The term 'white trash' originates from Richard Hakluyt, an Elizabethan adventurer, who pitched to Queen Elizabeth that the New World should serve as a trash bin for the poor and worthless people of England, whom he called 'waste people'.
factualpending
Speaker
Nancy EisenbergEvidence Quote
“the idea of white trash actually was first used by richard hacklet who was an elizabethan adventurer...it was going to be the trash bin for the poor and the idol and the worthless people in england”
Source
Nancy Isenberg - White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America— Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter CollegeCreated: 8/12/2026, 6:12:44 PM
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