Alabama, Mississippi, slavery, and voting

Look at this voting map of Alabama for President, 2016:

And this one of Mississippi:

Those are from Politico, 2016 county by county election results.

Compare them to these amazing Raven Maps (I love Raven maps, buy a Raven map) that show elevation:

Look at the Mississippi Delta:

My hypothesis is that the legacy of slavery can be seen in a simple voting map: black people still live in bottomland — cotton country.

You might double check that by looking at racial percentages by county.

No doubt there are factors I haven’t considered.

Compare too to this 1861 Coast Survey slavery map:

This might demonstrate:

• geography affects history
• historical legacies can last a very long time
• good maps are illuminating