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But also, arguably the most quintessential Southern town in the last half of the 20th century was Mayberry, NC. My home state is not my first choice, but it clicks most every box (farms, Appalachia, New South, Piedmont, Billy Graham, Dale Earnhardt) that it is probably top 4 quintessential Southern states in my mind (along with SC, Georgia, Alabama).
South Carolina is still strongly conservative and "red" politically, but fast growth in both Greenville and Charleston are ushering in a new type of population demographics not seen in the state for a while. It has seemed to gain in popularity in the past decade or so--firmly retaining its southern culture and roots, while still growing in many areas.
SC's demographic growth patterns diverge from what you see in other Southern states which get more diverse as they get bigger. SC is statistically no more diverse today than it was in 1970, despite being significantly larger. It's not that minorities aren't moving to SC but White population growth outstrips them. The state also not really getting any more liberal either; if anything it's getting a bit more libertarian. But to its credit, because it's safely red, you don't see the same sort of high-profile political dust-ups that you see in other Southern states, at least not since Sanford was governor.
I just don't think SC has enough growing diversity, high-profile white-collar economic growth, or large cities (only three over 100K, none above 150K) to qualify as a quintessential Southern state (along with having just a small sliver of Appalachia). It lacks those more dramatic change dynamics that you see in other Southern states, despite being anything but stagnant.
Virginia has long been an outlier in the South. Richmond was the only true industrial city in the entirety of the South when the war started.
Not the South, but the Confederacy. Baltimore was easily the South's most industrial city during that time and was still largely viewed as Southern. But after that was Richmond, which was a bit odd because it was never among the 10 largest cities in the South as was true of Charleston and New Orleans, and Norfolk I think in one of the earliest censuses.
But in any case, Virginia's Northern ties in particular definitely made it an outlier early on. This is why I believe it has a legitimate claim to both mid-Atlantic and Southern descriptors.
Richmond was the 3rd biggest city in the would-be Confederacy in 1860, after Charleston and New Orleans. Virginia also had the 7th (Petersburg), 9th (Norfolk), and 10th (Wheeling) largest cities. Virginia was an outlier among Southern states during the war, so much so it had to split up just to function. Maryland was a bigger outlier to be sure, but being more Southern than there is not the same as being “quintessential” to me.
The fifth state for me is either Mississippi or Tennessee, depending on criteria. Virginia is after that. The Southside is basically northern NC and probably the most quintessential Southern part of the state, but the rest is not that. Southern to me, but not moreso than SC, Georgia, etc.
Case in point, the McDonald’s sweet tea line prior to it going nationwide, split Virginia in half roughly matching Southside/Hampton Roads on one side and the rest of Virginia on the other.
It has all the quintessential beach stuff, old southern charm places like Charleston and Hilton head, live oaks, palmettos. It has old plantations, coastal plains and pine tree forests. It has Carolina bbq, then the upstate area has more hardwoods and geographic topographic features. It has a little bit of everything.
Historically it has everything from revolutionary war to civil war battles to WW2 coastal forts. It has a strong south feel to it. If you're in SC you know you are in the south. It hasn't been changed like some states have over time with a Massive influx of non southerners moving in like some other states have. It has largely kept it's lineage and heritage.
Virginia has long been an outlier in the South. Richmond was the only true industrial city in the entirety of the South when the war started. Virginia had 5 cities with more than 10,000 people in it in 1860, the rest of the South had 7. Pennsylvanians made up over a quarter of out-of-state residents living in Virginia at the time, and the majority of domestic migrants were from the North (Ohio, New York, and Maryland providing the bulk, but even a place like New Hampshire sent more people than Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi etc). Richmond was chosen as the capital in part because Virginia was out-of-step with the rest of the South, and it was hoped it would keep Virginia in line.
The last 160 years has been a leveling of sorts between the regions, but Virginia has remained a step or so closer to the BoWash corridor than other Southern states.
Most of Virginia's cultural exports and long agrarian history, important to the founding of this nation and the South as a whole, occurred outside of the cities. Yet you consistently bring up Richmond/Hampton Roads as if they're some sort of microcosm of Virginia...they're not. Virginia's cities are small in size and importance relative to many other states, including your own North Carolina, which is linked more to New York than Virginia ever was to any other state due to migration patterns over the last 50 years.
I brought up Virginia’s cities in 1860 because, well, it was an outlier back then among Southern states. With the caveat that Louisiana and Maryland were even bigger outliers, Virginia was about 33% more urbanized than Georgia which was the next most urbanized state in the South.
That said, in the here and now, transplants are part and parcel of being quintessentially Southern. Virginia gets them, NC gets them, Tennessee, Georgia, SC, Florida, Alabama, Texas. The outliers on this front are Louisiana and Mississippi.
I guess my larger point is Virginia was a small and noticeable outlier way back, and it didn’t gain more quintessential qualities in the ensuing years. Again, the sweet tea line. It’s not everything, but if half the state falls above it, it is what it is. Virginia is Southern and has many aspects that makes it so. Quintessential seems to me a bridge too far, but eye of the beholder and all that.
Richmond was the 3rd biggest city in the would-be Confederacy in 1860, after Charleston and New Orleans. Virginia also had the 7th (Petersburg), 9th (Norfolk), and 10th (Wheeling) largest cities. Virginia was an outlier among Southern states during the war, so much so it had to split up just to function. Maryland was a bigger outlier to be sure, but being more Southern than there is not the same as being “quintessential” to me.
I meant the 10 largest cities in the U.S., not the South. My mistake.
It has all the quintessential beach stuff, old southern charm places like Charleston and Hilton head...
"Old Southern charm" and "Hilton Head" absolutely do not belong in the same sentence. Hilton Head is easily the least traditionally Southern place in SC.
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It hasn't been changed like some states have over time with a Massive influx of non southerners moving in like some other states have. It has largely kept it's lineage and heritage.
SC hasn't changed much politically over the years but there are absolutely lots of non-Southerners moving there. And many of the folks moving there from neighboring states are natives of non-Southern states.
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