Deep South

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the Futurama episode, see The Deep South (Futurama).

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 (Seven 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. The Upland South (or Upper South) is another southern region distinct from the Deep South.

Although Florida is geographically the southernmost state, it is sometimes excluded from contemporary uses of the term "Deep South" due to the significant amount of migration into South Florida from other regions after World War II. Urban areas in Southern states such as Birmingham, Alabama in the early 20th century and Atlanta, Georgia, Charlotte, North Carolina and Orlando, Florida in the post-war era have also absorbed waves of migrants seeking economic opportunities and warmer climates. This migration, according to some, has diluted some distinct cultural traits of the region. On the other hand, the blending of diverse cultural traditions is integral to the South's distinct urban cultures, such as in New Orleans, Louisiana or Mobile, Alabama.

For most of the 19th century and 20th century, the Deep South overwhelmingly supported the Democratic Party, viewing the rival Republican Party as a Northern organization responsible for the American Civil War, which devastated the economy of the Old South. However, since the 1964 presidential election, the Deep South has tended to vote for the Republican candidate, except in the 1976 election when Georgia native Jimmy Carter received the Democratic nomination. Since the 1990s there has been a continued shift toward Republican candidates in most political venues, including another Georgian, onetime Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.