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Old 05-14-2013, 07:44 AM
 
Location: Chicago
6,359 posts, read 8,754,462 times
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Which states do you consider to be the Midwest?

Wikipedia once had (since removed) a map of the Midwest where they divided the region between...

• states always included in the Midwest

• states that may be included in the Midwest

the states that may be included in the Midwest were: ND, SD, NE, KS, MN, IA, MO, WI, IL, KY, MI, IN, OH, WV

of those states, I would disagree with both Kentucky and West Virginia. Kentucky definitely leans south. West Virginia has connections with both the south and the northeast.

The states that Wikipedia's map had as always being in the Midwest were:

MN, IA, WI, IL, MI, IN, OH

These states, btw, coincide with the original footprint of the Big Ten conference before expansion to Penn State and Nebraska.

I actually like this grouping myself. I personally make a distinction between the Midwest and the Great Plains. Thus I could see eliminating ND, SD, NE, and KS from the Midwest since much of each is open plain land with little precipitation.

To me, Missouri is kind of a swing state. It is in the same north/south tier as Minnesota and Iowa, but culturally it differs from those because it was once a slave state. Yet I would see MO as much more likely a part of the region than I would Kentucky and West Virginia. KY was a slave state, but with more southern leanings than MO. And WV was carved out of a slave state but i do it more connected with the northeast.

The seven always included Midwest states all border the Great Lakes except Iowa, but culturally Iowa is very much akin to these states. I consider that orientation to the Great Lakes to be an important part of the character of the Midwest.

that's my opinion. what's yours? What states do you always include in the Midwest and which ones may (or may not) be included?
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Old 05-14-2013, 08:08 AM
 
Location: Maryland
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IL, OH, MI, IN, WI, MN, IA, MO are all solidly Midwestern.

I feel like the very eastern edges of ND, SD, NE, KS are also Midwestern, but they are on the outer fringe, much like the far western parts of MN.
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Old 05-14-2013, 08:26 AM
 
Location: Chicago
6,359 posts, read 8,754,462 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maintainschaos View Post
IL, OH, MI, IN, WI, MN, IA, MO are all solidly Midwestern.

I feel like the very eastern edges of ND, SD, NE, KS are also Midwestern, but they are on the outer fringe, much like the far western parts of MN.
like i said above, you and I have a lot of overlap. yes, I do agree that Missouri in many ways fits into the midwest. It's that whole slave slave and the southern end of the state leaning southward that gives me some pause. I realize that the portions of IL, IN, and OH along the Ohio River have a connection to the south, but to me it is a lot less part of the character of the states, all 3 of which are solidly midwestern.

for example, I'd consider both Louisville and St. Louis to have much more of a southern feel than does Cincinnati.
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Old 05-14-2013, 09:32 AM
 
Location: Jefferson City 4 days a week, St. Louis 3 days a week
2,709 posts, read 5,061,266 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by edsg25 View Post
like i said above, you and I have a lot of overlap. yes, I do agree that Missouri in many ways fits into the midwest. It's that whole slave slave and the southern end of the state leaning southward that gives me some pause. I realize that the portions of IL, IN, and OH along the Ohio River have a connection to the south, but to me it is a lot less part of the character of the states, all 3 of which are solidly midwestern.

for example, I'd consider both Louisville and St. Louis to have much more of a southern feel than does Cincinnati.
I strongly disagree. Cincinnati is much more southern than St. Louis, especially in terms of politics as well as being on the Ohio River, long considered the border between the Midwest and the South. It is culturally, linguistically, and demographically southern in Kentucky once you get out of Cincy's suburbs. And the southern ends of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio all have very strong Southern characteristics. and as far as feel goes, Cincinnati and St. Louis feel roughly the same...neither are Southern. Louisville, by strong contrast, feels, looks, and acts southern. And St. Louis and Louisville are not even comparable. St. Louis is culturally, linguistically, demographically, and especially post-Civil War historically, Midwestern. Louisville in this regard is a polar opposite.

Missouri is an overall Midwestern state. I'd give it 60% Midwestern, 40% southern. I would generally agree that Missouri embraces Southern culture to a greater degree than Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

Kentucky, by contrast is an overall Southern state. Not much really to call Midwestern about it.

I would say the 12 states described by the Census Bureau overall fit the bill of Midwestern, though the Eastern Midwest is markedly different in politics and climate than the western half...much of that I would say is due to the Great Plains Midwest states being mostly rural.

Last edited by stlouisan; 05-14-2013 at 09:49 AM..
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Old 05-14-2013, 09:39 AM
 
Location: Jefferson City 4 days a week, St. Louis 3 days a week
2,709 posts, read 5,061,266 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by edsg25 View Post
Which states do you consider to be the Midwest?

Wikipedia once had (since removed) a map of the Midwest where they divided the region between...

• states always included in the Midwest

• states that may be included in the Midwest

the states that may be included in the Midwest were: ND, SD, NE, KS, MN, IA, MO, WI, IL, KY, MI, IN, OH, WV

of those states, I would disagree with both Kentucky and West Virginia. Kentucky definitely leans south. West Virginia has connections with both the south and the northeast.

The states that Wikipedia's map had as always being in the Midwest were:

MN, IA, WI, IL, MI, IN, OH

These states, btw, coincide with the original footprint of the Big Ten conference before expansion to Penn State and Nebraska.

I actually like this grouping myself. I personally make a distinction between the Midwest and the Great Plains. Thus I could see eliminating ND, SD, NE, and KS from the Midwest since much of each is open plain land with little precipitation.

To me, Missouri is kind of a swing state. It is in the same north/south tier as Minnesota and Iowa, but culturally it differs from those because it was once a slave state. Yet I would see MO as much more likely a part of the region than I would Kentucky and West Virginia. KY was a slave state, but with more southern leanings than MO. And WV was carved out of a slave state but i do it more connected with the northeast.

The seven always included Midwest states all border the Great Lakes except Iowa, but culturally Iowa is very much akin to these states. I consider that orientation to the Great Lakes to be an important part of the character of the Midwest.

that's my opinion. what's yours? What states do you always include in the Midwest and which ones may (or may not) be included?
I also disagree about West Virginia. The state is overall culturally, linguistically, and demographically like the South. The northern third is not, but the rest is unmistakably southern. Missouri in its three major central cities is not at all culturally different from Iowa. KC, Columbia, and STL have a lot in common with cities in Iowa. Cities on the southern tier of the Midwest like Cape Girardeau, Springfield and Evansville exhibit strong Southern characteristics.
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Old 05-14-2013, 09:56 AM
 
Location: MO
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There is pretty strong overlap between the south and midwest south of a line from Golconda IL to Joplin, MO.
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Old 05-14-2013, 12:12 PM
 
Location: Cbus
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The "Midwest" covers an expansive area and can be further broken down into the Great Lakes states, lower Midwest, the plains states etc.

I see Ohio's Midwestern peers as Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. It would take me 15 hours to get to Fargo, ND from Columbus, Ohio and around 8 hours to get to New Jersey so I kind of see the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas as outliers and basically a separate region. I don't view Kentucky or West Virginia as Midwestern at all and Missouri seems to be hybrid of Midwestern and southern.
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Old 05-14-2013, 12:33 PM
 
Location: Jefferson City 4 days a week, St. Louis 3 days a week
2,709 posts, read 5,061,266 times
Reputation: 1028
Quote:
Originally Posted by Buckeye614 View Post
The "Midwest" covers an expansive area and can be further broken down into the Great Lakes states, lower Midwest, the plains states etc.

I see Ohio's Midwestern peers as Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. It would take me 15 hours to get to Fargo, ND from Columbus, Ohio and around 8 hours to get to New Jersey so I kind of see the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas as outliers and basically a separate region. I don't view Kentucky or West Virginia as Midwestern at all and Missouri seems to be hybrid of Midwestern and southern.
I disagree about Missouri being a Southern/Midwest hybrid. It is definitely more Midwestern than it is Southern...so close to a hybrid, maybe...but no cigar. It is Midwestern with strong Southern influences. St. Louis and Kansas City are solidly Midwestern cities. And Texas is more than a 15 hour drive from Virginia, yet people still consider them part of the same region. So why can't the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Kansas be considered the same as well? Culturally, linguistically, and demographically, they are not much different from the rest of the Midwest. And finally, I agree with your views on Kentucky and West Virginia. Both states are undoubtedly NOT a part of the Midwest. Louisville may only be 100 miles apart from Indianapolis and Cincinnati, but culturally and linguistically it's 3000 miles apart.
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Old 05-14-2013, 12:48 PM
 
542 posts, read 1,675,097 times
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I would call all states from Ohio to Illinois the "Central". Everything from Missouri to Colorado "Midwest" and Utah, California, Washington, Arizona, Oregon the "West"
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Old 05-14-2013, 01:01 PM
 
Location: Eindhoven, Netherlands
10,647 posts, read 15,914,090 times
Reputation: 5275
North Dakota
South Dakota
Nebraska
Kansas
Minnesota
Iowa
Missouri
Wisconsin
Illinois
Michigan
Indiana
Ohio
Kentucky
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