Liberal-Conservative Divisions by Sections of the United States

Abstract

A survey of congressional voting records in the period between 1955 and 1960 indicates that the East is the least conservative section of the country, measured by atti tudes on economy questions and foreign policy. This is true for both eastern Democrats and eastern Republicans. East ern resistance to right-wing thought conforms to past history in the sense that the East is in the mainstream of American political and economic life. The conservative strength in Congress is found in the southern Democrats and the mid western Republicans. The South, no longer a monolithic spokesman for low tariffs and agricultural aid programs, now is more likely to speak for Standard Oil, Alcoa, and textiles. The extreme right-wing is at home in the small towns of the Midwest and in white-collar cities, where small business suf fers the painful results of changes in the national and local power structures. The liberal orientation of the West reflects a high degree of urbanization and the power of labor unions. Competition between political parties in the East and West is more issue-oriented than in the South and Midwest.