"Massa Jeff"

donna

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
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Now Florida but always a Kentuckian
"Massa Jeff" A nickname given by Confederate soldiers to President Jefferson Davis. It was affectionate but had the bitter recognition that soldiers were little better than slaves. This was vividly brought home when they cried "Give us something to eat, Massa Jeff", as he passed by hungry troops camped on Missionary Ridge at Chattanooga, Tennessee in November, 1864.

From The Language of The Civil War by John D. Wright page 188.
 
When did you graduate from a "Massa" to the further slurred but affectionate term "Marse"....as in Marse Robert. Marse is a term that derived from "Master" correct?
 
The confederacy was betrayed from within. Food shortages were in large the result of the planter class reneging on their promises to Grow less cotton and tobacco and more food crops. However with the exception of those in Texas who did keep their promise. The rest of the planter class in the Confederate States kept right on over planting their cash crop instead of food crops. and what food crops they did grow they often sold to speculators that drove up the price of food out of the reach of ordinary citizens.
 
I'm not sure it was meant as any connotation, positive or negative.

Master was a term referring to any person of a higher class that one was subordinate to. Marster was another way of referral. It was also used to refer to the young progeny of someone of means, little master ... and would have been used by servants in general, black or white.

It has a feel of familiarity in how marse or marster over Master or Massa. One was a term of respect demanded by society, the other a term of connection.
 
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