Quote:
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?
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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!

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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?


