is Texas a southwestern or southern state? (Dallas, Fort Worth: environment, homes)

[catrinac]

There is a debate going on on the Albuquerque board. Several have said that Texas is a southern state. As a Texan, that is just not true in my opinion. What do you think? Southwestern or southern?

[hound 109]

Originally Posted by catrinac

There is a debate going on on the Albuquerque board. Several have said that Texas is a southern state. As a Texan, that is just not true in my opinion. What do you think? Southwestern or southern?

imo....I 35 south to SA (& then I 37 to Corpus) is pretty much the dividing line. East of it is Southern & West of it is Southwestern. (& Dallas is Southern & Ft. Worth is SW.)

[new2sa]

Texas is its OWN state... or better yet... a whole 'nother country!

[TexasHorseLady]

What new2sa said. However, the answer to your question regarding southern versus southwestern is: Yes.

Being as big as it is, and as diverse as it in, in culture, in topography, in climate, it can't be pinned down to one or the other. (Plus, as you no doubt already know, no, we don't hold still for labels much.) But, East and Southeast Texas is more Southern, West of there more Southwestern, South Texas something else again.

[atxcio]

This exact question has been discussed at length in another thread --

Is Texas a Southern or Western state?

[traveler guy]

This is a on going question since Texas is about the size of France it cane be called both like a earlier poster stated Texas is half/half. You can see in the east and southern portions of Texas you get the lush forest and green valleys of a Southern state; but in the west you get a semi-desert environment such as the southwestern states. Have you ever heard the saying stating Dallas is where the east ends and Fort Worth is where the West begins.

[Muhnay]

We Are Both.. Simple as that.

[lusterwings]

It is both. Which is the best town to live in Texas if you are single?

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by catrinac

There is a debate going on on the Albuquerque board. Several have said that Texas is a southern state. As a Texan, that is just not true in my opinion. What do you think? Southwestern or southern?

LOL Many of my fellow Texans on this thread who know me also know I have some strong opinions on this one (not that they are worth anything, just that they are strong! ).

Anyway, I maintain that Texas is essentially a Southern state. Not a TYPICAL Southern state (too big for one thing) but Southern in the main ways. That is to say, it was one of the origiinal members of the Confederacy, and was settled largely after the War Between the States by pioneers from the southeast and it was that culture which dominates. There are many other aspects as well where the Southern ways and mores are the main influence. To mention just a few, Texas speech is one of many sub-varities of what is broadly known as Southern American English. The Southern Baptist church is easily the largest protestant denomination. Texas was, for many years, part of what was called the "Solid South" (that is, a one-party democratic state as a result of the hated legacy of Reconstruction). And of course, we eat black-eyed peas on New Years Day! LOL

And also, in sociological surveys which have been done on the subject, the vast majority of Texans, when given a choice of regional affilitation chose South over West and consider themselves Southerners.

As to the "Southwest" thing, IMHO it is very confusing. Texas is "Southwest" as in "Western South" Whereas the other states such as New Mexico and Arizona which are also Southwest are "southern West"...with nothing classically Southern about them. As you indicated yourself, people in those states do not think of Texas as part of THEIR Southwest.

In any event, on that "Southwest" thing, there is a great article in a volume called "The Encylopedia of Southern Culture." I don't have a copy of it at home, so am going from memory, but what it covered was the history and evolution of the term "Southwest". Originally, it meant, the frontier states of the South, and consisted of Alabama, Missisippi, and Tennesee. Then went on to Louisiana and Arkansas. Finally, Texas.

Sometime after the War Between the States, it sort of solidified into being defined as Texas and, to a lesser extent, Arkansas, and to some degree, Oklahoma. The main point being that at no time was the term used to denote a wholely seperate region, but rather, a sort of "twin" to the "southeast, which together made up The South.

As time went on though, and westward migration continued, for geographical reasons, New Mexico and Arizona began to be called the Southwest and, as the article in Ency. Southern Culture put it (paraphrased from recollection), "the relationship to the South became increasingly unclear..."

This is sort of where it stands today. That is, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico all being considered "Southwestern", yet too often no historical and cultural distinction between the former and the latter two when applying the label. So it gets confusing. Again, those in the latter two states tend to reject any sense of "Southwestern brotherhood" with us, and likewise, most Texans don't think of ourselves being Southwestern in the same vein with them.

I don't want to keep belaboring the point, but Texas is southwest as in "western South". A place where Southern history, religion, culture, folkways, traditions, etc are flavored with Western dress, wide-open spaces, and free-spirited individuality (for the most part, that is. East Texas is where the Deep South of the southeast begins). On the other hand, New Mexico and Arizona are the true hispanic/indian influenced Southwest of the West.

Man oh man, do I ever run on sometime or what?

[TexasHorseLady]

My ancestors who fought at San Jacinto in 1836 to defend their nearby homes and families and who proudly watched Texas become a Republic before joining the United States in 1845 (good or bad idea?) would beg to differ with you on that "was settled largely after the War Between the States" thing, given that by the time of the War Between the States they and their friends, families, and neighbors had been in Texas for multiple generations and had given their blood to preserve it.