The Nature of the South’s Global Transformation
David August

Ask a historian what caused the Roman Empire to begin to collapse. Some will claim that the outsourcing of the Roman army eroded citizens’ proud militaristic ideals, some will blame the distrust in politics that resulted from the corruption of the government, and many will argue one of the multitudes of alternatives. Even on long-debated topics such as the Fall of the Roman Empire, it is nearly impossible to pinpoint an exact cause for cultural shifts, because they happen in complex cause-effect relationships that contribute to an overarching shift. Although the intertwining characteristics of a culture affect one another, it takes time for those effects to take shape and become prevalent enough to warrant recognition as a legitimate cultural shift.
In the United States, the Southern culture has changed drastically from its antebellum origins due to globalization. However, due to the South’s historically strong identity, many of the ingrained ideals that stereotype the Southern culture still remain, and in effect, outsiders’ views remain constant. Although globalization is transforming the South’s social and economic principles rapidly, there is a steadfast core that remains at the heart of Southerner’s political ideals due to the strong influence of religion.
When defining a region’s culture, there are four prevailing factors of influence: political, religious, social, and economic. Each factor is tied to one another, although some are more closely connected than others. The South’s original prevailing cultural characteristics can be described as Conservative politics, Christian morals, an elitist social system, and an agricultural economy. During the South’s beginnings, eighty percent of the Southern labor force worked on farms (civilwar), and in 1849, there were 1,536 plantations with an average of 347 acres and over 100,000 total slaves that were dedicated to the sugar industry alone (cnr.berkeley).
However, the world is becoming more connected through advances in technology, which is causing the South’s pure, definitive culture to become mixed and muddled. The increased ease of transportation can be argued as the first major contributor to this global shift. Automobiles and airplanes have made it much easier for people to travel, which has allowed Southerners to experience life beyond their region. Prior to these inventions, it was difficult and time-consuming to go long distances, so most people were never able to be exposed to another culture. Therefore, Southerners only knew how to be Southerners. This reinforced their Southern ideals, and created a distinct schism to anyone who did not come from a similar background. Advances in transportation technology opened a new world to Southerners that challenged their steadfast culture.
Technologies such as phones and the Internet have also had a significant effect on the culture-mix. The spreading of the telephone started a revolution by enabling people to contact others across long distances, which subtracted a degree of separation between cultures. The advent of the Internet advanced this idea by facilitating the sharing of information and ideas to others across the world. This made it easier for people to present and understand their cultural beliefs and practices.
These new means of transportation and technologies have allowed companies to expand across many different regions and countries. These companies create a stronger tie between regions because they bring a commonality – no matter how synthetic – between cultures, and jobs became more likely to cause people to relocate. “More moves are generally a positive sign for the economy, because many people move for jobs (wsj).” The city of Charlotte, North Carolina has seen its population increase 30% since 2000, which mostly consisted of minority groups looking for jobs as the city grew to rank as the 5th fastest growing city in the US (bizjournal).
Economic and social movements have factored heavily into the shifting of the Southern culture. The emancipation of slaves led to the fall of the Southern plantation-based economy, because plantations depended heavily on cheap labor. As these large plantations began to shut down, they split into small farms, which created a competitive market that was not conducive to sustainable profits. The farmers that were squeezed out of the market moved to cities to take textile and factory jobs. Therefore, big Southern cities became more prominent, which contributed to the growth of banking centers such as Atlanta and Charlotte. Today, the majority of Southerners live in cities.
Southerners have also been forced to address their intolerance towards people of different races and cultures. Today, 56% of America’s Black population resides in the South, Hispanics have more than doubled their Southern population, and Asian Americans are steadily increasing in the Southern cities. Although many Southerners still maintain their racist roots, this influx of races has pressured many to reduce their elitist Southern attitudes, because they are often forced to interact with people of other cultures and socioeconomic statuses on a daily basis. Alternative religions are also gaining traction in southern cities. Jewish Community Centers have sprung up in nearly every Southern urban center, including Nashville, Charlotte, Atlanta, and New Orleans. Although these minority groups are adjusting to the Southern culture to an extent, they are also changing the South’s original culture. This is most evident through the prevalence of ethnic restaurants and ethnic events, which may introduce Southerners to cultures beyond their own.
Despite these drastic changes, the stereotypical view of the South still remains. The overarching view of a culture can often be represented by the artistic images that base themselves in that region. When one types ‘Southern art’ into Google, the first images that appear are paintings of prairies, riverboats, and cattle. Although the South is moving swiftly towards becoming a diverse and urban region, the quintessential Southern characteristics are grounded in its antebellum roots.
Country and folk music, which attributed their inspiration to Southern culture, also focus on stereotypical Southern ideals. This genre can often be recognized by a twang that represents the Southern accent, and the lyrics are almost exclusively centered on traditional Southern foods and culture. In Song of the South by the country band from the 1970’s named Alabama, their repeated chorus starts with “Song, song of the South, sweet potato pie and I shut my mouth”. In the more recent Zac Brown Band’s song Chicken Fried the chorus includes everything a Southerner needs: “You know I like my Chicken Fried, A cold beer on a Friday night, A pair of jeans that fits just right, and the radio up.” This shows the longevity of the Southern stereotype through art and music, which many non-Southerners may use as a ‘window’ into Southern culture. These artistic representations may also legitimately strengthen the original Southern culture in a sense, because they allow Southerners to define themselves as ‘Southern’ by being able to relate to the art and lyrics.
The South’s political and religious ideals have been the slowest to adjust to globalization. In the past four elections, every Southern state besides Florida voted for the Republican candidate the majority of the time (personal). Republicans take stances that would align with Southerners’ intolerance, such as anti-immigration and gay marriage. This proves that although the South’s increased diversity is improving their tolerance, there is still a significant fight against the shift to a global culture.
The South’s strong religious values have caused them to be more resistant to change, because religions often have strong belief structures that are more difficult to challenge. In a ranking of the percentage of people who attend Church, nine out of the top ten states are located in the South (thearda). Furthermore, Southern Baptist, which is a more intolerant Christian sect that rejects homosexuality as a lifestyle, is the most prominent of Christian groups in the South (commons).
Religion’s prominence in the South influences Southerners’ political beliefs, because religion has become ingrained in many of Conservatives’ political stances regarding social issues such as gay marriage and abortion. Republican candidate Newt Gingrich is an outspoken supporter of these Conservative stances, and he is not shy about his identity as a Catholic. He disagreed with fellow religious candidate Rick Santorum when Santorum criticized Kennedy’s historic speech on religion, and has accused the Obama administration of being “anti-religious” (washingtonpost). Gingrich has gained much support in the South as a result, winning over 40% of the votes for the Republican nomination in South Carolina. This shows that Southerners value religion to an extent that it contributes significantly to the shaping of their political views.
The strongly-bound relationship between traditional Southern politics and religion makes it more difficult to globalize either of these cultural characteristics. However, as technological improvements create closer connections between distant cultures and force a shift in the Southerner’s daily life, the make-up of the South’s social and economic culture will continue to globalize. This pattern will eventually tie into the slower-shifting political and religious aspects more significantly. Even though these shifts are occurring, the prominent Southern stereotypes will remain until there is a paradigm shift in the core values of the traditional Southern culture. http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/departments/espm/env-hist/studyguide/chap7.htm http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/2008/ http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/northandsouth.html http://www.thearda.com/ http://commons.trincoll.edu/aris/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gingrich-disagrees-with-fellow-catholic-santorum-about-historic-kennedy-speech-on-religion/2012/02/28/gIQALSMtfR_story.html http://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/22/business/den-fujita-japan-s-mr-joint-venture.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/departments/espm/env-hist/studyguide/chap7.htm http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704879704575236533316039428.html http://bucknellorgtheory09.wordpress.com/2009/05/07/cultural-differences-mcdonalds-in-japan/ http://books.google.com/books?id=E2vg2UOPB2kC&pg=PA43&lpg=PA43&dq=how+gone+with+the+wind+embodied+the+south&source=bl&ots=--PgCQtKWm&sig=OUFqL53Qq91YHo9uwRALVuQYU14&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0ElMT4efJ5TqtgfVurVS&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=how%20gone%20with%20the%20wind%20embodied%20the%20south&f=false
http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2010/08/16/daily19.html