Divided America : the ferocious power struggle in American politics

 by Earl Black. Recent presidential elections clearly show that the U.S. has no national political consensus. Instead, regional politics are cobbled together to produce a tentative consensus that barely holds until the next election, leaving Democrats and Republicans locked in a power struggle. The Blacks, twin brothers and professors at Emory and Rice, examine how regional differences account for the swings in national politics. Dividing the nation into five regions--Northeast, South, Midwest, Mountains/Plains, and Pacific Coast--the Blacks explore the social and cultural trends of the past 50 years that have shaped the regions and given them their political leanings. They also explore the factors that have contributed to the dominance of Democrats in the Northeast and Pacific Coast, Republican realignment in the Mountains/Plains and the South, and the struggle for both to dominate the Midwest. The Blacks focus on the ethnic and racial, religious and ideological differences within and among the regions that partly account for their political leanings and how those differences will continue to affect national politics for the foreseeable future. --Booklist (Check Catalog)