Why is Missouri so southern? (St. Louis, Springfield: crime, safe, housing)

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by kshe95girl

Onegoal, you dont live in SE MO, and you have NEVER lived there, so please do those of us that actually are from there, and do live there a favor, stop trying to identify with us, and stop trying to rewrite the history of SE MO.
You just look ignorant.
Imagine that.

I don't think this is him at all.

[Alicia Bradley]

I'm going to vote quietly for "Southern" and then duck out of the thread, never to return. (I swore off even doing this much, but.. I'm lapsing; sue me [can you tell I live in the Northeastern US now? heh heh heh]. )

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Alicia Bradley

I'm going to vote quietly for "Southern" and then duck out of the thread, never to return. (I swore off even doing this much, but.. I'm lapsing; sue me [can you tell I live in the Northeastern US now? heh heh heh]. )

I'd a figured Left Coast!

[stlouisan]

My perspective is that Missouri is a Midwestern state with Southern influences. Prior to the Civil War, it probably would've been the opposite way around. One thing that is certainly true is that my city voted for lincoln in the 1861 election, and Missouri voted for Douglas...only other state to do so was a northern state, New Jersey. Just as the Upper Midwest has Canadian influences, the Southern Midwest has southern influences. Having driven all over the south, I would have to say the northern half of the state is solidly Midwestern, the southern half is part southern, part transition between the south and Midwest. St. Louis, St. Joseph, KC, Jeff City, and Columbia are all the Midwest. Cities in the Midwest like Joplin, Springfield, Wichita, Evansville, Cape Girardeau, and Carbondale are all right on the dividing line between south and Midwest.

[stlouisan]

Originally Posted by aragx6

I don't think this is him at all.

Yeah, sounds nothing like the guy. We'll know him when we see him. What I don't understand is why onegoal thinks he's got us all fooled just by changing his username. Maybe if he changed what he posted, he'd stay on here undetected.

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by aragx6

I don't think this is him at all.

I dunno.....

[GunnerTHB]

I was just in Perryville today and there is absolutely nothing southern about it, yet most of the state of Missouri is farther north than Perryville. Missouri is a midwestern state. The only cities in Missouri that are southern through and through would be Kennett, Caruthersville, Poplar Bluff, Dexter, Sikeston, Charleston, West Plains and Branson. You can argue for Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Joplin and Springfield. Other than those towns, you're pretty well looking at a midwestern state. Unless you have actually lived in Missouri for a decent amount of time or have a lot of experience with the various parts of the state, you may not understand why that this is the case. The history of this state with regards to the immigration patterns that Missouri experienced is still being played out today and is still very visible if you know what to look for, even over just a few miles.

Originally Posted by stlouisan

My perspective is that Missouri is a Midwestern state with Southern influences. Prior to the Civil War, it probably would've been the opposite way around. One thing that is certainly true is that my city voted for lincoln in the 1861 election, and Missouri voted for Douglas...only other state to do so was a northern state, New Jersey. Just as the Upper Midwest has Canadian influences, the Southern Midwest has southern influences. Having driven all over the south, I would have to say the northern half of the state is solidly Midwestern, the southern half is part southern, part transition between the south and Midwest. St. Louis, St. Joseph, KC, Jeff City, and Columbia are all the Midwest. Cities in the Midwest like Joplin, Springfield, Wichita, Evansville, Cape Girardeau, and Carbondale are all right on the dividing line between south and Midwest.

Not sure if I'd throw Evansville in with the border cities. The people I've met from there seem to be pretty much midwestern.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by GunnerTHB

I was just in Perryville today and there is absolutely nothing southern about it, yet most of the state of Missouri is farther north than Perryville. Missouri is a midwestern state. The only cities in Missouri that are southern through and through would be Kennett, Caruthersville, Poplar Bluff, Dexter, Sikeston, Charleston, West Plains and Branson. You can argue for Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Joplin and Springfield. Other than those towns, you're pretty well looking at a midwestern state. Unless you have actually lived in Missouri for a decent amount of time or have a lot of experience with the various parts of the state, you may not understand why that this is the case. The history of this state with regards to the immigration patterns that Missouri experienced is still being played out today and is still very visible if you know what to look for, even over just a few miles.

Not sure if I'd throw Evansville in with the border cities. The people I've met from there seem to be pretty much midwestern.

Evansville has very strong southern influences. Further east, Kentuckiana region of Indiana (Clark, Scott, Jefferson, Floyd, Jackson, Jennings, Switzerland, Ripley) etc all are a mix of the South and Midwest. Most people who live there have roots in Kentucky and moved north during the Great Migration for jobs in industrial fields and manufacturing.

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

Evansville has very strong southern influences. Further east, Kentuckiana region of Indiana (Clark, Scott, Jefferson, Floyd, Jackson, Jennings, Switzerland, Ripley) etc all are a mix of the South and Midwest. Most people who live there have roots in Kentucky and moved north during the Great Migration for jobs in industrial fields and manufacturing.

Jefferson county is far more southern than midwestern.
I lived in Louisville for 5 years.

[MOKAN]

I don't get what's so difficult for people to understand about Missouri having Southern influence. There's not a solid boundary. The South tapers out into Missouri. Maps showing ancestry and Christian denominations help illustrate the tapering out effect. It's that simple.