It has been over one hundred and fifty years since the slave trade created King Cotton. One thing is for sure: in 2008, the past is not dead; in fact the past has not passed.
Two maps, separated by 150 years show the same unmistakeable pattern. One map shows where cotton was produced in 1860. The other map shows the same states and indicates which counties Obama won there in 2008. The two maps are virtually identical.
The link between these two maps is not causal, but correlational; and the correlation is African Americans.
(click image to see larger version)
