It just boggles me to this day that they already have their southern accent from the early 19th century. Or is it earlier than that?
But how did they get that accent? Americans have a really hard “R” sound to their english. Does that mean they got it from the irish somehow?
Not to discourage further responses, but here are some good answers on the topic by other r/AskHistorians users:
When did Americans lose their British accents?, by u/keyilan
How did the American accent diverge from the British one? Did the founding fathers have British accents?, by u/YuunofYork
At what point did the accent of American settlers become distinguishable from a British accent?, by u/lord_mayor_pf_reddit