The origin of the word “Dixie” in relation to the American South is debated. Theories include a French word for ten-dollar bills, the Mason-Dixon line, and a minstrel song. The popularity of the nickname has declined in recent years due to its association with the Civil War era.
There continues to be great debate about the origins of the word “Dixie” in relation to the American South. There are at least three main theories, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Some facts regarding Dixie are not in dispute, including the use of the Dixie minstrel song as the informal anthem of the Confederacy during the Civil War. The song was in fact performed at the inauguration of Jefferson Davis, the first and only president of the Confederacy. Few (if any) references to Dixie as a region have been dated before 1860.
A theory concerning the American South and “Dixie” is also one of the first to be debunked by many historians. Some sources state that in the days of state banking, some banks in Louisiana produced currency in both English and French denominations. Ten-dollar bills were informally called “Dixs” or “Dixies,” based on the French word for “ten.” As these bills began circulating throughout the South, the holders collectively became known as the “Dixies.” While these “dixie bills” did exist, there is little evidence that their moniker actually became associated with an entire region.
Another popular theory linking Dixie with the southern US involves a very real border called the Mason-Dixon line. Originally ordered by the British colonial government, the Mason-Dixon Line delineated the border between Pennsylvania, Maryland, and parts of Delaware and West Virginia. Eventually this line would also mark the division between free and slave states.
Some sources state that “Dixie” is an informal corruption of surveyor Jeremiah Dixon’s last name, and was adopted by the Confederacy to represent the entire region south of the Pennsylvania-Maryland border.
While this theory appears to have more historical basis, many historians and cartographers now discount the Dixon/Dixie connection. The Mason-Dixon line had been around for many years before the earliest known references to the South as Dixie. While many residents of the region may have used the Mason-Dixon Line as an unofficial political or philosophical boundary, there were no documented uses of Dixie in contemporary newspapers or literature until the publication of the songs Johnny Roach and Dixie’s Land in 1859.
The third popular theory actually has its origins in the North, not the South. An Ohioan named Daniel Decatur Emmett wrote songs for minstrel shows performed mostly in New York City. These minstrel songs were often written in a crude form of black patois, mimicking the language of slaves. In 1858, Emmett composed a minstrel song called Dixie’s Land, or Dixie. In the song, Emmett describes a slave’s desire for an idyllic plantation. Some sources say the song was inspired by a real slave owner named Johan Dixy, known for his benevolent treatment of slaves at his Manhattan plantation called Dixy’s Land.
The problem with this theory is that there are no records of such a northern slave owner on Manhattan Island. Emmett himself told a biographer that the song was inspired by Northern circus troupes who looked forward to performing in the warmer Southern climate during the winter months. These artists often referred to the South as “Dixie Land,” for reasons of their own. There are records indicating several black or white minstrel artists using the Dixie name before Emmett wrote the song in 1858.
The popularity of the Dixie nickname has declined in recent years. Many modern Southerners have distanced themselves from various references to the Civil War era, especially the display of the Confederate flag and the perceived racist overtones of Dixie’s unofficial moniker.
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