolinians, if not by the name "tarheel."

"Again, we say of Mr. Van Buren . . . that if he were elected President of the United States, Texas will go into the Union like the North Carolinian entered the ball-room in New York - if he had no tar on his heel, he could - if he had, 'twas a no go."

The Democrat (Huntsville, Alabama), July 3, 1844, page 3. Newspapers.com
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-democrat/15289248/

I take the comments to mean if Texas is poor (with tar on its heels) it would not be admitted, but that if it were prosperous (no tar on its heels), then it would not be admitted.  The following paragraph begins with an exhortation to "go to work, men and women of Texas, and you have nothing to fear. - Industry makes wealth . . ."

Barry Popik's website has examples from as early as 1840 referring to poor, Southern whites, generally, as having tar on their heels.

https://www.barrypopik.com/new_york_city/entry/origin_of_tar_heel_summary
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Subject: Re: Major Antedating of "Tarheel" (SLIGHTLY CORRECTED POSTING)

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Bonnie=E2=80=99s 2022 article about "tar heel" included the interesting
February 6, 1858, citation rediscovered by Fred.

Date: April 29, 2022
Article: Who Put the =E2=80=9CTar=E2=80=9D in =E2=80=9CTar Heels=E2=80=9D?:=
 Antebellum uses of the
epithet and its application to North Carolinians
Author: Bonnie Taylor-Blake

https://btaylorblake.com/2022/04/29/who-put-the-tar-in-tar-heels/

On Sun, Dec 24, 2023 at 8:36=E2=80=AFAM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.ed=
u> wrote:
>
> U.S. states generally have standardized nicknames applied to the state an=
d its inhabitants.  The two most celebrated such nicknames are "Hoosier" (I=
ndiana) and "Tarheel" (North Carolina).  Both of these are now proudly used=
 by the respective state, its university, and its athletic teams.  Both wer=
e often used, early in their history, as pejorative insults.  The North Car=
olina moniker derives from the state's prominence as a producer of tar from=
 pine trees.
>
> The earliest documented usage of "Tarheel" or "Tar Heel" in specific refe=
rence to North Carolina has been in a February 6, 1863 entry in the diary o=
f Confederate soldier William B. A. Lowrance.  In addition, Bonnie Taylor-B=
lake has found "Tar heel" in an October 21, 1846 article by A. L. Bayley in=
 a New York City periodical, "The Emancipator."  However, Taylor-Blake note=
d that Bayley seems to have employed the term to refer broadly to poor Sout=
hern whites rather than only to North Carolinians.
>
> I have now discovered an earlier occurrence of "tar-heel," specifically r=
eferring to North Carolinians, dated exactly five years before the Lowrance=
 diary entry.  The source, surprisingly, is from California.  In the San An=
dreas Independent newspaper, February 6, 1858, page 3, column 1, there is a=
n item titled "Carrying the War Into Africa" (accessible on the wonderful N=
ewspapers.com database).  The item describes a heated argument between two =
African Americans, one of whom called the other a "Down-easter."  The secon=
d combatant is said to have responded as follows:
>
> "Dont yah call dis er'n a Down-easter," said Scip, "yah mis'ble dirt-eati=
n Norf C'lina tar-heel."
>
> The fact that the state nickname "tar-heel" had disseminated as far as Ca=
lifornia by 1858 suggests that it may be significantly older than previousl=
y thought.
>
> Fred Shapiro
> Editor, New Yale Book of Quotations (Yale University Press)
>
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