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

• 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 non-Anglican 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 MarksPopulation: 172,574Places 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 TheatreFestivals 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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1S6iFuJQRs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eufklmLjoQQ&feature=channel

• 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

The South Atlantic States: Maryland

• 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 StateGovernor: Bev PerdueSpanish 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: RaleighThe largest city: CharlotteUniversities: 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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 JonesPopulation: 204,451Places 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

• 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

• 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 CareyPopulation: 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

• 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 StrangePopulation: 224,119Places 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

• 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 GrahamPopulation: 27,741Places 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

• 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: 175,021Places 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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 non-fiction pieces which were quite popular with the general public all over the USA.

Literature: The Southern Renaissance

• 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

Mona Lisa (Howard Finster)

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.

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

• 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 same-sex marriage: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, and New Hampshire.

Gun control

• 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.