The American South

The American South, also called the Southern United States, Dixie, or the Southland, is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, comprising sixteen states, Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia, along with the District of Columbia. It lies between the Atlantic Ocean and the western United States, with the Midwest and Northeast to its north and the Gulf of Mexico and Mexico to its south, and its landscape ranges from the Appalachian Mountains through pine forests and bayous to coastal plains under a climate that runs from temperate to tropical. The region has developed its own distinct culture, including customs, fashion, architecture, musical styles, and cuisines, and contains most of what is known as the Bible Belt, marked by high rates of Protestant and especially evangelical church attendance. The South's development from the early 1600s through the mid-1800s was profoundly shaped by the institution of slave labor, a legacy that continued to influence its economy, politics, and racial dynamics through the Civil War and beyond.