southern states

the South [the South] (also the southern states)

the south-east and south-central US states, regarded as beginning to the south of the Mason-Dixon line. Their region is part of the ↑Sunbelt. The 14 states are ↑Maryland, ↑Virginia, ↑West Virginia, ↑Kentucky, ↑Tennessee, ↑North Carolina, ↑South Carolina, ↑Georgia, ↑Florida, ↑Alabama, ↑Mississippi, ↑Arkansas, ↑Louisiana and ↑Texas, especially its eastern part. All were ↑Confederate States except Maryland, West Virginia and Kentucky. The South has sometimes seemed a mysterious region to Americans who live outside it and who associate it with a mixture of romantic charm, traditional family values, dangerous independence and violent prejudice. These ideas have been supported by the works of southern writers such as William Faulkner and Tennessee ↑Williams and by the real conflicts of the ↑civil rights movement. Today, however, a ‘New South’ has been recognized. ↑Atlanta and other modern cities have developed, many companies from other parts of the US have moved to the ↑Sunbelt, and African Americans now serve as ↑mayors and community leaders. Two recent US Presidents have come from the South, and the US government has even developed the southern idea of ↑states' rights. In spite of these changes, however, many people still believe that the South is a region that wants to keep its strong separate character.

Compare ↑Deep South