Southern United States

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The historical and cultural development of the South has been profoundly influenced by the institution of slave labor, especially in the Deep South and coastal plain areas, from the early 1600s to mid-1800s. This includes the presence of a large proportion of African Americans within the population, support for the doctrine of states' rights, and legacy of racism magnified by the Civil War and Reconstruction era (1865–1877). Following effects included thousands of lynchings, a segregated system of separate schools and public facilities established from Jim Crow laws that remained until the 1960s, and the widespread use of poll taxes and other methods to deny Black and poor people the ability to vote or hold office until the 1960s. Scholars have characterized pockets of the Southern United States as being authoritarian enclaves from Reconstruction until the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The politics and economy of the region were historically dominated by a small rural elite.

Reader's Guide

The Southern United States matters as a region that has developed its own distinct culture, with different customs, fashion, architecture, musical styles, and cuisines, distinguishing it from other areas of the United States. Sociological research indicates that Southern collective identity stems from political, historical, demographic, and cultural distinctiveness from the rest of the United States; however, this has declined since around the late 20th century, with many Southern areas becoming a melting pot of cultures and people. The region contains almost all of the Bible Belt, an area of high Protestant church attendance, especially evangelical churches such as the Southern Baptist Convention. In the 21st century, it is the fastest-growing region in the United States, with Houston being the region's largest city. Studies have shown that Southerners tend to be more conservative than most non-Southerners, with liberalism being mostly predominant in places with a Black majority or urban areas in the South. The South is home to some of the most racially diverse areas in the United States.

Did You Know?

• As of 2010, an estimated 114,555,744 people, or thirty-seven percent of all U.S. residents, lived in the South, the nation's most populous region.
• The Federal Aviation Administration includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands as part of the South.
• The South contains almost all of the Bible Belt, an area of high Protestant church attendance, especially evangelical churches such as the Southern Baptist Convention.
• The South is the fastest-growing region in the United States in the 21st century, with Houston being the region's largest city.
• The U.S. Census Bureau defines the Southern region as including sixteen states and the District of Columbia.

Colonial Foundations of the Southern Territory

The southern portion of what would become the United States traces its roots to a patchwork of colonial holdings established before 1776. Among the thirteen recognized colonies, five were situated in the South: Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Beyond these, the region hosted numerous other settlements and administrative units.

Acquisitions from Foreign Powers

The southern and southwestern United States expanded dramatically through purchases and cessions from European and neighboring nations. Texas, annexed from Mexico in 1846, included most of present-day Texas plus portions of Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming, and the disputed No Man's Land, with the dispute persisting until the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848.

Native American Land Cessions in the South

The southern interior was reshaped by a series of land cessions and purchases from Native American nations over several decades. The Cherokee Strip, a disputed two-mile-wide tract of land between the Cherokee Nation and Kansas, was ultimately ceded to Kansas in 1866. These transactions collectively carved out the interior landscape of the modern South, displacing indigenous communities and redrawing boundaries that persist to this day.

Failed and Unrecognized Southern Entities

The southern region was dotted with colonial and pre-statehood entities that never achieved lasting recognition or survival. Several proposed colonies—Charlotina, Mississippi Colony, Vandalia, and Westsylvania—were conceived in planning documents but never realized on the ground. These failed and phantom entities reveal that the southern borderlands were a contested, ever-shifting space long before the modern state system took shape.