Crackers

We are not talking of “saltines” or “Hardtack”.  The term "cracker" has an interesting history, with its first known written usage appearing in Shakespeare's King John: "What cracker is this same that deafs our ears with this abundance of superfluous breath?" The word originates from the Gaelic "Craic," meaning a loud boastful comment or sudden loud noise, which evolved into our modern usage in phrases like "crack a joke" or "wise crack." In Ireland, Scotland, and Northern England, "Craic" still refers to friendly conversation. An Irishman heading to the pub might say, "I’m going out for a bit-o-Craic." The term "cracker" came to describe a talkative, boastful person and was applied in colonial America to the Scots-Irish of the backcountry, eventually referring to their descendants, the white rural Southerners.

These "crackers" followed traditional occupations like hunting and herding, often using whips, but they were not named "crackers" for that reason. Ben Franklin described them as "a race of runnagates and crackers, equally wild and savage as the Indians," inhabiting the "desert[ed] woods and mountains." A colonial official in 1766 explained to the Earl of Dartmouth that "Crackers" were known for being great boasters and were a lawless set of rascals on the frontiers of Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia. This is why Florida Cowboys and other white rural Southerners are called "Crackers," and the term remains fitting to this day, especially around a Southern campfire with a mason jar of clear liquid being passed around.