J. Clark Archer

Macrogeographical versus microgeographical cleavages in American presidential elections: 1940–1984

Abstract This study compares the relative importance of electoral cleavages between macrogeographical sections and subsections with electoral cleavages between microgeographical urban, suburban and rural residential settings in determining the popular county-level outcomes of American presidential elections from 1940 to 1984. Multivariate results obtained through regression analysis and factor analysis indicate that while macrogeographical cleavages have varied in importance they have far outweighed the significance of microgeographical cleavages during the last 12 elections.

The Bible Belt in a Changing South: Shrinking, Relocating, and Multiple Buckles

The term “Bible Belt,” a familiar label associated with religion in the South, was coined by journalist H.L. Mencken following his coverage of the Scopes “monkey” trial in Dayton, Tennessee in 1925. It has been used regularly since that time to refer to a religiously conservative or fundamentalist region in the American South and sometimes the Midwest, though its exact geographic extent remains debatable. Geographers have attempted to define the location of the Bible Belt in the past. Most notably Heatwole defined the geographic extent of the Bible Belt in a 1978 article using 1971 data from the Glenmary Research Center. We replicate his effort for 1971, but add cartographic and statistical analyses for 1980, 1990 and 2000. Changes in the Belt’s location have occurred as a result of new migrants to the South as well as shifts within the region itself. The Bible Belt region today stretches from northern Texas to western North Carolina, and from Mississippi north to Kentucky. Also the region’s core or “buckle” was located in eastern Tennessee in the 1970s, but by 2000 it had moved west to north-central Texas and southwestern Oklahoma. Dynamism and fluidity as well as tradition continue to be important forces shaping the region’s religious landscapes.

The Volatile South: A Historical Geography of Presidential Elections in the South, 1872-1992

This paper investigates the historical geography of presidential elections in the South between 1872 and 1992. T-mode factor analysis of presidential election returns from the approximately 1,300 counties and county equivalents of 13 southern states is undertaken in order to identify geographical normal votes, or time periods characterized by substantial similarities in levels of support for Democratic Party presidential candidates across the region. The results are compared with previously published analyses which examine changes over time across the entire United States. The results identify the period following World War II as that in which the South emerged from its traditional Democratic Party dominance and became the vital and volatile electoral region that it is today. A region once virtually ignored in national presidential politics has emerged at the center of Americas political landscape, and in recent years no presidential candidate has moved into the White House without attaining significant Electoral College support in the South.

Metropolitan, Nonmetropolitan, and Sectional Variations in Voting Behavior in Recent Presidential Elections

as industrialization, a sharpening of class consciousness, and immigration.&dquo; Nevertheless, there remains uncertainty as to the relative salience of urbanization versus that of sectionalism in American electoral politics, since these forces have rarely been juxtaposed explicitly in empirical research designs. The thesis that urbanization has eroded sectionalism embodies a premise that national electoral mosaics the outcomes of elections viewed

Emptying Areas of the United States, 1990-1995

Abstract Certain regions and places in the United States seem more prone to experience population loss. This study examines the geography of this “emptying” process based on 1990-1995 census data and presents maps which show county-level patterns of population change and several related components. The major emptying areas are the Great Plains, Western Corn Belt, Lower Mississippi Valley, Central Appalachia, and metropolitan centers in the Northeast. Population change is correlated with social and economic variables, characteristics shared by the 635 losing counties are examined, and profiles of the major losing areas are presented. Net outmigration emerges as the dominant problem, together with the inability to find a substitute for declining employment in agriculture and mining, or in the case of older metropolitan areas, to develop a new employment base.

Geographical aspects of US farmland values and changes during the 1978–1992 period

Abstract Data from the US Census of Agriculture suggest important changes since 1978 in regional patterns of farmland values. This study examines these patterns with the aid of county-level maps showing average values per hectare for the Census years 1978, 1982, 1987 and 1992 and changes between these years. Farmland price increases are geographically associated with general proximity to major population centers and the presence of aesthetically attractive natural landscapes, while these two attributes in combination are generally absent in areas not experiencing price increases. The widespread phenomenon of non-commercial farming as a factor in farmland price increases is examined. It is hypothesized that such site factors as climate and soils which traditionally have helped explain higher farmland prices in some regions are of diminishing importance, while situational factors such as proximity to major population centers are in the ascendancy. The changing importance of site versus situational factors is assessed using analysis of variance tests comparing the influence on farmland values of the predominately situational differences between metropolitan, nonmetropolitan-adjacent and nonmetropolitan-nonadjacent settings, versus the predominately site differences between major agricultural regions.

The Perceived Geopolitical Importance of the Countries of the World: An Analytical and Pedagogical Investigation.

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to examine the geopolitical importance of countries of the world as perceived by American college students. During the 1995–96 academic year, students enrolled in undergraduate political geography courses at three American universities were asked to rank the geopolitical importance of the 55 countries in the world with populations of at least 15 million. Analysis of the rankings indicated broad agreement on the importance of Western Europe, Russia, China, and Japan relative to most less developed countries. Rankings were consistent among students in Nebraska, Texas, and Florida despite the substantial socioeconomic and cultural differences between student populations in these three states. In contrast to the students, professional political geographers completing the survey assigned higher levels of importance to larger but relatively less developed countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey, and Nigeria. The survey and associated writing assignment provide an effect...

Spatial and temporal variability in the geography of American defense outlays

Abstract The Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union led the US to maintain military expenditures at historically high peacetime levels. Consequently, certain regions and sectors of the US economy are now dependent on military spending. At the state level, federal military outlays exhibit a large degree of locational persistence, with the spatial distribution of these expenditures remaining stable over a four-decade (1959–1989) time-period. At the county scale, there is little correspondence between the spatial distribution of federal defense and non-defense spending. Our findings also indicate that counties in the ‘Defense Perimeter’ or ‘Gunbelt’ (Markusen, 1986; Markusen et al. , 1991) secure significantly higher amounts of federal military allocations than other counties. However, those outside the defense perimeter receive significantly greater levels of non-defense expenditures. In the aggregate, allocations of federal expenditures are roughly equal in the over 3000 counties of the United States.

The geography of an interminable election: Bush v. Gore, 2000

Abstract Republican Bush trailed Democrat Gore by over 500,000 popular votes in the 2000 presidential election. But Bush narrowly edged Gore in the Electoral College to win the U.S. presidency. Several states, including Florida, were decided by less than 2.5% of popular votes. Maps of popular votes at county level and electoral votes at state level show greater support for Bush in the South and West, and greater support for Gore in metropolitan centres.

Bible Belt Membership Patterns, Correlates and Landscapes

The term “Bible Belt” was coined by journalist H.L. Mencken following his coverage of the Scopes “monkey” trial in Dayton, Tennessee in 1925. It has been used regularly since then to refer to a religiously conservative or fundamentalist region in the American South and Midwest though the geographic extent Bible Belt historically has been ill-defined. Geographers have attempted to delineate the location of the Bible Belt in the past. Notably Heatwole mapped the geographic extent of the Bible Belt in a 1978 article using 1971 data from the Glenmary Research Center. In 2011 Brunn, Webster and Archer updated Heatwole’s analysis adding cartographic and statistical analyses for the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s; they found significant changes to the Belt’s location and geographic extent. This study further updates that analysis using 2010 data. In addition to mapping changes in the Bible Belt’s geography since 2000, we examine the sociodemographic correlates to the region’s denominational makeup and consider the relevance of Stump’s concept of religious territoriality through an examination of religious signage in the region. Each of these three perspectives, cartographic, spatial analytic and photographic, sheds light on the geographic, sociodemographic and economic character of the Bible Belt.