 Geography The South is a vast, diverse region, having numerous climatic zones, including temperate, sub-tropical, tropical, and arid. The Appalachian mountains run through Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland. The states which make up the South have long been debated, especially whether Maryland, Delaware, and Kentucky should be considered part of the region. History The warm climate of the South, which was ideal for growing crops like tobacco, rice, sugarcane, and cotton, attracted British settlers to the coastal parts of the region. Meanwhile, the Spanish and French set up colonies in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. In the 18th century, large groups of Ulster Scots settled in Appalachia and the Piedmont. The South produced many great founding fathers, such as Virginians George Washington, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Jefferson. The Southern Atlantic Coast states were the setting for many crucial battles of the Revolutionary War, such as the Battle of Camden and the Siege of Yorktown, which was where General Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington, effectively ending the war. The beginning of the 19th century saw the beginning of the dominance of cotton in the lower South, spurred by the invention of the cotton gin. The growing cotton industry required more slave labor, and the institution became even more deeply an integral part of the South's economy. It was in the early 1800s where divisions between the North and the South began to develop, due to different economic philosophies, as well as differing opinions over whether slavery should be permitted in newly admitted states, such as Missouri and Kansas. Worried that slavery would be ended after the election of Abraham Lincoln, seven cotton states (South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas) seceded from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America. In the following months, four more states (Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina) joined them. The 1861 Battle of Fort Sumter in South Carolina began the Civil War, in which the South would serve as the primary battleground, with the Battles of Gettysburg and Antietam being the only two major battles of the war which did not take place there. The Civil War inflicted great damage on the South, and it would take many years for it to recover from this destruction. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments of the US Constitution outlawed slavery, granted full citizenship to African-Americans, and gave African-American males the right to vote, respectively. However, there was much discrimination against African-Americans by the end of the 19th century, with white supremacist organizations, such as the Klu Klux Klan, using brutal violence against them, and Jim Crow Laws racially segregating public facilities. The Southern economy was hit hard by the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, but World War II gave the region new industries and rapid growth. Today, manufacturing is the largest sector of the economy in most Southern states, with telecommunications, technology, banking, and aviation as other expanding industries. States
Cities with over 100,000 people
Education The oldest university in the South is the College of William & Mary, which was founded in 1693, and educated three presidents-- Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and John Tyler. The South has many fine universities, most notably Duke University (North Carolina), University of North Carolina, Vanderbilt University (Tennessee), Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Virginia, Rice University (Texas), and Johns Hopkins University (Maryland). Culture and Politics The largest number of people in the south have English ancestry, followed by Irish, African-American, and German. Most of the African-Americans in the South are descendants of slaves brought into the region. The South has large amounts of Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians. Together they make up almost 85% of the church-affiliated population of the South. Due to its high concentration of Christians, "Bible Belt" has been used to refer to parts of the region. The South also has a significant Roman Catholic population, especially in cities like Atlanta, Savannah, Mobile, Baltimore, Louisville, and New Orleans, and rural areas of the Gulf Coast. This number has increased in recent years due to the arrival of Hispanics in record numbers. The South Florida area is home to the country's second largest concentration of Jewish people. Southern dialects make up the largest accent group in the United States. While it has often been said that Southerners are most easily distinguished from other Americans by their speech, there is no single "Southern Accent". For example, different dialects of English are spoken in the Appalachian region and the Atlantic Coast region. The South is well-known for its cuisine, whose traditional dishes include fried chicken, cornbread, mashed potatoes, grits, country ham, buttermilk biscuits, hushpuppies, field peas and collared greens. The South is also famous for its pies-- sweet potato, chess, shoofly, pecan, and peach are all traditional Southern pies. Different areas of the South have different specialties. For example, Louisiana is well-known for its Cajuna and Creole cuisine, and Texas has a unique variation of Mexican food known as Tex-Mex. Barbecue is popular throughout the region. Country music, Bluegrass, Blues, Gospel, and Rock n' Roll music are popular throughout the South, where they originated. The South is generally considered a Republican stronghold. However, before the 1960s, the region was dominantly Democratic. Many presidents have come from the South, including Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, and George H.W. Bush recently. Sports Football and baseball are very popular in the South. The South has 35 teams from the MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL Washington, D.C (4).: Washington Nationals (MLB), Washington Wizards (NBA), Washington Redskins (NFL), Washington Capitals (NHL) Baltimore (2): Baltimore Orioles (MLB), Baltimore Ravens (NFL) North Carolina (3): Charlotte Hornets (NBA), Carolina Panthers (NFL), Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) Atlanta (3): Atlanta Braves (MLB), Atlanta Hawks (NBA), Atlanta Falcons (NFL) Florida (9): Miami Marlins (MLB), Tampa Bay Rays (MLB), Miami Heat (NBA), Orlando Magic (NBA), Jacksonville Jaguars (NFL), Miami Dolphins (NFL), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL), Florida Panthers (NHL), Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL) New Orleans (2) : New Orleans Pelicans (NBA), New Orleans Saints (NFL) Houston (3): Houston Astros (MLB), Houston Rockets (NBA), Houston Texans (NFL) Dallas-Fort Worth (4): Texas Rangers (MLB), Dallas Mavericks (NBA), Dallas Cowboys (NFL), Dallas Stars (NHL) San Antonio (1): San Antonio Spurs (NBA) Oklahoma City (1): Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA) Nashville and Memphis (3): Memphis Grizzlies (NBA), Tennessee Titans (NFL), Nashville Predators (NHL) The south has many notable college football teams (Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers, LSU Tigers, Texas Longhorns, Florida Gators), and college basketball teams (Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, Florida Gators, Duke Blue Devils, North Carolina Tar Heels). Sources http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Southern_United_States http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/555542/the-South http://www.southernspaces.org/2004/overview-religion-and-us-south http://www.gallup.com/poll/7234/US-Race-Relations-Region-South.aspx http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0032930 http://www.ceo.com/entrepreneurial_ceo/two-charts-showing-states-with-the-most-fortune-500-companies/ http://www.census.gov/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_United_States#Sports |
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