Upland South

The terms Upper South and Upland South refer to the northern part of the Southern United States, in contrast to the Lower South or Deep South.

Geography

There is a slight difference in usage between the two terms. "Upland South" is usually defined based on landforms, generally referring to the southern Appalachian Mountains or Appalachia (although not the full region defined by the Appalachian Regional Commission), the Ozarks and Ouachita Mountains, and the plateaus, hills, and basins between the Appalachians and Ozarks, such as the Cumberland Plateau, part of the Allegheny Plateau, the Nashville Basin, and the Bluegrass Basin, among others. The southern Piedmont region is often considered part of the Upland South, while the Atlantic Coastal Plain (the Chesapeake region and Carolina's Lowcountry) is generally not.

In contrast, the term "Upper South" tends to be defined politically by state. The term dates to the early 19th century and the rise of the Lower South, which became noted for its differences from the more northerly parts of the American South. In antebellum times, the term Upper South generally referred to the Slave states north of the Lower or Deep South. During the American Civil War era, the term Upper South was often used to refer specifically to the Confederate states that did not secede until after the attack on Fort Sumter — Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas. This can also include the border states of Kentucky, Missouri, West Virginia, Maryland, or Delaware in the Upper South. Today, although many definitions are still based on Civil War-era politics, the term Upper South is often used for all of the American South north of the Deep South.