The American South
Made by Zhanna Travkina
Geographical position
Modern definition
The states in dark red are
almost always included in
modern day definitions of the
South, while those in medium
red are usually included.
Some sources classify
Maryland and Missouri as
Southern, with Delaware only
rarely grouped within the
region. West Virginia is often
considered Southern, because
it was once part of Virginia.
Historic Southern U.S.
The states in red were in the Confederacy
and have historically been regarded as
forming "the South." Those in stripes were
considered "Border" states, and gave
varying degrees of support to the
Southern cause although they remained
in the Union. (This image depicts the
original, trans-Allegheny borders of
Virginia, and so does not show West
Virginia separately. See image below for
post-1863 Virginia and West Virginia
borders.) While Oklahoma was aligned
with the Confederacy, it is not shaded
because at the time, the region was
Indian Territory, and thus not a state.
Sub regions of the South
As defined by the United States Census Bureau, the Southern region of the
United States includes sixteen states:
•The South Atlantic States: Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Delaware
•The East South Central States: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and
Tennessee
•The West South Central States: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and
Texas
Terms
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The New South: usually including the South Atlantic States.
The Solid South: region controlled by the Democratic Party from 1877 to 1964.
Southern Appalachia: mainly refers to areas situated in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, namely
Eastern Kentucky, East Tennessee, Western North Carolina, Western Maryland, West Virginia, Southwest
Virginia, North Georgia, and Northwestern South Carolina.
Southeastern United States: usually including the Carolinas, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia,
Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida
The Deep South: various definitions, usually including Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and
South Carolina.
The Old South: is usually defined in opposition to the Deep South including Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia
and Mississippi, and it is also further differentiated from the inland border states such as Kentucky and
West Virginia and the peripheral southern states of Florida and Texas.
The Gulf South: usually includes Gulf coasts of Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama.
The Upper South: Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
Dixie: associated with the 11 states of the Old Confederacy.
The Mid-South: defined by the Census as the South Central United States
Border South: Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware were states on the outer rim of the
Confederacy that did not secede from the United States, but did have significant numbers of residents who
joined the Confederate armed forces.
“The Belts”
• The Sun Belt or Spanish Belt is a region of the United States
generally considered to stretch across the South and Southwest
• The Bible Belt is an informal term for an area of the United States in
which socially conservative evangelical Protestantism is a significant
part of the culture and Christian church attendance across the
denominations is extremely high.
• The Black Belt is a region of the Southern United States. Although the
term originally describes the prairies and dark soil of central
Alabama and northeast Mississippi, it has long been used to describe
a broad region in the American South characterized by a high
percentage of black people.
The Sun belt
The Sun Belt comprises the southern tier of the United
States and is usually considered to include at least the
states of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia,
Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina,
Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, roughly half
of California, southern Nevada, and southern Virginia;
more expansively, Colorado and Utah (and all of
California and Nevada) are sometimes considered as Sun
Belt states.
The term "Sun Belt" became synonymous with the southern
third of the nation in the early 1970s. There was a shift in
this period from the previously economically and
politically important northeast to the south and west.
Events such as the huge migration of immigrant workers
from neighboring Mexico, warmer climate, and a boom in
the agriculture industry allowed for the southern third of
the U.S.A. to grow by leaps and bounds economically.
Industries such as aerospace, defense and oil boomed in
the Sun Belt as companies took advantage of the low
involvement of labor unions in the south.
The three largest metropolitan areas in the Sun Belt are the
Greater Los Angeles Area, the San Francisco Bay Area, and
the Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex.
The Bible Belt
The Bible Belt consists of much of the Southern
United States. During the colonial period (1607–
1776), the South was a stronghold of the Anglican
church. Its transition to a stronghold of nonAnglican Protestantism occurred gradually over the
next century, as a series of religious revival
movements, many associated with the Baptist
denomination, gained great popularity in the region.
The term Bible Belt is used informally by
journalists and by its detractors, who suggest that
religious people allow religion to influence
politics, science, and education. In fact there has
been research that links evangelical Protestantism
with social conservatism.
In presidential elections, the Bible Belt states of
Alabama, Mississippi, Kansas, Oklahoma, South
Carolina, and Texas have voted for the Republican
candidate in all elections since 1980. Other Bible
Belt states have voted for the Republican
presidential candidate in the majority of elections
since 1980, but have gone to the Democratic
candidate either once or twice since then.
The Black Belt
Black Belt is still used in the physiographic sense, to describe
a crescent-shaped region about 300 miles (480 km) long and
up to 25 miles (40 km) wide, extending from southwest
Tennessee to east-central Mississippi and then east through
Alabama to the border with Georgia. Black Belt is
characterized of high percentage of black people. They were
originally enslaved laborers on the region's cotton
plantations and many stayed as rural workers, tenant farmers
and sharecroppers after the American Civil War.
Because of the decline of family farms, the rural communities
in the Black Belt commonly face acute poverty, rural exodus,
inadequate education programs, low educational attainment,
poor health care, substandard housing, and high levels of
crime and unemployment. While African-American residents
are disproportionately affected, these problems apply
broadly to all ethnic groups in the Black Belt. There are
various definitions of the region and its boundaries, but it is
generally considered a band through the center of the Deep
South, although stretching from as far north as Delaware to
as far west as eastern Texas.
The South Atlantic States: Florida
• Nickname: The Sunshine State because of its
generally warm climate
• Governor: Charlie Crist
• Florida was admitted as the 27th U.S. state in
1845.
• Area: 65,755 square miles (170,305 km2
• The state population was 18,537,969 in 2009,
ranking Florida as the fourth most populous
state in the U.S.
• Tallahassee is the state capital; Jacksonville
is the largest city
• Universities: The State University System of
Florida was founded in 1905. Florida has
many large and small private institutions.
Florida: Tallahassee
Mayor:
John Marks
Population: 172,574
Places of interest: Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park,
Challenger Learning Center, Doak Campbell Stadium, Florida
State Capitol, Foster Tanner Fine Arts Gallery at Florida A&M
University, Goodwood Museum and Gardens, John G. Riley
Center/Museum of African American History & Culture (Riley
Museum), Lake Ella, Lake Henrietta, Lake Jackson, Lake Jackson
Mounds Archaeological State Park, Lake Munson, LeMoyne
Center for the Visual Arts, Mary Brogan Museum of Art and
Science (MOAS), Mission San Luis de Apalachee, Museum of
Fine Arts at Florida State University, Museum of Florida
History, Myers Park, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory,
North Florida Fairgrounds, Railroad Square, Tallahassee
Automobile Museum, Tallahassee Museum, Young Actors
Theatre
Festivals and events: Downtown Getdown, First Friday festivals
at Railroad Square, Greek Food Festival, Red Hills Horse Trials,
Seven Days of Opening Nights, Southern Shakespeare Festival,
Springtime Tallahassee, Tallahassee Film Festival, Tallahassee
Wine and Food Festival, Winter Festival
The South Atlantic States: Georgia
• Nickname: Peach State, Empire State of
the South
• Governor: Sonny Perdue
• Georgia was established in 1732, it was
one of the original seven Confederate
states.
• Area: 59,425 sq mi (153,909 km2)
• Population: 9,829,211 (2009)
• The capital and the largest city is
Atlanta
• Georgia has almost 70 public colleges,
universities, and technical colleges in
addition to over 45 private institutes of
higher learning.
Georgia: Atlanta
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1S6iFuJQRs
Mayor: Kasim Reed
As of 2009 Atlanta had an estimated population of
about 540,922 people. The Atlanta metropolitan area,
with more than 5.4 million people, is the second largest
in the Southeastern United States and the ninth largest
in the country.
Places of interest: Atlanta Symphony Orchestra,
Atlanta Opera, Atlanta Ballet, The Fox Theatre, Art
Institute of Atlanta, the Museum of Contemporary Art
of Georgia, Center for Puppetry Arts, Seven Stages
Theater, The Horizon Theater Company, the Margaret
Mitchell House and Museum, Georgia Aquarium,
Georgia Dome, Georgia World Congress, Center, Grant
Park, National Museum of Patriotism
Festivals and events: Atlanta Dogwood Festival, Screen
on the Green, Atlanta Jazz Festival, Sweet Auburn
SpringFest, Virginia-Highlands Summerfest, Georgia
Renaissance Festival
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eufklmLjoQQ&feature=channel
The South Atlantic States:
Maryland
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Nickname: Old Line State; Free State; Little America;
America in Miniature
Governor: Martin O'Malley
The history of Maryland included only Native Americans
until Europeans, starting with John Cabot in 1498, began
exploring the area. The first settlements came in 1634 when
the English arrived in significant numbers and created a
permanent colony. In 1776, during the American
Revolution, Maryland became a state in the United States.
Area: 12,407 sq mi (32,133 km2)
Population: 5,699,478 (2009 est.)
Capital: Annapolis
The largest city: Baltimore
Universities: Maryland has several historic and renowned
private colleges and universities, the most prominent of
which is Johns Hopkins University, founded in 1876 with a
grant from Baltimore entrepreneur Johns Hopkins. The first
public university in the state is the University of Maryland,
Baltimore was founded in 1807. Baltimore is home to the
Maryland Institute College of Art.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Maryland has the
highest median household income of any state, with a
median income of $70,545.
Maryland: Annapolis
• Mayor: Joshua J. Cohen
• It has a population of 36,524 (July
2008 est.)
• Places of interest: The Maryland State
House, The United States Naval
Academy, Annapolis Summer Garden
Theatre, The Banneker-Douglass
Museum, Hammond-Harwood House,
The Kunta Kinte- Alex Haley memorial
The South Atlantic States: North
Carolina
Nicknames: Tar Heel State; Old North State
Governor: Bev Perdue
Spanish colonial forces made a short-lived permanent settlement in 1567,
which was soon wiped out by the natives. North Carolina became one of
the English Thirteen Colonies, and was originally known as Province of
Carolina. Originally settled by small farmers, sometimes having a few
slaves, who were oriented toward subsistence agriculture, the colony
lacked cities or even towns.
Area: 53,819 sq mi (139,581 km2)
Population: 9,380,884 (2009 est.)
Capital: Raleigh
The largest city: Charlotte
Universities: In 1795, North Carolina opened the first public university in
the United States—the University of North Carolina. More than 200 years
later, the University of North Carolina system encompasses 17 public
universities including UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University,
East Carolina University, Western Carolina University, UNC Asheville,
UNC Charlotte, UNC Greensboro, UNC Pembroke, UNC Wilmington, UNC
School of the Arts, and Appalachian State University. The system also
supports several well-known historically African-American colleges and
universities such as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina
Central University, Winston-Salem State University, Elizabeth City State
University, and Fayetteville State University. Along with its public
universities, North Carolina has 58 public community colleges in its
community college system.
North Carolina: Raleigh
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Mayor: Charles Meeker
Population: 405,791 (2009)
Places of interest: there are a lot of historical buildings
such as the Sir Walter Raleigh Hotel built in the early
20th century, the restored City Market, the Fayetteville
Street downtown business district, the Cameron Village
midtown business district, as well as the North Carolina
Museum of History, North Carolina Museum of Natural
Sciences, North Carolina State Capitol, Peace College, the
Raleigh City Museum, Raleigh Convention Center, RBC
Plaza, Shaw University, and St. Augustine's College.
Famous museums: African American Cultural Complex,
Contemporary Art Museum, Gregg Museum of Art &
Design at NCSU, Haywood Hall House & Gardens, North
Carolina Museum of Art, North Carolina Museum of
Natural Sciences, North Carolina Museum of History,
North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, Raleigh City
Museum, Marbles Kids Museum, J. C. Raulston
Arboretum, Joel Lane House, Mordecai House, Montfort
Hall, Pope House Museum
The South Atlantic States: South
Carolina
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Nicknames: The Palmetto State
Governor: Mark Sanford
The proprietary colony of Carolina was first settled at Charles
Town (modern day Charleston) in 1670, mostly by immigrants from
the British colony of Barbados in the Caribbean. There was
discontent with the Lords Proprietors from the earliest years of the
colony. Colonists overthrew the proprietors after the Yamasee War
of 1715-1717. In 1719 the colony was officially made a crown
colony, although the Lords Proprietors held their rights until 1729.
South Carolina declared independence from Great Britain and set
up its own government on March 15, 1776. It joined the United
States by signing the Declaration of Independence.
Area: 32,020 sq mi (82,931. km2)
Population: 4,561,242 (2009 est.)
Capital and the largest city is Columbia
Universities: South Carolina hosts a diverse cohort of institutions
of higher education, from large state-funded research universities to
small colleges that cultivate a liberal arts, religious or military
tradition. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, the College of
Charleston is the oldest institution of higher learning in South
Carolina, the 13th oldest in the United States.
South Carolina: Columbia
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Mayor: Steve Benjamin
Population: 129,333 (2009)
Places of interest: Town Theatre, Trustus Theatre, The
Nickelodeon Theatre, Columbia Marionette
Theatre,Workshop Theatre of South Carolina, The
Imperfect Theater Company, The South Carolina State
Museum, The Columbia Museum of Art, EdVenture,
McKissick Museum, The Confederate Relic Room and
Military Museum, The Richland County Public Library, The
South Carolina State Library, The South Carolina
Philharmonic Orchestra, The Columbia City Jazz Dance
Company, Finlay Park, Memorial Park, Granby Park,
Martin Luther King Jr. Park, Riverbanks Zoo & Garden,
Congaree National Park, Sesquicentennial State Park,
Riverfront Park
Festivals and events: The South Carolina State Fair, St.
Patrick’s Day Festival, Riverfest Celebration, Earth Day at
Finlay Park, South Carolina Gay & Lesbian Pride, Artista
Vista, Viva La Vista, The Greek Festival, The Irmo Okra Strut,
Main Street Jazz, Vista Lights, Urban Tour, Southeastern
Piano Festival, Finlay Park Summer Concert Series
The South Atlantic States: Virginia
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Nicknsmes: Old Dominion; Mother of Presidents
Governor: Bob McDonnell
The History of Virginia began with settlement of the geographic region now
known as the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States thousands of
years ago by Native Americans. Permanent European settlement began
with the establishment of Jamestown in 1607, by English colonists. As
tobacco emerged as a profitable export, Virginia imported more African
laborers to cultivate it. Virginia leaders had a major role in the road to
winning independence, with Thomas Jefferson's writing the Declaration of
Independence and George Washington's commanding the American army.
In 1861, Virginia was a slave state but refused to join the cotton states in
the new Confederacy until Lincoln called for troops to "repossess federal
property" in seceding states, which did not include Virginia.
Area: 42,774.2 sq mi (110,785.67 km2)
Population: 8,001,024
Capital is Richmond and the largest city is Virginia Beach
Universities: Virginia's educational system consistently ranks in the top ten
states on the U.S. Department of Education's National Assessment of
Educational Progress, with Virginia students outperforming the average in
all subject areas and grade levels tested. As of 2010, there are 167
colleges and universities in Virginia. The most famous are: the University of
Virginia, The College of William & Mary, James Madison University,
Virginia Commonwealth University, The Virginia Military Institute, George
Mason University
Virginia: Richmond
Mayor:
Dwight Clinton Jones
Population: 204,451
Places of interest: the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts,
The Science Museum of Virginia, The Museum of the
Confederacy, the American Civil War Center at
Historic Tredegar, St. John's Church, the Virginia
Holocaust Museum, Barksdale Theatre, # Richmond
Symphony, Virginia Opera, Classic Amphitheatre at
Strawberry Hill. Richmond is home to many
significant structures, including some designed by
notable architects. The city contains diverse styles,
including Greek Revival, Roman Revival,
Romanesque, Georgian, Gothic, Tudor, Egyptian
Revival, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Modernist,
International, and Postmodern buildings. The city
operates one of the oldest municipal park systems in
the country (Monroe Park, Joseph Bryan Park Azalea
Garden, Forest Hill Park, Lewis Ginter Botanical
Garden)
The South Atlantic States: West
Virginia
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Nickname: Mountain State
Governor: Earl Ray Tomblin
West Virginia is one of only two American states formed
during the American Civil War (1861–1865), along with
Nevada, and is the only state to form by seceding from a
Confederate state. It was originally part of the British
Virginia Colony (1607–1776) and the western part of the
state of Virginia (1776–1863), whose population became
sharply divided over the issue of secession from the Union
and in the separation from Virginia, formalized by
admittance to the Union as a new state in 1863. West Virginia
was one of the Civil War Border states.
Area: 24,230 sq mi (62,755 km2)
Population: 1,819,777 (2009 est.)
Capital and the largest city is Charleston
Universities: Alderson–Broaddus College, Appalachian
Bible College, Bethany College, Bluefield State College,
Blue Ridge Community and Technical College, Bridgemont
Community and Technical College, Concord University, Davis
and Elkins College, Eastern West Virginia Community and
Technical College, Marshall University, Mountain State
University, Mountwest Community and Technical College,
New River Community and Technical College, Shepherd
University, University of Charleston, West Virginia University
West Virginia: Charleston
• Mayor: Danny Jones
• Population: 50,267 (2009)
• Places of interest: Charleston possesses a number of
older buildings which represent a variety of
historical architectural styles. About fifty places in
Charleston are included on the National Register of
Historic Places (Avampato Discovery Museum,
Sunrise Museum, West Virginia State Museum,
South Charleston Museum, St. George Orthodox
Cathedral, founded in 1892; St. Marks United
Methodist Church, The Capitol Theater. There are also
a great amount of parks and outdoor attractions:
Appalachian Power Park, Cato Park, Daniel Boone
Park, Danner Meadow Park, Kanawha State Forest,
Magic Island, Davis Park, Haddad Riverfront Park,
Ruffner Park, Shawnee Park
• Festivals and events: The West Virginia Dance
Festival, Symphony Sunday, West Virginia
International Film Festival, the Daily Mail
Kanawha County Majorette and Band Festival, the
Kanawha Kordsmen Barbershop Chorus, FestivALL,
the Vandalia Gathering
The South Atlantic States:
Delaware
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Nicknames: The First State; The Small Wonder; Blue Hen
State; The Diamond State
Governor: Jack A. Markell
The history of Delaware is the story of a small American
state, in the middle of the original colonies, and yet until
recently often overlooked by outsiders. Still, because of its
geographic location and settlement pattern, its population
has often been evenly divided on key issues in American
history, so that it has seemed to represent the United States in
miniature. Delaware is made up of three counties established
since 1680, before the time of William Penn. Each had its own
settlement history. Their early inhabitants tended to identify
more closely with the county than the colony or state. Large
parts of southern and western Delaware were thought to have
been in Maryland until 1767. All of the state has existed in
the wide economic and political circle of Philadelphia.
Area: 2,490 sq mi (6,452 km2)
Population: 885,122 (2009 est.)
The capital is Dover and the largest city is Wilmington
Universities: Delaware College of Art and Design, Delaware
State University, Delaware Technical & Community College,
Drexel University at Wilmington, Goldey-Beacom College,
University of Delaware, Wesley College, Widener University
School of Law, Wilmington University
Delaware: Dover
Mayor: Carleton Carey
Population: 35,811 (2008 Estimate)
Places of interest: the Schwartz Center
for the Arts, The Delaware State Library,
Delaware State Museum, and the
Delaware State Archives, the Sewell C.
Biggs Museum of American Art
The East South Central States:
Alabama
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Nicknames: Yellowhammer State; Heart of Dixie; Cotton State
Governor: Robert R. Riley
Alabama became a state of the United States of America on
December 14, 1819. After the Indian wars and removals of the
early 19th century forced most Native Americans out of the state,
white settlers arrived in large numbers. Wealthy planters created
large cotton plantations based in the fertile central Black Belt,
which depended on the labor of enslaved African Americans. Tens
of thousands of slaves were transported to and sold in the state
by slave traders who purchased them in the Upper South.
Elsewhere in Alabama, poorer whites practiced subsistence
farming. By 1860 African Americans comprised 45% of the state's
population of 964,201
Area:
52,419 sq mi (135,765 km2)
Population: 4,661,900 (2008 est.)
The capital is Montgomery and the largest city is Birmingham
Universities: Alabama's programs of higher education include 14
four-year public universities, two-year community colleges, and
17 private, undergraduate and graduate universities. The most
popular universities are: University of Alabama at Birmingham,
University of South Alabama, (University of Alabama at
Birmingham, University of Alabama School of Law, Birmingham
School of Law, Cumberland School of Law
Alabama: Montgomery
Mayor: Todd Strange
Population: 224,119
Places of interest: Wynton M. Blount
Cultural Park, the Montgomery
Museum of Fine Arts, The Hank
Williams Museum, Montgomery Zoo,
the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's
Carolyn Blount Theatre, Alabama
Dance Theatre, the F. Scott and Zelda
Fitzgerald Museum
The East South Central States:
Kentucky
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Nickname: Bluegrass State
Governor: Steve Beshear
Although inhabited by Native Americans from at least
1000 BCE to about 1650 CE, when European and colonial
explorers and settlers began entering Kentucky in greater
number in the mid-18th century, there were no major Native
American settlements in the region. After the American
Revolution, the counties of Virginia beyond the
Appalachian Mountains became known as Kentucky
County. On June 1, 1792, Kentucky became the fifteenth
state to be admitted to the union. Kentucky was a border
state during the American Civil War.
Area: 40,409 sq mi (104,659 km2)
Population: 4,314,113 (2009 est.)
The capital is Frankfort and the largest city is Louisville.
Universities: Kentucky maintains eight public four-year
universities. There are two general tiers: major research
institutions (the University of Kentucky and the University
of Louisville) and regional universities, which
encompasses the remaining 6 schools.
Kentucky: Frankfort
Mayor: Gippy Graham
Population: 27,741
Places of interest: Kentucky's Capitol
building, Kentucky Governor's Mansion,
A floral clock near the Capitol
building, Church of the Ascension
Episcopal Church, Good Shepherd
Roman Catholic Church
The East South Central States:
Mississippi
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Nicknames: The Magnolia State; The Hospitality State
Governor: Haley Barbour
The State of Mississippi's history goes back beyond American
statehood to Ancient Native American times. The first major
European expedition into the territory that became Mississippi
was that of Hernando de Soto, who passed through in 1540. The
French, in April 1699, established the first European settlement.
Through the next decades, the area was ruled by Spanish,
British and French colonial governments. After the American
Revolution, this area became part of the new United States of
America. The Mississippi Territory was organized on April 7,
1798, from territory ceded by Georgia and South Carolina.
Area: 48,430 sq mi (125,443 km2)
Population: 2,938,618 (2008 est.)
The capital and the largest city is Jackson
Universities: Until the Civil War era, Mississippi had a small
number of schools and no educational institutions for black
people. The first school for black people was established in
1862. During Reconstruction in 1870, black and white
Republicans were the first to establish a system of public
education in the state. Now the most popular universities are:
Alcorn State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi
State University, The University of Southern Mississippi
Mississippi: Jackson
Mayor: Harvey Johnson, Jr.
Population: 175,021
Places of interest: Jackson Zoo,
Mississippi Museum of Art, Mississippi
Opera, Mississippi Symphony Orchestra,
Municipal Art Gallery, Mynelle Gardens,
New Stage Theatre, Russell C. Davis
Planetarium
The East South Central States:
Tennessee
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Nickname: The Volunteer State
Governor: Phil Bredesen
The first recorded European excursions into what is now called
Tennessee were three expeditions led by Spanish explorers,
namely Hernando de Soto in 1540, Tristan de Luna in 1559, and
Juan Pardo in 1567. Pardo recorded the name "Tanasqui" from a
local Indian village, which may have evolved to the state's
current name. The first British settlement in what is now Tennessee
was Fort Loudoun, near present-day Vonore. Tennessee was
admitted to the Union in 1796 as the 16th state. It was the first
state created from territory under the jurisdiction of the United
States federal government.
Area: 42,143 sq mi (109,247 km2)
Population: 6,214,888 (2008 est.)
The capital is Nashville and the largest city is Memphis
University: American Baptist College, The Art Institute of
Tennessee- Nashville, East Tennessee State University, Lincoln
Memorial University, Lipscomb University, Martin Methodist
College, Memphis College of Art, Middle Tennessee State
University, Milligan College, Motlow State Community
College, Nashville School of Law, Union University, University of
Memphis
Tennessee: Nashville
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Mayor:
Karl Dean
Population: 635,710
Places of interest: Warner Parks, the
Vanderbilt Sailing Club, Fort
Nashborough, The Tennessee Performing
Arts Center, the Schermerhorn
Symphony Center, Country Music Hall
of Fame and Museum, Belcourt Theatre,
Frist Center for the Visual Arts,
Cheekwood Botanical Garden and
Museum of Art
Festivals and events: the CMA Music
Festival, Nashville Film Festival,
Country Music Marathon, Tomato Art
Festival, African Street Festival, ICE!
and SNOW!
The West South Central States:
Arkansas
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Nickname: The Natural State (current), The Land of
Opportunity (former)
Governor: Mike Beebe
The first European to reach Arkansas was the Spanish
explorer Hernando de Soto, a veteran of Pizarro's
conquest of Peru who died near Lake Village on the
Mississippi River in 1542 after almost a year traversing
the southern part of the state in search of gold and a
passage to China. Arkansas is one of several U.S. states
formed from the territory purchased from Napoleon
Bonaparte in the Louisiana Purchase. The Territory of
Arkansas was organized on July 4, 1819. On June 15, 1836,
the State of Arkansas was admitted to the Union as the
25th state and the 13th slave state. Arkansas refused to
join the Confederate States of America until after United
States President Abraham Lincoln called for troops to
respond to the Confederate attack upon Fort Sumter,
South Carolina. The State of Arkansas declared its
secession from the Union on May 6, 1861. While not often
cited in historical accounts, the state was the scene of
numerous small-scale battles during the American Civil
War.
Area: 53,179 sq mi (137,002 km2)
Population: 2,855,390 (2008 est.)
The capital and the largest city is Little Rock
Universities: Arkansas State University, Arkansas Tech
University, Henderson State University, John Brown
University, Southern Arkansas University
Arkansas: Little Rock
• Mayor: Mark Stodola
• Population: 685,488
• Places of interest: The Arkansas
Arts Center, The Arkansas
Museum of Discovery, The Old
State House Museum, Aerospace
Education Center, Arkansas
Repertory Theatre, Robinson
Center Music Hall, Wildwood
Park for the Arts, Pinnacle
Mountain State Park
The West South Central States:
Louisiana
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Nickname: Bayou State, Child of the Mississippi,
Creole State, Pelican State (official), Sportsman's
Paradise, Sugar State
Governor: Bobby Jindal
The first European explorers to visit Louisiana came
in 1528 when a Spanish expedition led by Panfilo de
Narváez located the mouth of the Mississippi River.
In 1682, the French explorer Robert Cavelier de La
Salle named the region Louisiana to honor France's
King Louis XIV. The first permanent settlement, Fort
Maurepas (at what is now Ocean Springs,
Mississippi, near Biloxi), was founded by Pierre Le
Moyne d'Iberville, a French military officer from
Canada, in 1699.
Area: 51,843 sq mi (135,382 km2)
Population: 4,533,372 (2010 est.)
The capital is Baton Rouge and the largest city is
New Orleans
Universities: Louisiana State University, Southern
University, Louisiana Technical College (40
campuses), Elaine P. Nunez Community College,
River Parishes Community College
Louisiana: Baton Rouge
• Mayor: Melvin "Kip" Holden
• Population: 229,553 (2007)
• Places of interest: Shaw Center for
the Arts, Baton Rouge Gallery,
Baton Rouge River Center, Baton
Rouge Symphony Orchestra, Baton
Rouge Zoo
• Festivals and events: Mardi Gras,
Festival of Lights, Greater Baton
Rouge Christmas Parade, Red Stick
International Animation Festival
The West South Central States:
Oklahoma
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Nickname: Sooner State
Governor: C. Brad Henry
Spaniard Francisco Vásquez de Coronado traveled
through the state in 1541, but French explorers claimed
the area in the 1700s and it remained under French
rule until 1803, when all the French territory west of
the Mississippi River was purchased by the United
States in the Louisiana Purchase. During the 19th
century, thousands of Native Americans were expelled
from their ancestral homelands from across North
America and transported to the area including and
surrounding present-day Oklahoma.
Area: 69,898 sq mi (181,195 km2)
Population: 3,751,351 (2010 Census Estimate)
The capital and the largest city is Oklahoma City.
Universities: Cameron University, East Central
University, Langston University, Northeastern State
University, Oklahoma State University, Southwestern
Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma: Oklahoma City
• Mayor: Mick Cornett
• Population: 560,333 (2009 est.)
• Places of interest: Oklahoma
City Museum of Art, Civic Center
Music Hall, Lyric Theatre, Jewel
Box Theatre, Science Museum
Oklahoma, National Cowboy &
Western Heritage Museum, The
American Indian Cultural
Center and Museum, National
Memorial Institute for the
Prevention of Terrorism, Myriad
Botanical Gardens, Oklahoma
City Zoological Park
The West South Central States:
Texas
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Nickname: The Lone Star State
Governor: Rick Perry
The first European base was established in 1682, when
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle established a
French colony, Fort Saint Louis, near Matagorda Bay.
When Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821,
Mexican Texas was part of the new nation. The slaves in
Mexico were primarily held by the Anglo immigrants,
who were thus most affected when the slaves were freed
throughout Mexico in 1830. Angry at the government in
Mexico City, the Texian forces fought and won the Texas
Revolution in 1835–36. Texas now became an independent
nation, the Republic of Texas. Attracted by the rich cotton
lands and ranch lands, tens of thousands of immigrants
arrived from the U.S. (bringing slaves) and from Germany
as well. In 1845, Texas joined the United States, becoming
the 28th state. Determined to protect slavery, Texas
declared its secession from the United States in 1861 to
join the Confederate States of America.
Area: 268,581 sq mi (696,241 km2)
Population: 25,145,561 (2010 est.)
The capital is Austin and the largest city is Houston
Universities: University of Houston, University of North
Texas, Texas A&M University, Baylor University,
University of Mary Hardin–Baylor, and Southwestern
University, Texas Christian University
Texas: Austin
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Mayor: Lee Leffingwell
Population: 786,386 (2009 est.)
Places of interest: Zachary Scott
Theatre Center, Vortex Repertory
Company, Salvage Vanguard
Theater, Rude Mechanicals,
Scottish Rite Children's Theater,
Hyde Park Theatre, The Paramount
Theatre, Austin Lyric Opera
Festivals and events: Austin Aqua
Festival, Austin City Limits Music
Festival, Austin Film Festival,
Butt-Numb-A-Thon, Carnaval
Brasileiro, Fantastic Fest, Fun Fun
Fun Fest, Old Settler's Music
Festival, South by Southwest
Southern people
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The predominant culture of the South has its origins in the settlement of the region by
British colonists. In the 17th century, most were of Southern English origins, mostly from
regions such as Kent, East Anglia and the West Country who settled mostly on the coast
regions of the South but pushed as far inland as the Appalachian mountains by the 18th
century.
In the 18th century, large groups of Scots lowlanders, Northern English and Ulster-Scots
(later called the Scots-Irish) settled in Appalachia and the Piedmont. They were often
called "crackers" by the upper classes; a name that suggested they were great boasters.
The other primary population group in the South is made that of African American
descendants of the slaves brought into the South. African Americans comprise the United
States' second-largest racial minority, accounting for 12.1 percent of the total population
according to the 2000 census. Despite Jim Crow era outflow to the North, the majority of
the black population has remained concentrated in the southern states, and blacks have
been returning to the South in large numbers since the end of formal segregation. African
Americans in the South have transmitted their foods, music , art, and charismatic brand of
Christianity to white Southerners, and the rest of the nation.
Religion
Southern dialect
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The Southern dialects make up
the largest accent group in the
United States.
Few generalizations can be
made about Southern
pronunciation as there is great
variation between the regions
of the South, between older
and younger people, and
between people of different
ethnic backgrounds.
Cuisine
As an important feature of Southern culture, the
cuisine of the South is often described as one of its
most distinctive traits. Popular sayings include "Food
is Love" and "If it ain't fried it ain't cooked". Southern
culinary culture has readily adopted Native American
influences. Corn meal mush, cornfritters, hominy,
cornbread and brunswick stew are a few of the more
common examples of foods adopted directly from
southeastern Indians. Nevertheless, a great many
regional varieties have also developed.
Traditional African American Southern food is often
called soul food. While not being spicy as is cajun
food, it does tend to use lots of herbs, flour, and can
also be called stick-to your ribs food. Of course, most
Southern cities and even some smaller towns now
offer a wide variety of cuisines of other origins such as
Chinese, Italian, French, Middle Eastern, as well as
restaurants still serving primarily Southern
specialties, so-called "home cooking" establishments.
Some notable "home cooking" meals include: fried
chicken, corn on the cob, pot liquor, vegetable stew,
chicken and dumplings, and chicken fried steak.
Literature: Early and
Antebellum Literature
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During the 17th and 18th centuries, English colonists in the Southern part of the American colonies produced a
number of notable works (Captain John Smith's account of the founding of Jamestown in the 1610s and 1620s,
and William Byrd II's secret plantation diary, kept in the early 18th century).
After American independence, in the early 19th century, the expansion of cotton planting and slavery began to
distinguish Southern society and culture more clearly from the rest of the young republic. The lawyer and
essayist Hugh Swinton Legare, the poets Paul Hamilton Hayne and Henry Timrod, and the novelist William
Gilmore Simms composed some of the most important works in antebellum Southern literature.
In the Chesapeake region antebellum authors of enduring interest include John Pendleton Kennedy, whose
novel Swallow Barn offered a colorful sketch of Virginia plantation life; and Nathaniel Beverley Tucker, whose
1836 work The Partisan Leader foretold the secession of the Southern states, and imagined a guerrilla war in
Virginia between federal and secessionist armies.
Not all noteworthy Southern authors during this period were white. Frederick Douglass's Narrative is perhaps
the most famous first-person account of black slavery in the antebellum South. Harriet Jacobs, meanwhile,
recounted her experiences in bondage in North Carolina in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. And another
Southern-born ex-slave, William Wells Brown, wrote Clotel; or, The President's Daughter -- widely believed to be
the first novel ever published by an African-American. The book depicts the life of its title character, a daughter
of Thomas Jefferson and his black mistress, and struggle against slavery.
Literature: The "Lost Cause"
years
• In the second half of the 19th century, the South lost the Civil War and suffered
through what many white southerners considered a harsh occupation (called
Reconstruction). In place of the Anti-Tom literature came poetry and novels about the
"Lost Cause of the Confederacy." These writers idealized the defeated South and its
lost culture. Prominent writers with this point of view included poets Henry Timrod,
Daniel B. Lucas, Abram Joseph Ryan, and Sidney Lanier and fiction writer Thomas
Nelson Page.
• In 1884, Mark Twain published what is arguably the most influential southern novel
of the 19th century, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
• Kate Chopin was another central figure in post-Civil War Southern literature. Focusing
her writing largely on the Acadian/Cajun communities of Louisiana, Chopin
established her literary reputation with the short story collections Bayou Folk (1894),
A Night in Acadie (1897) and The Awakening (1899)
• During the first half of the 20th Century, the lawyer, politician, minister, orator, actor,
and author Thomas Dixon, Jr. wrote a number of novels, plays, sermons, and nonfiction pieces which were quite popular with the general public all over the USA.
Literature: The Southern
Renaissance
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In the 1920s and 1930s, a renaissance in Southern literature began with the appearance of
writers such as William Faulkner, Katherine Anne Porter, Caroline Gordon, Allen Tate, Thomas
Wolfe, Robert Penn Warren, and Tennessee Williams, among others. Because of the distance the
Southern Renaissance authors had from the American Civil War and slavery, they were more
objective in their writings about the South.
The late 1930s also saw the publication of one of the best-known Southern novels, Gone with
the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. The novel, published in 1936, quickly became a bestseller. It
won the 1937 Pulitzer Prize and in 1939 an equally famous movie of the novel premiered.
From the 1940s onward, Southern literature grew thematically as it embraced the social and
cultural changes in the South resulting from the American Civil Rights Movement ( Zora
Neale Hurston, Sterling Allen Brown, Eudora Welty, Flannery O'Connor, Ellen Glasgow,
Carson McCullers, Katherine Anne Porter, and Shirley Ann Grau). Other well-known Southern
writers of this period include Reynolds Price, James Dickey, William Price Fox, Davis Grubb,
Walker Percy, and William Styron.. One of the most highly praised Southern novels of the 20th
century, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, won the Pulitzer Prize when it was published in
1960. Another famous novel of the 1960s is A Confederacy of Dunces, written by New Orleans
native John Kennedy Toole in the 1960s but not published until 1980. It won the Pulitzer Prize
in 1981 and has since become a cult classic.
Literature: Southern Literature
today
• Today the American South is undergoing a number of cultural and social changes,
including rapid industrialization and an influx of immigrants. Truman Capote, born
and raised in the Deep South, is best known for his novel In Cold Blood, a piece
with none of the characteristics associated with "southern writing." Other southern
writers, such as popular author John Grisham, rarely write about traditional
southern literary issues. John Berendt, who wrote the popular Midnight in the
Garden of Good and Evil, is not a Southerner.
• Among today's prominent southern writers are Tim Gautreaux, William Gay, Padgett
Powell, Pat Conroy, Fannie Flagg, Randall Kenan, Ernest Gaines, John Grisham,
Mary Hood, Lee Smith, Tom Robbins, Tom Wolfe, Wendell Berry, Cormac McCarthy,
Ron Rash, Anne Rice, Edward P. Jones, Barbara Kingsolver, Margaret Maron,, R.B.
Morris, Anne Tyler, Larry Brown, Allan Gurganus, Clyde Edgerton, Daniel Wallace,
Kaye Gibbons, Nicholas Sparks, Winston Groom, Lewis Nordan, Richard Ford, Ferrol
Sams, and Olympia Vernon.
Southern Music
• The musical heritage of the South was developed by both whites and blacks, both
influencing each other directly and indirectly.
• The South's musical history actually starts before the Civil War, with the songs of
the African slaves and the traditional folk music brought from England and
Northern Ireland. Blues was developed in the rural South by African Americans at
the beginning of the 20th century. In addition, gospel music, spirituals, country
music, rhythm and blues, soul music, funk, rock and roll, beach music, bluegrass,
jazz (including ragtime, popularized by Southerner Scott Joplin), zydeco, and
Appalachian folk music were either born in the South or developed in the region.
• Famous singers: Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Bo Diddley, Elvis
Presley, Ray Charles, James Brown, Otis Redding, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis,
Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings Johnny Cash.
• Famous bands: Deicide, Morbid Angel, Six Feet Under, Cannibal Corpse, Pantera,
Hellyeah, Lamb of God, and Mastodon.
Sports
• The South has had a number of Super Bowl winning National Football League teams
(such as the Dallas Cowboys, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Miami Dolphins, and
the New Orleans Saints).
• The region is noted for the intensity with which people follow high school and
college football teams, especially the Southeastern Conference and in Texas where
high school football, especially in smaller communities, is a dominating activity.
• Baseball became popular in the South, with spring training in Florida from the 1920s,
and Major League Baseball teams like the Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins
being recent World Series victors.
• The South is also the birthplace of NASCAR auto racing.
• Other popular sports in the South include golf, fishing, soccer and the hunting of
wild game such as deer, birds, and raccoons.
Films
These films could show us the background of the South:
• Gone with the Wind (1939)
• Song of the South (1946)
• All the King's Men (1949)
• A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
• The Miracle Worker (1962)
• To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
• Deliverance (1972)
• The Color Purple (1985)
• Mississippi Burning (1988)
• Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
• Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
• Forrest Gump (1994)
• Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)
• O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
• Big Fish (2003)
• The Notebook (2004)
• Ray (2004)
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Southern Art
The region has been the home of many artists. Outstanding
collections of Southern art can be found at the Ogden
Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans and the Morris
Museum of Southern Art in Augusta. Southern
expressionism and folk art are types of art generally
considered to be part of Southern art. The Southern Arts
Federation maintains a registry of contemporary Southern
artists (including visual artists, performing artists, media
artists and writers) who have been recognized by their state
arts councils based on the outstanding quality of their
work.
Some famous folk artists from the American South include
Howard Finster and Chris Flesher.
Mona Lisa (Howard
Finster)
Southern Stereotypes
1. Backwards, racist (if white) and clinging to the confederacy.
2. Very ignorant farmer-types, backwoods rednecks and hillbillies, behind in times and quite
inbred.
3. Like chili and country music.
4. Made fun of for their "Southern Drawls", mostly for the use of "ya'll" and "ain't".
5. Die-hard Protestants, represent the Bible Belt.
6. Bad tippers. They are usually really friendly and compliment wait staff on their great service
but leave a ten percent tip. In Midwest, for example, you leave 20 percent if you are satisfied.
7. More courteous and great at holding the door for a lady than northerners.
8. Famous for their "Southern hospitality".
9. Eat “hot dishes”, that is anything with carbs (noodles, rice, or potatoes), meat and cheese, made
in one pan and baked. Usually there is enough to feed an army, and usually it's something
unhealthy. Here food is always plentiful at funerals, births, weddings, etc., and if someone is sick,
fifty women show up with chicken spaghetti.
10. Breeding Southerners: Southern women pretty much stay barefoot and pregnant.
11. "Southern belles" get their hair and nails done and wear a full face of make up all the time.
12. Say sweetie and hon to strangers.
Death penalty
Abortion map
Red states and blue states
Same-sex marriage map
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Same-sex marriage
Unions granting rights similar to marriage
Legislation granting limited/enumerated rights
Same-sex marriages performed elsewhere recognized
No specific prohibition or recognition of same-sex marriages
or unions
Statute bans same-sex marriage
Constitution bans same-sex marriage
Constitution bans same-sex marriage and some or all other
kinds of same-sex unions
The federal government of the
United States does not recognize
the marriages of same-sex couples
and is prohibited from doing so by
the Defense of Marriage Act.
Nationwide, same-sex marriage is
legal in three states as a result of
a court ruling and in two others
plus a district through a vote in
their respective legislatures.
Five state governments offer samesex marriage: Massachusetts,
Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, and
New Hampshire.
Gun control
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An Unrestricted jurisdiction is one in which no permit is
required to carry a concealed handgun. Among U.S.
states, only Alaska, Vermont, and Arizona allow
residents to carry a concealed firearm without a permit.
A Shall-Issue jurisdiction is one that requires a permit
to carry a concealed handgun, but where the granting of
such permits is subject only to meeting certain criteria
laid out in the law. Typical permit requirements include
residency, minimum age, submitting fingerprints, passing
a computerized instant background check, attending a
certified handgun/firearm safety class, and paying a
required fee.
A May-Issue jurisdiction is one that requires a permit to
carry a concealed handgun, and where the granting of
such permits is partially at the discretion of local
authorities (frequently the sheriff's department or
police). The law typically states that a granting
authority may issue a permit if various criteria are met.
A No-Issue jurisdiction is one that does not allow any
private citizen to carry a concealed handgun. The term
refers to the fact that no concealed carry permits will be
issued (or recognized).Illinois, Wisconsin, and the
District of Columbia are No-Issue jurisdictions. While
technically May-Issue under state law, Hawaii is also
a No-Issue jurisdiction in practice.