Good question. While I think it is important to understand the cultural roots of the American States, and by default the sections, I think it would be too simplistic to suggest that the cultural differences between the Cavaliers and the Puritans are the driving forces in modern American politics. There are traces of it, to be sure, at least rhetorically, but neither culture remains in its 17th century form. And, you can find traces of Puritanism, i.e. Reagan’s “City On a Hill” reference, in the Republican Party along with Southerners who are affected, at least in spirit, by both Cavalier and Celtic culture. The two things would have been incompatible in the 17th C, as they are today, in fact. Most don’t realize it.
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