Map suggesting how the U.S. could be split into four different regions sparks UPROAR online - as critics rail against the placement of ONE specific state

A hypothetical map that has put forth a vision of the United States if it was split into four regional chunks has sparked heated debate. 

'Can we agree that without splitting states, this is the best way to divide the USA into four?' a Reddit user on the Geography subreddit wrote alongside the graphic, a replica of which has been reproduced by DailyMail.com below.

Evidently, 'we' could not - as responses revealed there was little agreement to be had on the proposal (the image has been deleted by the moderators of the subreddit, but was seen by this publication).

Indeed, the post kicked garnered nearly 5,000 comments, all arguing over the theoretical prospect of cordoning off specific states into four categories: Northeast, Midwest, West, or South.

A hypothetical map that has put forth a vision of the United States if it was split into four regional chunks has sparked heated debate 

A major point of contention among Redditors was including the state of Missouri in the South.

'I'll be deep in the cold, cold ground before I recognize Missourah!' a declared a man whose comments history suggests he lives in Alabama - also referencing a Simpsons quote poking fun at how some in Missouri pronounce the state's name.  

'I feel like Missouri was only given to the south here to generate interaction and comments. Missouri is definitely Midwest, and classified by the government as Midwest,' a second argued.

'Geographically it is midwestern, culturally it is more southern. Also giving Missouri to the south is Kansan approved,' a third contended. 

'We from the south recognize Missouri has southern tendencies, but we do not grant it the status as part of "The South,"' a fourth added. 

'Might have to split into 5 sections. West, South, Midwest, Northwest and Missouri,' one armchair diplomat proposed. 

'The South is about right. Not sure about Missouri, I've always considered it Mid West,' one wrote - to which a second responded: 'The south considers it Midwest and the Midwest considers it South. As a Midwesterner I'd say let the South have it.' 

Others chimed in with references to Missouri's history - which likewise does not neatly fit in with the history of the South, nor the history of the Midwest.

Across nearly 5,000 comments, Redditors took particular issue with Missouri being grouped in with the South rather than the Midwest - though Midwesterners weren't keen on claiming it

'Split missouri in half and I'd say it's pretty good,' someone else suggested, with another responding: 'We'll call it the Missouri compromise.'

'The Missouri Compromise 2: The Recompromising,' a third jokester chimed in.

In truth, the Missouri Compromise was the name of legislation from 1820 that approved the region's request for statehood as a slave-owning state. 

At the same time, it admitted Maine as a free state, to keep the balance between slave- and non-slave owning states.

The Missouri Compromise further mandated that, with the sole exception of the state, slavery would not be allowed north of the 36th latitude line, which ran along its southern border.

During the Civil War, Missouri state legislature voted 98-1 to remain with the Union. However, Confederate-loyal militias soon emerged across the state as well, fighting to retain the right to own slaves.

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation declared that slaves in states that had seceded were freed - which, again, didn't affect Missouri, as it hadn't seceded.

Two years later, in January 1865, delegates at the Missouri state convention voted 60-4 to pass the state's Ordinance of Emancipation, mere weeks before the federal government passed the Thirteenth Amendment, banning slavery nationally.

Missouri's not-so-clear-cut history around its stance on slavery played into the charged commentary from contemporary regional loyalists on the Reddit thread discussing the map.

Some took the pains of breaking down the controversies around states that seemed torn between two regions - including Missouri

Yet another commenter decided to take it upon themselves to break down much of the ambiguity around Missouri - as well as in-between-er states like it. 

'People confuse these states,' they began.

'Colorado: Definitely a Western state with midwestern influence.

'Oklahoma, Kentucky : Definitely southern states with Midwestern influence.

'Missouri: Definitely a midwestern state with southern influence.

'Virginia: A southern state with huge northeastern influence that grows day by day, maybe it will become northeastern in the near future or arguably already is.'

Someone else confirmed of that case-by-case breakdown: 'Best take I've seen on this whole thread.'

The sentiment of a divided America is not without precedent.

Back in late 2020, in his first speech as president elect, Joe Biden 'made clear his intention to bridge the deep and bitter divisions in American society. He pledged to look beyond red and blue and to discard the harsh rhetoric that characterizes our political debates,' as Gallup put it.

In the lead up to the 2020 election, Gallup found that nine in 10 Americans on both sides of the political spectrum felt that, should the other side win, there would be 'lasting harm' done to the United States.

In March 2023, Axios reported that about one in five Americans would be in favor of a 'national divorce,' in which Republican- and Democrats-dominated states split into two separate nations.