Question? Does the states inhabitants have anything to do with the states location? (fit in, neighborhoods)

[HtownLove]

I hear people say that Texas is not Southern because it has too many mexicans (same with Florida and Hispanics). Will Georgia and North Carolina become western states when hispanics become the number one minority?

since when does a state's location change because of its demographics?

I think it is silly when people say Texas is not Southern because it has too much latin influence.

It does not matter what influence it has, it is in the south, it is a southern state.

I guess NY is becoming a western state too.

how many people believe a state's location changes as the demographics of the state changes

[Thomas R.]

I think Texas originally being part of Mexico, and then an independent nation, does make it historically quite different than the rest of the South. Mexicans in Texas are not just something recent due to immigration, people like Eva Longoria have family that's lived in Texas since the eighteenth century. It has major cities called "El Paso" and "San Antonio." So nothing that would happen in Georgia or Tennessee could really be that. There are elements of Texan history that just are more Southwestern, that's not going to change.

Still I guess Florida is one where demographic change, more than historical rule by Spain before 1815, maybe changed its status. I'm not sure what Florida is considered as, but I imagine many people would not consider Miami or even Orlando to be "Southern cities." The Panhandle is still seen as Southern though.

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by Thomas R.

I think Texas originally being part of Mexico, and then an independent nation, does make it historically quite different than the rest of the South. Mexicans in Texas are not just something recent due to immigration, people like Eva Longoria have family that's lived in Texas since the eighteenth century. It has major cities called "El Paso" and "San Antonio." So nothing that would happen in Georgia or Tennessee could really be that. There are elements of Texan history that just are more Southwestern, that's not going to change.

Still I guess Florida is one where demographic change, more than historical rule by Spain before 1815, maybe changed its status. I'm not sure what Florida is considered as, but I imagine many people would not consider Miami or even Orlando to be "Southern cities." The Panhandle is still seen as Southern though.

I think you people confuse southern influence with in the south.

If Florida is not in the south, then where is it?

Just as Texas has its spanish influence, Louisiana ha sits french influence, but that plays no part in its location.

So when German was just about the most widely spoken language in Texas, what part of the US was it considered to be in?

[chitown85]

Florida is pretty southern outside of Orlando and then the southern four counties.

I have heard Texans say there are really 4 distinct regions of Texas, based on what the Republic of Texas's Constitution said about the state potentially being split if it got too big to govern.

East Texas- Centered around Houston, seems pretty southern to an outsider
North Texas- Centered around Dallas and Austin (?), seems more cosmopolitan with people from everywhere and a big Midwestern influence
South Texas- Similar to Mexico in architechture and city layouts
West Texas- El Paso portion similar to Mexico, very southwestern

Where does the Panhandle fit in?



I don't think that Hispanic migration will make a place less southern. Chicago has the second largest Mexican population in the US (well above Houston actually), but it doesn't feel western.

[tablemtn]

It's a combination of things. Texas and southern Florida were never really "integral" parts of the "Old South" to begin with. Southern Florida was mainly swamps and was struggling through a long series of wars with the Seminole, while Texas was more of a frontier region.

This means that these places never defined "southern" or "southern culture" to begin with. A place like Savannah or Charleston or Atlanta did define these terms just by definition.

So, as long as parts of Texas or Florida adopted the cultural norms that were developed in the core of the south, then they had a claim to being "southern." But if that is abandoned, they really don't remain southern.

To use a more extreme example, think of how the country of Uganda used to have a strong element of "Indian" culture due to all the merchants and tradespeople who had been relocated there during the colonial era, or who later immigrated there. There were neighborhoods in Kampala that were almost entirely Indian. These were certainly "Indian" areas.

But they weren't part of India. And when Idi Amin expelled these people, those geographic zones in Kampala didn't maintain their Indian identity. That was erased.

So, yes. In some cases, changes in culture can change the characterization of a region.

[HtownLove]

again you are confusing southern culture with geographic locations .

when someone says that DFW is the largest metro in the south, people laugh and say don't be silly, Texas is not in the south.

Why is Texas not in the south when it is plainly located in the south?

[tablemtn]

Well, not everyone agrees that it is plainly located in the south. It's Texas. I'd agree that the Beaumont-Port Arthur-Orange region is more or less "southern," but beyond that, Texas is more of its own region than anything else.

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by tablemtn

Well, not everyone agrees that it is plainly located in the south. It's Texas. I'd agree that the Beaumont-Port Arthur-Orange region is more or less "southern," but beyond that, Texas is more of its own region than anything else.

again you are confusing southern culture/ charm/ whatever you want to call it with physical location.

when someone says that DFW is the largest metro in the south, why are they wrong?

[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by HtownLove

I think you people confuse southern influence with in the south.

If Florida is not in the south, then where is it?

Just as Texas has its spanish influence, Louisiana ha sits french influence, but that plays no part in its location.

So when German was just about the most widely spoken language in Texas, what part of the US was it considered to be in?

You sure about that? I know many Germans settled in the Hill Country back in the 19th century, but did they outnumber the Hispanics and the native English speakers?

[Ben Around]

Why do you say NY is becoming a "Western" state because Mexicans are moving there? Mexicans are a small fraction of the people migrating to NY. Most Mexican immigrants settle in states far to the west of NY.