At the Founding, it was clear that regional differences nonetheless divided a legally united nation. The South was distinct by the center of its political culture and its economy—slavery. Differences persisted after the Civil War and the social and partisan realignment in the twentieth century. This course examines the politics of the South in historical and contemporary contexts and addresses concepts of political culture, identity, race, gender, religion, economics, federalism, rural-urban divide, partisanship and ideology, campaigns and elections, voter suppression, equality, civil rights, law enforcement and violence, and criminal justice. Not open to new first-year students.