Friday, November 2, 2012

American Nations

Does the layout of the states really help us understand the bature of politics in the United States. There's a string argument to be made that it does not because state border can overlay differences that cut across states.

Take the map below - click here to get access to a larger version and here for the book explaining the map. As other before him he suggests that the United States is better understood as a handful of separate, distinct national identities which transcend and cut across state borders.

While we think of Texas as having a unique identity, it has significant differences within it, that make certain areas more common to other parts of the nation. Note the regions in Texas that are in the Deep South and El Norte. Also note Greater Appalachia.

This happens to be the "reddest" part of the county. The counties with the highest percentage of the vote for McCain and Romney were in these areas.

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