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The American South

The American South. Made by Zhanna Travkina. Geographical position. Modern definition.

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The American South

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  1. The American South Made by Zhanna Travkina

  2. Geographical position

  3. Modern definition The states in dark red are almost always included in modern day definitions of the South, while those in medium red are usually included. Some sources classify Maryland and Missouri as Southern, with Delaware only rarely grouped within the region. West Virginia is often considered Southern, because it was once part of Virginia.

  4. Historic Southern U.S. The states in red were in the Confederacy and have historically been regarded as forming "the South." Those in stripes were considered "Border" states, and gave varying degrees of support to the Southern cause although they remained in the Union. (This image depicts the original, trans-Allegheny borders of Virginia, and so does not show West Virginia separately. See image below for post-1863 Virginia and West Virginia borders.) While Oklahoma was aligned with the Confederacy, it is not shaded because at the time, the region was Indian Territory, and thus not a state.

  5. Sub regions of the South • As defined by the United States Census Bureau, the Southern region of the United States includes sixteen states: • The South Atlantic States: Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Delaware • The East South Central States: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee • The West South Central States: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas

  6. Terms • The New South: usually including the South Atlantic States. • The Solid South: region controlled by the Democratic Party from 1877 to 1964. • Southern Appalachia: mainly refers to areas situated in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, namely Eastern Kentucky, East Tennessee, Western North Carolina, Western Maryland, West Virginia, Southwest Virginia, North Georgia, and Northwestern South Carolina. • Southeastern United States: usually including the Carolinas, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida • The Deep South: various definitions, usually including Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and South Carolina. • The Old South: is usually defined in opposition to the Deep South including Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi, and it is also further differentiated from the inland border states such as Kentucky and West Virginia and the peripheral southern states of Florida and Texas. • The Gulf South: usually includes Gulf coasts of Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama. • The Upper South: Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. • Dixie: associated with the 11 states of the Old Confederacy. • The Mid-South: defined by the Census as the South Central United States • Border South: Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware were states on the outer rim of the Confederacy that did not secede from the United States, but did have significant numbers of residents who joined the Confederate armed forces.

  7. “The Belts” • The Sun Belt or Spanish Belt is a region of the United States generally considered to stretch across the South and Southwest • The Bible Belt is an informal term for an area of the United States in which socially conservative evangelical Protestantism is a significant part of the culture and Christian church attendance across the denominations is extremely high. • The Black Belt is a region of the Southern United States. Although the term originally describes the prairies and dark soil of central Alabama and northeast Mississippi, it has long been used to describe a broad region in the American South characterized by a high percentage of black people.

  8. The Sun belt The Sun Belt comprises the southern tier of the United States and is usually considered to include at least the states of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, roughly half of California, southern Nevada, and southern Virginia; more expansively, Colorado and Utah (and all of California and Nevada) are sometimes considered as Sun Belt states. The term "Sun Belt" became synonymous with the southern third of the nation in the early 1970s. There was a shift in this period from the previously economically and politically important northeast to the south and west. Events such as the huge migration of immigrant workers from neighboring Mexico, warmer climate, and a boom in the agriculture industry allowed for the southern third of the U.S.A. to grow by leaps and bounds economically. Industries such as aerospace, defense and oil boomed in the Sun Belt as companies took advantage of the low involvement of labor unions in the south. The three largest metropolitan areas in the Sun Belt are the Greater Los Angeles Area, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex.

  9. The Bible Belt The Bible Belt consists of much of the Southern United States. During the colonial period (1607–1776), the South was a stronghold of the Anglican church. Its transition to a stronghold of non-Anglican Protestantism occurred gradually over the next century, as a series of religious revival movements, many associated with the Baptist denomination, gained great popularity in the region. The term Bible Belt is used informally by journalists and by its detractors, who suggest that religious people allow religion to influence politics, science, and education. In fact there has been research that links evangelical Protestantism with social conservatism. In presidential elections, the Bible Belt states of Alabama, Mississippi, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas have voted for the Republican candidate in all elections since 1980. Other Bible Belt states have voted for the Republican presidential candidate in the majority of elections since 1980, but have gone to the Democratic candidate either once or twice since then.

  10. The Black Belt Black Belt is still used in the physiographic sense, to describe a crescent-shaped region about 300 miles (480 km) long and up to 25 miles (40 km) wide, extending from southwest Tennessee to east-central Mississippi and then east through Alabama to the border with Georgia. Black Belt is characterized of high percentage of black people. They were originally enslaved laborers on the region's cotton plantations and many stayed as rural workers, tenant farmers and sharecroppers after the American Civil War. Because of the decline of family farms, the rural communities in the Black Belt commonly face acute poverty, rural exodus, inadequate education programs, low educational attainment, poor health care, substandard housing, and high levels of crime and unemployment. While African-American residents are disproportionately affected, these problems apply broadly to all ethnic groups in the Black Belt. There are various definitions of the region and its boundaries, but it is generally considered a band through the center of the Deep South, although stretching from as far north as Delaware to as far west as eastern Texas.

  11. The South Atlantic States: Florida • Nickname: The Sunshine State because of its generally warm climate • Governor: Charlie Crist • Florida was admitted as the 27th U.S. state in 1845. • Area: 65,755 square miles (170,305 km2 • The state population was 18,537,969 in 2009, ranking Florida as the fourth most populous state in the U.S. • Tallahassee is the state capital; Jacksonville is the largest city • Universities: The State University System of Florida was founded in 1905. Florida has many large and small private institutions.

  12. Florida: Tallahassee Mayor: John Marks Population: 172,574 Places of interest: Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park, Challenger Learning Center, Doak Campbell Stadium, Florida State Capitol, Foster Tanner Fine Arts Gallery at Florida A&M University, Goodwood Museum and Gardens, John G. Riley Center/Museum of African American History & Culture (Riley Museum), Lake Ella, Lake Henrietta, Lake Jackson, Lake Jackson Mounds Archaeological State Park, Lake Munson, LeMoyne Center for the Visual Arts, Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science (MOAS), Mission San Luis de Apalachee, Museum of Fine Arts at Florida State University, Museum of Florida History, Myers Park, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, North Florida Fairgrounds, Railroad Square, Tallahassee Automobile Museum, Tallahassee Museum, Young Actors Theatre Festivals and events: Downtown Getdown, First Friday festivals at Railroad Square, Greek Food Festival, Red Hills Horse Trials, Seven Days of Opening Nights, Southern Shakespeare Festival, Springtime Tallahassee, Tallahassee Film Festival, Tallahassee Wine and Food Festival, Winter Festival

  13. The South Atlantic States: Georgia • Nickname: Peach State, Empire State of the South • Governor: Sonny Perdue • Georgia was established in 1732, it was one of the original seven Confederate states. • Area: 59,425 sq mi (153,909 km2) • Population: 9,829,211 (2009) • The capital and the largest city is Atlanta • Georgia has almost 70 public colleges, universities, and technical colleges in addition to over 45 private institutes of higher learning.

  14. Georgia: Atlanta • Mayor: Kasim Reed • As of 2009 Atlanta had an estimated population of about 540,922 people. The Atlanta metropolitan area, with more than 5.4 million people, is the second largest in the Southeastern United States and the ninth largest in the country. • Places of interest: Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Opera, Atlanta Ballet, The Fox Theatre, Art Institute of Atlanta, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Center for Puppetry Arts, Seven Stages Theater, The Horizon Theater Company, the Margaret Mitchell House and Museum, Georgia Aquarium, Georgia Dome, Georgia World Congress, Center, Grant Park, National Museum of Patriotism • Festivals and events: Atlanta Dogwood Festival, Screen on the Green, Atlanta Jazz Festival, Sweet Auburn SpringFest, Virginia-Highlands Summerfest, Georgia Renaissance Festival http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1S6iFuJQRs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eufklmLjoQQ&feature=channel

  15. The South Atlantic States: Maryland • Nickname: Old Line State; Free State; Little America; America in Miniature • Governor: Martin O'Malley • The history of Maryland included only Native Americans until Europeans, starting with John Cabot in 1498, began exploring the area. The first settlements came in 1634 when the English arrived in significant numbers and created a permanent colony. In 1776, during the American Revolution, Maryland became a state in the United States. • Area: 12,407 sq mi (32,133 km2) • Population: 5,699,478 (2009 est.) • Capital: Annapolis • The largest city: Baltimore • Universities: Maryland has several historic and renowned private colleges and universities, the most prominent of which is Johns Hopkins University, founded in 1876 with a grant from Baltimore entrepreneur Johns Hopkins. The first public university in the state is the University of Maryland, Baltimore was founded in 1807. Baltimore is home to the Maryland Institute College of Art. • According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Maryland has the highest median household income of any state, with a median income of $70,545.

  16. Maryland: Annapolis • Mayor: Joshua J. Cohen • It has a population of 36,524 (July 2008 est.) • Places of interest: The Maryland State House, The United States Naval Academy, Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre, The Banneker-Douglass Museum, Hammond-Harwood House, The Kunta Kinte- Alex Haley memorial

  17. The South Atlantic States: North Carolina Nicknames: Tar Heel State; Old North State Governor: Bev Perdue Spanish colonial forces made a short-lived permanent settlement in 1567, which was soon wiped out by the natives. North Carolina became one of the English Thirteen Colonies, and was originally known as Province of Carolina. Originally settled by small farmers, sometimes having a few slaves, who were oriented toward subsistence agriculture, the colony lacked cities or even towns. Area: 53,819 sq mi (139,581 km2) Population: 9,380,884 (2009 est.) Capital: Raleigh The largest city: Charlotte Universities: In 1795, North Carolina opened the first public university in the United States—the University of North Carolina. More than 200 years later, the University of North Carolina system encompasses 17 public universities including UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, East Carolina University, Western Carolina University, UNC Asheville, UNC Charlotte, UNC Greensboro, UNC Pembroke, UNC Wilmington, UNC School of the Arts, and Appalachian State University. The system also supports several well-known historically African-American colleges and universities such as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina Central University, Winston-Salem State University, Elizabeth City State University, and Fayetteville State University. Along with its public universities, North Carolina has 58 public community colleges in its community college system.

  18. North Carolina: Raleigh • Mayor: Charles Meeker • Population: 405,791 (2009) • Places of interest: there are a lot of historical buildings such as the Sir Walter Raleigh Hotel built in the early 20th century, the restored City Market, the Fayetteville Street downtown business district, the Cameron Village midtown business district, as well as the North Carolina Museum of History, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, North Carolina State Capitol, Peace College, the Raleigh City Museum, Raleigh Convention Center, RBC Plaza, Shaw University, and St. Augustine's College. Famous museums: African American Cultural Complex, Contemporary Art Museum, Gregg Museum of Art & Design at NCSU, Haywood Hall House & Gardens, North Carolina Museum of Art, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, North Carolina Museum of History, North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, Raleigh City Museum, Marbles Kids Museum, J. C. Raulston Arboretum, Joel Lane House, Mordecai House, Montfort Hall, Pope House Museum

  19. The South Atlantic States: South Carolina • Nicknames: The Palmetto State • Governor: Mark Sanford • The proprietary colony of Carolina was first settled at Charles Town (modern day Charleston) in 1670, mostly by immigrants from the British colony of Barbados in the Caribbean. There was discontent with the Lords Proprietors from the earliest years of the colony. Colonists overthrew the proprietors after the Yamasee War of 1715-1717. In 1719 the colony was officially made a crown colony, although the Lords Proprietors held their rights until 1729. South Carolina declared independence from Great Britain and set up its own government on March 15, 1776. It joined the United States by signing the Declaration of Independence. • Area: 32,020 sq mi (82,931. km2) • Population: 4,561,242 (2009 est.) • Capital and the largest city is Columbia • Universities: South Carolina hosts a diverse cohort of institutions of higher education, from large state-funded research universities to small colleges that cultivate a liberal arts, religious or military tradition. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, the College of Charleston is the oldest institution of higher learning in South Carolina, the 13th oldest in the United States.

  20. South Carolina: Columbia • Mayor: Steve Benjamin • Population: 129,333 (2009) • Places of interest: Town Theatre, Trustus Theatre, The Nickelodeon Theatre, Columbia Marionette Theatre,Workshop Theatre of South Carolina, The Imperfect Theater Company, The South Carolina State Museum, The Columbia Museum of Art, EdVenture, McKissick Museum, The Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum, The Richland County Public Library, The South Carolina State Library, The South Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra, The Columbia City Jazz Dance Company, Finlay Park, Memorial Park, Granby Park, Martin Luther King Jr. Park, Riverbanks Zoo & Garden, Congaree National Park, Sesquicentennial State Park, Riverfront Park • Festivals and events: The South Carolina State Fair, St. Patrick’s Day Festival, Riverfest Celebration, Earth Day at Finlay Park, South Carolina Gay & Lesbian Pride, Artista Vista, Viva La Vista, The Greek Festival, The Irmo Okra Strut, Main Street Jazz, Vista Lights, Urban Tour, Southeastern Piano Festival, Finlay Park Summer Concert Series

  21. The South Atlantic States: Virginia • Nicknsmes: Old Dominion; Mother of Presidents • Governor: Bob McDonnell • The History of Virginia began with settlement of the geographic region now known as the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States thousands of years ago by Native Americans. Permanent European settlement began with the establishment of Jamestown in 1607, by English colonists. As tobacco emerged as a profitable export, Virginia imported more African laborers to cultivate it. Virginia leaders had a major role in the road to winning independence, with Thomas Jefferson's writing the Declaration of Independence and George Washington's commanding the American army. In 1861, Virginia was a slave state but refused to join the cotton states in the new Confederacy until Lincoln called for troops to "repossess federal property" in seceding states, which did not include Virginia. • Area: 42,774.2 sq mi (110,785.67 km2) • Population: 8,001,024 • Capital is Richmond and the largest city is Virginia Beach • Universities: Virginia's educational system consistently ranks in the top ten states on the U.S. Department of Education's National Assessment of Educational Progress, with Virginia students outperforming the average in all subject areas and grade levels tested. As of 2010, there are 167 colleges and universities in Virginia. The most famous are: the University of Virginia, The College of William & Mary, James Madison University, Virginia Commonwealth University, The Virginia Military Institute, George Mason University

  22. Virginia: Richmond Mayor: Dwight Clinton Jones Population: 204,451 Places of interest: the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, The Science Museum of Virginia, The Museum of the Confederacy, the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar, St. John's Church, the Virginia Holocaust Museum, Barksdale Theatre, # Richmond Symphony, Virginia Opera, Classic Amphitheatre at Strawberry Hill. Richmond is home to many significant structures, including some designed by notable architects. The city contains diverse styles, including Greek Revival, Roman Revival, Romanesque, Georgian, Gothic, Tudor, Egyptian Revival, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Modernist, International, and Postmodern buildings. The city operates one of the oldest municipal park systems in the country (Monroe Park, Joseph Bryan Park Azalea Garden, Forest Hill Park, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden)

  23. The South Atlantic States: West Virginia • Nickname: Mountain State • Governor: Earl Ray Tomblin • West Virginia is one of only two American states formed during the American Civil War (1861–1865), along with Nevada, and is the only state to form by seceding from a Confederate state. It was originally part of the British Virginia Colony (1607–1776) and the western part of the state of Virginia (1776–1863), whose population became sharply divided over the issue of secession from the Union and in the separation from Virginia, formalized by admittance to the Union as a new state in 1863. West Virginia was one of the Civil War Border states. • Area: 24,230 sq mi (62,755 km2) • Population: 1,819,777 (2009 est.) • Capital and the largest city is Charleston • Universities: Alderson–Broaddus College, Appalachian Bible College, Bethany College, Bluefield State College, Blue Ridge Community and Technical College, Bridgemont Community and Technical College, Concord University, Davis and Elkins College, Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College, Marshall University, Mountain State University, Mountwest Community and Technical College, New River Community and Technical College, Shepherd University, University of Charleston, West Virginia University

  24. West Virginia: Charleston • Mayor: Danny Jones • Population: 50,267 (2009) • Places of interest: Charleston possesses a number of older buildings which represent a variety of historical architectural styles. About fifty places in Charleston are included on the National Register of Historic Places (Avampato Discovery Museum, Sunrise Museum, West Virginia State Museum, South Charleston Museum, St. George Orthodox Cathedral, founded in 1892; St. Marks United Methodist Church, The Capitol Theater. There are also a great amount of parks and outdoor attractions: Appalachian Power Park, Cato Park, Daniel Boone Park, Danner Meadow Park, Kanawha State Forest, Magic Island, Davis Park, Haddad Riverfront Park, Ruffner Park, Shawnee Park • Festivals and events: The West Virginia Dance Festival, Symphony Sunday, West Virginia International Film Festival, the Daily Mail Kanawha County Majorette and Band Festival, the Kanawha Kordsmen Barbershop Chorus, FestivALL, the Vandalia Gathering

  25. The South Atlantic States: Delaware • Nicknames: The First State; The Small Wonder; Blue Hen State; The Diamond State • Governor: Jack A. Markell • The history of Delaware is the story of a small American state, in the middle of the original colonies, and yet until recently often overlooked by outsiders. Still, because of its geographic location and settlement pattern, its population has often been evenly divided on key issues in American history, so that it has seemed to represent the United States in miniature. Delaware is made up of three counties established since 1680, before the time of William Penn. Each had its own settlement history. Their early inhabitants tended to identify more closely with the county than the colony or state. Large parts of southern and western Delaware were thought to have been in Maryland until 1767. All of the state has existed in the wide economic and political circle of Philadelphia. • Area: 2,490 sq mi (6,452 km2) • Population: 885,122 (2009 est.) • The capital is Dover and the largest city is Wilmington • Universities: Delaware College of Art and Design, Delaware State University, Delaware Technical & Community College, Drexel University at Wilmington, Goldey-Beacom College, University of Delaware, Wesley College, Widener University School of Law, Wilmington University

  26. Delaware: Dover Mayor: Carleton Carey Population: 35,811 (2008 Estimate) Places of interest: the Schwartz Center for the Arts, The Delaware State Library, Delaware State Museum, and the Delaware State Archives, the Sewell C. Biggs Museum of American Art

  27. The East South Central States: Alabama • Nicknames: Yellowhammer State; Heart of Dixie; Cotton State • Governor: Robert R. Riley • Alabama became a state of the United States of America on December 14, 1819. After the Indian wars and removals of the early 19th century forced most Native Americans out of the state, white settlers arrived in large numbers. Wealthy planters created large cotton plantations based in the fertile central Black Belt, which depended on the labor of enslaved African Americans. Tens of thousands of slaves were transported to and sold in the state by slave traders who purchased them in the Upper South. Elsewhere in Alabama, poorer whites practiced subsistence farming. By 1860 African Americans comprised 45% of the state's population of 964,201 • Area: 52,419 sq mi (135,765 km2) • Population: 4,661,900 (2008 est.) • The capital is Montgomery and the largest city is Birmingham • Universities: Alabama's programs of higher education include 14 four-year public universities, two-year community colleges, and 17 private, undergraduate and graduate universities. The most popular universities are: University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of South Alabama, (University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Alabama School of Law, Birmingham School of Law, Cumberland School of Law

  28. Alabama: Montgomery Mayor: Todd Strange Population: 224,119 Places of interest: Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, The Hank Williams Museum, Montgomery Zoo, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's Carolyn Blount Theatre, Alabama Dance Theatre, the F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum

  29. The East South Central States: Kentucky • Nickname: Bluegrass State • Governor: Steve Beshear • Although inhabited by Native Americans from at least 1000 BCE to about 1650 CE, when European and colonial explorers and settlers began entering Kentucky in greater number in the mid-18th century, there were no major Native American settlements in the region. After the American Revolution, the counties of Virginia beyond the Appalachian Mountains became known as Kentucky County. On June 1, 1792, Kentucky became the fifteenth state to be admitted to the union. Kentucky was a border state during the American Civil War. • Area: 40,409 sq mi (104,659 km2) • Population: 4,314,113 (2009 est.) • The capital is Frankfort and the largest city is Louisville. • Universities: Kentucky maintains eight public four-year universities. There are two general tiers: major research institutions (the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville) and regional universities, which encompasses the remaining 6 schools.

  30. Kentucky: Frankfort Mayor: Gippy Graham Population: 27,741 Places of interest: Kentucky's Capitol building, Kentucky Governor's Mansion, A floral clock near the Capitol building, Church of the Ascension Episcopal Church, Good Shepherd Roman Catholic Church

  31. The East South Central States: Mississippi • Nicknames: The Magnolia State; The Hospitality State • Governor: Haley Barbour • The State of Mississippi's history goes back beyond American statehood to Ancient Native American times. The first major European expedition into the territory that became Mississippi was that of Hernando de Soto, who passed through in 1540. The French, in April 1699, established the first European settlement. Through the next decades, the area was ruled by Spanish, British and French colonial governments. After the American Revolution, this area became part of the new United States of America. The Mississippi Territory was organized on April 7, 1798, from territory ceded by Georgia and South Carolina. • Area: 48,430 sq mi (125,443 km2) • Population: 2,938,618 (2008 est.) • The capital and the largest city is Jackson • Universities: Until the Civil War era, Mississippi had a small number of schools and no educational institutions for black people. The first school for black people was established in 1862. During Reconstruction in 1870, black and white Republicans were the first to establish a system of public education in the state. Now the most popular universities are: Alcorn State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi State University, The University of Southern Mississippi

  32. Mississippi: Jackson Mayor: Harvey Johnson, Jr. Population: 175,021 Places of interest: Jackson Zoo, Mississippi Museum of Art, Mississippi Opera, Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, Municipal Art Gallery, Mynelle Gardens, New Stage Theatre, Russell C. Davis Planetarium

  33. The East South Central States: Tennessee • Nickname: The Volunteer State • Governor: Phil Bredesen • The first recorded European excursions into what is now called Tennessee were three expeditions led by Spanish explorers, namely Hernando de Soto in 1540, Tristan de Luna in 1559, and Juan Pardo in 1567. Pardo recorded the name "Tanasqui" from a local Indian village, which may have evolved to the state's current name. The first British settlement in what is now Tennessee was Fort Loudoun, near present-day Vonore. Tennessee was admitted to the Union in 1796 as the 16th state. It was the first state created from territory under the jurisdiction of the United States federal government. • Area: 42,143 sq mi (109,247 km2) • Population: 6,214,888 (2008 est.) • The capital is Nashville and the largest city is Memphis • University: American Baptist College, The Art Institute of Tennessee- Nashville, East Tennessee State University, Lincoln Memorial University, Lipscomb University, Martin Methodist College, Memphis College of Art, Middle Tennessee State University, Milligan College, Motlow State Community College, Nashville School of Law, Union University, University of Memphis

  34. Tennessee: Nashville • Mayor: Karl Dean • Population: 635,710 • Places of interest: Warner Parks, the Vanderbilt Sailing Club, Fort Nashborough, The Tennessee Performing Arts Center, the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Belcourt Theatre, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art • Festivals and events: the CMA Music Festival, Nashville Film Festival, Country Music Marathon, Tomato Art Festival, African Street Festival, ICE! and SNOW!

  35. The West South Central States: Arkansas • Nickname: The Natural State (current), The Land of Opportunity (former) • Governor: Mike Beebe • The first European to reach Arkansas was the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, a veteran of Pizarro's conquest of Peru who died near Lake Village on the Mississippi River in 1542 after almost a year traversing the southern part of the state in search of gold and a passage to China. Arkansas is one of several U.S. states formed from the territory purchased from Napoleon Bonaparte in the Louisiana Purchase. The Territory of Arkansas was organized on July 4, 1819. On June 15, 1836, the State of Arkansas was admitted to the Union as the 25th state and the 13th slave state. Arkansas refused to join the Confederate States of America until after United States President Abraham Lincoln called for troops to respond to the Confederate attack upon Fort Sumter, South Carolina. The State of Arkansas declared its secession from the Union on May 6, 1861. While not often cited in historical accounts, the state was the scene of numerous small-scale battles during the American Civil War. • Area: 53,179 sq mi (137,002 km2) • Population: 2,855,390 (2008 est.) • The capital and the largest city is Little Rock • Universities: Arkansas State University, Arkansas Tech University, Henderson State University, John Brown University, Southern Arkansas University

  36. Arkansas: Little Rock • Mayor: Mark Stodola • Population: 685,488 • Places of interest: The Arkansas Arts Center, The Arkansas Museum of Discovery, The Old State House Museum, Aerospace Education Center, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Robinson Center Music Hall, Wildwood Park for the Arts, Pinnacle Mountain State Park

  37. The West South Central States: Louisiana • Nickname: Bayou State, Child of the Mississippi, Creole State, Pelican State (official), Sportsman's Paradise, Sugar State • Governor: Bobby Jindal • The first European explorers to visit Louisiana came in 1528 when a Spanish expedition led by Panfilo de Narváez located the mouth of the Mississippi River. In 1682, the French explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle named the region Louisiana to honor France's King Louis XIV. The first permanent settlement, Fort Maurepas (at what is now Ocean Springs, Mississippi, near Biloxi), was founded by Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, a French military officer from Canada, in 1699. • Area: 51,843 sq mi (135,382 km2) • Population: 4,533,372 (2010 est.) • The capital is Baton Rouge and the largest city is New Orleans • Universities: Louisiana State University, Southern University, Louisiana Technical College (40 campuses), Elaine P. Nunez Community College, River Parishes Community College

  38. Louisiana: Baton Rouge • Mayor: Melvin "Kip" Holden • Population: 229,553 (2007) • Places of interest: Shaw Center for the Arts, Baton Rouge Gallery, Baton Rouge River Center, Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, Baton Rouge Zoo • Festivals and events: Mardi Gras, Festival of Lights, Greater Baton Rouge Christmas Parade, Red Stick International Animation Festival

  39. The West South Central States: Oklahoma • Nickname: Sooner State • Governor: C. Brad Henry • Spaniard Francisco Vásquez de Coronado traveled through the state in 1541, but French explorers claimed the area in the 1700s and it remained under French rule until 1803, when all the French territory west of the Mississippi River was purchased by the United States in the Louisiana Purchase. During the 19th century, thousands of Native Americans were expelled from their ancestral homelands from across North America and transported to the area including and surrounding present-day Oklahoma. • Area: 69,898 sq mi (181,195 km2) • Population: 3,751,351 (2010 Census Estimate) • The capital and the largest city is Oklahoma City. • Universities: Cameron University, East Central University, Langston University, Northeastern State University, Oklahoma State University, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

  40. Oklahoma: Oklahoma City • Mayor: Mick Cornett • Population: 560,333 (2009 est.) • Places of interest: Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Civic Center Music Hall, Lyric Theatre, Jewel Box Theatre, Science Museum Oklahoma, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, The American Indian Cultural Center and Museum, National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, Myriad Botanical Gardens, Oklahoma City Zoological Park

  41. The West South Central States: Texas • Nickname: The Lone Star State • Governor: Rick Perry • The first European base was established in 1682, when René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle established a French colony, Fort Saint Louis, near Matagorda Bay. When Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, Mexican Texas was part of the new nation. The slaves in Mexico were primarily held by the Anglo immigrants, who were thus most affected when the slaves were freed throughout Mexico in 1830. Angry at the government in Mexico City, the Texian forces fought and won the Texas Revolution in 1835–36. Texas now became an independent nation, the Republic of Texas. Attracted by the rich cotton lands and ranch lands, tens of thousands of immigrants arrived from the U.S. (bringing slaves) and from Germany as well. In 1845, Texas joined the United States, becoming the 28th state. Determined to protect slavery, Texas declared its secession from the United States in 1861 to join the Confederate States of America. • Area: 268,581 sq mi (696,241 km2) • Population: 25,145,561 (2010 est.) • The capital is Austin and the largest city is Houston • Universities: University of Houston, University of North Texas, Texas A&M University, Baylor University, University of Mary Hardin–Baylor, and Southwestern University, Texas Christian University

  42. Texas: Austin • Mayor: Lee Leffingwell • Population: 786,386 (2009 est.) • Places of interest: Zachary Scott Theatre Center, Vortex Repertory Company, Salvage Vanguard Theater, Rude Mechanicals, Scottish Rite Children's Theater, Hyde Park Theatre, The Paramount Theatre, Austin Lyric Opera • Festivals and events: Austin Aqua Festival, Austin City Limits Music Festival, Austin Film Festival, Butt-Numb-A-Thon, Carnaval Brasileiro, Fantastic Fest, Fun Fun Fun Fest, Old Settler's Music Festival, South by Southwest

  43. Southern people • The predominant culture of the South has its origins in the settlement of the region by British colonists. In the 17th century, most were of Southern English origins, mostly from regions such as Kent, East Anglia and the West Country who settled mostly on the coast regions of the South but pushed as far inland as the Appalachian mountains by the 18th century. • In the 18th century, large groups of Scots lowlanders, Northern English and Ulster-Scots (later called the Scots-Irish) settled in Appalachia and the Piedmont. They were often called "crackers" by the upper classes; a name that suggested they were great boasters. • The other primary population group in the South is made that of African American descendants of the slaves brought into the South. African Americans comprise the United States' second-largest racial minority, accounting for 12.1 percent of the total population according to the 2000 census. Despite Jim Crow era outflow to the North, the majority of the black population has remained concentrated in the southern states, and blacks have been returning to the South in large numbers since the end of formal segregation. African Americans in the South have transmitted their foods, music , art, and charismatic brand of Christianity to white Southerners, and the rest of the nation.

  44. Religion

  45. Southern dialect • The Southern dialects make up the largest accent group in the United States. • Few generalizations can be made about Southern pronunciation as there is great variation between the regions of the South, between older and younger people, and between people of different ethnic backgrounds.

  46. Cuisine As an important feature of Southern culture, the cuisine of the South is often described as one of its most distinctive traits. Popular sayings include "Food is Love" and "If it ain't fried it ain't cooked". Southern culinary culture has readily adopted Native American influences. Corn meal mush, cornfritters, hominy, cornbread and brunswick stew are a few of the more common examples of foods adopted directly from southeastern Indians. Nevertheless, a great many regional varieties have also developed. Traditional African American Southern food is often called soul food. While not being spicy as is cajun food, it does tend to use lots of herbs, flour, and can also be called stick-to your ribs food. Of course, most Southern cities and even some smaller towns now offer a wide variety of cuisines of other origins such as Chinese, Italian, French, Middle Eastern, as well as restaurants still serving primarily Southern specialties, so-called "home cooking" establishments. Some notable "home cooking" meals include: fried chicken, corn on the cob, pot liquor, vegetable stew, chicken and dumplings, and chicken fried steak.

  47. Literature: Early and Antebellum Literature • During the 17th and 18th centuries, English colonists in the Southern part of the American colonies produced a number of notable works (Captain John Smith's account of the founding of Jamestown in the 1610s and 1620s, and William Byrd II's secret plantation diary, kept in the early 18th century). • After American independence, in the early 19th century, the expansion of cotton planting and slavery began to distinguish Southern society and culture more clearly from the rest of the young republic. The lawyer and essayist Hugh Swinton Legare, the poets Paul Hamilton Hayne and Henry Timrod, and the novelist William Gilmore Simms composed some of the most important works in antebellum Southern literature. • In the Chesapeake region antebellum authors of enduring interest include John Pendleton Kennedy, whose novel Swallow Barn offered a colorful sketch of Virginia plantation life; and Nathaniel Beverley Tucker, whose 1836 work The Partisan Leader foretold the secession of the Southern states, and imagined a guerrilla war in Virginia between federal and secessionist armies. • Not all noteworthy Southern authors during this period were white. Frederick Douglass's Narrative is perhaps the most famous first-person account of black slavery in the antebellum South. Harriet Jacobs, meanwhile, recounted her experiences in bondage in North Carolina in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. And another Southern-born ex-slave, William Wells Brown, wrote Clotel; or, The President's Daughter -- widely believed to be the first novel ever published by an African-American. The book depicts the life of its title character, a daughter of Thomas Jefferson and his black mistress, and struggle against slavery.

  48. Literature: The "Lost Cause" years • In the second half of the 19th century, the South lost the Civil War and suffered through what many white southerners considered a harsh occupation (called Reconstruction). In place of the Anti-Tom literature came poetry and novels about the "Lost Cause of the Confederacy." These writers idealized the defeated South and its lost culture. Prominent writers with this point of view included poets Henry Timrod, Daniel B. Lucas, Abram Joseph Ryan, and Sidney Lanier and fiction writer Thomas Nelson Page. • In 1884, Mark Twain published what is arguably the most influential southern novel of the 19th century, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. • Kate Chopin was another central figure in post-Civil War Southern literature. Focusing her writing largely on the Acadian/Cajun communities of Louisiana, Chopin established her literary reputation with the short story collections Bayou Folk (1894), A Night in Acadie (1897) and The Awakening (1899) • During the first half of the 20th Century, the lawyer, politician, minister, orator, actor, and author Thomas Dixon, Jr. wrote a number of novels, plays, sermons, and non-fiction pieces which were quite popular with the general public all over the USA.

  49. Literature: The Southern Renaissance • In the 1920s and 1930s, a renaissance in Southern literature began with the appearance of writers such as William Faulkner, Katherine Anne Porter, Caroline Gordon, Allen Tate, Thomas Wolfe, Robert Penn Warren, and Tennessee Williams, among others. Because of the distance the Southern Renaissance authors had from the American Civil War and slavery, they were more objective in their writings about the South. • The late 1930s also saw the publication of one of the best-known Southern novels, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. The novel, published in 1936, quickly became a bestseller. It won the 1937 Pulitzer Prize and in 1939 an equally famous movie of the novel premiered. • From the 1940s onward, Southern literature grew thematically as it embraced the social and cultural changes in the South resulting from the American Civil Rights Movement ( Zora Neale Hurston, Sterling Allen Brown, Eudora Welty, Flannery O'Connor, Ellen Glasgow, Carson McCullers, Katherine Anne Porter, and Shirley Ann Grau). Other well-known Southern writers of this period include Reynolds Price, James Dickey, William Price Fox, Davis Grubb, Walker Percy, and William Styron.. One of the most highly praised Southern novels of the 20th century, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, won the Pulitzer Prize when it was published in 1960. Another famous novel of the 1960s is A Confederacy of Dunces, written by New Orleans native John Kennedy Toole in the 1960s but not published until 1980. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1981 and has since become a cult classic.

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