I agree. However, I don't "think" they were as politically aligned with the south, didn't share agricultural production at a high level, or had similar climate.
Interesting then how Oklahoma is classified as being part of the SW.

It's just a feeling for me. It feels closest aligned to a southern state culturally. But that is no perfect match either.

I don't know why people get so butthurt about this. You can use whatever maps you want to use, but Oklahoma has a different feeling than the Southwestern US. It feels like the South. There are areas where it doesn't, for sure. But overall it does not have the same vibe as any of the southwestern states, sans Texas. I think the geographical boundaries are not very fair to the central states which don't lean way or the other completely. I think Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas should be their own region as they have more similarities to each other in the modern-day than they did 200 years ago. Texas is tough because it is so big and spans several different cultures, Oklahoma kind of does this too with the far western part of the state feeling as close to the Southwest as any; but that is the least populated area. The central and eastern parts of the state, the most populous, feels much more southern in culture, than western.

... I think Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas should be their own region as they have more similarities to each other in the modern-day than they did 200 years ago. ...

Something like, say, a type of Plains region, maybe Great Plains? :)

I just back from a trip to Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. I don't "feel" like Oklahomans align with the culture there. Plus when I told people where I was from, they told me I was from the Midwest. Of course, I have had people in Ohio and Indiana tell me I was from the south. The best answer I got was from a Louisianan who told me he thought of Oklahoma as Texas' big hat.

southern Plains ..... if you know you know ..

Texas and Oklahoma really could be their own thing, IMO.

Texas and Oklahoma really could be their own thing, IMO.

Was going to say this. As much as some people don't want to admit it, Oklahoma is most similar to Texas than it is to any other state imo.

According to the US Census Bureau, Oklahoma is listed and classified as a Southern State along with Texas, Arkansas and 15 other States. This should stop this silly controversy saying Oklahoma is a Midwest State or the Great Plains or a Southwestern State. As I stated in a earlier thread, Oklahoma is not the deep South, however it is a Southern State. Oklahoma is "not" part of the Midwest!

Well there you have it. The census bureau has spoken! From El Paso to Jackson, Mississippi, the geographical diversity of the south is second to none!

Really this thread title should be changed to “Why is it controversial to call Oklahoma part of the SW.” lol

I consider Oklahoma part of the Southwest but I like this description here which I find more accurate:

“ Sorting through thousands of place names in hundreds of cities, he compiled a series of maps that showed how people identified their regions. Some of the regions were predictable: Boston businesses used a lot of terms like New England and Northeastern in their names or descriptions. “Southern” was a dominant term in phone books in Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, etc. But, looking at Zelinksy’s maps today, it is Oklahoma that shows the biggest regional confusion. Strangely, Zelinsky never commented on this fact. He noted that some places, like western Pennsylvania, were kind of stuck between Northeastern and Midwestern, but it was Oklahoma that had the greatest amount of regional identities. Five of the twelve vernacular identities that Zelinsky came up with converged on Oklahoma. For phone books in the very southeastern part of the state, Oklahoma was southern. In the panhandle, it was the “West.” Along the Kansas border, it was the Midwest. From Oklahoma City to the west, it was the “southwest.”

https://thislandpress.com/2012/11/14/south-by-midwest-or-where-is-oklahoma/

Really where I genuinely get confused is what category OKC falls in. I really get can SW vibes in certain areas, NW OKC feeling like I could be in Denver, and eastern suburbs feeling like the south or rust belt. It’s actually pretty cool, IMO.

Really this thread title should be changed to “Why is it controversial to call Oklahoma part of the SW.” lol

I think I will give it a rest! LOL.

I think I will give it a rest! LOL.
I suppose telling someone who lives in antlers they live in the SW would be pretty funny. Oklahoma is a very geographically diverse state more than it gets credit for.

I consider Oklahoma part of the Southwest but I like this description here which I find more accurate:

“ Sorting through thousands of place names in hundreds of cities, he compiled a series of maps that showed how people identified their regions. Some of the regions were predictable: Boston businesses used a lot of terms like New England and Northeastern in their names or descriptions. “Southern” was a dominant term in phone books in Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, etc. But, looking at Zelinksy’s maps today, it is Oklahoma that shows the biggest regional confusion. Strangely, Zelinsky never commented on this fact. He noted that some places, like western Pennsylvania, were kind of stuck between Northeastern and Midwestern, but it was Oklahoma that had the greatest amount of regional identities. Five of the twelve vernacular identities that Zelinsky came up with converged on Oklahoma. For phone books in the very southeastern part of the state, Oklahoma was southern. In the panhandle, it was the “West.” Along the Kansas border, it was the Midwest. From Oklahoma City to the west, it was the “southwest.”

https://thislandpress.com/2012/11/14/south-by-midwest-or-where-is-oklahoma/

Really where I genuinely get confused is what category OKC falls in. I really get can SW vibes in certain areas, NW OKC feeling like I could be in Denver, and eastern suburbs feeling like the south or rust belt. It’s actually pretty cool, IMO.

This is why I've grown to like the "Crossroads of America" moniker for OKC, it really does seem like the gateway between the wide open plains of the southwest and the heavily forested areas of the southeast. And while the city itself is very flat, large stretches of land on the outskirts of the Metro have rolling hills that remind me a lot of Midwestern/Great Lakes topography as well.

According to the US Census Bureau, Oklahoma is listed and classified as a Southern State along with Texas, Arkansas and 15 other States. This should stop this silly controversy saying Oklahoma is a Midwest State or the Great Plains or a Southwestern State. As I stated in a earlier thread, Oklahoma is not the deep South, however it is a Southern State. Oklahoma is "not" part of the Midwest!

And according to the USDA Forest Service, Oklahoma is part of the Great Plains.

Texas and Oklahoma really could be their own thing, IMO.

If it were not for Tulsa and the tribes, I would probably be all in on a Texoma region. Even with Tulsa it still makes a ton of sense. Especially when it comes to Southwest vs. South, Texas has the same distinctions we do. The oil connection makes it very obvious and is one of the reasons we 100% cannot be called the South.

Between Texas and Oklahoma, you have 10% of the entire US population.

Here's some related click-bait. I really think map 25 which serves to identify whether it's called soda/pop/coke is indicative of why this conversation as is always so hard. OK is basically aligned with all/none of those. And, in a lot of ways, language is one of the greatest identifiers as to what region you are truly from (recall the scene from Inglorious Bastards where it gets real because of where the American says his German accent is from). There are a few others in here that kind of show why we don't belong with one place or another as well.

https://en.visualchase.com/30-maps-of-america-that-will-make-you-question-everything-yo?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=create&ly=native_one&mbid=23847284902890525&fbclid=IwAR37rv9HqsuUAzglNbbzXMC3VDDgdSOpzFldj5hLz A_SnJxDc0He1OG7lVg