<Tr> <Th> Total </Th> <Td> 114.6 million </Td> </Tr> <P> The Southern United States, also known as the American South, Dixie, Dixieland, or simply the South, is a region of the United States of America . It is located between the Atlantic Ocean and the Western United States, with the Midwestern United States and Northeastern United States to its north and the Gulf of Mexico and Mexico to its south . </P> <P> The South does not fully match the geographic south of the United States but is commonly defined as including the states that fought for the Confederate States of America in the American Civil War . The Deep South is fully located in the southeastern corner . Arizona and New Mexico, which are geographically in the southern part of the country, are rarely considered part, while West Virginia, which separated from Virginia in 1863, commonly is . Some scholars have proposed definitions of the South that do not coincide neatly with state boundaries . While the states of Delaware and Maryland, as well as the District of Columbia, permitted slavery prior to the start of the Civil War, they remained with the Union . Since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, they became more culturally, economically, and politically aligned with the industrial Northern states, and are often identified as part of the Mid-Atlantic or Northeast by many residents, businesses, public institutions, and private organizations, but the United States Census Bureau puts them in the South . </P> <P> Usually, the South is defined as including the southeastern and south - central United States . The region is known for its culture and history, having developed its own customs, musical styles, and cuisines, which have distinguished it in some ways from the rest of the United States . The Southern ethnic heritage is diverse and includes strong European (mostly English, Scottish, Scotch - Irish, Irish, German, French, and Spanish American), African, and some Native American components . </P>

Is west virginia considered part of the south