1. The South

2. Background
• Old Confederacy
– 1860  11 states withdrew from the United
States
– Formed Confederate States of America, aka
The Confederacy

4. Background
• Old Confederacy
– 1860  11 states withdrew from the United
States
– Formed Confederate States of America, aka The
Confederacy
– Felt US Gov’t ignoring their concerns
– Found unity in their similar culture and dialects
• US military from the North & Midwest fought
bloody war with Confederacy – the Civil War
– South wanted to leave the US
– North wanted to retain unity between all states

6. Climate
• Closer to Equator
• Warmer than other regions in US
• Warm wet climate produces:
– Thick forests of pine and other trees
– Marshes and mangrove trees

8. Climate
• Closer to Equator
• Warmer than other US regions
• Warm wet climate produces:
– Thick forests of pine and other trees
– Marshes and mangroves
• Mangroves - tropical trees found in
swamps along coasts

11. Climate
• Closer to Equator
• Warmer than other US regions
• Warm wet climate produces:
– Thick forests of pine and other trees
– Marshes and mangroves
• Mangroves - tropical trees found in swamps
along coasts
• Louisiana Bayous - Marshy inlets of lakes and
rivers

15. Climate
• Closer to Equator
• Warmer than other US regions
• Warm wet climate produces:
– Thick forests of pine and other trees
– Marshes and mangroves
• Mangroves - tropical trees found in swamps along
coasts
• Louisiana Bayous - Marshy inlets of lakes and rivers
• Florida Everglades – swampland covered in places
with tall grass
– Refuge for a wide variety of birds and animals

19. • Rich soils
• Native Americans: Natchez, Creek, and
Cherokee
– Grew Maize, melons, squash, beans, tobacco,
other crops
• Southern plantations
– Few southern elite built large farm estates

23. • Rich soils
• Native Americans: Natchez, Creek, and
Cherokee
– Grew
Maize, melons, squash, beans, tobacco, other
crops
• Southern plantations
– Few southern elite built these large farm estates
– enslaved people from Africa and West Indies
– cotton, tobacco, coffee, sugar cane
• Farming remains important to the South’s
economy

24. Poverty
• Rural area in Appalachian Mountains
called Appalachia – one of the poorest
areas in the US

28. Southern Economy
• 1901 oil industry in the South began in
Texas
– Great wealth to the region
• Space industry –NASA, 1960s in Florida
and Texas
• Mild climate of South– retirement
(“snowbirds”) and tourism (Disney World)

29. Demographics
• Diverse population
• Over ½ African Americans live in South
• Hispanics from Mexico, Cuba and other LA
countries
– Southern Florida – the Cubans
– Settled in the Miami since 1960 after
Communist takeover
– Little Havana in Miami (named after Havana,
Cuba)

32. Demographics
• Diverse population
• Over ½ African Americans live in South
• Hispanics from Mexico, Cuba and other LA
countries
– Southern Florida – the Cubans
– Settled in the Miami since 1960 after Communist
takeover
– Little Havana in Miami (named after Havana, Cuba)
• Louisiana French
– The French settled the are in Colonial times
– Creole from Haiti and other Caribbean Countries

33. Hubs
• New Orleans, Louisiana  major trading
center (Mississippi R.)
• Atlanta, Georgia  major RR center, now
major airline hub; cable TV stations
(CNN, TBS)
• Houston, Texas  center for oil and banking
• Washington D.C., (aka “D.C.”) not located in
any state, in the District of Columbia
– Taken from Maryland and Virginia
– Home to nation’s leaders and foreign diplomats

34. Bluegrass in The South

35. Bluegrass
• form of American roots music
– sub-genre of country music
– inspired by music of Appalachia
– mixed roots in Scottish, Irish and English traditional
music with African-American jazz elements.
• Immigrants from GB and Ireland arrived in Appalachia
in the 18th century
– English and Scottish ballads (stories) and Irish dance
music accompanied by fiddle (violin)
• Like in jazz, in Bluegrass one or more instruments
take turns playing melody and improvising around it –
solo, or called breakdowns
– Fiddles, guitars, mandolins, banjos and standing bass

37. Bluegrass
• Narratives on everyday lives of people from region
– Laments about loves lost
– Interpersonal tensions
– Unwanted changes to the region (e.g., effects of
mountaintop coal mining)
– Difficult existence living in Appalachia and other rural areas
of south
• Vocals - harmony with 2, 3, or 4 parts with dissonant
or modal sound creating “lonesome sound”
• Traditionally accompanied rural dancing style known
as flatfooting or clogging.
• Bluegrass name from Blue Grass Boys band, with Bill
Monroe as leader, from Kentucky
• The nickname Bluegrass State given to Kentucky
because of grazing grass with slight blue tint