How much of the Midwest do you consider to also be part of the Eastern United States?

[Ben Around]

Jack Kerouac, in his 1956 book "On The Road", upon arriving in Chicago for the first time in his life (He was from a town in Massachusetts), described Chicago as being populated by "strange, semi-Eastern, semi-Western types". I kinda knew what he meant when I read it.

[mwalker96]

I think the 100 medrian is a good dividing line which is the geographic line that split the continental United States. Parts of the great Plains do get significant rainfall like Kansas City, Tulsa, Omaha and Witchita while places like Dodge City and the badlands of South Dakota are much more hilly and much more drier. The Mississippi River was a good dividing line in the 1800s back when The United States was still adding states in the lower 48 but since the late 19th ceuntry when the Rockies became more habitable going west meant more Colorado and less Texas. After crossing the Mississippi River your still a good 2000 miles from California hence why The Great Plains became apart of the Midwest since thier the midway point between The Atlantic and The Pacific.

[Heel82]

Originally Posted by Ben Around

Jack Kerouac, in his 1956 book "On The Road", upon arriving in Chicago for the first time in his life (He was from a town in Massachusetts), described Chicago as being populated by "strange, semi-Eastern, semi-Western types". I kinda knew what he meant when I read it.

He likely meant not quite New York, not quite San Francisco.

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by Heel82

Except there is no “more Eastern or Western” person. They aren’t cultural regions with cultural stereotypes that people can be compared and contrasted to. Maybe during the land rush days when “Eastern” was perhaps pejorative for a New Yorker who travelled to Dodge City, but it really isn’t a thing. There is no Eastern culture, and in fact the Eastern half of the US probably has the greatest diversity of cultures in the US. There is also no communal “Eastern” climate or countryside. It’s not really a thing except as it exists in relation to the Mississippi River.

I'm not exactly sure what you are trying to say here other than just arbitrarily saying that the Mississippi is the line between east and west. And obviously that's the traditional marker.

The fact of the matter is that it is and it isn't. It is because historically it is a barrier, marker, jumping off place. It isn't because it isn't a very good marker for terrain changes, climate differentiation and dare I say to a degree cultural and economic differentiation specific to the river itself.

For instance in Illinois. East of the river? You got corn farmers. West of the river in Iowa? You got corn farmers. In Mississippi and Tennessee. East of the river? You got Delta. In Arkansas. West of the river. You got Delta.

Contrast that to the plains states. With the exception of maybe "cultural" there are drastic differences between the eastern and western halves of those states. And even culturally there are some nuances.

And I don't think the idea of a "communal Eastern climate or countryside" is really germane. There isn't a western "communal climate or countryside" either.

Here is a map of rainfall for the United States. The light brown area is the transition zone between "east and west". And as rainfall goes, so does the climate, the terrain, the economy, and to some degree the culture. If you'll notice, the "green and light green" rainfall levels fall on both sides of the Mississippi river.

[Heel82]

You are the one who mentioned Eastern and Western cultures, climates, etc. “But it's kind of random in the fact that there are other factors besides the Mississippi that influence whether the countryside, the climate and the people are more eastern or western.” Eastern/Western US has nothing to do with rainfalls, climates or cultures. Bangor, Maine and Biloxi, Ms have very little in common. But both are in the Eastern United States. Shreveport is more culturally aligned with Biloxi because both are steeped in a Southern culture. But that is a different thing. Being in the Eastern US doesn’t mean you are similar in any aspect EXCEPT where you are in relation to the Mississippi River. That’s all it means, at least in the literal sense.

If your point is the plain states have different climates going from East to West, that’s great. The coastal plains of NC are not like the Smokies. Wide states have a way of geographically changing as you move around the state. Wide continents even moreso. But trying to find an arbitrary marker based on rainfall so you can say Lincoln Nebraska is an Eastern city and North Platte Nebraska is a Western town is too much. The English language has certain conventions that facilitate ease of use. If you need to show a weather map and pull up a crop history to form some grey hundred mile demarcated line between the Eastern and Western US, then you don’t really have anything.