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does it seem that there is sort of an invisible line (the 41st parallel) that sort of cuts the midwest in half.
The area north of the line seems to be sort of the birthplace of old school progressivism. Walt Mondale, Hubert Humphrey, Paul Wellstone, (Eugene) McCarthy, George Norris, Charles LaFollette, Bob Kerrey, George McGovern, Tom Harkin, John and Chet Culver, Dick Clark, Harold Hughes, Adlai Stevenson, Barack Obama, Philip Hart, Gaylord Nelson, Russ Feingold et al. Even the Republicans were/are of the moderate Harold Stassen mold. It seems that the general consensus in that area is that we as a society should do what we can to contribute to the common good. The labor industry is big in this part of the midwest like the Iron Range, Eastern Iowa, Milwaukee, Chicago, Gary/South Bend, Flint, Detroit, Toledo etc. The dominant religion in this part is more mainline protestant (Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian). There is also a lot of ethnic catholics, especially in Chicago as well as a large African American population in Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland.
The area south of the line (I consider Kentucky, and Oklahoma to be part of the lower midwest since they never joined the confederacy) is much more conservative. Although the democrats were competitive in parts of this area, they were more of the dixiecrat variety. There haven't really been many liberal senators from here except for maybe Birch Bayh (from Terre Haute) or Durbin and Simon (from downstate Illinois). It seems to be less urban and more agricultural and while they like their pork barrel projects, they tend not to like government programs that help people other than themselves. The labor industry, with a few exceptions in a few smaller cities like Dayton, Evansville, or Terre Haute, is not very prevalent here. People tend to be more in favor of right to work laws. The cities that do exist in this area like Columbus or Indianapolis are more white collar. The dominant religion seems to be more of the holy roller variety and it tends to have more in common with the south. This part of the country mostly avoided the great wave of immigration in the late 19th century and early 20th century and the people here tended to support prohibition as they felt it put the immigrants in their place. There were also less african americans who moved here. So for those living there, would my assessment be correct?
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