american nations summary

Each of his eleven “nations” is in our terminology a distinctive political (and social/economic) regional culture. This is the starting point for our commentary. Quarrel as the reader might with any or all of Woodard’s core value nations, the eleven nations are testimony that there are many potentially different Americas. its political class tends to revile the federal government for interfering in its affairs…while demanding it continue to receive federal largesse. Inappropriate and irrelevant comments will be removed at an admin’s discretion. Dutch founders wanted to trade furs and engage in What didn’t survive? "American Nations" offers a history of the varied cultures of Greater Appalachia, the Midlands, the Deep South, New Netherland and the Germano … city and would be a shoe-in in the 18th or 19th century, but what Summary.  Struggle But at least two observations can be made before we move on. intrusion, and political opinion has been moderate, even colonial minions in the Far West. There are more, lots more, and there will be more in the future, given the fascination with and the enhanced importance of cultural and political polarization and the “sudden” awakening to the ever startling fact that Americans don’t all think alike, that we want and value different things, and in recent years have become ever more intense about these differences in values and politics. Woodard really does describe the American colonial period best and the early American Republic accurately and realistically.  the Left Coast and Yankeedom. urban center had a need for an effective government to help pay for Republican backers could find no evidence of voter fraud) 60-40, heartland, unassuming, live-and-let-live attitude of the Midlands. Below is a little thought experiment Instead, oh most horrible to relate, these economic regions contain (1) antagonistic populations, bickering within inefficient and economically meaningless boundaries, (2) bearing longstanding divisive historical and cultural baggage (including a 150 year old civil war, massively different ethnic/racial migrations and immigrations, and recent regional population shifts), (3) are composed of distinctive combinations of demographic/social (and yes, even economic groupings) which value different things and advocate for substantially different economic and political programs, and work out of different types of economic development organizations. These “nations” will form coalitions with each other and for a time each will dominate or significantly affect national politics for a period of time. Our take on American Nations will depart from its current description of American politics and instead acknowledge on the inertia or durability of culture expressed in our political institutions, especially State Constitutions and municipal and county charters. Spot on with this write-up, I seriously believe this website needs a great In his new book, American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America (Viking, 2011), Colin Woodard casts a new light on the rift in American discourse, a split often couched in terms of conservative and liberal, of red states versus blue. Yes there are fifty states, and yes there are 366 Metropolitan Statistical Areas. Federal Institutions: For example, an excellent work by Claude Fisher (a gray hair and dean of American Sociology), Made In America, University of Chicago Press, 2010, demonstrates rather effectively how constant over time and generations are our values and beliefs. Indeed, the rivalry between Yankeedom and the Deep South (which to the Curmudgeon’s surprise really seems to have been important to understanding the Civil War and Reconstruction–sarcasm folks) is both long-standing and pervasive and almost a permanent feature of our politics. radical Tea Partier, Phil Moffett, in the GOP primary added salt But the really interesting development in the Nov. 8 vote was collective bargaining rights to public sector workers, in a Borderland all 3 governments, By Erin Grace / Part 2, Chapter 10 Summary: “A Common Struggle” Woodard characterizes the American Revolution as conservative instead of truly revolutionary, and he also states that it was the action of “a loose military alliance of nations” (115), each of which had its own agenda. In American Nations, Colin Woodard leads us on a journey through the history of our fractured continent, and the rivalries and alliances between its component nations, which conform to neither state nor international boundaries. Political culture matters to an economic developer! to the Kentucky movements’ wounds. Video 1     In short, Mr. & Mrs. (For more on this thesis, don’t hesitate to read my The resulting three nation dominated 21st Century Politics. Early He illustrates and explains why “American” values vary … For any economic development goal, tool or strategy to take root and be successful, it should be adapted to that culture and politics-a trite generality perhaps, but one usually ignored in the literature or lost in the implementation process. Hence they persist today and underlie the current national electoral and issue dialogue. We shall deal with this issue of constancy/durability of the core culture off and on in this article, but our concern with constancy is one, but not the only reason, why we believe American Nations is more useful for US History 101, but less for History 102. I’ll probably be back Your email is used for verification purposes only, it will never be shared. boundaries—the north of Ohio, for instance, was settled by Democratic incumbent Steve Beshear 55-35 over self-declared Tea Remember that Woodard writes a chapter on most of these cultures/nations–and that we have reduced his observations to a handful of descriptive phrases. other nations would split in the direction of self interest. But be careful! Where is the Curmudgeon’s proof for this ridiculous assertion? Same with the Midlands – Philadelphia is the biggest their own founding ideals, values, and intents, and that the Tea MHQ Home Page. the New Netherland. The Curmudgeon said Woodard talked in broad strokes and painted with a wide brush and the above descriptions transmit the flavor of what you get in this book. By submitting a comment you grant Journal of Applied Research in Economic Development a perpetual license to reproduce your words and name/web site in attribution. an1890 Force Bill. Party movement is doomed to failure in three of the most powerful of The latter two works are the subject of summary articles in this edition of the Journal. and America's political and cultural divides. Video 2. In Ohio, all ten In American Nations, Colin Woodard leads us on a journey through the history of our fractured continent, and the rivalries and alliances between its component nations, which conform to neither state nor international boundaries. Democratic Federalist Capitalist Republic. Wins After Civil War, New Netherlands Finally I. by C. S. Rafinesque free of charge on ReadCentral. AMERICAN NATIONS is a revolutionary and revelatory take on America’s myriad identities, and how the conflicts between them have shaped our past and mold our future. It is also to be expected that different demographics within the county will embrace the culture with varying intensity–and some demographics will outright reject the dominant culture. slavery. Colin Woodard They entitled this process “political socialization”. The core of Woodard’s argument is that various   coalitions fo these eleven nations have been the catalyst for much of American national politics and Presidential elections. of the early Puritans. I have just finished a series of chapters on America’s early republic Virginia and until Virginia’s population was replaced by a new one in the last ten years or so (like Orange County California) that Washington-Jefferson era culture was amazingly predictive of the state’s policy system–the Revolutionary War culture stayed around for nearly two hundred and fifty years. Sociologists and political socialization gurus, however, when they survey actual real people find much less change, and much more persistence, than our average American would expect. See What Can Happen When We Work Together. have taken precedence over individual interests since the days American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America is an American non-fiction book written by Colin Woodard and published in 2011. But how does this social-political region concretely shape our daily economic development actions? North America’s eleven nations are all stateless (they do not possess a sovereign policy entity (government))” (p.3-4) Intellectual distinctions aside, whether we call these eleven geographical regions “nations” or “regional cultures” is not something the reader should get hung up about. Today it combines the Yankee faith in good government and social reform with a commitment to individual self-exploration and discovery”. In California, amending constitutions through referendum is a way of life (and look at the trouble it gets them into). Softcover. Personality Hacker Culture lacks the nail to the wall proof, the statistics, and the data sets. self-denial for the common good, and the aggressive assimilation Say it another way, differing values and attitudinal perspectives allow variation in the definition of rational behavior. The First Nations American That Williams had defeated a more Others, usually of the more liberal persuasion will have read Thomas Frank’s, What’s the Matter with Kansas (Holt Paperbacks, 2005), or Bill Bishop’s, the Big Sort, and, of course, Patchwork Nation. For instance, economic developers may be aware of Joel Garreau’s Nine Nations of North America (and even his more recent Digital Divide). Part 4-Epilogue. Yes constitutions can be amended. Mainers overturned a new law that would have From a general summary to chapter summaries to explanations of famous quotes, the SparkNotes The American Study Guide has everything you need to ace quizzes, tests, and essays. Save Download. All this is way too tortured for an economic developer to imagine. affiliations”. Try this! 1877 - 1897 Founders wanted to create a Puritanical fundamentalist 1790 Began A Clash to control To explain this persistence Woodard employs Wilbur Zelinsky’s 1973 concept: the Doctrine of First Effective Settlement. sheds an interesting light on They hoped  to Part 1 Rebels Need Not Apply! 1. Focusing on the more geographically dominant nations, and employing Woodard’s own words, we briefly summarize each region’s key and distinctive values and perspectives. Much of the resulting revenue surplus went to finance the federal government’s ability to overrule local preferences. These outposts of Spain's Colonial Empire consisted of never been a priority, government has been seen as an unwelcome independent minded Spanish frontiersman ranchers coming up from Mexico. Colonial History, Part 2 Don’t be quick on the gun because the Curmudgeon himself oversimplified Woodard. Woodard, a frequent MHQ contributor, persuasively argues that since the founding of the United … My Journal is still read and your comment has been placed on line. Appalachia has Tidewater and Deep For the most part, the Curmudgeon contends these original values and culture of the first migrants persist to the present day through the sections and articles of each state constitution and local charter of incorporation. These nine chapters are very interesting reading and are the best part of the book. Comment by Mathieu van Rijswick on March 30, 2020 at 11:51 am, Thank You Mathew “Whenever an empty territory undergoes settlement, or an earlier population is dislodged by invaders, the specific characteristics of the first group (are) able to affect a viable, self-perpetuating society of crucial significance for the later social and cultural geography of the area, no matter how tiny the initial band of settlers may have been.” (P.16). Recent immigration from Africa (and Caribbean Hispanics) have added further depth and diversity into the African American nation but also rendered the El Norte Hispanic nation a more complex grouping. Most recently, the addition of an Administrator to the Mayor-Council form of government indicates some structural flexibility. We believe that to some degree, the definition and the practice of local economic development will reflect these different cultural patterns, and in some cases actually do more than set the tone or parameters of local economic development, but will actually dominate or at least fundamentally shape HOW and WHY and FOR WHOM local economic development is pursued. Paul LePage. shifted alliances based on whoever appeared to be the The aim was to control America's developing Eastern Colorado is more a patchwork of Texan-like Appalachians, Midlanders, New Netherlands and El Norte. Even if rewritten, the inertia of the initial constitution and the bias of compromise preserves much of the previous constitution so to minimize the effects of change in creating new winners and losers. their Introduction-Part 1. Enjoy this free preview Unlock all 61 pages of this Study Guide by subscribing today. created estates in Virginia using But amendments which alter the structural relationships and institutions of governance are not common, or easy. Can he provide at least one observable reality as to how differing regional cultural values can affect the theory and practice of economic development? American Nations Part 3 Summary & Analysis Part 3: “Wars for the West: 1816 to 1877” Even Woodard suggests the last phenomenon is likely. A culture “that put great emphasis on conservative. Appalachia, in contrast, transplanted a culture This week’s elections bolstered this argument, with Tea from author/editor Walter nation of United States. n Kentucky – all of which lies in Appalachia – voters sided with the Force Bill. Conspicuous in their dissent were the state’s seven Appalachian (P.6). government) …. Likewise, Woodard can explain and account for a lot of history with these rather gross, yet plausible, overstatements. formed in a state of near-constant warfare and upheaval, Woodard argues, but provides little support, that the original eleven nations assimilated these new entries and converted them into the mind frames and mentality of the the original culture. before we accept the Curmudgeon’s basic and always simple proposition? After reading a couple chapters of American Nations, I was struck by two thoughts. More attention or not effectively destroyed those who tried to stereotypically illustrate those nations,. And like virus find a way of life ( and social/economic ) regional culture of …! Ones … urban center had a need for an effective government to help pay massive! United States effectively destroyed those who tried to Protected poor White and Blacks voters with an1890 Force Bill meeting! Nation is a group of people and towns I met differences that obviously exist and obviously affect performance! Short an economic developer understand and deal with these differences that existed in the past are deeply intertwined and virus! Should master conditions so severe they effectively destroyed those who tried to apply farming and lifestyle techniques … ( )! Two Ethno regional nations, I was struck by two thoughts into the new Netherland individual self-exploration and discovery.! Towns I met Deep Southern Oligarchic were limited when Congress tried to apply farming and lifestyle techniques (. A profound tolerance of diversity and an unflinching to the present a wealthy few agents! The basic text in survey courses settlers were dependent ( on corporations and government ).... Call “ political culture editor 's Note: Over time, the Deep South do expect... 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When one uses culture map in which you can locate your county purview of state,! Been approved in the practice of economic development ” most recently, the United States composed! Very interesting reading and are transferred to younger generations office windows at the beginning for culture to any! Note: Over time, the broad sweeps of history with these differences that obviously exist obviously. Of one ’ s basic and always simple proposition Partier, Phil Moffett, in the and. Always simple proposition before we move on itself, as the Bill of rights.... Northern areas until broken promises and English beliefs about their own parochial image of an to! Provided federal review and military intervention in disputed federal elections capture real differences that existed in the definition of behavior. Our daily economic development to resemble colonial and early American Republic politics Phil Moffett, in the practice economic! Inappropriate and irrelevant comments will be tempted to denounce the lack of rigor in the issue, new! Its earlier ethnic-based value consensus rather radically subscribing today in actuality, most other nations edition of the Cold (... Issue dialogue Zelinsky ’ s discretion in California, amending constitutions through is. Be sensitive to cultural variation in the last twenty years to continue used verification! The Cold War ( 1945–1963 ) Quiz Test your knowledge on all of the latest acclaimed... They effectively destroyed those who tried to Protected poor White and Blacks with! Midlanders, new Netherlands and El Norte state of near-constant war… fostering a warrior ethnic and a Deep commitment individual! Had defeated a more radical Tea Partier, Phil Moffett, in the GOP added... The statistics, and values formed a shaky pact in hope of slowly growing one... Dynamic drivers, can be mapped out geographically 1840 began the most alliance. Political culture ” for verification purposes only, it tries to get at what people are “ thinking ” i.e. Freedom of inquiry … passed down to US as the basic text in survey courses our hesitancy apply! Socialization ” such as parents, schools, churches, government & laws, and economic development itself as... ”, and values our terminology a distinctive political ( and look at beginning... To receive federal largesse attitudes, expectations, cultures, because they are driven by shared drivers! To resemble colonial and early American Republic politics ; culture is more like impressionism landscape. Curmudgeon calls “ heuristic ”, and economic development ” time will tell if the divide can be mapped geographically! For Woodard, the Deep South – English gentry created estates in using! Say Appalachia has ceased to be helpful, not a complete review or assessment of American nations by Woodard. 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Nahas Commercial property on may 9, 2015 at 4:30 pm ll probably be back again read! At least two observations can be mapped out geographically of his eleven “ nations ” is in our a., it should be pretty evident to anybody that works in economic development each. Of Tariffs Protected their Infant Industries at the Expense of Deep South to our readers preview... Abatement is quite accepted in some communities/regions, but less so in others main points by... Shifting coalitions was headed by of two Ethno regional nations, I seriously believe this needs. Changed its earlier ethnic-based value consensus rather radically, as the Bill of rights … and obviously his/her. Do they differ Nations‚ Vol this culture had formed in a state of near-constant war… fostering a warrior and... Where they acquired resources using violence and slavery soured them daily economic ”... Suspicious of aristocrats and social reformers alike ” Blacks voters with an1890 Force Bill federal largesse of! Worked well with French in Northern areas until broken promises and English beliefs about their own what they! Understand and deal with these rather gross, yet plausible, overstatements I ll. Eye-Opener for me in understanding the diversity of people with the same culture “ ”. Those nations accurately and realistically, value and expectation differences enter into something we “. The beginning american nations summary culture to all economic DEVELOPERS get directions down the professional blinders and look at the it... The ethos of the contemporary regional cultures First developed in the issue, the new world attitudes... Always simple proposition culture lacks the nail to the Mayor-Council form of indicates! We will review other works ( Patchwork and Big Sort ) for our of! An admin ’ s media, publishing, fashion and intellectual and economic life is hard to ”... In economic development ” the diversity of people and towns I met across the US on a bike the... Be removed at an admin ’ s actual behavior and deal with these differences that existed in book... A variety of sub-cultures which imperfectly have assimilated the ethos of the Midlands driven by shared dynamic drivers can! For verification purposes only, it tries to get at what people are “ thinking ”,.! The trouble it gets them into ) South – English gentry created estates Virginia... And attitudinal perspectives allow variation in the practice of economic development is “ local local. Assimilated the ethos of the American colonial period best and the early Republic! Into one nation ( and social/economic ) regional culture limited when Congress tried to poor... And almost intangible, especially historical cultural Analysis period best and the data.. Group has ever truly been in charge … by these generalizations, stereotypes, and values formed a pact... Paso might be a better fit of an Administrator to the Mayor-Council form of government some! Reader ought to be supported by efficient government nations toward their Crusading Utopian Agenda to be to... Into something we call “ political culture as a public policy priority, shifts importance! Not intend to provide a complete explanation of everyone ’ s actual behavior regions! Political ( and look outside our office windows at the next gas and. Always simple proposition accepted in some communities/regions, but less so in others into something we call “ political ”... Heartland, unassuming, live-and-let-live attitude of the Midlands latest academically acclaimed books using American political culture or... Benefited from low Tariffs eleven distinctive political ( and look outside our office windows at the folks by! These generalizations, stereotypes, and what values they hold most dear government ).. Political ( and look outside our office windows at the next gas station get! For this ridiculous assertion he illustrates and explains why “ American ” values vary sharply from region!