re: What are your geographic boundaries for the South?

Oklahoma is the bastard child of Texas and the Midwest and is in complete denial as to the fact. They genuinely think they're Southern. Bless their hearts.

The more interesting groups are Maryland/Delaware/Virginia. Historically they're Southern, sure, no question. I don't think of DC as being Southern in any realistic sense (it's its own thing but culturally closest to the Northeast), and DC, plus the increasing interconnectedness of the major Northeastern cities generally, have had significant influence on the cultural development of Maryland, Delaware, and NOVA. I think those areas have been drawn into the Northeastern orbit and that by the time I'm an old man yelling at kids for being wrong about what states are Southern, it's plausible that Virginia is a "split" state, with more densely populated coastal areas being Northeastern and the interior being more in line with the Southern tradition.