Why is Iowa considered to be in the Upper Midwest and why isn't Nebraska? (house, universities)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
To me the Midwest in the classical sense, means "Middle America", the Heartland, somewhere perfectly in the middle in terms of culture, location, linguistics, climate, demographics etc. And the Northeast corner of Kansas seems to be the epitomisation of all of this. It may border Colorado, a Western State, but don't forget, much of Eastern Colorado is still Great Plains with Wheat and Cornfields much like the Midwest.
The midwest, at least historically referred to the old northwest territories of Ohio westward to Minnesota. I think the midwest being seen as "middle America" or the center of the country is more recent.
The midwest, at least historically referred to the old northwest territories of Ohio westward to Minnesota. I think the midwest being seen as "middle America" or the center of the country is more recent.
If they do have different meanings, would you agree with my assertion of Northeast Kansas being the quintessence of America's heartland?
I've been doing a lot of research into this recently as part of an article I plan on publishing, so I'd be interested to get as many different opinions on the subject as possible.
Last edited by Doughboy1918; 11-15-2022 at 05:02 PM..
If they do have different meanings, would you agree with my assertion of Northeast Kansas being the quintessence of America's heartland?
I've been doing a lot of research into this recently as part of an article I plan on publishing, so I'd be interested to get as many different opinions on the subject as possible.
What Southern influences? Like I said before, William Labov (world renowned for being the master in the field of research and knowledge into North American linguistics) has stated the region of the United States whose local dialect is closest to General American is not Central Iowa but Southern, along with Southeast Nebraska, far Northern Missouri and Northeast Kansas. He also stated that the local dialect in Central Iowa (north of I-80) changes ever so slightly, with a more northern sound. "On" sounding more like "an" for example.
Surely if a region proven to have the most neutral accent, must also be indicative of similarly neutral culture, migration patterns, politics, correct?
Southern influences would be speech patterns, foods, climate, religion, and other factors. Northern Missouri has very little in common with wealthier areas of northern Iowa that have high value productive farmland. Northern Missouri has poorer quality land and has many negative demographic factors related to low educational attainment along with higher levels of poverty.
The glaciated areas of northeast Kansas north of the Kansas River would be the far southwestern most part of the Midwest.
Southern influences would be speech patterns, foods, climate, religion, and other factors. Northern Missouri has very little in common with wealthier areas of northern Iowa that have high value productive farmland. Northern Missouri has poorer quality land and has many negative demographic factors related to low educational attainment along with higher levels of poverty.
The glaciated areas of northeast Kansas north of the Kansas River would be the far southwestern most part of the Midwest.
I didn’t mention Northern Missouri specifically being emblematic of Middle America compared to the other nearby regions mentioned, and I agree it does have more Southern influence. Northeast Kansas to the west however (particularly the Kansas River valley towns of Lawrence, Topeka and Manhattan), despite being on the same latitude, had completely different migration patterns which in turn is the reason its culture is far more Midwestern/Middle American.
I didn’t mention Northern Missouri specifically being emblematic of Middle America compared to the other nearby regions mentioned, and I agree it does have more Southern influence. Northeast Kansas to the west however (particularly the Kansas River valley towns of Lawrence, Topeka and Manhattan), despite being on the same latitude, had completely different migration patterns which in turn is the reason its culture is far more Midwestern/Middle American.
Yes, it does to an extent, (in the current times it's a more obvious urban/rural divide), so you know your history of the area.
I disagree. To me the most purely Midwestern region of the United States is Northeast Kansas (especially in towns such as Lawrence, Topeka, Manhattan and Salina) Why? Perfect mix of weather, politics, ethnicities, and due to settlement patterns it has influence from the East while also serving as the gateway to the West. And geographically it pretty much is dead center.
Northeast Kansas is very similar to central Iowa, and they aren't very far apart. It's maybe 2.5 hours from Atchison to Des Moines.
Last edited by IowanFarmer; 11-16-2022 at 06:34 AM..
I have a really hard time calling anything east of Chicago "Midwestern" but understand that in the historic sense of the term, that's what was originally being referred to.
To me, Midwest means 1) row crop agriculture: corn, wheat, soybeans. 2) hogs and cattle as the chief livestock concerns. 3) generally level topography (whole lotta windmills). 4) was originally a prairie biome (I do consider the Northwoods to be in Midwestern states, but kind of a separate culture and definitely a different biome). 5) Accents that are easily understood by other English speakers. 6) Traditional (IE non-evangelical) Christian theological traditions. Lutherans, Catholics, Methodists being the predominant flavors. 7) Urban economies that weren't built as heavily around manufacturing (IE less rust belt).
I understand that's not the academic definition, but these characterize what I view as Midwestern.
I don't know why people keep insisting there's a significant southern influence in Kansas. There isn't. It's very Midwestern, and the people of Kansas identify as Midwestern strongly.
If anything, you see that bleed out of Kansas into neighboring non-Midwestern states. Eastern Colorado and Northern Oklahoma are more Midwestern culturally than they are western or southern.
While Kansas's geography would be the southwestern extent of what's considered the Midwest, it's economy and culture very much fit the stereotypical definitions.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
