Kentucky Southern State

Upon moving to the United States a hot topic among many southern historians is whether or not Kentucky should be considered a Southern State. Of course if you ask people in Kentucky, they will say yes due to its geographical location underneath the Ohio River as well as its authentic southern culture. Others will make a case saying otherwise due to Kentucky being a border State that is a Northern state. During my time at at FIU I’ve been around people from both the Midwest and the south and if you ask most Midwesterners they will tell you that Kentucky is a Southern State and if you ask a Southerner they will tell you that it is a Midwestern one. Technically, Kentucky is considered to be a southern State according to the United States Census …show more content…
Today in the state there are many aspects that tie back to southern ideals such as its agriculture, bluegrass music, fried chicken, sweet tea and its ties to slavery. Kentucky is in a peculiar location because it can be divided between the South and the Deep South. Though there are not huge differences, there are noticeable cultural differences throughout the states. Even though Kentucky was south of the Mason-Dixon line, it was still on the northern end if you view any Civil War-era map. Only after the conclusion of the US Civil War did Kentucky begin to take a southern Identity and sympathies. The wealthy slave owners were pro-union because they knew that Kentucky would be invaded if they decided to secede from the Union, making them lose their slaves. They had believed that Lincoln would never take their property from them so they declared themselves to be a neutral state, though both sides had ignored this declaration. While many people from Kentucky had fought in the Confederate army, even more had fought for the Union. At the conclusion of the war, the slave owners had began to go bankrupt due to all their slaves being freed. This is where they began to favor more south. While in Lexington, Kentucky there was more of the traditional slave-market the rest of the state was more northern oriented …show more content…
There is a mixture of both northern and southern elements in the state and depending that you talk to they consider southern states to be those that seceded from the Union during the American Civil War. During the time of the war it had two competing governments existing as Kentucky was a border state. There are strong influences from both the north and the south in Kentucky and this is evident as the manner and culture of speech varies from region to region. Personally, I believe that Kentucky is a more southern state than a northern one, but the northern influence is undeniable, and just as impactful as the southern impact. This is the problem with any border states. While Kentucky is certainly not a Deep South state, there definitely is a difference from being in Florida or Ohio, and being in