The South has always been a dinstinct region throughout history.  The region is different, the people are different, and the ways of life are different.  The region has begun to evolve through time, but still remains somewhat similar to its first creation.  That is why geographers refer to the South in two different ways, the Old South and the New South.

The South is separated from the North by the Mason-Dixon line.  This imaginary line became the accepted boundary between the two by moving westward.  The line runs between Pennsylvania and Maryland and was first used to resolve disputes between the two colonie.  Nonetheless, this line is one of the traditonal ways of defining the South.  Some of the other ways that define the South, the Old South in particular, include the Civil War, the Confederacy, and slavery.  Some of the other well known ways of defining the South include "King Cotton" which was the basis for the economy, the boll weevil which in turn desimated cotton plants, music (country, bluegrass, blues, and jazz), food, and dialect.  Another well known characterisitc of the Old South is religioin, specifically Baptist religion.  The Baptists were founded in the South and continued to grow all over the United States.

As history has taught us, the South was deeply shaped through African tradition.  For one thing, the majority of the slaves were brought from Africa.  This created constant contact between whites and blacks.  This interconnection resulted in many new developments for the white population.  The diet for instance consisted of okra, which is a food product introduced in Africa, peanuts, corn bread, chitterlings, and collard greens.  All of these foods have been found to have roots from Africa.  Another thing that whites got from Africa was the dialect, especially the Gullah dialect which is mostly used in the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina.  Music also has roots traced to Africa.  Zydeco music translates to the music of creoles, which in turn comes from an expression "Les haricots sont pas sales."  This means the snap bean aren't salty, essentially relating to hard times people experienced.  Zydeco has origins in "jure", the hand-clapping and foot-stomping of African American field workers praying and giving thanks.  Zydeco developed into its current genre after World War II.  The Creoles were influenced by the rhythm, blues, and jazz on the radio.  The most importat instrument of Zydeco music include the accordian and the rubboard. 

Another distinct group of people that have had a vital role in shaping the South are the Cajuns.  The Cajuns are descendents of people from west-central France who were deported from Acadia in Canada.  Those who ended up in Louisiana, which already has some French influence, mixed and married with other ethnic groups to become Cajuns.  The Cajuns are different from Creoles in that the Creole consist of mixed French, African, and Indian cultural groups. 

Unfortunate for the Old South, the boll weevil began eating up all the cotton plants thus resulting in the decline of cotton.  The region was then forced to find other ways to survive economically.  What resulted was a growing of industrialization.  Pulp mills and paper manufacturers became a second major industrial enterprise because they took advantage of the pine forests.  Chatanooga, Tennessee and Birminham, Alabama emerged as steel cities although they were hampered by interfence from the United States Steel Company in Pittsburgh.  Eventually, slavery was abolished and Black Codes were replaced by Jim Crow Laws which created a white South and an African American South, separate but equal of course.  Other things that begin to emerge was the excessive out-migration from the Old South to other regions in the United States. 

As cotton began to decline and people locating to other areas, the Old South also began to less visible.  Thus the New South emerges.  In the New South, chickens and hogs became an intircate part of industrial agriculture.  Urbanization continued to increase especially around major metro areas such as Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina.  As a result of the immigration, the New South began to see more in-migration from other parts fo the United States.  The new region thrived, but still continued to show the influence of the Old South.  Some of the things that continue to remain even today are the food and the music.  I guess some things will never change.