Patchwork Nation: Sectionalism and Political Change in American PoliticsThe unprecedented geographic and socioeconomic mobility of twentieth-century America was accompanied by a major reshuffling of political support in many parts of the country. Yet at the dawn of the new century these local and regional movements are still poorly understood. How can we account for persistent political regionalism and the sectional changes that have radically altered the nation's political landscape, from the Sun Belt to the Rust Belt? Patchwork Nation retrieves this lost knowledge, restoring geography to its central role in our nation's political behavior. "A primer on the importance of regional identity in the electoral system. ... [A]nyone interested in learning more about how America's diversity drives its political systems would do well to take a spin through Patchwork Nation." ---Meg Kinnard, NationalJournal.com "Location, location, location. What matters in politics is not just who the voters are, but where they are. Just ask Al Gore. Or read this book, a compelling demonstration that geography is often destiny." ---Bill Schneider, Senior Political Analyst, CNN "This accessible and well-written book challenges us to reflect on the role that political context plays in shaping the vote. By tracing how regional politics evolves over time within and across states, Gimpel and Schuknecht have revived the important but often neglected field of political geography." ---Donald Green, Yale University "In the spirit of V. O. Key, Gimpel and Schuknecht make a fundamental contribution. They demonstrate that states and regions are not simply important as units of aggregation, but rather as complex political arenas with profound consequences for processes of democratic politics both within and beyond their boundaries." ---Robert Huckfeldt, University of California, Davis |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 15 | |
II State Politics and Presidential Voting 19882000 | 33 |
III California | 60 |
IV Florida | 86 |
V Texas | 109 |
VI Colorado | 134 |
VII Minnesota | 162 |
XII Michigan | 292 |
XIII New York | 320 |
XIV Illinois | 343 |
XV Sectionalism and Political Change in the States | 368 |
A The Challenge of Ecological Inference | 393 |
B Complete Ecological Inference Estimates by State | 400 |
C Complete Voter Transition Results by State | 422 |
Bibliography | 429 |
VIII Georgia | 189 |
IX Connecticut | 215 |
X Maryland | 238 |
XI Oregon | 265 |
| 457 | |
| 461 | |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
agricultural American appear areas attracted base become behavior black population California campaign candidates central century Chicago Colorado compared competitive concentration Connecticut conservative contributed conversion counties cratic Deal decline Demo Democratic party differences early eastern ecological inference economic educated elderly electoral estimates ethnic farm farmers Florida force geographic Georgia given groups growth highly Hispanics Illinois immigrants important increasing indicate industry internal issues late less liberal live locations loyalty major manufacturing Maryland Michigan migrants Minnesota mobilization moved natives northern older once Oregon partisan percent percentage political polls population presidential elections ranks region remained replacement Republican residents rural social South Southern state’s statewide suburban suburbs suggest Texas tion towns urban variable Voted Democratic Voted Republican voters Wallace western Willamette Valley workers York younger