Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Here are the aggregate results of the "Southern Focus Poll" I mentioned earlier. It spanned 7 years with 14 seperate questionaires among 17,000 respondents. BTW -- for space-sake, I have "edited" the results to only included those states classified as "South" by the U.S Census Bureau, or (in the case of Missouri) have some historical association with the South.
Percent who say their community is in the South (percentage base in parentheses)
West Virginia 25 (84) Maryland 19 (192) Missouri 15 (197) New Mexico 13 (68) Delaware 12 (25) D.C. 12 (16)
interesting!!! well if Texans self identify with the south in percentages as high as Virginia ( a state which housed the capital of the confederacy) then the people who go around saying most Texans don't identify with the south needs to refrain from propagating such misconceptions
Texas has always had a significant population of mexicans and they live in many areas of the state. Georgia's mexican population and population growth is pretty much only in CERTAIN parts of a COUPLE of metro Atlanta counties.
It may have an impact on metro ATL, but certainly not Georgia as a whole. It's still very black/white over the rest of the state.
The hispanic population is barely visible in the other metro areas of Georgia and the rural counties.
True in many ways, but did you read my earlier except from Raymond Gastils "Cultural Regions of the United States? If not, here it is again:
Unlike the Interior Southwest, neither aboriginal Indian nor Spanish-American culture played a central role in the definition of the area. The people of Texas are mostly from the Lower, Upper, and Mountain South and these Southerners easily outnumbered the Spanish speaking and Indian people even before the state joined the Union. Therefore, when we refer to a large Spanish-speaking population in Texas, we are primarily speaking of a relatively recent immigrant population, quite different from the core areas of the Interior Southwest."
There is no question the Mexican/hispanic population had a significant, colorful, and admirable impact on Texas history. Much like the French did in Louisiana.
But -- to use that phrase again -- it has to be placed within a proper historical perspective. After the Texas Revolution, many Mexicans left the state to return to Mexico. And when the state joined the Union, and ever long afterward (see above), the influence was pretty much confined to South Texas and, quite frankly, not even a majority influence there. Significant, yes. But not overwhelming.
I don't mean to be personally disrespectful, but your asserations as to Texas' demographic history as concerns the Mexican population are wrong. I live in North Texas and I can tell you for sure that when I was growing up, the hispanic population was actually a rarity ( I don't say that in the sense of disparaging the culture in the least, I am just stating a fact). In East Texas, it was almost non-existant. Even in parts of West Texas, it was fairly small.
Believe it or not, even San Antonio was -- up until the last several decades --mostly a city where the traditional Southern roots were the dominant ones. It was called "A mix of the Old South and Old Mexico."
In a nutshell, I really do think you are missing the larger point. Which is that Georiga (or any other Deep South state) can go the same way as Texas in this regard. And it is happening now. So, if it all comes to fruition (without making a value judgement as to whether it is "good" or "bad") will Georgia no longer be considered a Deep South state?
West Virginia 25 (84) Maryland 19 (192) Missouri 15 (197) New Mexico 13 (68) Delaware 12 (25) D.C. 12 (16)
This is pretty conclusive evidence that Washington, D.C., Maryand and Delaware is not the American south. Anyone who doubts it from here on out should just look at these percentages.
Last edited by BigCityDreamer; 11-06-2010 at 03:41 PM..
Yeah if they say they're Southern and people their say it's a Southern state it's Southern.
That, IMHO, is really what it all boils down to. The South is where a majority of the people say they live in the South and consider themselves to be Southerners.
One can define "The South" from criteria ranging and blending and mixed from membership in the Confederacy to down where Kudzu grows. But all in all, as you allude to, the South is where Southerners live.
Quote:
Still I guess a part of me does think of the far-Western part, around El Paso, more as Southwestern.
No question on that one! I agree totally. The trans-pecos area of Texas is definitely the true interior Southwest.
Location: Metro Atlanta (Sandy Springs), by way of Macon, GA
2,014 posts, read 5,096,883 times
Reputation: 2089
Thanks for the info and insight guys. I would have to say that Georgia would still very much be a "deep south" state, regardless if Mexicans spread through many corners of our state.
Why? Because if you look at Texas, I personally think that areas of the state that are in the vicinity of neighboring regions (like the panhandle and southeast Texas) still very much take on the character of those regions, despite the influx of Mexicans.
Take Port Arthur for an example. That's still "Deep South" to me, despite the 24.7% Hispanic pop.
Thanks for the info and insight guys. I would have to say that Georgia would still very much be a "deep south" state, regardless if Mexicans spread through many corners of our state.
Why? Because if you look at Texas, I personally think that areas of the state that are in the vicinity of neighboring regions (like the panhandle and southeast Texas) still very much take on the character of those regions, despite the influx of Mexicans.
Take Port Arthur for an example. That's still "Deep South" to me, despite the 24.7% Hispanic pop.
Good points. BTW -- I hope my earlier post didn't come across as harsh or anything. It certainly wasn't intended that way!
Yeah if they say they're Southern and people their say it's a Southern state it's Southern.
Still I guess a part of me does think of the far-Western part, around El Paso, more as Southwestern.
Same goes for the Rio Grande Valley. Having been to both of those places, I just didn't see them as Southern at all. Now Houston, the first time I visited, screamed "South" at me everywhere I went. Dallas and San Antonio, not so much. Texas is a huge state geographically and has a complicated history.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
