The South

The South is usually identified as the eleven states that made up the Confederate States of America which consisted of South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina.^{[Citation Needed]}

Although these states once fought against the United States in the Civil War, today they are known for their patriotism and commitment to morality in government.

Presidential politics

From the end of the Civil War to the 1960 election, the "Solid South" as political pundits called it, nearly always supported Democratic candidates. Since 1964, the South has become increasingly important to Presidential victors.

The Solid South began to break down in the 1964 election, when five southern states voted for Republican Barry Goldwater. The largest and President Johnson's homestate, Texas, remained Democratic. In 1968, Richard Nixon carried Florida, and the Carolinas, while and Independent George Wallace still carried the rest. Only Texas remained Democratic. Former Democratic Gov. George Wallace commenting on his 1968 Presidential bid declared, by using a base of electoral votes in the Solid South and adding a few Northern and Midwestern industrial belt states could accumulate enough electoral votes to win. The strategy was repeated 8 years later by Democratic contender Jimmy Carter effectively. Since the 1972 election, candidates Richard Nixon (1972), Jimmy Carter (1976), Ronald Reagan (1984), George H.W. Bush (1988), and George W. Bush (2000 and 2004) carried every Southern state with the exception of the 1980 election, when President Jimmy Carter carried his home state of Georgia. Bill Clinton carried Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida, and Georgia in 1992, but lost Georgia in 1996.

Large numbers of Southerners have served in the U.S. military. During the Civil War southerners did not volunteer in large numbers. Approximately twenty percent of all Confederate soldiers were draftees (compared to eight percent in the Union armies), and they were subject to “compulsory reenlistment.”

The South also tends to lag behind the rest of the nation academically. Reading and math scores of students in the region are somewhat slightly below national averages.