Sentence:  He gave credence to the long-standing impression that southern <WSD>highlanders</WSD> were as a whole 'a hardy race of European dissenters' of very different stock from other southern colonists…. As backwoodsmen and <WSD>highlanders</WSD>, they opposed slavery formally, through abolitionist organizations, newspapers, or institutions of higher education…. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Any person who lives in mountainous or hilly terrain.