States in dark red are traditionally included in the West South Central states, while states in pink may be broadly included, although they form part of the Mountain states and East South Central states regions
The history of the West South Central states is dominated by the conflict and interaction between three cultural-linguistic groups: the Anglosphere (first Great Britain and then the United States), the Hispanidad (first Spain then Mexico), and the Francophonie (France).
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Spain and France maneuvered for control of Texas,[25] with the Spanish based in Mexico and the French in Louisiana. During the War of the Quadruple Alliance hostilities spread to the New World and the French troops from Natchitoches briefly captured the capital of Spanish Texas, Los Adaes, in what is now western Louisiana. The French were not able to wrest control of Texas from Spain, and by the early 19th century sold their North American holdings to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase,[26][27] which comprised slightly less than half of what is today the West South Central United States.
During the Texas Revolution (1835–1836), a rebellion of United States immigrants and Tejanos (Texas Mexicans), put up armed resistance against the Centralist Republic of Mexico.[28] The Battle of the Alamo was a major turning point during the Texas Revolution.[29] This battle would lead to many Texians deciding to join the Texian Army. Texians would defeat the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto later on,[30][31] leading to Texas declaring themselves an independent country in 1836, however Mexico viewed them as a rebellious province. Texas would eventually be admitted as a U.S. state in 1845.[32]
The official West and East South Central states of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee would secede from the Union and join the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Kentucky was a border state that remained with the Union. Oklahoma, although Indian Territory at the time, was home to five major Native American tribes (the Five Civilized Tribes), of which the majority allied themselves with the Confederacy.[33][34]Oklahoma territory and Indian Territory would merge into the state of Oklahoma when it became the 46th U.S. state in 1907.[35] All of these states are usually considered to make up a larger part of the American South, both historically and culturally, as well as classified by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Gulf Coast megaregion is located along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico and primarily along the I-10 corridor centered upon the urban areas of Houston and New Orleans, this megaregion extends into the southeastern region.
Texas is the largest West South Central state by both area and population; Texas is still home to over half the region's population. The largest city in the region, Houston, is located in Texas. New Orleans was tied with Oklahoma City in population but, after Hurricane Katrina, the population of the New Orleans metro area declined to approximately 1 million.[36] By 2017, the population of the New Orleans metropolitan area had bounced back to almost 1.3 million;[37] overall, Louisiana and Arkansas are the two-slowest growing states of the region in contrast with Texas and Oklahoma.[38][39] In contrast with the population growth of Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, Louisiana has experienced the fifth highest population loss in the U.S. according to 2021 census estimates (making it the second-slowest growing state along the entire Gulf Coast megaregion, yet still experiencing more natural births than Mississippi in the East South Central states).[40]
^Davis, Brian (October 7, 2005). "UT-OU : Best Rivalry?". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved July 11, 2006.
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