Economic mobility worse in South?

Americans pride themselves on their intergenerational mobility. Our nation’s exceptionalism is organized around the American dream: No matter where you come from and no matter who your parents are, you can rise to the top of the economic ladder, so long as you are...

Canada & the Civil War

The American Civil War of 1861 to 1865 haunts the United States to this day. Canadians also have an enduring fascination with the conflict that set state against state, community against community, family against family and killed around 750,000 Americans in the North...
North-South Split in House

North-South Split in House

To understand the depth of the Republican dilemma that continues to brew in Washington, you only needed to listen to two voices last week. One belonged to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. The primal scream he aimed at his fellow Republicans in the 112th Congress, who...
Fiscal Cliff Vote Shows Dixie's Clout

Fiscal Cliff Vote Shows Dixie's Clout

When the last key vote was taken in the out-going 112th Congress, a marked sectional divide was made clear. Non-Southern GOPers voted in favor of the compromise by 70 to 67. Among the Republicans from the South, however, the vote was overwhelmingly against the deal,...
Mason-Dixon Line Showing its Age

Mason-Dixon Line Showing its Age

Cultural and – more recently – political changes have shifted the traditional border between North and South One way and another, surveyors have left their mark on American history. George Washington started his career as one. Then came Charles Mason and Jeremiah...