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When you start seeing large confederate flags along the interstates there's no mistaking where you're at. You're in the south. Like that huge confederate flag by I-24 in Paducah, Kentucky, as you enter or leave Kentucky. It's a sure sign you're definitely in the south.
When you start seeing large confederate flags along the interstates there's no mistaking where you're at. You're in the south. Like that huge confederate flag by I-24 in Paducah, Kentucky, as you enter or leave Kentucky. It's a sure sign you're definitely in the south.
Is it just across the Ohio river when you cross from IL into KY? If so I've seen that one but it's not huge.
Missouri also had one along highway 50 in central MO too, or at least did at one time. Never seen it in person but people mentioned it on this site before. That area is in the transition zone we talk about on here, northern part of that zone.
Is it just across the Ohio river when you cross from IL into KY? If so I've seen that one but it's not huge.
Missouri also had one along highway 50 in central MO too, or at least did at one time. Never seen it in person but people mentioned it on this site before. That area is in the transition zone we talk about on here, northern part of that zone.
Yes, that's the one, when you cross the Ohio River and get into Kentucky from Illinois. Seemed fairly large to me. Seen it a couple times in my travels.
Missouri has more Southern culture in its Southern extremities than Maryland but being a larger state and being a state that has St. Louis and Kansas City in its most densely populated areas undoes this.
It is a toss up between whether MO or MD are more Southern. It would be a different Southern anyway. Tidewater vs. Something like Memphis.
Wasn't Missouri in the same realm of percentage Southern that Maryland was? Something in the low double digits closer to the single digits? Like both states had about 5-20% Southern identity I remember.
The bootheel of MO actually resembles the deep south. It is the northern most portion of the Mississippi alluvial plain i.e. Mississippi Delta. Cotton is the dominant crop and that really defines the culture in that area. Many people call that portion of MO "Arkansas in Denial"
Even if we grant Louisville a 50% Midwest lean and NKY an 80-90% one, there really are like maybe 10-12 iffy Midwest influenced counties in the whole of Kentucky. And honestly it's more like 3 counties in all of KY that could be called Midwestern. While Kentucky's only true bonafide Southern counties are in Western Kentucky, areas like Lexington and Central Kentucky are Southern enough. Eastern Kentucky is Appalachian which is hard to describe. Redneck, yes. Southern? Ehhhhh Appalachian counties in my opinion have their own unique culture independent of the South. I remember being in Eastern Tennessee and learning sweet tea wasn't served there. You're more likely to find sweet tea in Louisville than you are in some parts of Appalachian. Also Appalachian people don't tend to say y'all as much. I heard a lot of you'uns/yinz (I think that has a Scottish origin)
I agree that today's Western KY comes close culturally to what I would call the deep south, but historically it was central Ky i.e. the Bluegrass that most resembled the Old Plantation South. This area was settled by Virginian and North Carolinian gentry and had high the highest concentration of slaves in the state due to its hemp plantations. Here is a map that was used by Abraham Lincoln during the civil war that shows the slave population by percentage by county. It's really interesting Map Showing the Distribution of the Slave Population of the Southern States Western KY was still more frontier during the antebellum period. I agree Appalachia is its own thing but even there you have a northern Appalachia i.e. Pennsylvania, New York and Southern Appalachia i.e. most of W VA to Georgia.
The bootheel of MO actually resembles the deep south. It is the northern most portion of the Mississippi alluvial plain i.e. Mississippi Delta. Cotton is the dominant crop and that really defines the culture in that area. Many people call that portion of MO "Arkansas in Denial"
I would say the actual bootheel, parts that border TN, not SEMO, but the true Bootheel is probably more southern than anywhere in Kentucky.
I would say the entire state of Missouri overall today is more Southern than Maryland. Even around areas of Little Dixie that are considered Midwestern today, you will still find some southern influences in areas.
At the outbreak of the Civil War slavery was on a downward trend in Maryland, while in Missouri the slave population was increasing.
that thread about Maryland being a southern state someone also points this out as well.
I would say the actual bootheel, parts that border TN, not SEMO, but the true Bootheel is probably more southern than anywhere in Kentucky.
I would say the entire state of Missouri overall today is more Southern than Maryland. Even around areas of Little Dixie that are considered Midwestern today, you will still find some southern influences in areas.
At the outbreak of the Civil War slavery was on a downward trend in Maryland, while in Missouri the slave population was increasing.
that thread about Maryland being a southern state someone also points this out as well.
Wouldn't the bootheel be upper south considering it is above Memphis?
Wouldn't the bootheel be upper south considering it is above Memphis?
The bootheel along with Memphis and northern Mississippi is generally called the "Mid South". Technically yes you would think it would be considered the upper south but I've never really seen the Bootheel, western TN and NE AR called the upper south. Maybe that is because it has more in common with the deep south than the upper south due to milder weather, flat lands, and cotton.
However the Ozarks for example tends to be lumped in with the upper south as it has more hills and rugged terrain. Also accents are quite different too. Like when I was at Table Rock, Branson area the accents sound more upper south compared to the Delta areas on the opposite side of the state like the Bootheel, Western TN and NE AR which seem aligned more with the deep south.
The bootheel along with Memphis and northern Mississippi is generally called the "Mid South". Technically yes you would think it would be considered the upper south but I've never really seen the Bootheel, western TN and NE AR called the upper south. Maybe that is because it has more in common with the deep south than the upper south due to milder weather, flat lands, and cotton.
However the Ozarks for example tends to be lumped in with the upper south as it has more hills and rugged terrain. Also accents are quite different too. Like when I was at Table Rock, Branson area the accents sound more upper south compared to the Delta areas on the opposite side of the state like the Bootheel, Western TN and NE AR which seem aligned more with the deep south.
The climate of the bootheel is similar to Tennessee climate and isn't Tennessee and Arkansas the Upper South?
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