10 Undeniable Ways To Prove Beyond All Doubt That Arkansas Is A Southern State

In Arkansas, “Y’all still knee high to a grasshopper ain’t ya?” makes perfect sense. In northern or midwestern states, it would sound more like, “You children are still small, aren’t you?”

You can expect the long tradition of southern hospitality to ring true in virtually every Arkansas town.

If there’s one thing you can depend on in Arkansas restaurants and most Arkansas homes, that thing is sweet tea. If you can think of something more southern than that, I’m proud of you, because I can’t.

We’ve got a gravy for every occasion, and nothing says southern cooking like gravy.

Y’all ever had decent fried catfish or chicken fried steak in a Yankee state? No? Yeah, me neither.

If you ever doubt that Arkansas is firmly in the Bible Belt, just think to yourself that 86% of Arkansans identify as some kind of Christian. That places the Natural State firmly with the South in terms of religion.

Arkansas’s decision to secede was actually more complicated than most people think. Regardless of those nuances, in May of 1861, we seceded from the Union to join the other southern states in their rebellion. We were later than most southern states, but we did secede. The blue star above the state name on our flag? That stands for the Confederate States of America.

When it comes to culture, it sometimes seems the U.S. population is split not by region, but by city vs. country. The South, the home of country music and rural life, falls on the country side of this equation. With a capital city whose population doesn’t quite reach 200,000 and a population density of only fifty people per square mile, Arkansas is clearly with the South on valuing rural life.

Who’s to say we aren’t how we feel? If we feel southern, we probably get to call ourselves that.

Some people are genuinely surprised that this is even a question.

It just is.

In the comment section of the article mentioned in the introduction, I noticed that many people who believe Arkansas is a southern state also believe Fayetteville is in the Midwest. (Yes, I read the comments. I care about what y’all think.) I tend to agree that native Fayettevillains don’t sound like me or my grandmama. I’ll also add that when I think of the Old West, I think of Fort Smith. I have some doubts that people who live in vastly different geographical regions, like the Delta and the Ozarks, can have exactly the same cultural identity. Even academics can’t agree on Arkansas’s regional identity.

So what’s the answer? I suppose the real hard truth of it is that you’re from where you feel you’re from. As for me and my house, we live in the South, and we’re glad to live in the most unique state in that region.