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).

Politics

In the century after the American Civil War and Reconstruction, Southerners often identified with the then-conservative Democratic Party. This lock on power was so strong the region was politically called the Solid South.

Related Topics:
American Civil War - Reconstruction - Democratic Party - Solid South

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In the last thirty-five years, though, this has changed because of Democratic Party support for the civil rights movement and the conservative realignment of the Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan presidencies in the 1970s and 1980s. As a result, the Republican Party has benefited from Southern support, in large measure due to the evangelical Christian vote.

Related Topics:
Civil rights movement - Conservative - Richard Nixon - Ronald Reagan - 1970s - 1980s - Republican Party

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Although the South as a whole defies stereotyping, it is nonetheless known for entrenched conservatism. Support for such conservative causes is often found in the South, including resistance to same-sex marriage and abortion while in the past there was major resistance to feminism, desegregation, the abolition of slavery and interracial marriage.

Related Topics:
Stereotyping - Conservatism - Same-sex marriage - Abortion - Feminism - Desegregation - Abolition - Interracial marriage

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Many southern states did not remove their state Constitutional bans prohibiting the recognition of marriages between persons of different races until the 1990s and 2000s. The last state to do so was Alabama in 2000, with 41% of voters wanting to keep it in place. See Interracial marriage bans in the southern United States

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Presidential history

The South has long been a center of political power in the United States, especially with regards to Presidential elections. During the history of the United States, the South has supplied between sixteen and eighteen of the country's forty-three presidents. This difference in counts depends on whether people consider George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush as Southern. While both were not born in the South, they lived most of their lives in Texas and received their political starts there. A similar argument could be given for Abraham Lincoln, who was born in Kentucky but started his political career in Illinois.

Related Topics:
History of the United States - Presidents - George H. W. Bush - George W. Bush - Abraham Lincoln - Illinois

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Most of the recent Presidents of the United States—Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush—have either come from the region or, like George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, spent most of their lives there. This fact is a result of the renewed political power of the South and the unique nature of the Electoral College, both of which make it difficult for a Presidential contender to win the White House without carrying part of the South.

Related Topics:
Electoral College - White House

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Other politicians and political movements

In addition to Presidents, the South has also produced numerous other well-known politicians and political movements.

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In 1948, a group of Democratic congressmen, led by Governor Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, split from the Democrats in reaction to an anti-segregation speech given by Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota, founding the States Rights Democratic or Dixiecrat Party. During that year's Presidential election, the party unsuccessfully ran Thurmond as its candidate.

Related Topics:
Strom Thurmond - Hubert Humphrey - Dixiecrat

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In 1968, Alabama Governor George C. Wallace ran for President on the American Independent Party ticket. Wallace ran a "law and order" campaign similar to that of Republican candidate, Richard Nixon. While Nixon won, Wallace won a number of Southern states. This inspired Nixon and other Republican leaders to create the Southern Strategy of winning Presidential elections. This strategy focused on securing the electoral votes of the U.S. Southern states by having candidates promote culturally conservative values, such as family issues, religion, and patriotism, which appealed strongly to Southern voters.

Related Topics:
George C. Wallace - American Independent Party - Richard Nixon - Southern Strategy - Patriotism

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In 1994, another Southern politician, Newt Gingrich, ushered in a political revolution with his Contract with America. Gingrich, then the Minority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives, created the document to detail what the Republican Party would do if they won the that year's United States Congressional election. The contract mainly dealt with issues of governmental reform (such as requiring all laws that apply to the rest of the country also apply to Congress). Almost all Republican candidates in the election signed the contract and for the first time in 40 years the Republicans took control of the U.S. Congress. Gingrich became Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving in that position from 1995 to 1999.

Related Topics:
Newt Gingrich - Contract with America - U.S. House of Representatives - Republican Party - Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

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A number of current Congressional leaders are also from the South, including Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas.

Related Topics:
Bill Frist - Mitch McConnell - Tom DeLay

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