factually
Index/People/Dorothy Scarborough

Dorothy Scarborough

American writer

Fact-Checks

2 results
Jan 14, 2026
Most Viewed

Does the song cotton eyed Joe have racist origins?

The best-supported historical reading is that "Cotton-Eyed Joe" emerged in the American South before the Civil War and carries connections to slavery-era culture and minstrel caricature—facts that hav...

Jan 26, 2026
Most Viewed

What are the earliest printed versions of 'Cotton-Eyed Joe' and what do their lyrics show?

The earliest known printed appearance of "" is a dialect transcription published by in 1882, a version that was later reprinted in 1910 and survives in many folklorists' collections . Those earliest p...