Final answer:
The culture of honor is a social code prioritizing reputation and proper conduct, prevalent among antebellum Southern society, where men would react more strongly to insults, potentially leading to duels. This culture was deeply interwoven with the defense of slavery and racial superiority. Southerners reacted more strongly to insults than Northerners.
Step-by-step explanation:
The culture of honor primarily refers to a social code that emphasizes the integrity and reputation of individuals, especially men, and dictates certain behaviors and responses to perceived insults or threats. In antebellum Southern society, this culture was intimately linked with the class structure, characterized by the defense of slavery and social domination, and the maintenance of gender roles and racial hierarchies. Insulting a man's honor, such as labeling him a coward, might result in duels, a tradition that persisted in the South much longer than in the North. This cultural code dictated the condition in which White Southern men reacted more strongly to insults than their Northern counterparts.
From a historical standpoint, the South developed unique proslavery arguments as a part of their culture of honor, claiming benefits to both masters and slaves and sometimes employing pseudo-scientific theories to justify the racial hierarchy. The Southern elite established a way of life that highlighted courtesy, hospitality, and chivalry as factors that supposedly delineated their culture from other regions.