Stillthemenofthisclassarealsonotdevoidofpiety，althoughitiscommonlynotpietyofanaggressiveorexuberantkind。Themenoftheuppermiddleclasscommonlytakeamorecomplacentattitudetowardsdevoutobservancesthanthemenoftheartisanclass。Thismayperhapsbeexplainedinpartbysayingthatwhatistrueofthewomenoftheclassistruetoalessextentalsoofthemen。Theyaretoanappreciableextentashelteredclass；andthepatriarchalrelationofstatuswhichstillpersistsintheirconjugallifeandintheirhabitualuseofservants，mayalsoacttoconserveanarchaichabitofmindandmayexercisearetardinginfluenceupontheprocessofsecularizationwhichtheirhabitsofthoughtareundergoing。TherelationsoftheAmericanmiddle-classmantotheeconomiccommunity，however，areusuallyprettycloseandexacting；
althoughitmayberemarked，bythewayandinqualification，thattheireconomicactivityfrequentlyalsopartakesinsomedegreeofthepatriarchalorquasi-predatorycharacter。Theoccupationswhichareingoodreputeamongthisclassandwhichhavemosttodowithshapingtheclasshabitsofthought，arethepecuniaryoccupationswhichhavebeenspokenofinasimilarconnectioninanearlierchapter。Thereisagooddealoftherelationofarbitrarycommandandsubmission，andnotalittleofshrewdpractice，remotelyakintopredatoryfraud。Allthisbelongsontheplaneoflifeofthepredatorybarbarian，towhomadevotionalattitudeishabitual。Andinadditiontothis，thedevoutobservancesalsocommendthemselvestothisclassonthegroundofreputability。Butthislatterincentivetopietydeservestreatmentbyitselfandwillbespokenofpresently。
ThereisnohereditaryleisureclassofanyconsequenceintheAmericancommunity，exceptintheSouth。ThisSouthernleisureclassissomewhatgiventodevoutobservances；moresothananyclassofcorrespondingpecuniarystandinginotherpartsofthecountry。ItisalsowellknownthatthecreedsoftheSouthareofamoreold-fashionedcastthantheircounterpartsintheNorth。CorrespondingtothismorearchaicdevotionallifeoftheSouthisthelowerindustrialdevelopmentofthatsection。
TheindustrialorganizationoftheSouthisatpresent，andespeciallyithasbeenuntilquiterecently，ofamoreprimitivecharacterthanthatoftheAmericancommunitytakenasawhole。
Itapproachesnearertohandicraft，inthepaucityandrudenessofitsmechanicalappliances，andthereismoreoftheelementofmasteryandsubservience。Itmayalsobenotedthat，owingtothepeculiareconomiccircumstancesofthissection，thegreaterdevoutnessoftheSouthernpopulation，bothwhiteandblack，iscorrelatedwithaschemeoflifewhichinmanywaysrecallsthebarbarianstagesofindustrialdevelopment。Amongthispopulationoffensesofanarchaiccharacteralsoareandhavebeenrelativelymoreprevalentandarelessdeprecatedthantheyareelsewhere；as，forexample，duels，brawls，feuds，drunkenness，horse-racing，cock-fighting，gambling，malesexualincontinenceevidencedbytheconsiderablenumberofmulattoes。Thereisalsoaliveliersenseofhonor——anexpressionofsportsmanshipandaderivativeofpredatorylife。