KENTUCKY AS ITS OWN INDEPENDENT REPUBLIC

Kentucky was admitted into the Union as the 15th state on June 1, 1792, splitting from Virginia in the process. It is known as the “Bluegrass State”, a nickname based on Kentucky bluegrass, a species of green grass introduced by European settlers for the purpose of grazing in pastures, which has supported the thoroughbred horse industry in the center of the state.

Is Kentucky Southern?

If Kentucky isn’t southern what else could it be? It sure isn’t geographically north. Some may offer the Midwest as an acceptable region but what is Kentucky west of other than Virginia and the Atlantic Ocean? Kentucky is one state removed from the nation’s Eastern border. You can’t get more east than Kentucky unless you’re Virginia…or West Virginia. You’d be hard-pressed convincing anyone that Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana aren’t southern states yet they’re all more west of the Bluegrass. Kentucky clearly isn’t West enough to be considered West in any form.
Florida is geographically southern, but we all know, the further south you travel in Florida, the less Southern you get. The majority of Floridians do not consider themselves southern and southern folks don’t accept most of them as southern. Southerners will ask from what part of Florida a person is from to really get a feel of how southern they are.

At any rate, any southerner worth the butter in their grits will tell you that Southern-ness encompasses more than residing in a particular geographic region. Southern is culture. Southern is a state of mind.

A Southern Cultured Society

Culture includes all the features of everyday existence; culture consists of beliefs, rituals, behavior, religion, food, arts, attitudes, language, and customs. When it comes to Southern Culture, Kentucky values remain consistent with the south’s.

Kentucky food, with our preference toward all things fried or barbecued, is super southern. Our tea, sweeter than the belles who make it, is undeniably southern. The way we talk, with both a slow drawl and an Appalachian twang and the euphemisms we use, can be found only south of the Mason Dixon. Our rituals and customs can be observed every Saturday in the fall. You’ll find Kentucky belles in sundresses at tailgates, and we tailgate for everything from football to horse races. Debutant balls and cotillions are not foreign to Kentuckians in this day in age. Dang near all of us Kentucky belles have a tiara, sash, and some type of title stashed away from our youth. All of this pomp and circumstance is predicated on the value of marrying well and starting a southern family. The way Kentucky approaches every phase of life, from birth to death is quintessentially southern in practice. I’ve traveled to every state in the union. Therefore, I’m well aware that the South, including Kentucky, seems to be the only region where strangers pay their respects to the bereaved by pulling over on the side of the road. Kentucky is a red state like the rest of the south showing exactly where its political values stand.

Conclusion

Historically, Kentucky had excellent farming conditions, which led to the development of large tobacco plantations similar to those in Virginia and North Carolina in the central and western parts of the state that utilized enslaved labor during the Antebellum South and Civil War periods. Kentucky ranks fifth nationally in goat farming, eight in beef cattle production and 14th in corn production. While Kentucky has been a long-standing major center for the tobacco industry, the state’s economy has diversified in multiple non-agricultural sectors, including auto manufacturing, energy fuel production, and medical facilities. The state ranks 4th among US states in the number of automobiles and trucks assembled. Kentucky is one of several states considered a part of the Upland South.