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Being a member of this forum I have come across very different ideas of what constitutes the American South. Where I come from, the South is anything south of the Mason-Dixon line. However, many members here have brought up a lot of points explaining why states that could be considered the South are actually not. So aside from never solving the issue of the eastern shore of the United States, I want to bring the discussion to the South Central portion of the US Mainland.
Texas is almost smack dab in the middle of the country going from East to West. It also lies in not only a climactic transitional zone, but also a geographical AND cultural one. This actually interestingly is the case for other states part of the "what is the South?" debate, but that's another topic. Texas can be humid and muggy like the South, but also dry and very hot like the Southwest. Like Southern states it can be pounded by hurricanes and tornadoes, and like SW states it can have droughts.
Culturally and linguistically, it can be fair to say that Texans vary because the state is so large. But generally when people think traditional Texan, they think of someone with a country twang. People think Texas and some think country music. But people also think cowboys and ranching. Texas seems to have a combination of both the West and the South (and of course the transitional region of Southwest) in its culture. Like the SW, Texas has a large Latino population. Like the West, Texas also has large Asian populations. But like the South, Texas can have very large Black populations as well. Texas is also a Red State, but it has Democratic strongholds like Austin and Dallas. Wendy Davis is a very well known Texas girl, but so is Jessica Simpson.
Geographically, Texas' borders are with the South and the Southwest. Some people even argue that it borders the Midwest.
Arizona was mostly Confederate during the Civil War (but not a state yet), but that doesnt make it southern at all. I would classify TX as Southwestern. There are parts of eastern Texas that are southern in feel, but overall TX is just completely different than, say, Tennessee or Louisiana, which are strictly southern.
It feels like we've had this discussion a million times alreay.
Texas is Texas. Sure, the eastern part of it feels more southern. But as soon as you get west of Dallas, it feels less and less southern the further you go...
Texas is so huge that it defies the pat geographical categories.
There is an absolute line in Texas where you go from being in the South to being in the Southwest. You can almost feel it. I know somebody will take exception to it, but I would offer that Dallas is the edge of the South, and Fort Worth is the last outpost of the Southwest.
Houston? South
San Antonio? Southwest
Austin? Somewhere in between.
Texas is so huge that it defies the pat geographical categories.
There is an absolute line in Texas where you go from being in the South to being in the Southwest. You can almost feel it. I know somebody will take exception to it, but I would offer that Dallas is the edge of the South, and Fort Worth is the last outpost of the Southwest.
Houston? South
San Antonio? Southwest
Austin? Somewhere in between.
San Antonio is most definitely not Southwestern. It's Southern with heavy Mexican/Spanish influence. El Paso is the only real Southwestern city in Texas.
This topic has been hammered to death on C-D. The consensus is always the same... no one agrees on anything. Just do a little research on Texas' history, and there you will find your answers. On C-D you will only find wildly varying opinions and a lot of arguing.
[quote=Bobloblawslawblog;36905479]San Antonio is most definitely not Southwestern. It's Southern with heavy Mexican/Spanish influence. El Paso is the only real Southwestern city in Texas.
This topic has been hammered to death on C-D. The consensus is always the same... no one agrees on anything. Just do a little research on Texas' history, and there you will find your answers. On C-D you will only find wildly varying opinions and a lot of arguing.[/quote]
Amen! When I want a good laugh, I come to C-D to find out where a particular state is located today.
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