Map of the Southern United States modern definition

The culture of the Southern United States, Southern culture, or Southern heritage, is a subculture of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. The combination of its unique history and the fact that many Southerners maintain—and even nurture—an identity separate from the rest of the country has led to it being the most studied and written-about region of the U.S. During the 1600s to mid-1800s, the central role of agriculture and slavery during the colonial period and

antebellum era In the history of the Southern United States, the Antebellum Period (from la, ante bellum, lit= before the war) spanned the end of the War of 1812 to the start of the American Civil War in 1861. The Antebellum South was characterized by the ...

economies made society stratified according to land ownership. This landed gentry made culture in the early Southern United States differ from areas north of the

Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, also called the Mason and Dixon line or Mason's and Dixon's line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia (part of Virgini ...

and west of the

Appalachians The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...

. The

upland Upland or Uplands may refer to: Geography *Hill, an area of higher land, generally *Highland, an area of higher land divided into low and high points *Upland and lowland, conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level *I ...

areas of the South were characterized by yeoman farmers who worked on their small landed property with few or no slaves, while the lower-lying elevations and deep south was a society of more

plantations A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...

worked by African slave labor. Events such as the

First Great Awakening The First Great Awakening (sometimes Great Awakening) or the Evangelical Revival was a series of Christian revivals that swept Britain and its thirteen North American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. The revival movement permanently affecte ...

(1730s–1750s), would strengthen

Protestantism Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

in the South and United States as a whole. Communities would often develop strong attachment to their churches as the primary community institution. From its many cultural influences, the South developed its own unique customs,

dialects The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is ...

, arts,

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to inclu ...

cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to ...

, dance, and

music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...

History

Starting in the early 1600s and lasting to the mid-1800s,

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

played an outsized role in shaping the culture, politics, and economy of the South. This included its agricultural practices, the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

, and ensuing

segregation in the United States In the United States, racial segregation is the systematic separation of facilities and services such as housing, healthcare, education, employment, and transportation on racial grounds. The term is mainly used in reference to the legally or ...

. Southern yeoman farmers, subsistence farmers who owned few or no slaves, comprised a large portion of the population during the colonial period and antebellum years, which settled largely in the back country and uplands. Their way of living and culture would differ sharply than that of the

planter class The planter class, known alternatively in the United States as the Southern aristocracy, was a racial and socioeconomic caste of pan-American society that dominated 17th and 18th century agricultural markets. The Atlantic slave trade permitted ...

. The climate of the region is conducive to growing

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ch ...

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor p ...

, and other crops, and the red clay in many areas was used for the distinctive red-brick architecture of many commercial buildings. The presence and practices of Native Americans, along with the region's landscape also played a role in shaping Southern culture. Events such as the

(1730s–1750s) would help establish the growth of

in the South and United States as a whole. Throughout much of the Southern United States history, the region was heavily

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

. Not until during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

did the region start to see larger scale

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...

of its cities and metropolitan areas. This would lead to social and economic transformation of the South in the years since the 1940s.

People

Anglo Americans

In the time of their arrival, the predominant cultural influence on the Southern states was that of the English colonists who established the original English colonies in the region. In the 17th century, most were of Southern English origins, mostly from regions such as

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

and the

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glouce ...

who settled mostly on the coastal regions of the South but pushed as far inland as the

Appalachian mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...

by the 18th century. In the 18th century, large groups of Scots lowlanders, Northern English and

Ulster-Scots Ulster Scots, may refer to: * Ulster Scots people The Ulster Scots ( Ulster-Scots: ''Ulstèr-Scotch''; ga, Albanaigh Ultach), also called Ulster Scots people (''Ulstèr-Scotch fowk'') or (in North America) Scotch-Irish (''Scotch-Airisch'') ...

(later called the Scots-Irish) settled in

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, ...

and the

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. Following them were larger numbers of English indentured servants from across the

English Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the In ...

and Southern England, they would be the largest group to settle in the Southern Colonies during the colonial period. They were often called " crackers", a derogatory epithet applied to rural, non-elite whites of south Georgia and north Florida.New Georgia Encyclopedia
. Georgiaencyclopedia.org (2002-07-24). Retrieved on 2011-06-18. Before the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolu ...

, the term was applied by the English, as a derogatory epithet for the non-elite settlers of the southern backcountry. This usage can be found in a passage from a letter to the

Earl of Dartmouth Earl of Dartmouth is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1711 for William Legge, 2nd Baron Dartmouth. History The Legge family descended from Edward Legge, Vice-President of Munster. His eldest son William Legge was ...

, "I should explain ... what is meant by Crackers; a name they have got from being great boasters; they are a lawless set of rascals on the frontiers of Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia, who often change their places of abode." Most European Southerners today are of partial or majority English and Scots-Irish ancestry. In previous censuses, over a third of Southern responders identified as being of English or partly English ancestry with 19,618,370 self-identifying as "English" on the 1980 census, followed by 12,709,872 identifying as Irish, 11,054,127 as Afro-American, and 10,742,903 as

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

. It should also be noted that those who did identify themselves of German ancestry were almost exclusively found in the northern border areas of the region which are adjacent to the American

Mid-West The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

. Those from the Tidewater area of Virginia and the

Tidewater region of North Carolina The Tidewater Region is the slim section of land along the coast of North Carolina near the Atlantic ocean. All the beaches of North Carolina are located here. There are also capes, (projections of land into water) on the coast of North Carolina. Li ...

identified themselves almost exclusively as of English origins, while those from the Piedmont areas were a mixture of English, Scotch-Irish,

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

and Irish origins. South Georgia has a large Irish presence, the ancestors of whom were largely at one time

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

; however, many were converted to various

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

sects due to the lack of a missionary presence of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the 18th and 19th centuries. The predominance of Irish surnames in South Georgia has been noted by American historians for some time. Meanwhile, a community of Scottish highlanders settled around what is now Fayetteville in North Carolina. Gaelic was spoken in this region into the nineteenth century. People of many nationalities established communities in the American South. Some examples are the

German American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unit ...

population of the

Edwards Plateau The Edwards Plateau is a geographic region at the crossroads of Central, South, and West Texas. It is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east, the Llano Uplift and the Llano Estacado to the north, and the Pecos River and Chihuah ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, whose ancestors arrived in the region in the 1840s. German cultural influence continues to be felt in cities like

New Braunfels, Texas New Braunfels ( ) is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas known for its German Texan heritage. It is the seat of Comal County. The city covers and had a population of 90,403 as of the 2020 Census. A suburb just nort ...

near Austin and

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

Much of the population of East Texas, Louisiana, coastal Mississippi and Alabama, and Florida traces its primary ancestry to French and/or Spanish colonists of the 18th century. Also important is the French community of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

descendants of enslaved Africans brought into the South. African Americans comprise the United States' second largest racial minority, accounting for 13.6 percent of the total population according to the 2010 census. They accounted for nearly 45% of the Southern population during the Antebellum period through the early 20th century. Despite

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

era outflow to the North and Midwest (see Great Migration), the majority of the black population has remained concentrated in the southern states from Virginia to Texas. Since the end of formal segregation, blacks have been returning to the South in large numbers (see New Great Migration).

Hispanic Americans

A sizable fraction of the Southern population is also made of Hispanic Americans, especially immigrants from Central American countries which border on the US's southernmost states. The Hispanic population of the South has expanded considerably in recent years, both due to natural

population growth Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...

and immigration.

Religion

Part of the South is known as the "

Bible Belt The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States in which socially conservative Protestant Christianity plays a strong role in society and politics, and church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's av ...

", because of the prevalence there of

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exp ...

Protestantism. South Florida has a large

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

element that migrated from New York. Immigrants from Southeast Asia and South Asia have brought Buddhism and Hinduism to the region as well. In the colonial period and early 19th century the

and the

Second Great Awakening The Second Great Awakening was a Protestantism, Protestant religious Christian revival, revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The Second Great Awakening, which spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching, sparke ...

transformed Southern religion. The evangelical religion was spread by religious revivals led by local lay Baptist ministers or itinerant Methodist ministers. They fashioned the nation's "Bible Belt." After the Revolution, the Anglican

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

was disestablished (meaning it no longer received local tax money) and was reorganized as the nationalised Protestant Episcopal Church of the USA. The Revolution turned more people toward

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

and Baptist preachers in the South. The Cane Ridge Revival and subsequent "camp-meetings" on the Kentucky and Tennessee frontiers were the impetus behind the

Restoration Movement The Restoration Movement (also known as the American Restoration Movement or the Stone–Campbell Movement, and pejoratively as Campbellite, Campbellism) is a Christianity, Christian movement that began on the United States frontier during the S ...

. Traveling preachers used music and song to convert new members. Shape-note singing became a fundamental part of camp meetings in frontier regions. In the early decades of the 18th century, the Baptists in the South reduced their challenge to class and race. Rather than pressing for freedom for slaves, they encouraged planters to improve treatment of them, and ultimately used the Bible to justify slavery.Christine Leigh Heyrman, ''Southern Cross: The Beginnings of the Bible Belt'', Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1998 First Baptist 2

In 1845, the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wo ...

separated from other regions. Baptist and Methodist churches proliferated across the Tidewater region, usually attracting common planters, artisans and workers. The wealthiest planters continued to be affiliated with the Episcopal Church. By the beginning of the Civil War, the

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christianity, Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe ...

and

churches had attracted the most members in the South, and their churches were most numerous in the region. Historically

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

colonists were primarily those from Spain and France who settled in coastal areas of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. Today, there are significant

populations along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico (especially the port cities of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Biloxi,

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

and

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ...

), which preserve the continuing (and broadly popularized) Catholic traditions of

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival ...

at the beginning of Lent in

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "F ...

parades and related customs. Elsewhere in the region, Catholics are typically a minority and of mainly Irish, German and French or modern Hispanic ancestry. As of 2013, Catholics comprised 42% of the population in the New Orleans Metropolitan area based on numbers presented by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

, in comparison to some other Southern cities, had a relatively small Catholic population prior to the 1990s. Catholics comprised 1.7% of the population in 1960, and 3.1% of the population in 1980. The population has been growing rapidly since then. The number of Catholics grew from 292,300 members in 1998 to 900,000 members in 2010, an increase of 207 percent. The population was expected to top 1 million by 2011. The increase is fueled by Catholics moving to Atlanta from other parts of the U.S. and the world, and from newcomers to the church. About 16 percent of all metropolitan Atlanta residents are Catholic, comparable to many of Midwestern metropolitan areas.

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the South ...

also has a rapidly growing number of Catholics, with Catholicism having the largest number of affiliates out of any other religious group (11.3%) and the second largest number in

Wake County Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most-populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the U ...

(22%). Maryland, which was settled by the British, is historically

as well and many historians believe it was named after the

Queen Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She was ...

by Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron of Baltimore. Maryland was the only Roman Catholic British colony in the Americas, and was considered a refuge for England's Roman Catholic minority which was being persecuted by the

. When William of Orange rose to power in England, Catholicism was outlawed in Maryland, causing a decrease in the number of practicing Catholics. In the 1840s, the Catholic population rebounded with the mass immigration of Irish due to the Great Famine of Ireland. Maryland also became home to many Polish and Italian immigrants. In general, the inland regions of the Deep South and Upper South, such as Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama were less attractive to immigrants and have stronger concentrations of Baptists, Methodists, Churches of Christ and other Protestant or non-Catholic fellowships. Eastern and northern Texas are heavily Protestant, while the southern and western parts of the state are predominantly

. The city of Charleston, South Carolina, has had a significant Jewish population since the colonial period. The first were Sephardic Jews who had been living in London or on the island of Barbados. They were connected to Jewish communities in New England as well. The community figured prominently in the history of

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = "Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = G ...

. Richmond also had a large Sephardic Jewish community before the Revolution and still has a notable Jewish community today. They built the first synagogue in Virginia about 1791.

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of ...

area is home to the nation's second largest concentration of Jewish Americans outside New York, most of them early 20th century migrants and descendants from the Northeast. They were descendants of

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

Jews from Germany, Russia, Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe. Twentieth-century migration and business development have brought significant

and Muslim communities to most major business and university cities, such as

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

, and more recently, Charlotte.

Southern dialect

Southern American English is a group of

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that ...

s of the English language spoken throughout the Southern states of the United States, from

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

to the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Missis ...

, and from the mid-Atlantic coast to throughout most of

and Oklahoma. Southern dialects make up the largest accent group in the United States. Southern American English can be divided into different sub-dialects, with speech differing between regions.

African American Vernacular English African-American Vernacular English (AAVE, ), also referred to as Black (Vernacular) English, Black English Vernacular, or occasionally Ebonics (a colloquial, controversial term), is the variety of English natively spoken, particularly in urba ...

(AAVE) shares similarities with Southern dialect due to

s' strong historical ties to the region. It has been said that Southerners are most easily distinguished from other Americans by their speech, both in terms of accent and idiom. However, there is no single "Southern Accent." Rather, Southern American English is a collection of

s of the English spoken throughout the South. Southern American English can be divided into different sub-dialects, with speech differing between, for example, that of

Appalachian region Appalachian may refer to: * Appalachian Mountains, a major mountain range in eastern United States and Canada * Appalachian Trail, a hiking trail in the eastern United States * The people of Appalachia and their culture ** Appalachian Americans, e ...

and the coastal "low country" around Charleston, South Carolina. Folklorists in the 1920s and later argued that because of the region's isolation, Appalachian language patterns more closely mirrored

Elizabethan English Early Modern English or Early New English (sometimes abbreviated EModE, EMnE, or ENE) is the stage of the English language from the beginning of the Tudor period to the English Interregnum and Restoration, or from the transition from Middle En ...

than other accents in the United States. While traces of African linguistic features remain in AAVE, there are a few distinctively African dialect groups in the South, the

Gullah The Gullah () are an African American ethnic group who predominantly live in the Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, within the coastal plain and the Sea Islands. Their language and cul ...

the most famous among them.

is still spoken by some African Americans in the

Low Country The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

of South Carolina, Georgia, southeastern North Carolina, and Northeast Florida, particularly the older generation. Also called Geechee in Georgia, the language and a strongly African culture developed because of the people's relative isolation in large communities, and continued importation of slaves from the same parts of Africa. As the enslaved people on large plantations were relatively undisturbed by whites, Gullah developed as a creole language, based on African forms. Similarly the people kept many African forms in religious rituals, foodways and similar transportable culture, all influenced by the new environment in the colonies. Other, less known African American dialect groups are the rural blacks of the Mississippi Basin, and Africatown near Mobile, Alabama, where the last known ship to arrive in the Americas with slaves was abandoned in 1860. There are several other unique linguistic enclaves in the American South. Among them is that of Tangier Island, Virginia, as well as the

Outer Banks The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separating ...

North Carolina, which some scholars claim preserves a unique English dialect from the colonial period. The New Orleans or "Yat" dialect is similar to Northeastern port city accents because of an influx of German and Irish immigrants similar to those of the Northeast. Many are familiar with the French-based Cajun French that is spoken in the southern half of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

. Other distinct languages include Cajun French (Louisiana) and Isleño Spanish (Louisiana, see also

Canarian Spanish Canarian Spanish (Spanish terms in descending order of frequency: , , , or ) is a variant of standard Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands by the Canary Islanders. The variant is similar to the Andalusian Spanish variety spoken in Western Anda ...

). The US South also contains many indigenous languages from the Native American

Muskogean Muskogean (also Muskhogean, Muskogee) is a Native American language family spoken in different areas of the Southeastern United States. Though the debate concerning their interrelationships is ongoing, the Muskogean languages are generally div ...

Caddoan The Caddoan languages are a family of languages native to the Great Plains spoken by tribal groups of the central United States, from present-day North Dakota south to Oklahoma. All Caddoan languages are critically endangered, as the number of ...

, Siouan–Catawban,

Iroquoian The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking. As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoia ...

, Algonquian,

Yuchi The Yuchi people, also spelled Euchee and Uchee, are a Native American tribe based in Oklahoma. In the 16th century, Yuchi people lived in the eastern Tennessee River valley in Tennessee. In the late 17th century, they moved south to Alabama, ...

Chitimacha The Chitimacha ( ; or ) are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans who live in the U.S. state of Louisiana, mainly on their reservation in St. Mary Parish near Charenton on Bayou Teche. They are the only Indigenous people in the s ...

, Natchez, Tunica, Adai,

Timucua The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The va ...

, and

Atakapa The Atakapa Sturtevant, 659 or Atacapa were an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, who spoke the Atakapa language and historically lived along the Gulf of Mexico in what is now Texas and Louisiana. They included several distinct ba ...

families. The historical record seems to suggest a picture of great linguistic diversity (similar to California) although most languages mentioned were not documented. Several southeastern languages have become extinct and all are

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

. The influence of native languages has led to distinct Indian varieties of English.

Regional variations

There continues to be debate about what constitutes the basic elements of Southern culture. This debate is influenced partly because the South is such a large region. As a result, there are a number of cultural variations among states in the region. Among the variations found in Southern culture are: *The

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...

was first settled by the English from the Chesapeake colonies of Virginia and Maryland, and later South Carolina. This was the first area that developed plantations for cash crops of tobacco, rice and

indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', ...

. Later, cotton, and hemp became important cash crops, as well. Planters would import large numbers of Africans as slave labor. The coastal areas of the

Old South Geographically, the U.S. states known as the Old South are those in the Southern United States that were among the original Thirteen Colonies. The region term is differentiated from the Deep South and Upper South. From a cultural and social ...

were dominated by wealthy planters, who controlled local government. *The

Upland South The Upland South and Upper South are two overlapping cultural and geographic subregions in the inland part of the Southern and lower Midwestern United States. They differ from the Deep South and Atlantic coastal plain by terrain, history, econo ...

or "Upper South" have historical, political, and cultural divisions that make it differ from lower-lying elevation areas and the Deep South. For example, the Appalachian and Ozark mountain region landforms differing in settlement from that of low-lying areas such as the

Virginia Tidewater Tidewater refers to the north Atlantic coastal plain region of the United States of America. Definition Culturally, the Tidewater region usually includes the low-lying plains of southeast Virginia, northeastern North Carolina, southern Ma ...

South Carolina Lowcountry The Lowcountry (sometimes Low Country or just low country) is a geographic and cultural region along South Carolina's coast, including the Sea Islands. The region includes significant salt marshes and other coastal waterways, making it an impo ...

, and the

Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yaz ...

. By contrast, farmers in the Upland South cultivated land for subsistence, and few held slaves. The Upland South's population has mainly Scots-Irish and English ancestry. Because settlers were chiefly yeoman farmers, many upland areas did not support the Confederate cause during the American Civil War (see

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a D ...

). The Upland South also had many areas that continued to support the Republican Party while the remainder of the white South supported Democrats during the

Solid South The Solid South or Southern bloc was the electoral voting bloc of the states of the Southern United States for issues that were regarded as particularly important to the interests of Democratic Party (United States), Democrats in those states. T ...

era. *Areas having experienced a large influx of newcomers typically have been less likely to hold onto a distinctly Southern identity and cultural influences. Today, partly because of continuing population migration patterns between urban areas in the North and South, historically "Southern" larger urban areas, such as

, Austin,

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, Raleigh-Durham,

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the c ...

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures r ...

, and

have assimilated modern metropolitan identities distinct from their historic "Southern" heritage. However, while these metropolitan areas have had their original southern culture somewhat diluted, they nonetheless have largely preserved their distinct "Southern" identity. *Over the past half-century, numerous Latinos have migrated to the American South from Latin America, most notably in the cases of Texas and Florida. Urban areas such as Atlanta, New Orleans, Charlotte and Nashville have seen a major increase in Latino immigrants since the 1990s. Factory and

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit w ...

jobs have also attracted Mexican and Latin American workers to more rural regions of the South.

Alabama

Southern Alabama north of

was settled predominately by large plantation owners and slaves moved west from their original settlements on the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia. These settlers originally had slave plantations in

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate ...

and sought to expand their plantation based economy. This region is mainly known for its large African American population and historic cultivation of wheat, cotton, and rice. It is the epitome of what is considered the Deep South. Today, this region is the poorest in the state and one of the poorest regions in the country. It still remains mostly rural and has seen minimal development. Unlike the rest of southern Alabama, which was settled by British plantation owners, Mobile and the Gulf Coast was settled by Spanish and French settlers much earlier than the rest of the state. Mobile likely has more in common with

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, which first began in the United States in the city. Northern Alabama was settled by Northern English and Scots Irish settlers who came to the United States. These Appalachian settlers were mostly small farmers--who did not own any slaves and had little voting power due to the rich planters in the South, who controlled the government. Today this region is still mostly rural, but is developing urban areas, such as cities like

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

and Huntsville attracting outsiders for work. Census-2000-Data-Top-US-Ancestries-by-County

Kentucky

With its northern border at the boundary of the

Upper South The Upland South and Upper South are two overlapping cultural and geographic subregions in the inland part of the Southern United States, Southern and lower Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. They differ from the Deep South and A ...

and the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. ...

demonstrates multiple cultural influences. A study in the 1990s revealed that 79% of Kentuckians agreed they were living within the south. The study also showed that 84% of Texans and 82% of Virginians believe they live within the south. It also showed between 80 and 90% of residents in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia and the Carolinas described themselves as southerners. This is likely because regional identification often varies dramatically within Kentucky. For example, many consider

Northern Kentucky Northern Kentucky is the third-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, and its cities and towns serve as the de facto "south side" communities of Cincinnati, Ohio. The three main countie ...

to be the most Midwestern region, as it shares culture with

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

. Studies show that a significant minority of people in Northern Kentucky identify with the South. Conversely,

southern Ohio Appalachian Ohio is a bioregion and political unit in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio, characterized by the western foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and the Appalachian Plateau. The Appalachian Regional Commission define ...

and southern Indiana are highly Southern in comparison to most of the Midwest, as is the "Little Egypt" region of

southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of the Upland South than the Mi ...

. Some sources treat Southern Indiana as essentially the upper tip of Upland South culture, while others maintain that Southern culture, while significant, is not dominant in the region. Louisville is viewed as culturally and economically Midwestern in some analyses, because of how it rapidly industrialized during the late 19th century (although not to the same extent as most northern cities), as opposed to the slow industrialization that occurred in the South. Other observers consider Louisville to be southern culturally, due to dialect and various other aspects of culture. It is often described as both "the Gateway to the South" and "the northernmost Southern city and southernmost Northern city." Unlike the remainder of the state, Louisville, Covington, and Newport received large numbers of German immigrants due to manufacturing interests on the Ohio river, thus making the culture there somewhat distinct from the rest of the state. Had Kentucky been a free-state, prior to the Civil War, it would have likely drawn more German immigration, as there was usually a relatively small number of slaves in the areas where Germans did settle. As of the 1980s, the only counties in the United States where over half of the population cited " English" as their only ancestry group were all in the hills of eastern Kentucky (and made up virtually every county in this region).James Paul Allen and Eugene James Turner, We the People: An Atlas of America's Ethnic Diversity (Macmillan, 1988), 41. In the 1980 census, 1,267,079 Kentuckians out of a total population of 2,554,359 cited that they were of English ancestry, making them 49 percent of the state at that time. While varying degrees of southern cultural influence can be found in Kentucky inside the Cincinnati area and Louisville, smaller cities such as Owensboro,

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

, Hopkinsville and Paducah, together with most of the state's rural areas, have continued to be more distinctly Southern in character. Outside of those two specific areas, southern culture, dialect, mannerisms, etc. are prominent in Kentucky. Southern cuisine is also quite common across the state. Western Kentucky is famous for a regional style of southern barbecue, and other forms of southern food such as catfish, country ham, and greens beans. Today most of the state, outside of Northern Kentucky, shares a cultural identity with

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

and the rest of the Upland South in ancestry, dialect, and various other aspects of culture. In most contexts, especially culturally, the state is grouped as part of the south.

North Carolina

The

and Raleigh– Durham areas have attracted many new residents due to economic growth. This includes the banking/finance industries in Charlotte, along with the universities and high-tech industries in Raleigh-Durham. Wilmington has also become a center of Midwestern and Northern migration for its temperate coastal climate and growing business community. Meanwhile, Asheville and its surrounding area has tended to attract more progressively minded transplants, due to its longstanding reputation as a center of liberal thought and open-minded attitudes, and retirees settle here due to its scenic mountain setting. In addition to an influx of Northerners, the job markets in North Carolina's three largest metropolitan regions—Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham and the Greensboro– Winston-Salem– High Point

Piedmont Triad The Piedmont Triad (or simply the Triad) is a metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of North Carolina anchored by three cities: Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point. This close group of cities lies in the Piedm ...

—have also attracted large and growing Latino and

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peopl ...

immigration and migration. A report released by the Brookings Institution in May 2006 entitled ''Diversity Spreads Out'', noted that the Charlotte metro area ranked second nationally with a 49.8% growth rate in its Hispanic population between 2000 and 2004. The Raleigh-Durham metro area followed in third place with a 46.7% rate of growth.

Oklahoma

Settlement of the

Oklahoma territory The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as ...

began as a direct result of the Civil War. Southerners escaping Reconstruction, largely populated the southern and eastern regions of the state. The term " Little Dixie" was first used in reference to southeastern Oklahoma during the 20th century. Italian laborers began arriving in eastern Oklahoma in the 1870s.

Texas

In the 1980 United States census, the largest ancestry group reported in Texas was English, with 3,083,323 Texans who identify as being of English ancestry forming roughly 27% of the population at the time. Their ancestry primarily goes back to the original thirteen colonies and for this reason many of them today simply claim "American" ancestry. Because of its size and unique history, particularly having once been Mexican territory, and later a nation in its own right (i.e. the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from M ...

), Texas' modern-day relationship to the rest of the South is often a subject of debate and discussion. It has been described as "a Southern state, certainly, yet not completely in or of the South." The size and cultural distinctiveness of Texas prohibit easy categorization of the entire state into any recognized region. Geographic, economic and cultural diversity among regions of the state preclude treating Texas as a region in its own right. Notable extremes range from

East Texas East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that comprises most of 41 counties. It is primarily divided into Northeast and Southeast Texas. Most of the region con ...

, which is often considered an extension of the

, to Far West Texas, which is generally acknowledged to be part of the interior Southwest. The upper

Texas Panhandle The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a square-shaped area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east. It is adjacent to ...

and the South Plains areas of

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio. No consensus exists on the boundary betwe ...

, do not easily fit into either category. The former has much in common both culturally and geographically with Midwestern states like Kansas and Nebraska. The South Plains, though originally settled primarily by Anglo Southerners, has become a blend of both Southern and Southwestern culture due to rapidly increasing Hispanic population. The larger cities of Texas, such as Austin,

, and

—with their burgeoning knowledge-based economies—have attracted migrants from other regions of the United States, particularly the Midwest and West Coast. Combined with the influence of increasing numbers from an African American New Great Migration, and also from Latin America and Asia, the historic "Southern culture" has been transformed. However—partly due to its membership in the

Confederacy Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...

and history as part of the

—and the fact much of the state lies within the

—it is usually considered more of a Southern than Western state. Also, linguistic maps of Texas place most of it within the spheres of upper, mid- and Gulf- Southern dialects, helping to further identify the state as being Southern (use of Southern colloquialisms such as ''y'all'' and ''ain't'' are still very much widespread in Texas).

Virginia

Based on a study from the late 1990s, 82% of Virginians believe they live in the South and most identify more with the South than with any other region. They uphold many traditions and beliefs of the South and take pride in their heritage. However, areas such as

Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...

, Richmond, and the Hampton Roads region have attracted many internal migrants coming for job opportunities with the federal government, military, and related businesses during and since

. Northern Virginia also connects to the emergence and expansion of the

Northeast Megalopolis The Northeast megalopolis, also known as the Northeast Corridor, Acela Corridor, Boston–Washington corridor, or BosWash, is the world's largest megalopolis in terms of economic output and the second most populous megalopolis in the United St ...

. More expansion resulted from the

dot-com bubble The dot-com bubble (dot-com boom, tech bubble, or the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet. Between 1995 and its peak in March 2000, the Nasdaq Comp ...

around the start of the 21st century. Economically linked to Washington, D.C. and having a large migrant presence, residents of urban areas in Virginia tend to consider its culture more Mid-Atlantic than Southern. Virginian culture was spread across the Chesapeake region during colonial times by settlers and strongly influenced the culture of the Lowland South through the transport of slaves. Virginia's coastal areas were heavily plantation based, relying on tobacco production for its economic base. Prior to the Civil War, Virginia was the largest slave state population wise and profited greatly from breeding and selling slaves to the Deep South. These slaves were thoroughly integrated into colonial Virginian culture and brought their traditions from Virginia to the Deep South where they blended with Gullah and Creole traditions. Following the Civil War and Reconstruction, Virginia went through the dark period of Jim Crow laws and faced the era of

Massive Resistance Massive resistance was a strategy declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. of Virginia and his brother-in-law James M. Thomson, who represented Alexandria in the Virginia General Assembly, to get the state's white politicians to pass laws and p ...

to school desegregation. However, cities like Richmond and Norfolk have always been much more progressive and urban in culture than many rural areas of the state. They were known early on for having large Free Black, Quaker, and Jewish populations, much industry, and significant immigration from Eastern Europe up until the Civil War, in which Richmond was made the Confederate capital despite voting against secession. Today, Richmond and Norfolk are often considered the border between the Mid-Atlantic and Upper South, having distinct Southern characteristics and also ties to the Northeast Megalopolis. These remain the only two large cities in the country in which old fashioned Chesapeake Bay style culture is found with the distinctive Tidewater accent and many historic plantations still prevalent throughout the region. Modern Virginia has seen an ongoing tendency for Northeasterners who move to the state to identifying separately from the rest of the South politically and culturally. However, they choose to remain in Virginia for better economic opportunities than those available further North, as well as the low tax rates.

West Virginia

West Virginia was formed during the American Civil War in 1863 from 50 western counties of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

and is currently composed of 55 counties. Many of the counties in the new state had supported Virginia and the Confederacy during the war but were included for territorial reasons, which resulted in a "Redeemer" government in 1876. Many legacies of its Virginia heritage remain, such as county and local place names. The state constitution is based on the antebellum constitution of Virginia. As recently as 2007 an 1849 Virginia statute was used in a county prosecution. Historic plantation houses are found throughout the state, legacies of its antebellum origins. West Virginia was the last slave state admitted to the Union. The state legislature consists of a

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

and a house of delegates. The state government belongs to the Southern Governors Association and the Southern Legislative Conference. It is the 7th most Protestant state and the 7th most religious state in the United States. Out migration has been a steady phenomenon, beginning after the Civil War when ex-Confederates moved into southern Ohio to escape the political sanctions in their new home state. In the 20th century out migration increased as West Virginians moved north for jobs in industry. West Virginia has a high rate of family owned farms and the state produces large numbers of poultry, corn, apples and peaches. Tobacco production peaked in 1909 at 14,400,000 pounds, and was the second most valuable crop as recently as 1983 but is no longer a popular commodity. Many southern dishes are common in the state; biscuits and sausage gravy, chicken and dumplings, sweet tea, cornbread and beans and condiments such as cole slaw and chow chow accompany barbecued meats. The southern diet has been blamed for health problems such as obesity and diabetes and smoking is among the highest rates in the United States. Southern Appalachian dialect can be heard in much of the state though mostly south of Clarksburg. Country music is one of the most popular genres in the state, WWVA Jamboree out of Wheeling was the second oldest venue for country music after the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divi ...

in Nashville.

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

is one of the highest per capita markets for country music. Some of West Virginia's notable musicians include Little Jimmy Dickens,

Brad Paisley Bradley Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting with his 1999 debut album '' Who Needs Pictures'', he has released eleven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nash ...

, Hazel Dickens,

Red Sovine Woodrow Wilson "Red" Sovine (July 7, 1917 – April 4, 1980) was an American country music singer and songwriter associated with truck driving songs, particularly those recited as narratives but set to music. His most noted examples are " Giddy ...

, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Molly O'Day, and the rockabilly musician Hasil Adkins.

Maryland

Similar to other Border States,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

has regions that are culturally Southern, and it is situated below the

. Prior to the second half of the 20th century, Maryland was largely Southern with strong connections to northern industry as Baltimore served as a center for grain trading. However, economic growth and demographic shifts of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s overshadowed Maryland's Southern culture. The growing service economy and ensuing southward migration of

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian province ...

ers and more solidly Northeastern workers, transformed the

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadi ...

corridor and the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area into robustly Mid-Atlantic areas. Suburbs of Washington, D.C., have also become more Mid-Atlantic in nature, and less culturally southern than before. Portions of Maryland, specifically

Southern Maryland Southern Maryland is a geographical, cultural and historic region in Maryland composed of the state's southernmost counties on the Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. According to the state of Maryland, the region includes all of Calvert, Cha ...

and the

Eastern Shore of Maryland The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies mostly on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. Nine counties are normally included in the region. The Eastern Shore is part of the larger Delmarva Peninsula tha ...

remain largely culturally Southern, driven by agriculture and commercial fishing. Most of the land is rural and there are but a few large population centers. Many local restaurants in these two areas still serve

sweet tea Sweet tea, also known as sweet iced tea, is a popular style of iced tea commonly consumed in countries such as the United States (especially the South) and Indonesia. Sweet tea is most commonly made by adding sugar or simple syrup to black tea e ...

and dishes including or composed entirely of

greens Greens may refer to: *Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc. Politics Supranational * Green politics * Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics * Global Greens * Europ ...

, in addition to menus heavy with fried food. Many dialectic studies show that St. Mary's County in Southern Maryland and Dorchester County, Somerset County, Wicomico County, and Worcester County in the Eastern Shore have

southern accents ''Southern Accents'' is the sixth studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released on March 26, 1985, through MCA Records. The album's lead single, "Don't Come Around Here No More", co-written by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, peaked at n ...

. Western Maryland is considered

n, and is largely rural. The region is very similar to the neighboring West Virginia, Virginia, and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

Delaware

In a manner similar to Maryland, Delaware exhibits characteristics of both the Northeast and South. Unlike other surrounding states which are either north or south of the Mason–Dixon line, Delaware is uniquely situated east of the line (as the line takes a vertical turn along the state's western border). Generally, the rural Southern (or "Slower Lower") regions of Delaware below the

Chesapeake and Delaware Canal The Chesapeake & Delaware Canal (C&D Canal) is a -long, -wide and -deep ship canal that connects the Delaware River with the Chesapeake Bay in the states of Delaware and Maryland in the United States. In the mid‑17th century, mapmaker Augus ...

embody a Southern culture, while densely-populated Northern Delaware above the canal—particularly Wilmington, a part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area—has more in common with that of the Northeast.

Beyond the Census-classified South

Missouri

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

is classified as a Midwestern state by the Census Bureau and some of its residents. St. Louis was known as the "Gateway to the West" when settlement was expanding. The northern edge of the Ozark Plateau was settled chiefly by mid-to-late 19th century German immigrants, who founded numerous vineyards and wineries. Due to this, Missouri was the second-largest wine-producing state before Prohibition, which destroyed the industry. Wineries have been rebuilt since the later decades of the 20th century, and Missouri wineries are competing well in national festivals. Part of the Missouri River valley, from beyond St. Louis suburbs in

St. Charles County St. Charles County is in the central eastern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 405,262, making it Missouri's third-most populous county. Its county seat is St. Charles. The county was organized Octo ...

to east of

Jefferson City Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the princip ...

, is known as the

Missouri Rhineland The Missouri Rhineland is a geographical area of Missouri that extends from west of St. Louis to slightly east of Jefferson City, located mostly in the Missouri River Valley on both sides of the river. Dutzow, the first permanent German set ...

because of the extensive vineyards and wineries based on German immigrant tradition and descendants. In the antebellum years, many settlers from Upper South states, such as Virginia and Kentucky, migrated to the counties of central and western Missouri along the Missouri River, where they could cultivate tobacco and hemp. Because these southerners brought their culture and slaveholding practices with them, Missouri was admitted to the Union as a slaveholding state. During the mid-20th century, this area became known as Little Dixie. Before the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

, six of the counties included in this area had populations in which more than 25% were enslaved African Americans, the highest concentrations in the state outside the cotton plantations in the Mississippi Delta. Antebellum houses typical of the South, still stand in some of Little Dixie. All the crops grown there today are corn, soybeans and wheat, for which the area was better suited than for Southern crops like cotton or tobacco. Rural southern Missouri in the Ozark Plateau and the bootheel, are definitively southern in culture.

Midwest, Southwest, and West

Many areas of

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

, and

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

were predominantly settled by European American southerners as they moved west in the 19th and early 20th centuries. For instance, pro-Confederate governments were established in what is now Arizona and New Mexico during the Civil War and, at one point, southern California was on the cusp of breaking away from northern California and joining the Confederacy. In the aftermath of the Civil War, several freedmen's towns were founded by emancipated African Americans from the south. Southerners migrated to industrial cities in the

for work before and after

. They went to states such as

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

, and

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, as well as

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

. During the Great Depression and

Dust Bowl The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of both natural factors (severe drought) an ...

crisis, a large influx of migrants from areas such as Oklahoma, Arkansas and the

settled in California. These "Okie" and "Arkie" migrants and their descendants remain a strong influence on the culture of the Central Valley of California, especially around the cities of

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley (California), Central Valley r ...

and

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

. More than 6.5 million African Americans left the segregated South for the industrial cities of the Midwest and West Coast during the Great Migration, beginning in World War I and extending to 1970. Many migrants from Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas moved to California during and after World War II because of jobs in the defense industry. As a result, many African Americans, as well as European Americans, have "Northern" and "Southern" branches of their families. Significant parts of African-American culture, such as music, literary forms and cuisine, have been rooted in the South, but have changed with urban northern and western influences as well.

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 cereal known as "

grits Grits are a type of porridge made from boiled cornmeal. Hominy grits are a type of grits made from hominy – corn that has been treated with an alkali in a process called nixtamalization, with the pericarp (ovary wall) removed. Grits are o ...

", corn fritters, cornbread, brunswick stew, and

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke ...

are a few of the more common examples of foods adopted directly from southeastern native-American communities. Nevertheless, a great many regional varieties have also developed. The variety of cuisines range from Tex-Mex cuisine,

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

and Creole, traditional

antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum arc ...

dishes, all types of seafood, along with Carolina, Virginia (which shares strong similarities with North Carolina) and Memphis styles of barbecue. Traditional African American Southern food is often called

soul food Soul food is an ethnic cuisine traditionally prepared and eaten by African Americans, originating in the Southern United States.Soul Food originated with the foods that were given to enslaved Black people by their white owners on Souther ...

. While not typically as spicy as cajun food, it incorporates a variety of herbs, flour, and can also be called stick-to-your-ribs food. Of course, most Southern cities and even smaller towns now offer a wide variety of cuisines of other origins such as Chinese, Italian, Japanese,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, and

Middle Eastern The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europea ...

foods, as well as restaurants still serving primarily Southern specialties, so-called "home cooking" establishments. Some notable "home cooking" meals include

fried chicken Fried chicken, also known as Southern fried chicken, is a dish consisting of chicken pieces that have been coated with seasoned flour or batter and pan-fried, deep fried, pressure fried, or air fried. The breading adds a crisp coating o ...

corn on the cob Corn on the cob is a culinary term for a cooked ear of sweet corn ( maize) eaten directly off the cob. The ear is picked while the endosperm is in the "milk stage" so that the kernels are still tender. Ears of corn are steamed, boiled, or ...

, greens with

pot liquor Pot liquor, sometimes spelled potlikker or pot likker is the liquid that is left behind after boiling greens ( collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens) or beans. It is sometimes seasoned with salt and pepper, smoked pork or smoked turk ...

, vegetable stew, chicken and dumplings, and

chicken fried steak Chicken-fried steak, also known as country-fried steak or CFS, is an American breaded cutlet dish consisting of a piece of beefsteak (most often tenderized cube steak) coated with seasoned flour and either deep-fried or pan-fried. It is sometime ...

Drinks

Iced tea Iced tea (or ice tea) is a form of cold tea. Though it is usually served in a glass with ice, it can refer to any tea that has been chilled or cooled. It may be sweetened with sugar or syrup. Iced tea is also a popular packaged drink that can b ...

is commonly associated with the South. Specifically,

, or brewed iced tea sweetened with granulated sugar, has traditionally been served in the South. In fact, most southern restaurants serve sweet tea in addition to "unsweet tea", whereas most restaurants in other regions serve only (unsweetened) iced tea. Iced Tea from flickr

Many of the most popular American soft drinks originated in the South (

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atla ...

Pepsi-Cola Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi wa ...

, Mountain Dew, Cheerwine, Big Red,

Dr Pepper Dr Pepper is a carbonated soft drink. It was created in the 1880s by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904. It is now also sold in Europe ...

, RC Cola, and RC Cola's Nehi brand products). In much of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, and other parts of the South, the term "soft drink" or "soda" is discarded in favor of "Coke" (see

Genericized trademark A generic trademark, also known as a genericized trademark or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that, because of its popularity or significance, has become the generic term for, or synonymous with, a general class of products ...

). Some people use the term "co-cola", shortened from Coca-Cola, when ordering a soft drink. Official support for

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

existed in the Southern states before and after the 18th Amendment was in force in the US. Due to widespread restrictions on alcohol production, illegally distilled liquor or

moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

has long been associated (often rather stereotypically) with working-class and poor people in much of the region, especially in southern

. Many southern states are

control states Alcoholic beverage control states, generally called control states, less often ABC states, are 17 states in the United States that, as of 2016, have state monopoly over the wholesaling or retailing of some or all categories of alcoholic beverage ...

that monopolize and highly regulate the distribution and sale of

alcoholic beverages An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The c ...

. Many counties in the South, particularly outside of the large metropolitan areas, are dry counties that do not allow for alcohol sales in retail outlets. However, many dry counties still allow for "private clubs" often with low daily fees to serve alcohol on the premises.

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

laissez les bons temps rouler'' (let the good times roll). The Crescent City's culture revolves around food, drink, and community celebrations.

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm, storm system characterized by a Low-pressure area, low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, Beaufort scale, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms tha ...

are a famous

French Quarter The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans (french: La Nouvelle-Orléans) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old S ...

drink, as are sazerac cocktails and

absinthe Absinthe (, ) is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from several plants, including the flowers and leaves of ''Artemisia absinthium'' ("grand wormwood"), together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs. Historic ...

. The

, specifically

, is known for its production of bourbon whiskey, which is a popular base for cocktails. As of 2005, Kentucky was credited with producing 95% of the world's

bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * A beer produced by ...

, which has been referred to as America's only native spirit. The mint julep is traditionally depicted as a popular beverage among more affluent Southerners. Many other bourbons are produced in Kentucky including

Evan Williams Evan Williams may refer to: __NOTOC__ People In sport * Evan O. Williams (c. 1889–1946), American football and basketball coach * Evan Williams (footballer) (born 1943), Scottish football goalkeeper * Evan Williams (jockey) (1912–2001), horse ...

Wild Turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey, which was originally ...

, and Bulleit. Southern Comfort is a flavored distilled spirit modeled after bourbon and made in

. Another form of spirit produced in the South is Tennessee Whiskey, with Jack Daniel's, made in Lynchburg, Tennessee being the number one selling whiskey in the world. George Dickel, is produced in nearby Tullahoma, Tennessee.

Literature

Born in the Boonslick region of Missouri to parents who had recently emigrated from Tennessee,

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

is often placed within the pantheon of great Southern writers. Many of his works demonstrate his extensive knowledge of the Mississippi River and the South; also included in his works as a frequent theme were the injustice of slavery and the culture of Protestant public morality. One of the best known southern writers of the 20th century is

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most ...

, who won the

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 ...

in 1949. Faulkner brought new techniques such as

stream of consciousness In literary criticism, stream of consciousness is a narrative mode or method that attempts "to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind" of a narrator. The term was coined by Daniel Oliver in 1840 in ''First L ...

and complex techniques to American writing (such as in his novel '' As I Lay Dying''). Faulkner was part of the Southern Renaissance movement. The Southern Renaissance (also known as Southern Renascence) was the reinvigoration of American

Southern literature Southern United States literature consists of American literature written about the Southern United States or by writers from the region. Literature written about the American South first began during the colonial era, and developed significan ...

that began in the 1920s and 1930s with the appearance of writers such as Faulkner, Caroline Gordon,

Elizabeth Madox Roberts Elizabeth Madox Roberts (October 30, 1881 – March 13, 1941) was a Kentucky novelist and poet, primarily known for her novels and stories set in central Kentucky's Washington County, including ''The Time of Man'' (1926), "My Heart and My Flesh," ...

, Katherine Anne Porter, Allen Tate,

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

, and

Robert Penn Warren Robert Penn Warren (April 24, 1905 – September 15, 1989) was an American poet, novelist, and literary critic and was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He founded the lite ...

, among others. The Southern Renaissance was the first mainstream movement within Southern literature to address the criticisms of Southern cultural and intellectual life that had emerged both from within the Southern literary tradition and from outsiders, most notably the satirist H. L. Mencken. In the 1920s Mencken led the attack on the genteel tradition in American literature, ridiculing the provincialism of American intellectual life. In his 1920 essay "The Sahara of the Bozart" (a pun on a Southern pronunciation of 'beaux-arts') he singled out the South as the most provincial and intellectually barren region of the US, claiming that since the Civil War, intellectual and cultural life there had gone into terminal decline. This created a storm of protest from within conservative circles in the South. However, many emerging Southern writers who were already highly critical of contemporary life in the South were emboldened by Mencken's essay. On the other hand, Mencken's subsequent bitter attacks on aspects of Southern culture that they valued amazed and horrified them. In response to the attacks of Mencken and his imitators, Southern writers were provoked to a reassertion of Southern uniqueness and a deeper exploration of the theme of Southern identity. Other well-known Southern writers include Erskine Caldwell,

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

, Joel Chandler Harris,

Sidney Lanier Sidney Clopton Lanier (February 3, 1842 – September 7, 1881) was an American musician, poet and author. He served in the Confederate States Army as a private, worked on a blockade-running ship for which he was imprisoned (resulting in his catch ...

, Cleanth Brooks,

Pat Conroy Donald Patrick Conroy (October 26, 1945 – March 4, 2016) was an American author who wrote several acclaimed novels and memoirs; his books '' The Water is Wide'', '' The Lords of Discipline'', '' The Prince of Tides'' and '' The Great Santini'' ...

Harper Lee Nelle Harper Lee (April 28, 1926February 19, 2016) was an American novelist best known for her 1960 novel ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. It won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and has become a classic of modern American literature. Lee has received numer ...

Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960) was an American author, anthropologist, and filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-1900s American South and published research on hoodoo. The most popular of her four ...

, Eudora Welty, Ralph Ellison, Thomas Wolfe,

William Styron William Clark Styron Jr. (June 11, 1925 – November 1, 2006) was an American novelist and essayist who won major literary awards for his work. Styron was best known for his novels, including: * '' Lie Down in Darkness'' (1951), his acclaimed f ...

Flannery O'Connor Mary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, 1925August 3, 1964) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. She wrote two novels and 31 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries. She was a Southern writer who often ...

Carson McCullers Carson McCullers (February 19, 1917 – September 29, 1967) was an American novelist, short-story writer, playwright, essayist, and poet. Her first novel, '' The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'' (1940), explores the spiritual isolation of misfits ...

James Dickey James Lafayette Dickey (February 2, 1923 January 19, 1997) was an American poet and novelist. He was appointed the eighteenth United States Poet Laureate in 1966. He also received the Order of the South award. Dickey is best known for his ...

, Willie Morris,

Tom Wolfe Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

Walker Percy Walker Percy, OSB (May 28, 1916 – May 10, 1990) was an American writer whose interests included philosophy and semiotics. Percy is noted for his philosophical novels set in and around New Orleans; his first, '' The Moviegoer'', won the N ...

, Charles Portis, Barry Hannah,

Alice Walker Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was awa ...

Cormac McCarthy Cormac McCarthy (born Charles Joseph McCarthy Jr., July 20, 1933) is an American writer who has written twelve novels, two plays, five screenplays and three short stories, spanning the Western fiction, Western and Apocalyptic and post-apocalypt ...

, Anne Rice,

Shelby Foote Shelby Dade Foote Jr. (November 17, 1916 – June 27, 2005) was an American writer, historian and journalist. Although he primarily viewed himself as a novelist, he is now best known for his authorship of '' The Civil War: A Narrative'', a three ...

John Grisham John Ray Grisham Jr. (; born February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas) is an American novelist, lawyer and former member of the 7th district of the Mississippi House of Representatives, known for his popular legal thrillers. According to the Am ...

, Charlaine Harris,

James Agee James Rufus Agee ( ; November 27, 1909 – May 16, 1955) was an American novelist, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, writing for ''Time Magazine'', he was one of the most influential film critics in the United States. ...

, Hunter S. Thompson,

Wendell Berry Wendell Erdman Berry (born August 5, 1934) is an American novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer. Closely identified with rural Kentucky, Berry developed many of his agrarian themes in the early essays of ...

, Bobbie Ann Mason, Harry Crews, and the authors known as the

Southern Agrarians The Southern Agrarians were twelve American Southerners who wrote an agrarian literary manifesto in 1930. They and their essay collection, ''I’ll Take My Stand: The South and the Agrarian Tradition'', contributed to the Southern Renaissance, ...

. Possibly the most famous Southern novel of the 20th century is '' Gone with the Wind'' by

Margaret Mitchell Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949) was an American novelist and journalist. Mitchell wrote only one novel, published during her lifetime, the American Civil War-era novel ''Gone With the Wind (novel), Gone with t ...

, published in 1937. Another famous Southern novel, ''

To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...

'' by

, won the Pulitzer Prize after it was published in 1960.

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

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Blues was developed in the rural South by African Americans at the beginning of the 20th century. In addition,

old-time music Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering on a combinati ...

, gospel music,

spirituals Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a genre of Christian music that is associated with Black Americans, which merged sub-Saharan African cultural heritage with the ...

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed p ...

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became pop ...

, funk,

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

beach music Beach music, also known as Carolina beach music, and to a lesser extent, Beach pop, is a regional genre of music in the United States which developed from rock/ R&B and pop music of the 1950s and 1960s. Beach music is most closely associate ...

, bluegrass,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

(including ragtime, popularized by Southerner

Scott Joplin Scott Joplin ( 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Because of the fame achieved for his ragtime compositions, he was dubbed the "King of Ragtime." During his career, he wrote over 40 original ragtime pieces, one r ...

zydeco Zydeco ( or , french: Zarico) is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana. ...

, and Appalachian folk music were either born in the South or developed in the region. In general, country music is based on the folk music of white Southerners, and blues and rhythm and blues is based on African American southern forms. However, whites and blacks alike have contributed to each of these genres, and there is a considerable overlap between the traditional music of blacks and whites in the South, especially in gospel music forms. A stylish variant of country music (predominantly produced in Nashville) has been a consistent, widespread fixture of American pop since the 1950s, while insurgent forms (i.e. bluegrass) have traditionally appealed to more discerning sub-cultural and rural audiences. Blues dominated the African American music charts from the advent of modern recording until the mid-1950s, when it was supplanted by the less guttural and forlorn sounds of rock and R&B. Nevertheless, unadulterated blues (along with early rock and roll) is still the subject of reverential adoration throughout much of Europe and cult popularity in isolated pockets of the United States. Zydeco,

and

swamp pop Swamp pop is a music genre indigenous to the Acadiana region of south Louisiana and an adjoining section of southeast Texas. Created in the 1950s by young Cajuns and Creoles, it combines New Orleans–style rhythm and blues, country and wester ...

, despite having never enjoyed greater regional or mainstream popularity, still thrive throughout

French Louisiana The term French Louisiana refers to two distinct regions: * first, to colonial French Louisiana, comprising the massive, middle section of North America claimed by France during the 17th and 18th centuries; and, * second, to modern French Louisi ...

and its peripheries, such as Southeastern Texas. These unique Louisianan styles of

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

are celebrated as part of the traditional heritage of the people of Louisiana. Conversely, bluegrass music has acquired a sophisticated cachet and distinct identity from mainstream country music through the fusion recordings of artists like Bela Fleck, David Grisman, and the New Grass Revival; traditional bluegrass and Appalachian mountain music experienced a strong resurgence after the release of 2001's '' O Brother, Where Art Thou?''. Rock n' roll largely began in the South in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Early rock n' roll musicians from the South include

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis mad ...

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

Fats Domino Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, incl ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, James Brown,

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blue ...

, and

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998) Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, beginning in 19 ...

, among many others.

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

, Charlie Feathers, and

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American Country music, country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later s ...

, while generally regarded as "country" singers, also had a significant role in the development of rock music, giving rise to the "crossover" genre of

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

. In the 1960s,

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. Stax was ...

emerged as a leading competitor of Motown Records, laying the groundwork for later stylistic innovations in the process. The South has continued to produce rock music in later decades. In the 1970s, a wave of Southern rock and

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

groups, led by

The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guit ...

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ( ...

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature so ...

, and

38 Special 38 Special may refer to: * .38 Special, a revolver cartridge * 38 Special (band) 38 Special (also stylized as .38 Special or spelled out as Thirty-Eight Special) is an American rock band that was formed by Donnie Van Zant and Don Barnes in 1 ...

, became popular. Macon, Georgia-based Capricorn Records helped to spearhead the Southern rock movement, and was the original home to many of the genre's most famous groups. At the other end of the spectrum, along with the aforementioned Brown and Stax, New Orleans'

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, describ ...

and The Meters helped to define the funk subgenre of rhythm and blues in the 1970s. Many who got their start in the regional show business in the South eventually banked on mainstream national and international success as well: Elvis Presley and

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

are two such examples of artists that have transcended genres. Many of the roots of

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

are often considered to come from the South as well, with bands such as R.E.M., Pylon,

the B-52s The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, ...

, and Indigo Girls forever associated with the musically fertile college town of

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the st ...

. Cities such as Austin,

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state ...

Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to: Places Antarctica *Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia * Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane * Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area Canada *Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

and

also have thriving

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

and live music scenes. Austin is home to the long-running

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, ...

music and arts festival, while several influential independent music labels (Sugar Hill, Merge, Yep Rock and the now-defunct Mammoth Records) were founded in the Chapel Hill area. Several influential

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...

bands have recorded albums at Morrisound Recording in

Temple Terrace Temple Terrace is an incorporated city in northeastern Hillsborough County, Florida, Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, adjacent to Tampa, Florida, Tampa. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 26 ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

and the studio is considered an important touchstone in the genre's development. There is a large underground heavy metal scene in the Southern United States.

Death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...

can trace some of its origins to Tampa, Florida. Bands such as Deicide,

Morbid Angel Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida, formed in 1983 by guitarist, primary composer and sole remaining original member Trey Azagthoth, vocalist and bassist Dallas Ward, and drummer Mike Browning. Widely considered ...

, Six Feet Under (band), Six Feet Under, and Cannibal Corpse, among others, have come out of this scene. The South is also where sludge metal was born, and where its pioneering acts, Eyehategod and Crowbar (US band), Crowbar, come from, as well as other notable bands of the style such as Down (band), Down and Corrosion of Conformity. Other well known metal bands from the South include Crossfade (band), Crossfade, Pantera, Hellyeah, Lamb of God (band), Lamb of God, and Mastodon (band), Mastodon. This has helped coin the term southern rock, southern metal which is well received by the vast majority in metal circles around the world. Other heavy metal and hardcore punk subgenres, including metalcore and post-hardcore, have also become increasingly popular in this region. Since the late 1980s, the spread of rap music has led to the rise of the musical subgenre of the Dirty South (music), Dirty South. Atlanta, Houston, Memphis, Miami, and New Orleans have long been major centers of hip hop music, hip hop culture.

Sports

While the South has National Football League (NFL) franchises in Dallas Cowboys, Dallas, Houston Texans, Houston, Miami Dolphins, Miami, Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta, New Orleans Saints, New Orleans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa, Jacksonville Jaguars, Jacksonville, Carolina Panthers, Charlotte, and Tennessee Titans, Nashville, the region is noted for the intensity with which people follow college football teams, especially those in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and Big 12 Conference (Big 12). In states such as

and Oklahoma, high school football, particularly in smaller communities, is a dominating activity. Basketball is also popular, particularly college basketball. The Duke Blue Devils men's basketball, Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball, North Carolina Tar Heels enjoy Carolina–Duke rivalry, one of the great rivalries in American sports. As of 2019,

as a state has 11 national championships won by two schools, the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky; North Carolina has 13 statewide national championships, coming from the combined victories of Duke university, Duke, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, UNC, and North Carolina State University, NC State. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is well-represented in the South as well, with franchises in Atlanta Hawks, Atlanta, Charlotte Hornets, Charlotte, Orlando Magic, Orlando, Miami Heat, Miami, Memphis Grizzlies, Memphis, New Orleans Pelicans, New Orleans, Houston Rockets, Houston, Dallas Mavericks, Dallas, San Antonio Spurs, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City Thunder, Oklahoma City. Taking advantage of warmer late-winter weather, many professional baseball teams began training in Florida in the Spring training, spring, starting in the 1920s and 15 teams continue to Grapefruit League, train there each year. Regular season Major League Baseball (MLB) in Atlanta began in 1966, when the Milwaukee Braves (1953–65), Milwaukee Braves transferred its franchise to the city. Expansion teams were added to Texas with the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers in the 1960s and 70s, while Florida became home to the Miami Marlins in 1993 and Tampa Bay Rays in 1998. At one time, a number of minor league baseball leagues flourished in the South. The region is still home to more minor league teams than any other region of the United States. Normally associated with cold climates, five National Hockey League (NHL) franchises are based in the south: the Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, and Carolina Hurricanes (six if the Washington Capitals are counted as Southern). The South is also the birthplace of NASCAR auto racing. Journalist Ben Shackleford says it flourishes there because "the violence and danger of the sport resonated with growing idealization of the traditional Southern culture." Race tracks that host NASCAR sanctioned events are found in several different locations in the South, including Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia, Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega, Alabama, Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee, Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina, Dover International Speedway, Dover, Delaware, Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, Kentucky, Daytona International Speedway, Daytona, Florida, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Charlotte, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Atlanta, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Miami, Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Virginia, and Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas. Other popular sports in the South include golf (which can be played almost year-round because of the South's mild climate), fishing, soccer (which is the fastest growing sport in the South), and hunting wild game. Augusta, Georgia is the host city of Masters Tournament, The Masters (one of golf's Men's major golf championships, premier tournaments held each spring) and home to 15 golf courses. It is considered to be the golf capital of the world.

was the host of the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Film

Many critically acclaimed movies have been set in the cultural background of the South. A partial list of these films follows – for a more complete listing of Southern cinema, see list of films set in the Southern United States. * ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'' (1939) * ''The Yearling (film), The Yearling'' (1946) * ''Song of the South'' (1946) * ''All the King's Men (1949 film), All the King's Men'' (1949) * ''A Streetcar Named Desire (1951 film), A Streetcar Named Desire'' (1951) * Wild River (film), ''Wild River'' (1960) * ''The Miracle Worker'' (1962) * ''To Kill a Mockingbird (film), To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1962) * ''Hud (1963 film), Hud'' (1963) * ''Deliverance'' (1972) * ''The Longest Yard (1974 film), The Longest Yard'' (1974) * ''Scarface (1983 film), Scarface'' (1983) * ''The Color Purple (1985 film), The Color Purple'' (1985) * ''Bull Durham'' (1988) * ''Mississippi Burning'' (1988) * ''Driving Miss Daisy'' (1989) * ''Great Balls of Fire! (film), Great Balls Of Fire!'' (1989) * ''Steel Magnolias'' (1989) * ''Fried Green Tomatoes (film), Fried Green Tomatoes'' (1991) * ''Forrest Gump'' (1994) * ''Jason's Lyric'' (1994) * ''Ghosts of Mississippi'' (1996) * ''A Time to Kill (1996 film), A Time To Kill'' (1996) * ''Sling Blade'' (1996) * ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'' (1997) * ''Eve's Bayou'' (1997) * ''The Green Mile (film), The Green Mile'' (1999) * '' O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' (2000) * ''Remember the Titans'' (2000) * ''The Patriot (2000 film), The Patriot'' (2000) * ''A Walk to Remember'' (2002) * ''Sweet Home Alabama (film), Sweet Home Alabama'' (2002) * ''Big Fish'' (2003) * ''Friday Night Lights (film), Friday Night Lights'' (2004) * ''The Notebook (2004 film), The Notebook'' (2004) * ''Ray (film), Ray'' (2004) * ''Wedding Crashers'' (2005) * ''The Dukes of Hazzard (film), The Dukes of Hazzard'' (2005) * ''Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby'' (2006) * ''Shotgun Stories'' (2007) * ''Dream Boy'' (2008) * ''The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (film), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'' (2008) * ''The Blind Side (film), The Blind Side'' (2009) * ''Dear John (2010 film), Dear John'' (2010) * ''The Help (film), The Help'' (2011) * ''Beasts of the Southern Wild'' (2012) * ''Lawless (film), Lawless'' (2012) * ''Mud (2012 film), Mud'' (2013) * ''12 Years a Slave (film), 12 Years a Slave'' (2013) * ''Free State of Jones (film), Free State of Jones'' (2016) * ''Midnight Special (film), Midnight Special'' (2016) * ''Green Book (film), Green Book'' (2018) * ''Just Mercy'' (2019)

Television

Network television shows set in the Southern United States: 1950s–1971: Following the boom of television in the 1950s, many shows were set in the South and/or became very popular with Southerners. They included: * ''The Real McCoys'' (1957–1963) * ''The Andy Griffith Show'' (1960–1968) * ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' (1962–1971) * ''Petticoat Junction'' (1963–1970) * ''Flipper (1964 TV series), Flipper'' (1964–1967) * ''Green Acres'' (1965–1971) * ''Hee Haw'' (1969–1992) 1976–present: By 1971, sponsors had shifted for this formula and CBS consequently cancelled all of its Southern shows.Television's Simple South
Xroads.virginia.edu. Retrieved on 2011-06-18. (Only ''Hee Haw'' survived, in syndication.) In 1976, Jimmy Carter was elected as the first President of the United States from the

subregion. The election resulted in reporters swarming into Carter's small southern town of Plains, Georgia. Speculation about his lifestyle and Southern Baptist faith, renewed interest in Southern culture. A new crop of television shows followed within the next decade, such as: * ''Carter Country'' (1977–1979) * ''Dallas (1978 TV series), Dallas'' (1978–1991) * ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' (1979–1985) * ''Mama's Family'' (1983–1990) * ''The Golden Girls'' (1985–1992) * ''Matlock (TV series), Matlock'' (1986–1995) * ''Designing Women'' (1986–1993) * ''In the Heat of the Night (TV series), In the Heat of the Night'' (1988–1995) In addition, network television shows set in the South since 1990 include: * ''Evening Shade'' (1990–1994) * ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' (1993–2001) * ''Beavis and Butt-head'' (1993-1997) * ''Reba (TV series), Reba'' (2001–2007) * ''King of the Hill'' (1997–2009) * ''One Tree Hill (TV series), One Tree Hill'' (2003–2012) * ''American Dad!'' (2005–present) * ''Friday Night Lights (TV series), Friday Night Lights'' (2006–2011) * ''The Riches'' (2007–2008) * ''True Blood'' (2007–2014) * ''The Cleveland Show'' (2009–2013) * ''Eastbound and Down'' (2009–2013) * ''Justified (TV series), Justified'' (2010–2015) * ''The Walking Dead (TV series), The Walking Dead'' (2010–present) * ''Hart of Dixie'' (2011–2015) * ''Dallas (2012 TV series), Dallas'' (2012–2014) * ''Nashville (2012 TV series), Nashville'' (2012–2018) * ''True Detective (TV series), True Detective'' (2014–present) * ''Bless the Harts'' (2019–2021) * ''Outer Banks (TV series), Outer Banks'' (2020–present) Critics point out that some of these shows and films, stereotype Southerners as "hapless hicks" or "a universally simple and often silly group of inhabitants", especially in contrast to the far more complex literary portrayals, and argue that they do not fairly represent Southerners' culture. Many anime characters with Kansai dialect, Kansai accents, speak with Southern accents in English-language adaptations.

Popular culture images of Southerners

Since the early 19th century, Southerners have been the subject of stereotypes, epithets and ridicule. Traces remain in the media, usually in humorous form, as in the 1960s TV series, ''The Beverly Hillbillies'', a situation comedy, which depicts the cultural dissonance of a poor backwoods family that moves to upscale California after striking oil on their land.Anthony A. Harkins, "The Hillbilly in the Living Room: Television Representations of Southern Mountaineers in Situation Comedies, 1952–1971", ''Appalachian Journal'' (2001) 29#1 pp 98–126. Many poor Southern whites make fun of the stereotypes. Images typically depict Southerners as laid-back, hospitable, jolly and carefree—and lazy. The hostile epithet "white trash" originated among house slaves in the 1830s to ridicule whites of low income or low morality. During the early periods of the South, travelers often emphasized the backward, uneducated, uncouth, dirty or unhygienic, impoverished, and violent aspects of Southern life. A favorite theme especially regarding

and the Ozarks, portrayed "hicks" isolated from modern culture as shiftless male hunters, violently feuding clans like the Hatfields and McCoys, degraded women smoking corncob pipes, religious snake handlers, and compulsive banjo players. The national stereotype of the South in 1917 can be glimpsed in a study of tobacco usage in the late 19th century written by a Northern historian who paid close attention to class and gender:

The chewing of tobacco was well-nigh universal. This habit had been widespread among the agricultural population of America both North and South before the war. Soldiers had found the quid a solace in the field and continued to revolve it in their mouths upon returning to their homes. Out of doors where his life was principally led the chewer spat upon his lands without offense to other men, and his homes and public buildings were supplied with spittoons. Brown and yellow parabolas were projected to right and left toward these receivers, but very often without the careful aim which made for cleanly living. Even the pews of fashionable churches were likely to contain these familiar conveniences. The large numbers of Southern men, and these were of the better class (officers in the Confederate army and planters, worth $20,000 or more, and barred from general amnesty) who presented themselves for the pardon of President Johnson, while they sat awaiting his pleasure in the ante-room at the White House, covered its floor with pools and rivulets of their spittle. An observant traveller in the South in 1865 said that in his belief seven-tenths of all persons above the age of twelve years, both male and female, used tobacco in some form. Women could be seen at the doors of their cabins in their bare feet, in their dirty one-piece cotton garments, their chairs tipped back, smoking pipes made of corn cobs into which were fitted reed stems or goose quills. Boys of eight or nine years of age and half-grown girls smoked. Women and girls "dipped" in their houses, on their porches, in the public parlors of hotels and in the streets.

The Progressive Era (1896–1916) brought attention to the problems the South faced. An influential scholarly study was Horace Kephart's ''Our Southern Highlanders'' (1913), which portrayed an isolated and culturally inert people. The bleak image inspired northern philanthropy, such as the Rockefeller foundations, to intervene using modern public health techniques and to promote better schooling. Since the 1930s, however, Cinema of the United States, Hollywood has used stereotypes of the South to contrast virtues of simple

life, with the corruption that can be found in the city. Comic strips dealt with northern urban experiences until 1934, when Al Capp introduced ''L'il Abner'', the first strip based in the South. Although Capp was from Connecticut, he spent 43 years teaching the world about Dogpatch, reaching 60 million readers in over 900 American newspapers and 100 foreign papers in 28 countries. Inge says Capp, "had a profound influence on the way the world viewed the American South." Other popular strips on Southern life included ''Pogo'', ''Snuffy Smith'' and ''Kudzu''. Cultural historian Anthony Harkins argues that Dogpatch's hillbilly setting "remained a central touchstone, serving both as a microcosm and a distorting carnival mirror of broader American society."Anthony Harkins, ''Hillbilly: A Cultural History of an American Icon'' (2004, Oxford Univ. Press) pp. 124–136

References

External links

Center for the Study of Southern Culture
(Mississippi University)
Collection: "The South (U.S. Southeast)"
from the University of Michigan Museum of Art
Southern Folk Art Collection
from the University of Mississippi Museum {{Regions of the United States Culture of the Southern United States, History of the Southern United States Cultural regions of the United States

History

People

Anglo Americans

Hispanic Americans

Religion

Southern dialect

Regional variations

Alabama

Kentucky

North Carolina

Oklahoma

Texas

Virginia

West Virginia

Maryland

Delaware

Beyond the Census-classified South

Missouri

Midwest, Southwest, and West

Cuisine

Drinks

Literature

Music

Sports

Film

Television

Popular culture images of Southerners

See also

References

Further reading

External links