Scottish "Covenanters" or Presbyterians who rejected the Catholic and Anglican churches to signify their status as Covenanters adopted wearing red neckerchiefs. They were soon called “red necks.” These same Scots immigrated to the region around Ulster Ireland and finally the new world in the American Colonies. Their descendants inhabited most of the southern and rural places of the United States.
by logibear64 January 14, 2009