The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, Down South, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States. Because of the region's unique cultural and historic heritage, including Native Americans, early European settlements of English, Ulster Scots,. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South The terms Upper South and Upland South refer to the northern part of the Southern United States, in contrast to the Lower South or Deep South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War Union blockade – Eastern – Western – Lower Seaboard – Trans-Mississippi – Pacific Coast period. The Deep South was also commonly referred to as the Lower South or the "Cotton States".^[1][2]

Today, the Deep South is usually delineated as being those states and areas where things most often thought of as "Southern" exist in their most concentrated form.^[3]

Usage of the term

The term "Deep South" is defined in a variety of ways:

• Most definitions include the states of Alabama From the American Civil War until World War II, Alabama, like many Southern states, suffered economic hardship, in part because of continued dependence on agriculture. Despite the growth of major industries and urban centers, white rural interests dominated the state legislature until the 1960s, while urban interests and African Americans were, Georgia Georgia is bordered on the south by Florida; on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and South Carolina; on the west by Alabama and by Florida in the south; and on the north by Tennessee and North Carolina. The northern part of the state is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a mountain range in the vast Appalachian Mountains system. The central piedmont, Louisiana Some Louisiana urban environments have a multicultural, multilingual heritage, being so strongly influenced by an admixture of 18th century French, Spanish and African cultures that they are considered to be somewhat exceptional in the U.S. Before the American influx and statehood at the beginning of the 19th century, the territory of current, Mississippi Mississippi is bordered on the north by Tennessee, on the east by Alabama, on the south by Louisiana and a narrow coast on the Gulf of Mexico and on the west, across the Mississippi River, by Louisiana and Arkansas, and South Carolina The colony was originally named in honor of King Charles I, as Carolus is Latin for Charles.^[4][5]
• The seven states The Confederate States of America was the government set up from 1861 to 1865 by eleven southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S. The CSA's de facto control over its claimed territory varied during the course of the American Civil War, depending on the success of its military in battle that seceded from the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language before the firing on Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter and the start of the American Civil War Union blockade – Eastern – Western – Lower Seaboard – Trans-Mississippi – Pacific Coast, and originally formed the Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America was the government set up from 1861 to 1865 by eleven southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S. The CSA's de facto control over its claimed territory varied during the course of the American Civil War, depending on the success of its military in battle. In order of secession they are: South Carolina The colony was originally named in honor of King Charles I, as Carolus is Latin for Charles, Mississippi Mississippi is bordered on the north by Tennessee, on the east by Alabama, on the south by Louisiana and a narrow coast on the Gulf of Mexico and on the west, across the Mississippi River, by Louisiana and Arkansas, Florida With an area of 65,758 square miles , it is ranked 22nd in size among the 50 U.S. states. Florida has the most coastline in the Contiguous United States encompassing approximately 1,200 miles. The state has four large urban areas, a number of smaller industrial cities, and many small towns, Alabama From the American Civil War until World War II, Alabama, like many Southern states, suffered economic hardship, in part because of continued dependence on agriculture. Despite the growth of major industries and urban centers, white rural interests dominated the state legislature until the 1960s, while urban interests and African Americans were, Georgia Georgia is bordered on the south by Florida; on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and South Carolina; on the west by Alabama and by Florida in the south; and on the north by Tennessee and North Carolina. The northern part of the state is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a mountain range in the vast Appalachian Mountains system. The central piedmont, Louisiana Some Louisiana urban environments have a multicultural, multilingual heritage, being so strongly influenced by an admixture of 18th century French, Spanish and African cultures that they are considered to be somewhat exceptional in the U.S. Before the American influx and statehood at the beginning of the 19th century, the territory of current, and Texas Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States, while San Antonio is the second largest in the state and seventh largest in the United States. Dallas–Fort Worth and Greater Houston are the fourth and sixth largest United States metropolitan areas, respectively. Other major cities include El Paso and Austin—the. Due to the migration (especially immigration) patterns of the last half-century, large areas of Florida and Texas are often no longer included under the term. However, there are certain parts of these states, such as East Texas According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County southwestward to east central Limestone County and then southeastward to Galveston Bay", though some separate the Gulf Coast area into a separate region, and the Florida Panhandle The Florida Panhandle, also known as West Florida, is the region of the state of Florida which includes most of the northwestern part of the state. It is a narrow strip lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia also on the north, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Its eastern boundary is arbitrarily defined along some chosen, that retain cultural characteristics of the Deep South.^[6]

Politics of the Deep South

For most of the 19th century and 20th century, the Deep South overwhelmingly supported the Democratic Party The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. It is one of the world's oldest political parties and boasts the lengthiest record of continuous operation in the United, viewing the rival Republican Party The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. The party's platform is generally considered right of center as a Northern organization responsible for the American Civil War Union blockade – Eastern – Western – Lower Seaboard – Trans-Mississippi – Pacific Coast, which devastated the economy of the Old South. However, since the 1964 presidential election The United States presidential election of 1964 was the sixth-most lopsided presidential election in the history of the United States behind the elections of 1936, 1984, 1972, 1864, and 1980 . President Lyndon B. Johnson had come to office less than a year earlier following the assassination of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy, and Johnson had^[7] along with the Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. It was accompanied by much civil unrest and popular rebellion. The process was long and tenuous in many countries, and most of these movements did not achieve or fully achieve their objectives. In its later years,, the Deep South has tended to vote Republican in presidential elections, except in the 1976 election The United States presidential election of 1976 followed the resignation of President Richard Nixon in the wake of the Watergate scandal. It pitted incumbent President Gerald Ford, the Republican candidate, against the relatively unknown former governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter, the Democratic candidate. Ford was saddled with a slow economy and when Georgia native Jimmy Carter James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office. Before he became President, Carter served two terms as a Georgia State Senator and one as Governor of Georgia, received the Democratic nomination. Since the 1990s there has been a continued shift toward Republican candidates in most political venues; another Georgian, Republican Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is an American politician who served as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. In 1995, Time magazine selected him as the Person of the Year for his role in leading the Republican Revolution in the House, ending 40 years of the Democratic Party being in the majority, was elected Speaker of the House The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article 1, Section 2 of the United States Constitution, which states in part, "The House of Representatives shall chuse [sic] their Speaker and other in 1995. Presidential elections in which the region diverged noticeably from the Upper South occurred in 1928 The United States presidential election of 1928 pitted Republican Herbert Hoover against Democrat Al Smith. The Republicans were identified with the booming economy of the 1920s, whereas Smith, a Roman Catholic, suffered politically from anti-Catholic prejudice, his anti-prohibitionist stance, and the legacy of corruption of Tammany Hall with, 1948 The United States presidential election of 1948 is considered by most historians as the greatest election upset in American history. Virtually every prediction indicated that incumbent President Harry S. Truman would be defeated by Republican Thomas E. Dewey. Truman won, overcoming a three-way split in his own party. Truman's surprise victory was, 1964 The United States presidential election of 1964 was the sixth-most lopsided presidential election in the history of the United States behind the elections of 1936, 1984, 1972, 1864, and 1980 . President Lyndon B. Johnson had come to office less than a year earlier following the assassination of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy, and Johnson had, 1968 The United States presidential election of 1968 was the 46th quadrennial United States presidential election. It was a wrenching national experience, conducted against a backdrop that included the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. and subsequent race riots across the nation, the assassination of presidential candidate, and, to a lesser extent, in 1952 The United States presidential election of 1952 took place in an era when Cold War tension between the United States and the Soviet Union was escalating rapidly. In the United States Senate, Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin had become a national figure after chairing congressional investigations into the issue of Communist spies, 1956 The United States presidential election of 1956 saw a popular Dwight D. Eisenhower successfully run for re-election. The 1956 election was a rematch of 1952, as Eisenhower's opponent in 1956 was Democrat Adlai Stevenson, whom Eisenhower had defeated four years earlier and 2008 The 56th quadrennial United States presidential election was held on November 4, 2008. Outgoing Republican President George W. Bush's policies and actions and the American public's desire for change were key issues throughout the campaign. During the presidential election campaign, the major-party candidates ran on a platform of change and reform. Arkansan Mike Huckabee Michael Dale "Mike" Huckabee served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas and currently hosts the Fox News Channel talk show Huckabee. He was a candidate for president in 2008, finishing second in delegate count and third in popular vote and number of states won (behind John S. McCain and Mitt Romney), in the 2008 United States Republican did well in the Deep South in 2008 Republican primaries, losing only one state (South Carolina) while running (he had dropped out of the race before the primary in Mississippi). He struggled, though, outside the South, winning just 12.9 percent of the delegate count.

Cultural variations

Although originally considered Deep or Lower South, the states of Florida and Texas—as a whole—are sometimes not classified with this sub-region today. While areas of both (notably East Texas and the Florida panhandle) still retain many characteristics of the Deep South, heavy migration from outside the South as well as other historical circumstances have had the effect of diluting its overall cultural influence elsewhere within these states.

In the case of Florida, some 15% of Florida's population are retired people from all over the country. This is especially apparent in coastal South Florida. Many families (especially from the Northeast) move to Florida, and have become well-cemented into the area. In many parts of the state, this creates a cultural atmosphere very distinct from the rest of the Deep South. The culture is even further influenced by the huge Hispanic presence (20.1% of the population is Hispanic with 15.94% as White Hispanic). While most Deep South states have some semblance of a Hispanic population, they are nowhere near Texas' or Florida's in size.^{[citation needed]} This diversity occurs mainly in South Florida and Central Florida. However those native to Florida (sometimes referred to as a Florida Cracker Florida Cracker refers to original colonial era American pioneer settlers of the state of Florida, and their descendants. The first Florida Crackers arrived in 1763 when Spain traded Florida to Great Britain. The British divided the territory into East Florida and West Florida, and began to aggressively recruit settlers to the area, offering free), in many parts of the state, such as the Florida Panhandle The Florida Panhandle, also known as West Florida, is the region of the state of Florida which includes most of the northwestern part of the state. It is a narrow strip lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia also on the north, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Its eastern boundary is arbitrarily defined along some chosen, North Central Florida North Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. It comprises the north-central part of the state and encompasses Alachua, Bradford, Columbia, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Marion, Putnam, Suwannee and Union counties. The region's principal cities include Gainesville, Ocala, Lake City, Live Oak, and Palatka. The City of, the Florida Heartland The Florida Heartland is a region of Florida located to the north and west of Lake Okeechobee, composed of six inland, non-metropolitan counties — DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, and Okeechobee. In 2000, The US Census Bureau recorded the population of the region at 229,509. A 2005 US Census Bureau estimate places the region's, and parts of rural Florida, do maintain the Deep South culture.

In addition to migration from non-Southern states and an ever growing Hispanic population in recent decades, the settlement history of Texas after the Civil War was also a major factor in its becoming separated from the generally regarded Deep South. The western half of the state was a frontier after the conflict, and although the vast majority of new settlers were displaced Southerners looking to get a new start and Southern culture very much dominated, the resulting cattle boom and cowboy era gave rise to a way of life for many which was in stark contrast to that of the ante-bellum Deep South. Too, the physical environment (plains and prairies) of large parts of Texas differed considerably from that of the forested and cliched "moonlight and magnolias" Lower South. Although cotton remained "king" in Texas, these factors—along with the popularity of Hollywood "western movies The Western is a genre seen in film, television, radio, literature, painting and other visual arts. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in what became the Western United States , but also in Western Canada, Mexico (The Wild Bunch, Vera Cruz), Alaska (The Far Country, North to Alaska) and even"—began to establish Texas as "different" from the other states of the Deep South.

See also

• Black Belt (U.S. region) The Black Belt is a region of the southeastern 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 African Americans. Communities in the Black Belt commonly face
• Dixie According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the origins of this nickname remain obscure. According to A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles , by Mitford M. Mathews, three theories most commonly attempt to explain the term:
• Old South Geographically, Old South is a subregion of the American South, differentiated from the "Deep South" as being the Southern States represented in the original thirteen American colonies, as well as a way of describing the former lifestyle in the Southern United States. Culturally, the term can be used to describe the antebellum period
• Border states (Civil War) In the context of the American Civil War, the term border states refers to the five slave states of Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and West Virginia, which bordered a free state and were aligned with the Union. All but Delaware share borders with states that joined the Confederacy. In Kentucky and Missouri, there were both pro-Confederate
• Solid South Solid South refers to the electoral support of the Southern United States for the Democratic Party candidates for nearly a century from 1877, the end of the Reconstruction, to 1964, during the middle of the Civil Rights era
• Bible Belt 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

References

1. ^ Fryer, Darcy. "The Origins of the Lower South". lehigh.edu. Lehigh University. http://www.lehigh.edu/~ejg1/sylx/fryer.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
2. ^ Freehling, William (1994). "The Editoral Revolution, Virginia, and the Coming of the Civil War: A Review Essay". The Regeneration of American History. United States: Oxford University Press. pp. 10. ISBN 9780195088083. http://books.google.com/books?id=MOainyyGxhsC&pg=PA10&lpg=PA10&dq=%22cotton+states%22+deep+south&source=bl&ots=AS1XFjRoRe&sig=uitGiCxj165JPnjiShGZl0TPCL0&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result#PPA10,M1. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
3. ^ "1001 Things Everyone Should Know About the South". John Reed and Dale Volberg Reed. Doubleday 1996
4. ^ ""Deep South"". "TheFreeDictionary.com". http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Deep+South. Retrieved 2007-01-18.
5. ^ ""Deep South"". "Synonym.com". http://www.synonym.com/definition/deep%20south/. Retrieved 2007-01-18.
6. ^ "1001 Things Everyone Should Know About the South". John Reed and Dale Volberg Reed. Doubleday 1996
7. ^ For many Southern white voters, Republican Dwight David Eisenhower first broke their voting behavior in the Presidential elections of 1952 and 1956, but with the Goldwater-Johnson election of 1964 a significant contingent of those same voters crossed the Rubicon into more-or-less permanized adherence to the Republican Party. Correspondingly, support for Republicans among Black voters continued eroding as it had started moving toward Democrats in the FDR election of 1936.

Categories: Southern United States

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• South Plains: Encyclopedia
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• Southeast Texas: Encyclopedia
• American Southwest: Encyclopedia

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