Why is the Murder Rate Higher in the South than in Other Parts of the United States? Southern Subculture of Violence or Legacy of Slavery

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test whether higher-than-average rates of homicide in the southern U.S. can be attributed to a southern subculture of violence (SSOV). Analyses revealed that only when the five border states were added to the eleven that seceded from the Union was homicide significantly elevated in the South. Consistent with the SSOV, this effect was restricted to homicides in which the victim was White. These results suggest that the SSOV deserves further study and that the effect be may partially the result of a state's position on slavery around the time of the Civil War.