Southernization

Not to be confused with the Southern strategy.

The mean center of United States population has moved south since the 1920s.

In the culture of the United States, the idea of Southernization came from the observation that "Southern" values and beliefs had become more central to political success, reaching an apogee in the 1990s, with a Democratic president and vice-president from the South and Congressional leaders in both parties being from the South. Some commentators said that Southern values seemed increasingly important in national elections through the early 21st century. American journalists in the late 2000s used the term "Southernization" to describe the political and cultural effects.

Description

Values and beliefs often ascribed to the American South include religious conservatism, and patriotism or nationalism. Besides the cultural influence, some said that the South had infiltrated the national political stage.

In 1992, the winning presidential ticket consisted of Bill Clinton, the Governor of Arkansas, and Al Gore, a Senator from Middle Tennessee. Many leaders in Congress were also from the South, from both parties. Meanwhile the Republican Party underwent its own Southernization as more Republican leaders called for a policies and principles previously held by conservative or moderate southern Democrats. Commentators such as Adam Nossiter and Michael Hirsh suggest that politics reached its apogee of Southernization in the 1990s.

As of 2013 the American South has more electoral votes than ever, due to an increase in population. The increasing influence of the region, however, appeared to go beyond that. Liberal commentators had said that "Southernism" had gained prominence under the George W. Bush presidency. They credited many concepts such as frontierism and jingoism, as well as anti-abortion and anti–international-trade sentiments to the American South.

Other uses

The term "Southernization" has also been used by historians to describe the influence of South Asia on the rest of the world by the 5th century A.D. This is intended to be similar to the use of Westernization for the influence of the West on the rest of the world since the 15th century and the beginning of exploration and colonization. Examples of South Asian influence include Hindu-Arabic numerals, the spread of Buddhism, production and marketing of sugar, cotton and spices; and the spread of other inventions and discoveries.

See also

• Politics of the Southern United States
• Red states and blue states