<P> The "culture of honor" in the Southern United States is hypothesized by some social scientists to have its roots in the livelihoods of the early settlers who first inhabited the region . Unlike settlers with an agricultural heritage (mainly from the densely populated South East England and East Anglia) who settled in New England, the Southern United States was settled by herders from Scotland, Northern Ireland, Northern England and the West Country . Herds, unlike crops, are vulnerable to theft because they are mobile and there is little government wherewithal to enforce property rights of herd animals . The theory is that developing a reputation for violent retribution against those who stole herd animals was one way to discourage theft . </P> <P> This thesis is limited, however, by modern evidence that a culture of honor in the American South is strongest not in the hill country, where this thesis suggests it has its cultural origins, but in Southern lowlands . These observers argue that poverty or religion, which has been distinctive in the American South since the Second Great Awakening in the 19th century, may be a more important source of this cultural phenomenon . </P> <P> Other theories point out that the culture of honor may have its roots in the settlement of the region by members of British aristocratic families . </P> <P> The Southern culture of honor also includes a notion that ladies should not be insulted by gentlemen . Southern gentlemen are also expected to be chivalrous towards women, in words and deeds . </P>

Describe the culture of honor that exist in the appalachian mountains