Do You Consider Missouri to be in the South?

I have been asked the question before and it required more thinking than I was prepared to do. Do you consider Missouri to be a southern state? Before you answer, there are some things to consider.

Get our free mobile app

I saw this question asked anew on the Missouri sub-Reddit. It's a simple question of whether or not you identify as a Midwesterner or a Southerner if you live in Missouri.

Do you identify more as a Southerner or Midwesterner?
by u/tghjfhy in missouri

Last time I checked the results, it was overwhelmingly "Midwesterner" as the answer for what Missourians are. It's worth mentioning that technically the Census Bureau regards Missouri as a Midwestern state as was mentioned in a conversation on Quora.

The real answer is it's more complicated than you think and really depends on what part of Missouri you're talking about. During the Civil War, it's proven history that Missouri was at the fulcrum of the debate between free states and slave states. Generally speaking, the further south you went in the state, the more likely you were to find southern sympathizers.

In my opinion, this is yet another issue that is divided culturally by I-70. North of the interstate, most would almost certainly identify as a Midwesterner. South of I-70, good chance you'll find more patches of those that still fly the rebel flag. I'm not judging. I just find it interesting that you can still ask today if Missouri should be considered a part of the South and get almost equally divided answers.