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[quote=Anonymous]Oh boy, this debate again...

If you're dividing the east coast by north and south, then Maryland is a southern state.

Historically, Maryland had strong ties to the south, sits south of the Mason-Dixon Line, and would have seceded to the Confederacy had it not been for its occupation by Union troops.  The state song (only recently changed) boasted about spurning "the Yankee scum."

Culturally, Maryland being at the Northern tip of the south differed in some way from other southern states.  Maryland was a Catholic state whereas the rest of the south was predominately Protestant. Lost cause ideology, while present, was never as strong in Maryland as in the rest of the south.

In today's age, many people refer to Maryland as a "mid-Atlantic" state even though that's a loosely defined hodgepodge of southern-North and northern-South areas (e.g., Delaware, Northern Virginia, maybe even Southern Jersey).

Drawl wise, Maryland's accent has more in common with Pennsylvania than Virginia.  Natives don't have the sort of accent associated with the South.

Most Marylanders would probably not self-identify as Southerners today, even though much of Maryland is rural, a little stuck in the past, and not too dissimilar from anywhere comparable in Virginia or North Carolina.  Baltimore feels more like Philly than southern cities like DC or Richmond, but anywhere outside of a major city is going to feel very much like anywhere in the south, IMHO.  You're very likely to still see Confederate flags all around Maryland and plenty of stereotypical southern things.  However, you could say the same thing about central Pennsylvania which is firmly in the north.

Bottom line: Maryland is in the south, but it's complicated.[/quote]

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