Deep South
From Free net encyclopedia
The Deep South is a cultural and geographic subregion of the American South, differentiated from the "Old South" as being the post colonial expansion of Southern States in the antebellum period. There are various definitions of the term:
- South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana (Six of the founding members of the Confederate States of America)
- Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana (From the Dictionary of Cultural Literacy)
- Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi (From the National Endowment for the Humanities)
The "Deep South" is usually defined in opposition to the Old South including South Carolina, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, and often Georgia and also further differentiated from the inland border states such as Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Arkansas and the peripheral southern states of Florida and Texas.
Although Florida is geographically the southernmost state, it is sometimes excluded from the Deep South due to the large amount of northern immigration that occurred starting after World War II. However, parts of the state, especially the Panhandle and the northern regions can be included in the characterization, with an unofficial "Southern" line possibly "drawn" around the area near extreme northern Hillsborough County, Florida, jutting northeast to above Orlando and surrounding counties; below this line, the culture tends to be more "Northern" due to said immigration (the Miami–Ft. Lauderdale–West Palm Beach area in extreme southeast Florida is the least influenced by "Southern" culture).
Urban areas of North Carolina and Georgia are also being bombarded with waves of northern (Rust belt) migrants seeking greater economic opportunities and watering down some distinct southern attributes.
Throughout the most of the 19th century and 20th century, the Deep South was firmly entrenched in the populist Democratic Party. However, in presidential elections, the Deep South has tended to vote for the Republican candidate since 1964, except in the 1976 election. Since the 1990s there has been a continued shift toward Republican candidates in most political venues.
Literature
- Adam Rothman. Slave Country: American Expansion and the Origins of the Deep South. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005 review