Dixie states (more) Dixie region, United States Ask the Chatbot a Question More Actions Print Cite verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/place/Dixie-region Feedback External Websites Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Select a type (Required) Factual Correction Spelling/Grammar Correction Link Correction Additional Information Other Your Feedback Submit Feedback Thank you for your feedback Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

　　External Websites Western Carolina University - Declining Dixie: Regional Identification in the Modern American South (PDF) CNN - How the term ‘DixieÂ’ came to define the South Ask the Chatbot a Question Written by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Article History Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask the Chatbot

　　Daniel Decatur Emmett(more)Dixie, the Southern U.S. states, especially those that belonged to the Confederate States of America (1860–65). The origins of the name are debated, but it was popularized by the song “Dixie,” composed in 1859 by Daniel Decatur Emmett. The tune was popular as a marching song of the Confederate army, and it was often considered the Confederate anthem.

　　According to the most common explanation of the name, $10 notes issued before 1860 by the Citizens’ Bank of New Orleans and used largely by French-speaking residents were imprinted with dix (French: “ten”) on the reverse side—hence the land of Dixies, or Dixie Land, which applied to Louisiana and eventually the whole South. Another theory suggests that the term refers to the Mason-Dixon Line, the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania. In the pre-Civil War period, the demarcation was regarded, together with the Ohio River, as the dividing line between the slave states south of it and free-soil states north of it.

　　The song “Dixie” was originally a “hooray song” or walk-around in Jerry Bryant’s minstrel show, for which Emmett, a native Ohioan of Virginian parents, performed and wrote music. It was played at the inauguration of Confederate Pres. Jefferson Davis on February 18, 1861, in Montgomery, Alabama.

　　The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Michele Metych.