Author Takes Fresh Look at Shaping of U.S. Cultural, Political Landscape

[alp227]

Run time: 08:05 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZwvl4f88Cc   Posted on YouTube: November 24, 2011 By YouTube Member: PBSNewsHour Views on YouTube: 1565   Posted on DU: November 26, 2011 By DU Member: alp227 Views on DU: 2161

 
In his new book, author and historian Colin Woodard explores how America was shaped by settlement patterns dating back to the time of the first Thanksgiving. Margaret Warner talks with Woodard about American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America.

This interview took place at the old town district in Alexandria, Va. (Transcript)

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. I have been saying this for a while

and I am going to go one step further... our differences will end up braking the country into successor states.

[stockholmer]

2. fascinating, thanks for posting K & R

[Douglas Carpenter]

3. fascinating theory- - more than 30 years ago - I heard the theory about the 9 nations of North Amer

America conceived in the book by that name written by Joel Garreau:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nine_Nations_of_North_America

Mr. Woodard's map has many similarities and differences:



however when it comes to understanding the political divide I actually see something much more simple. Examining a county by county break down of how the 2000, 2004 and the 2008 election went - there is one glaringly obvious pattern - Urban centers overwhelmingly vote Democratic even in the South and rural enclaves vote Republican even in the North. There are of course some exceptions to this rule - but this patter is so glaringly obvious - I tend to think the great cultural divide of America is more a division between city and country than a competition between regions.


http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/2008/