Whence "Dixie"?

[Shorty]

We all know that Dixie refers to the southern states, but what's the origin of that term?  I always assumed that it was related to the Mason, Dixon line.  The dictionary refers to "popular name for a ten-dollar bank note issued in Louisiana prior to the Civil War; so called because of the large DIX (ten) printed on one side."

[nohorse]

Shorty:

I don’t think anyone has the absolute definitive answer.  As you mention I have also heard that the origin was from “Dixes” [Louisiana 10 dollar bills] or, as you also mention, it was a slang term for those states south of the Mason-Dixon line.   I’ve also heard mention that the word originated from a slave owner named Dixie or possibly Dixy that treated his slaves with great kindness.  After slavery was abolished in his home state [New York I think] he sold the slaves to a Southern plantation and the slave’s idyllically referred to their former home as “Dixie’s land” which was eventually incorporated into Daniel Emmett’s famous song.

[Shorty]

I've read, with some detached amusement, how the motto "Heart of Dixie" has been officially deleted from 'Bama's liscense plates.  It seems that, after successfully negating the CS battle flag, the politically-correct crowd is aiming at anything Southern.  Disregarding the lyrics of the song "Dixie", Dixie is a generic name for a region, in which many of those same "protesters" live.  So, what's the beef?       :?