Political geography and regionalism in Louisiana: the impact of the French influence in the post-World War II era

Political geographers have long been interested in determining if cultural-historical differences are reflected on the political landscape. Louisiana with two major white cultural groups and African-Americans provided an excellent case study into that question. This essay explored to what extent cultural-historical divisions in the state have led to similar political divisions. The Republican vote in presidential elections at the parish (county) level were analyzed from 1948-2000. Spatial analysis, factor analysis, structural-spatial regression analysis, and survey data were employed. The results indicated that political regionalism stemming from the cultural-historical division was evident until recent elections. The state is moving toward class and race as major regional influences instead of religion and culture. Future research will be needed to determine if this process is unique to Louisiana or characteristic of other places undergoing economic and social change that were previously characterized by ethnic-regional political divisions. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.