Southern United States

The Southern United States or the South constitute a distinctive region covering a large portion of the United States. Due to the region's unique cultural and historic heritage, the South has developed its own customs, literature, musical styles (such as country music and jazz), and cuisine. The South has also been prominently involved in numerous issues faced by the United States as a whole, including slavery, the American Civil War, and Presidential politics (with the majority of the recent Presidents of the United States having come from the region).

Culture

Southern culture has been and remains generally more socially conservative than that of the north. Due to the central role of agriculture in the antebellum economy, society remained stratified according to land ownership. Rural communities developed strong attachment to their churches as the primary community institution.

Related Topics:
Conservative - Church

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Religion

The South, perhaps more so than any other industrial culture in the world, is highly religious, resulting in the reference to regions of the South as the "Bible Belt", from its prevalence of evangelical or fundamentalist Protestantism. The region is often stereotyped as being somewhat intolerant to other religious faiths or the non-religious. Southern churches evangelize more than churches in other regions, which many non-Protestants consider hostile, but few southerners question the actual freedom of worship or non-worship. Cities such as Atlanta and Houston have significant Jewish and Islamic communities. In addition, there are significant Catholic populations in most cities in the South—with larger concentrations in cities such as New Orleans—and immigrants from Southeast Asia have brought Buddhism and Hinduism to the region as well.

Related Topics:
Religious - Bible Belt - Evangelical - Fundamentalist - Protestantism - Evangelize - Atlanta - Houston - Jewish - Islamic - Catholic - New Orleans - Southeast Asia - Buddhism - Hinduism

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Southern Dialect

Southern American English is a dialect of the English language spoken throughout the South. Southern American English can be divided into different sub-dialects (see American English), with speech differing between, for example, the Appalachian region and the coastal area around Charleston, South Carolina. The South Midlands dialect was influenced by the migration of Southern dialect speakers into the American West. The dialect spoken to various degrees by many African Americans, African American Vernacular English (AAVE), shares many similarities with Southern dialect, unsurprising given that group's strong historical ties to the region.

Related Topics:
Dialect - English language - American English - Appalachian region - Charleston, South Carolina - American West - African American - African American Vernacular English (AAVE)

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The Southern American English dialect is often stigmatized, as are other American English dialects such as New York-New Jersey English. However, in recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in the Southern dialect.

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Cuisine

As an important feature of Southern culture, the cuisine of the South is often described as one of its most distinctive traits. The variety of cuisines range from Tex-Mex cuisine, Cajun and Creole, traditional antebellum fare, all types of seafood, and Texas, Carolina & Memphis styles of Barbecue. Non-alcoholic beverages of choice include "sweet tea," and various soft drinks, many of which had their origins in the South (e.g. Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, and Dr Pepper. In many parts of Georgia and Alabama, and other parts of the South, the term "soft drink" is discarded in favor of "Coke"). Lagers and Pilsners are generally preferred to heavier/darker beers due to the predominance of hot climate. Texas is also the center of a burgeoning wine boom, due to its climate and well drained limestone based soils, particularly in the Texas Hill Country.

Related Topics:
Tex-Mex cuisine - Cajun - Creole - Antebellum - Barbecue - Sweet tea - Coca-Cola - Pepsi-Cola - Mountain Dew - Dr Pepper - Lager - Pilsner - Texas Hill Country

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Traditional African-American Southern food is often called "soul food"; in reality there is little difference between the traditional diet of Southerners and the diet in other regions of the U.S. 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.

Related Topics:
Soul food - Chinese - Italian - French - Middle Eastern

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Music

The South is by far the richest area of music in the United States. 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 highlands folk music brought from Europe. Blues was developed in the rural South by Blacks at the beginning of the 20th century. In addition, gospel music, spirituals, country music, rhythm and blues, soul music, bluegrass, jazz, Appalachian folk music, and rock n' roll all were either born in the South or developed in the region. Many who got their start in show business in the South eventually banked on mainstream success as well: Elvis Presley and Dolly Parton are two such examples. Recently, the spread of rap music has lead to the rise of the sub-genre Dirty South, among others.

Related Topics:
Blues - Gospel music - Spirituals - Country music - Rhythm and blues - Soul music - Bluegrass - Jazz - Appalachian folk music - Rock n' roll - Elvis Presley - Dolly Parton - Rap music - Dirty South

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Sports

The South is known for its love of football. While the South has had a number of Super Bowl winning National Football League teams (such as the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers), the region is noted for the intensity with which people follow high school and college football teams -- especially the Southeastern Conference and in Texas where high school football, especially in smaller communities, is elevated to near-religion status.

Related Topics:
Football - National Football League - Dallas Cowboys - Tampa Bay Buccaneers - High school - College - Southeastern Conference - Texas

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Baseball is also very popular in the South, with Major League Baseball teams like the Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins being recent World Series victors. Minor league baseball is also closely followed in the South (with the South being home to more minor league teams than any other region of the United States).

Related Topics:
Baseball - Major League Baseball - Atlanta Braves - Florida Marlins - Minor league baseball

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The South is also the birthplace of NASCAR auto racing. Other popular sports in the South include golf (which can be played year-round because of the South's mild climate) and fishing.

Related Topics:
NASCAR - Golf - Fishing

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Ironically, the hot-weather Tampa Bay Lightning are the defending National Hockey League champions.

Related Topics:
Tampa Bay Lightning - National Hockey League

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Atlanta was the host of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.

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Literature

The South has a strong literary history. Characteristics of southern literature including a focus on a common southern history, the significance of family, a sense of community and one?s role within it, the community's dominating religion and the burden religion often brings, issues of racial tension, land and the promise it brings, and the use of southern dialect.

Related Topics:
Community - Religion - Dialect

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Perhaps the most famous southern writer is William Faulkner, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949. Faulkner brought new techniques such as stream of consciousness and complex narrative techniques to American writings (such as in his novel As I Lay Dying).

Related Topics:
William Faulkner - Nobel Prize in Literature - Stream of consciousness

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Other well-known Southern writers include Zora Neale Hurston, Eudora Welty, Flannery O'Connor, Carson McCullers, James Dickey, and Walker Percy. One of the most famous southern novels of the 20th century, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, won the Pulitzer Prize when it was published in 1960.

Related Topics:
Zora Neale Hurston - Eudora Welty - Flannery O'Connor - Carson McCullers - James Dickey - Walker Percy - To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

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Film

The South has contributed to some of the most-loved and financially successful movies of all time, including Gone with the Wind (1939) and Smokey and the Bandit (1977). The Dukes of Hazzard remains a very popular television show nearly thirty years after its inception. All were filmed in Georgia with other places in the South also featured prominently.

Related Topics:
Gone with the Wind - Smokey and the Bandit - Dukes of Hazzard

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