It does seem to me to be rather odd to equate the American South with ideals of freedom. Admittedly, my knowledge is based on old memories of history A-level, and a recent reading of Gone With The Wind, so it could be entirely wrong. However, it certainly struck me that any ideals of liberty applied only to the rich land-owning male elite, and excluded loads of white people, as well as black slaves. "White trash" is a term that pre-dates the Civil War, after all - and I doubt your average "Southern belle", despite her wealth, had any real freedom to do whatever she wanted, in defiance of convention and social expectation.