Deep South

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The Deep South
Red states show the core of the Deep South. States shown as pink may or may not be included in the Deep South, with their inclusion or exclusion varying from source to source.

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, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana (Six 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.

Although Florida is geographically the southernmost state, it is sometimes excluded from the Deep South due to the large amount of northern immigration that occurred starting after World War II. However, parts of the state, especially the Panhandle can be included in the characterization, with an unofficial "Southern" line possibly "drawn" around the area near Sumter County, Florida; below this line, the culture tends to be more "Northern" due to said immigration (however, the Miami–Ft. Lauderdale–West Palm Beach area in extreme southeast Florida is the only part of the state that can be said to be completely free of any "Southern" cultural influence). Urban areas of North Carolina and Georgia are also being bombarded with waves of northern (Rust belt) migrants seeking greater economic opportunities and watering down some distinct southern attributes.

Throughout the most of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Deep South was firmly entrenched in the populist Democratic Party. However, in presidential elections, the Deep South has tended to vote for the Republican candidate since 1964, except in the year 1976. Since the 1990s there has been a continued shift toward Republican candidates in most political venues.

See also

• Black Belt
• Dixie