Hillbilly

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Hillbilly is a term historically used for people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in the Appalachian region and Ozarks. As people migrated out of the region during the Great Depression, the term spread northward and westward with them. The usage of the term "hillbilly" as a descriptor receives mixed perceptions, often in part due to the nature in which it is used. It may be used in in-groups as a point of pride, while others consider its usage derogatory, especially when used as an insult, forming part of a type of discrimination against people from rural areas. The first known instances of "hillbilly" in print were in The Railroad Trainmen's Journal (vol. ix, July 1892), an 1899 photograph of men and women in West Virginia labeled "Camp Hillbilly", and a 1900 New York Journal article containing the definition: "a Hill-Billie is a free and untrammeled white citizen of Alabama, who lives in the hills, has no means to speak of, dresses as he can, talks...

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