( also the southern states )
the south-east and south-central US states, regarded as beginning to the south of the Mason-Dixon line . Their region is part of the Sunbelt . The 14 states are Maryland , Virginia , West Virginia , Kentucky , Tennessee , North Carolina , South Carolina , Georgia , Florida , Alabama , Mississippi , Arkansas , Louisiana and Texas , especially its eastern part. All were Confederate States except Maryland, West Virginia and Kentucky.
The South has sometimes seemed a mysterious region to Americans who live outside it and who associate it with a mixture of romantic charm, traditional family values, dangerous independence and violent prejudice. These ideas have been supported by the works of southern writers such as William Faulkner and Tennessee Williams and by the real conflicts of the civil rights movement . Today, however, a ‘New South’ has been recognized. Atlanta and other modern cities have developed, many companies from other parts of the US have moved to the Sunbelt , and African Americans now serve as mayors and community leaders. Two recent US Presidents ( Carter and Clinton ) have come from the South, and the US government has even developed the southern idea of states’ rights . In spite of these changes, however, many people still believe that the South is a region that wants to keep its strong separate character.
Compare Deep South .