Quote:
Originally Posted by Dariusb
I know that many years ago Maryland and Deleware were considered southern states and now of course they're not. With the growth and changes going on in Virginia not just economically but also politically, is it destined to follow suit and no longer be considered a southern state?
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Maryland and Delaware were considered "border" states (neither North nor South), and today they truly embody the "Mid-Atlantic" definition -- Delaware in particular. I think a case can be made for Delaware having always been more northern than southern.
1. Delaware never had a large enslaved population, 90% having been freed by 1860.
2. Delawareans voted to remain in the Union on January 3, 1861, the pro-Confederacy being in the minority along battlefield lines
3. About half of the state's population around the time of the Civil War was concentrated in the northernmost county (New Castle), which you would think was more culturally aligned with Philadelphia than Baltimore and South Jersey than non-peninsular Maryland.
4. Delaware was "shielded" from the rest of the southern states by the Mason-Dixon Line.