The Midwest is the home of the great Great Lakes, the vast North
Woods, the open plains full of corn and wheat, a patchwork of industrial
cities and small towns, and Chicago, one of the largest cities in the
United States. The term "Midwest" refers to the states west of the
Appalachians, north of the Ohio River, and east of the Great Plains. The
region is sometimes referred to as the "heart" or "rust belt" of the
United States and is often associated with agriculture and industry
(historically manufacturing, though this has faded over the years).
Midwestern culture is generally perceived as "down-to-earth" because
much of the population is located far from coastal cities and cultural
centers such as New York and Los Angeles. The Midwest is almost evenly
divided between liberals and conservatives, and is the region with the
highest concentration of swing states in presidential elections.
The suffix "West" is a historical relic from early U.S. history, when
the majority of the U.S. population lived east of the Appalachians.
The states bordering the Great Lakes (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin) are sometimes referred to as the
"North Coast," "Third Coast," or "Fresh Coast" in analogy to the East
and West Coasts. These are the states in the region that make up the
Rust Belt.
Also known as "America's Heartland," the region is
regarded as the broadest representative of American culture because of
its major role in the manufacturing and agricultural sectors, as well as
its patchwork of commercial metropolises and small towns. In fact, most
of the nation's television broadcasters speak with a Midwestern accent.
The Midwest is the birthplace of more than a quarter of U.S. presidents
(considering that six of them were president before statehood took
effect in the Midwest) and is also the birthplace of many of the
technology inventors and entrepreneurs that fuel the global economy.
Major population centers are located either on the Great Lakes
(Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Duluth) or on the
Mississippi and Ohio Rivers (Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Louis, and
Cincinnati). This reflects the historical importance of the waterways as
a means of connecting the region to the Port of New York (via the Erie
Canal) and the Port of New Orleans (via the rivers). Originally a marshy
area, Chicago boomed because it was the easiest means of shipping from
the St. Lawrence and Erie Canal to New Orleans. Commerce via the Great
Lakes remains a major part of the region's economy today. Indianapolis
is an exception, with its non-navigable waterways, but it is a major
intersection for road traffic. Chicago also became the nation's railroad
center in the 19th century and remains so to this day.
With the
advent of globalization, much of the heavy industry on which many
Midwestern cities depended was outsourced to countries in Asia and Latin
America, where labor costs were lower, and many of the once great cities
fell into decline. As a result, many Midwestern cities continue to
suffer from high unemployment, urban decay, and high violent crime
rates. This is especially true for cities that were built on a single
industry, such as Detroit, Flint (automotive), and the declining steel
town of Gary, Indiana.
1 Chicago - third largest city in the USA.
2 Cincinnati
3 Detroit - capital of the automobile.
4 Indianapolis -
Capital of Indiana.
5 Kansas City - "City of Fountains".
6 Milwaukee - City of Brewers.
7 Minneapolis - together
with St. Paul, forms the "Twin Cities".
8
St.Louis-Gateway Arch.
9 St Paul
The states that border the Great Lakes (Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin) are also often counted on a "North Shore", alternative to the East and West Shores.
As in other parts of the U.S., English is the de facto
official language. The "Midwestern accent" is the most
common voice heard on news programs across the country. Most
native Spanish speakers in the Midwest have at least a basic
command of English, although in areas with a large Hispanic
population, Spanish speakers may be in the majority. There
also used to be a large German-speaking population, but
today it is mostly confined to rural areas consisting of
Anabaptist communities.
Most large cities have a
diverse ethnic community, including many first-generation
immigrants. Chicago, in particular, is known for its large
Assyrian, Jewish, Polish, Ukrainian, and African American
communities that migrated from the South. Nevertheless, the
classic Chicago accent has fallen into disuse, and most
young Chicagoans speak with a common American accent.
Milwaukee also has a large Hmong-speaking population.
Missouri, Wisconsin, and Minnesota each have their own fine
linguistic quirks, but in general, the English spoken here
is one of the most easily understood dialects in the entire
United States, with few unusual terms used in everyday life.
Dialects of other European languages such as German,
Norwegian, and Swedish are spoken by some of the older
residents, but these dialects are now dead languages, and
most of the younger generation is English-only.
By plane
This region is home to several of the US's
largest airports: Chicago O'Hare (ORD), Minneapolis–St. Paul
(MSP) and Detroit (DTW). This can also be reached with
direct flights from Europe. Chicago is a hub for United and
American Airlines, Minneapolis and Detroit for Delta
Airlines, Detroit also for the low-cost Spirit Airlines.
Other major airports in the region, but mostly of national
importance, are Chicago Midway (MDW; mainly used by
Southwest Airlines), St. Louis (STL), Kansas City (MCI),
Cleveland (CLE) and Indianapolis (IND).
By train
Chicago is the beginning and end point of several routes of
America's largest long-distance rail company, Amtrak. These
include shorter routes as well as those that run through to
Los Angeles or Seattle on the west coast and New York or
Washington on the east coast. There are no high-speed trains
in the Midwest like we know them from Europe. It takes a
whole day to get to Chicago from New York, Washington or
Dallas, and two days from Los Angeles or Seattle. For longer
distances, traveling by train is therefore primarily an
option for travelers who have a lot of time and want to see
something of the landscape, are enthusiastic about trains
and/or are afraid of flying. With wide armchairs or sleeping
and dining cars, this is a thoroughly comfortable but not
cheap pleasure. In order for the tickets to be reasonably
affordable, you should book well in advance.
Several long-distance Amtrak rail lines run from Chicago
across the Midwest.
Capitol Limited and Lake Shore
Limited: Chicago-Toledo-Cleveland and on to
Pittsburgh/Washington, D.C. and Albany/New York City
Cardinal: Chicago-Indianapolis-Cincinnati and on towards
Washington/New York
Empire Builder:
Chicago-Milwaukee-Saint Paul/Minneapolis and on to
Portland/Seattle
Texas Eagle: Chicago-Springfield-St.
Louis and on to Dallas/San Antonio
Southwest Chief:
Chicago-Kansas City and on to Albuquerque/Los Angeles
California Zephyr: Chicago-Omaha and on to Denver/San
Francisco
Trains usually only run once a day, are
slow but expensive. That's why this is primarily an
adventure for rail enthusiasts and travelers who want to
experience the vastness of the country, but not the quickest
- and certainly not the cheapest - means of getting from A
to B. However, if you have the wherewithal or book ahead of
time to get savings, it can be very comfortable to sit in a
comfortable chair, move around the train, dine in the dining
car and look out of large picture windows instead of being
cooped up in the car for hours to be.
Far cheaper,
but not quite as comfortable and usually even slower, are
long-distance buses. The market leader, with the densest
network and most destinations, is Greyhound.
Away
from the big cities, you almost always need a car in the
Midwest. In every larger town there are a large number of
car rental companies.
The Midwest stretches more than
1000 kilometers. That's why you can think about flying
within the Greater Region. Even smaller cities often have an
airport that at least has connections with the hubs Chicago
(ORD or MDW), Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) and Detroit (DTW).
With low-cost airlines such as Southwest Airlines, even
short distances are quite affordable.
The Midwest is a patchwork of large cities, small towns, and
rural villages. As the epicenter of the American Industrial
Revolution, immigrants and African Americans poured into the
region in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, from urban
areas with large numbers of German, Irish, Polish, Italian,
Greek, Scandinavian, Mexican, Puerto Rican, and African
Americans, Amish and Mennonite traditions to rural areas, a
diverse ethnic cuisine emerged. Midwestern cuisine is often
simple and hearty, with an emphasis on meat, potatoes, and
dairy products, due to the harsh climate away from the coast
and the history of Central European and Scandinavian
settlement.
As the major center of cattle ranching in
the United States, the Midwest is generally regarded as
having some of the best steaks in the country. Chicago, in
particular, is known for its very large number of
top-quality steakhouses.
Major Midwestern cities like
Chicago, St. Louis, Cleveland, Detroit, and Milwaukee are
known for their bratwurst, kielbasa, Italian sausage, and
good old American hot dogs. Small, rural towns like German
Amana Colonies in Middle Iowa have some of the best
German-American food in the Midwest. Known for its
family-style meals, Amana Colonies offers the hearty cuisine
for which the Midwest is known. Because many African
Americans trace their family roots to the South, Southern
regional cuisine is often found in African American
communities.
Parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin have a
strong Scandinavian influence. In the larger cities, food
culture is also strongly influenced by the new immigrant
communities, especially Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai,
Vietnamese, Indian, and Middle Eastern cuisines.
Wisconsin is also known as one of the major cheese producing
states in the U.S., with cheddar cheese being the most
popular. Wisconsin is also known for its Emmentaler cheese
(known as "Swiss cheese" in most parts of the U.S.) due to
the history of Swiss-German settlement in Wisconsin, and
some areas are known for local interpretations of
Swiss-German cuisine, such as Rösti and Kalbarwurst. Some
areas are also known for their local versions of
Swiss-German cuisine such as Rösti and Kalberwurst.
Some areas of Wisconsin are also known for their local
Swiss-German dishes such as Rösti and Kalberwurst. In
spring, salad greens, radishes, sweet peas, and spinach. In
summer, sweet corn, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, onions,
melons, berries, apples, cherries, peaches, and pears. This
abundance of produce is superb when in season and seems to
encourage large portions all year round.
Beer - The Midwest has historically been the center of the
American brewing industry, with national giants
Anheuser-Busch (St. Louis) and Miller (Milwaukee) still
headquartered in the region. Summit (St. Paul), Goose Island
(Chicago), Great Lakes (Cleveland, Ohio), Bell's (Kalamazoo,
Michigan), New Glarus (New Glarus, Wisconsin), Grookes (Cold
Spring, Minnesota), Shell's (New Ulm, Minnesota),
Leinenkugel (Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin), and many other
well-known craft breweries. Microbreweries and brewpubs are
also located throughout the region. Millstream Brewery in
Amana Colony, Iowa, is home to the world's best (2010 World
Beer Cup Gold) Vienna-style lager beer.
Milk - Wisconsin
is particularly famous for its fresh dairy products,
including milk, cream, and a variety of cheeses.
Wine -
Wine is made in all Midwestern states. Catawba grapes were
first discovered in Ohio in 1802, and Catawba vineyards line
the shores and islands of Lake Erie. Michigan and Missouri
are also important wine-producing states. The Amana Colonies
in Iowa have five wineries that feature traditional sweet
fruit wines, as well as a number of German and French-style
wineries. There are approximately 90 wineries in Iowa, many
of which feature the unique flavors of "cold climate"
grapes.
Rural areas and small cities in the Midwest are among the
safest in the nation for travelers and residents. Some of
the larger cities, especially south of Chicago, north of
Milwaukee, east of Cleveland, East St. Louis, and some areas
of Detroit, should be avoided after dark.
Weather in
the Midwest can vary from hot spells in July and August to
blizzards in January and February. Tornadoes are common in
the southern part of the region in the spring, but warnings
are often sufficient to protect property and lives. Local
radio and television stations provide ongoing advice and
information when weather conditions on the roads are likely
to worsen. Disastrous weather is rare, and the region is not
an earthquake-prone area.
The climate is continental. This means that there are hot
summers and cold winters. In summer you can expect
temperatures around 40 degrees, in winter temperatures
around -20 degrees Celsius. Temperatures are generally
reported in Fahrenheit. 100 Fahrenheit corresponds to about
40 degrees Celsius, 0 Fahrenheit to about -20 degrees
Celsius. In the US, almost every enclosed space has air
conditioning. That's why the heat is usually bearable.
It depends a lot on the place how much snow falls. In
general, weather warnings on television are very good,
although sometimes they seem a bit exaggerated. Blizzards
can make the roads impassable.
Hurricanes (tornados)
can occur in summer. It is important to follow the weather
forecasts. In the event of a tornado, you should go to
houses. The safest place is either a bunker or a basement
and if you can't find that, usually the bathroom in the
house. If you are outdoors at the time of a tornado, you
should lie down.
The demarcation of the Midwest is not precisely defined. According to
the U.S. Census Bureau's classification based on statistical purposes,
the following states belong to the region, which is further subdivided
into an eastern and a western part:
Division West North Central
North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas
Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri
Division East North Central
Wisconsin,
Illinois
Michigan, Indiana
Ohio
North Dakota, South Dakota,
Nebraska and Kansas are considered to be part of the Midwest, especially
if the "Great Plains" region is not taken into account in the
categorization. Missouri, and occasionally Kentucky, is predominantly
considered a state of the Midwest; however, the latter in particular is
sometimes counted among the southern states. (They were not part of the
Confederate States of America, but allowed slavery until the Civil War.)
Pennsylvania is also very rarely considered part of the Midwest
because the state has no coast on the Atlantic Ocean and part of it lies
west of the Appalachian Mountains. This classification is somewhat
understandable for the area around Pittsburgh and Erie, but not for the
state as a whole, since the eastern half around Philadelphia has almost
nothing in common with the Midwest in terms of history and geography.
The same applies to the westernmost part of Upstate New York.
Survey data can be used to derive a definition according to which the
Midwest primarily consists of nine states: In a 2014 survey of 1,357
people who describe themselves as Midwesterners, it was found that 70%
or more of the states of Indiana, Iowa and Illinois, 60% or more of
Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, and over 50% of Ohio, Missouri and
Kansas were counted as part of the Midwest.
The largest survey to
date, with over 12,000 participants in 2019, confirmed the principles;
however, in both Kansas and Nebraska, only a small minority classify
their region as part of the Midwest. In some states, there is a clear
majority of people who consider only part of the state to be part of the
Midwest. In South Dakota, the agricultural east is classified as part of
the Midwest; the west of the state, where ranching, mining and tourism
dominate the economy, would then not be part of the region.
The Midwest region is largely shaped by the
advance of glaciers during various ice ages (Laurentide Ice Sheet). This
created many lakes, especially in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, and
the terrain is mostly flat in Illinois and northern Indiana, as well as
in Ohio. To the south and west, where the glacial periods are further
back, the landscape becomes slightly hillier due to erosion, as far as
the valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, as well as the Shawnee
Hills, the Ozark Mountains and the Badlands of South Dakota. Due to the
glacial periods, the soils in this region are very fertile. As long as
the climate allows sufficient growing time, agriculture (grain, corn,
livestock) is very intensive in this region. The Midwest is therefore
considered the "breadbasket of the nation". The northern area of
Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan is more characterized by forestry
due to the long winters.
The region's large cities are
industrial. The region around the "auto city" of Detroit, which is still
part of the Rust Belt, the traditional focus of American heavy industry,
and the supply industry (steel, tires) around Cleveland are particularly
worth mentioning here. These cities were heavily affected by the
structural change in industry and are therefore struggling with
unemployment and social problems. The Chicago metropolitan area has a
broader economic base - in addition to the steel industry in the
southern part of the city (around Lake Calumet) and along the Calumet
River (e.g. Gary), many large companies have their headquarters in the
city, and the Chicago Board of Trade is an important trading center for
the financial sector and one of the largest transshipment points for
agricultural products and food in the world. Chicago is also an
important hub for road, rail and air traffic. Smaller cities such as
Decatur and Battle Creek also contribute to the industrial character of
the region.
In the 19th century, the Midwest had a very high density of
German-speaking residents, and in many regions they made up the
majority. The cities of St. Louis, Milwaukee and Omaha in particular
were centers of German culture, which can still be seen today in the
large number of breweries there. Even today, most German-Americans are
found there, but in terms of ancestry, not language. Around a fifth of
the total population of the United States stated in the 2000 census that
they were German-Americans, most of them in the Midwest. Immigrants from
Scandinavia and their descendants also live in the Midwest, especially
in the region around the Great Lakes.
Between 1910 and 1930, many
African-Americans from the southern states immigrated to the industrial
cities of the Midwest as part of the Great Migration; however, unlike in
the southern states, there are hardly any African-American residents in
the countryside.
Chicago was and is a frequent destination for
immigrants. Many Poles still live in Chicago today. Naturalized
immigrants from Latin America make up the majority of the 4th
Congressional District in the southwest of the city, two Korean-language
newspapers are published in the Albany Park district, and there is a
Korean-language television station.
The Midwest is popularly said to be particularly down-to-earth (for
example, the question "Will it play in Peoria?"). However, it would be
wrong to imagine a uniform conservatism here. The Midwest also includes
union strongholds such as the industrial cities of Detroit and Cleveland
and liberal university cities such as Ann Arbor, Urbana, Bloomington and
Madison.
Due to this diversity, the states of the Midwest have
been the birthplace of very different political movements since the
early 19th century, which have gained influence throughout the United
States.
Among the first were the abolitionists, the opponents of
slavery. Abraham Lincoln, for example, came from this milieu.
Around 1900, the populist movement around William Jennings Bryan
flourished, especially in the agricultural part of the region west of
Chicago.
Wisconsin was a stronghold of the progressive reform
movement of the early 20th century, which was supported above all by
Robert M. La Follette, Sr. At the same time, Eugene V. Debs, who came
from Indiana, was one of the leading figures in the socialist labor
movement.
In the interwar period, the Midwest was a stronghold of the
isolationist movement. The numerous Americans of German and Swedish
descent were influential here.
Many progressive reforms originated in
the Midwest. For example, Michigan abolished the death penalty in the
19th century. Illinois was the first US state to abolish sodomy laws.
In recent times, politicians such as Richard Gephardt, John Conyers,
Dennis Kucinich, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have come from the
Midwest.
Overall, the political character is still very diverse
today.
Traditionally, Missouri and, more recently, Ohio in
particular have been assigned the role of a swing state that determines
the election, because their population structure represents that of the
entire United States quite well and therefore reflects political trends
well. In the 2004 presidential election, eight of twelve Midwestern
states voted for the Republican incumbent George W. Bush, in 2008 seven
and in 2012 six of twelve for the Democrat Barack Obama. In 2016,
Republican Donald Trump surprisingly won all Midwestern states except
Illinois and Minnesota, which was considered crucial to his electoral
success. In 2020, Joe Biden again won four of twelve states (Illinois,
Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin). Although he did better there than
Hillary Clinton in 2016, election researchers see a continuation of the
longer-term shift to the right, especially among the white, small-town
population of the Midwest. In the 2024 presidential election, Donald
Trump won the majority in ten of the twelve Midwestern states, as in
2016; only in Illinois and Minnesota did Kamala Harris receive the
majority of the votes.
Agriculture in the American Midwest is descended from the family and
traditional agriculture of the country's origins and this is evident in
the analyses. Indeed, the average surface area of farms in the Midwest
is ten times smaller than large farms in the state of California. On the
other hand, if the comparison is made on turnover, those of farms in the
Midwest states are less than half that of their Californian
counterparts. The largest family businesses are mostly in debt, but
still manage to remain productive, mainly in cereals and livestock. The
smallest farms in the Midwest, close to cities, often have different
sources of income to survive, including tourism, which comes from urban
areas, which is becoming increasingly important.
Even if the
plains of the Midwest cultivate many different species, some productions
are preferred to others. Corn is the main crop, as it perfectly matches
the hot and humid climate of the summer, wheat, a versatile cereal, is
also grown, although soybeans, which remain the best complement to corn,
are the second production in these territories. As for livestock, while
dairy production and poultry farming have moved to the southern and
eastern states of the country, pig farming remains the preserve of small
family farms in the Midwest.
The strength of American agriculture
comes from its versatility and its many different crops, made possible
by the different climates and soil types of the country. However, this
also makes them more sensitive and vulnerable to climate change. Indeed,
American crops were developed for a very specific climate in a very
specific soil; a small change in temperature can completely disrupt the
year's harvest. The main problems due to the major climate changes that
farmers face are: rising temperatures and soil erosion. These problems
can be transformed into opportunities if they are detected and
anticipated in time, allowing for rapid adaptation. This adaptation can
be done at different levels, whether that of farmers, institutions, but
also that of the country's general economy. Fortunately, American
agriculture has a good institutional, economic and scientific framework,
essential to counter or correct these effects. The Midwest, like the
rest of the country, is therefore already adapting to climate change, in
particular by using the crops best suited to different local climates
and soil types, but also through irrigation used at its optimum, or by
leaving certain lands to rest.
Various models have emerged in
order to optimize land use and crop rotation. The Purdue University
Crop/Livestock Linear Programming Model, for example, attempted to
determine the most productive rotations, and defined six crop rotations,
with combinations of different varieties. This model also made it
possible to determine the best percentage of land allocated to each
crop. It emerged that soybean cultivation should be increased, while
wheat cultivation should be decreased. All these forecasts were created
based on the results of the harvests from 1990 to 1999 and go up to
2040-2059. We can see that, in the first period, ten out of eleven
regions studied grew wheat, while in the latest forecasts for 2040,
there would be only one region growing wheat. Other models have been
developed to estimate the consequences of climate change and soil
erosion in the Midwest, all of which have concluded that soybeans should
take precedence over corn and wheat, because it is in greater demand,
more adapted but also less damaging to the soil than its two cousins.
The Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM) is an international model
that has also looked at the case of the Midwest of the United States. He
takes a more global view, dividing the planet into different climates,
in order to improve things worldwide. He highlighted the productivity of
crops in the region he studied and considered it indispensable. The low
carbon generation, however, should be offset by planting forests on
other, less productive lands. As would bioenergy crops, which would also
be more useful on less productive lands than those in the Midwest.