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See also: Kiamichi country

Little Dixie is the name given to the southeast region of Oklahoma, which is heavily influenced by southern "dixie" culture, as it was settled by Southerners displaced by Reconstruction following the American Civil War. The region is not well defined. It's exact boundaries vary by source. It has been defined as the former Choctaw Nation, including part of old Chickasaw and Creek lands.^[1] During the tenure of Carl Albert it was considered to be the old 3rd Congressional district of Oklahoma.^[2] Several towns and cities in southeast Oklahoma use the Little Dixie name and that helps to define the boundaries. There is a radio station in McAlester that is owned by "Little Dixie Radio, Inc."^[3] and the band in Tishomingo, Oklahoma is called The Pride of Little Dixie.^[4] Also Harry Truman visited Marietta, Oklahoma in Love County in 1948 and gave a speech saying it was a pleasure to be in the Little Dixie region of Oklahoma.^[5]

1 History
2 Geography
3 Politics
4 References

[edit] History

The area was acquired by the United States through the Louisiana Purchase and became part of the new Arkansas Territory. On April 1, 1820, Arkansas created Miller County which included most of the land that would become Little Dixie. A post office at Miller Courthouse was established on September 7, 1824. Per a treaty signed on January 20, 1825, the land west of a line "one hundred paces east of Fort Smith, and running thence, due south, to Red river" was ceded to the Choctaw Indians. The residents west of the line made a futile attempt to be exempted from the treaty but failed. They burned the courthouse and most of the records before they left.

Some Choctaws had been moving into the region from Mississippi since the Treaty of Doak's Stand in 1820, but following the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830, the government began their forced removal. By 1834, nearly 8,000 Choctaws had arrived in their new land over the "trail of tears and death". At Nanih Waiya, near the present Tuskahoma Council House, they established a capitol and adopted the first constitution ever written in what is now Oklahoma. The Choctaws actively supported the Confederacy during the Civil War and were allowed to keep most of their land in eastern Indian Territory. In 1898, after pressure from Washington, they agreed to an allotment plan administered by the Dawes Commission. Their excess lands and those of the allied Chickasaw were opened to settlement by non-Indians.

Reconstruction following the Civil War left the South financially ruined and many of its citizens dispossessed. When the Indian lands were opened, these dispossessed Southerners flocked to the Indian Nations for a new start, especially to the old Choctaw reserve. So many homesteaded in the area that they markedly influenced the politics and culture of the region making what is now Oklahoma a Southern state geographically and culturally. In the decades that followed, it became known as Little Dixie. The residents of this area refer to themselves sometimes as Southerners.

[edit] Geography

The region is generally hilly and wooded, with Southern pine and hardwood forests covering most of the area. The Ouachita Mountains cover the eastern two thirds and include the Jackfork, Kiamichi, Winding Stair, and Sans Bois mountain ranges. Several clear mountain streams flow through the area.

The weather is more humid than the rest of the state. The winters are not as cool, and the weather is not as subject to the wind and great temperature extremes as is common to the central and western portions of the state.

[edit] Politics

The region is overwhelmingly Democratic—around 80%. Many of the citizens proudly refer to themselves as yellow-dog Democrats. However many register as Democrats in order to vote in primaries then vote Republican in general elections. From statehood until 2001, most of the region was in its own Congressional district, the 3rd District (numbered the 4th District from 1907 until 1915). Its best-known congressman was Carl Albert,from McAlester in Pittsburg County who represented the district for 30 years, the last six as Speaker of the House. Albert became synonymous with the region. At 5 feet 4 inches tall, he was known affectionately as the Little Giant from Little Dixie.

Albert retired in 1977 and was succeeded by Wes Watkins, who held the seat for 14 years. He decided to run for governor in 1990. However, the Democratic campaign tactics during the primary forced Watkins from the race (and eventually from the Democratic Party). Watkins later re-registered as a Republican and, in 1996, easily won back his seat on the strength of his personal connection with the region's voters. Watkins’s victory led to several other Republican victories at the local level in the region. After the 2000 U.S. Census, Oklahoma lost one seat in Congress, and so most of the region was combined with northeastern Oklahoma to become Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district. The region remains strongly Democratic, politically, and is currently represented in Congress by Dan Boren According to the Chicago Tribune, among House Democrats, Rep. Dan Boren of Oklahoma has backed Bush the most, on 77.9 percent of his votes – a higher score than 26 House Republicans can claim.