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"A real-life example is the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Overall, a higher ratio of Republicans voted in favor of the Act than Democrats. However, w
by larrik 15y ago
"A real-life example is the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Overall, a higher ratio of Republicans voted in favor of the Act than Democrats. However, when the congressional delegations from the northern and southern States are considered separately, a higher ratio of Democrats voted in favor of the act in both regions. This arose because regional affiliation is a very strong indicator of how a congressman or senator voted, whereas party affiliation is a weak indicator."
The chart then shows that the "Northern" House had 316 members vs. the South's 104, and that the "Northern" Senate had 78 members vs. the South's 22.
Uh... the South has Florida, Texas, and California. How can it be represented by less than a quarter of Congress? I mean, the Senate makes a bit more sense due to the tiny states of the northeast and such (though it still seems low), but the House too? Really?
Makes me wonder how exactly they classified South vs. North... Former Confederate states vs. everyone else? Either way, Geography cannot be a major factor.
- hugh3 15y agoIn US geography, "The South" means something very different to the southern half of the country. Likewise, "The Midwest" is concentrated entirely in the eastern half of the country. "The South" is really the south-east corner of the country. Is it just confederate states? Well, eleven states seceded, and 22 senators implies eleven states, so probably. Not sure where Kentucky fits in.
- btcoal 15y agoBeing from the upper midwest, I always considered "the South" anything south of the Mason-Dixon Line plus W.Va and Kentucky. Wow this is off-topic. Little gems of insight like Simpson's paradox are why I studied statistics.
- scythe 15y agoCalifornia is not considered part of the South. It has a different heritage, history, demographic, income distribution, and in fact California's southern border is pretty close in terms of latitude to Louisiana's northern border, while its northerly border is similar to Pennsylvania's northern border. >Former Confederate states vs. everyone else? Probably.
- gojomo 15y agoAs others have noted, 'The South' in the context of 1964 is more likely to have meant ex-confederate states. Even today, nothing west of Texas is considered 'The South', though west of Texas inclusive is often called 'the Southwest'. And, the South's population was relatively a lot smaller 45+ years ago. In 1960, Texas was the 6th most populous state, Florida 10th, Georgia 16th. Now Texas is 2nd, Florida 4th, Georgia 10th.