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The states in dark red comprise the Deep South (excluding Texas and Florida).

The Deep South is a cultural and geographic subregion of the American South. It originally was differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states that were most dependent on the institution of slavery during the antebellum period, and thus announced their secession from the Union following the election of Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860. The Upper South states, while also allowing slavery at the time the Civil War began, were less reliant on it economically and did not join the secessionist Confederate States of America at all or waited until after Lincoln made his plans for war clear by attempting to resupply federal forces at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. In recent years, the term has been used loosely and often perjoratively to refer to states in this general cultural region without regard to the term's historically defined limits.

There are various ways in which "Deep South" is used today:

• South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas (The seven founding members of the Confederate States of America). Because the culture of large areas of Florida and Texas have been changed by migration patterns of the last half-century, these states are often no longer included under the term; though there are certain parts of these states such as the East border of Texas and the Florida Panhandle that remain Southern.
• Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana (From the Dictionary of Cultural Literacy)
• Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi (From the National Endowment for the Humanities)
• Any vaguely defined area within the South that is characterized negatively by anti-intellectualism, romanticizing the antebellum era, sustained racism, entrenched political corruption, ardent Protestant fundamentalism, lack of modern amenities, rejection of modern ways of life, poverty and a general lack of upward mobility; while characterized positively as patriotic, pious, persevering, honest, appreciating simple comforts, respecting the common man, hospitable and cultivating folk wisdom. When used this way, the term becomes a stereotype with heavy cultural baggage.

Urban areas in Southern states such as Atlanta, Georgia, Orlando, Miami, and Tampa, Florida, in the post-war era have also absorbed waves of migrants seeking economic opportunities and warmer climates. This migration, according to some, has diluted some distinct cultural traits of the region. Thus, they are not considered a part of the Deep South. On the other hand, the blending of diverse cultural traditions is integral to the South's distinct urban cultures, such as in New Orleans, Louisiana, Birmingham, Alabama, Mobile, Alabama, Montgomery, Alabama, and Jackson, Mississippi.

For most of the 19th century and 20th century, the Deep South overwhelmingly supported the Democratic Party, viewing the rival Republican Party as a Northern organization responsible for the American Civil War, which devastated the economy of the Old South. However, since the 1964 presidential election along with the Civil Rights Movement, the Deep South has tended to vote for the Republican candidate in presidential elections, except in the 1976 election when Georgia native Jimmy Carter received the Democratic nomination. Since the 1990s there has been a continued shift toward Republican candidates in most political venues; another Georgian, Republican Newt Gingrich, was elected Speaker of the House in 1995.

Presidential elections in which the region diverged noticeably from the Upper South occurred in 1928, 1948, 1964 and 1968, and, to a lesser extent, in 1952 and 1956.

Local politics in the Deep South are more complicated and are generally characterized by racial polarization. The suddenly assertive and formerly disenfranchised African American voters have been strong supporters of Democratic candidates since at least the 1960s. Because of the region's historic ties to slavery, rural communities in the Deep South often have much higher percentages of black voters than in similar areas in other parts of the South or elsewhere in the nation. The white electorate in some areas of the Deep South has continued to back the established Democratic Party system at the local level, marginalizing local Republicans. In other areas, the Republicans have become the de facto party of most white voters. The Deep South's white Democrats of county- and town-level politics are often notably more conservative than their own state or national political establishment, especially on fiscal and social issues.

• Adam Rothman. Slave Country: American Expansion and the Origins of the Deep South. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005 review

• Black Belt
• Dixie
• Old South
• Border States
• Solid South
• Bible Belt
• Upper South