American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America

Front Cover
Penguin, Sep 25, 2012 - History - 400 pages
• A New Republic Best Book of the Year • The Globalist Top Books of the Year • Winner of the Maine Literary Award for Non-fiction •

Particularly relevant in understanding who voted for who in this presidential election year, this is an endlessly fascinating look at American regionalism and the eleven “nations” that continue to shape North America


According to award-winning journalist and historian Colin Woodard, North America is made up of eleven distinct nations, each with its own unique historical roots. In American Nations he takes readers on a journey through the history of our fractured continent, offering a revolutionary and revelatory take on American identity, and how the conflicts between them have shaped our past and continue to mold our future. From the Deep South to the Far West, to Yankeedom to El Norte, Woodard (author of American Character: A History of the Epic Struggle Between Individual Liberty and the Common Good) reveals how each region continues to uphold its distinguishing ideals and identities today, with results that can be seen in the composition of the U.S. Congress or on the county-by-county election maps of any hotly contested election in our history.
 

Contents

Founding El Norte
23
Founding New France
34
Founding Tidewater
44
Founding Yankeedom
57
Founding New Netherland
65
The Colonies First Revolt
73
Founding the Deep South
82
Founding the Midlands
92
Founding the Left Coast
216
War for the West
224
1878 to 2010
241
Founding the Far West
243
Immigration and Identity
254
Gods and Missions
263
Culture Clash
274
War Empire and the Military
285

Founding Greater Appalachia
101
A Common Struggle
115
Six Wars of Liberation
127
Independence or Revolution?
141
Nations in the North
150
First Secessionists
157
1816 to 1877
171
Yankeedom Spreads West
173
The Midlands Spread West
183
Appalachia Spreads West
189
The Deep South Spreads West
200
Conquering El Norte
208
34
294
The Struggle for Power I The Blue Nations
295
The Struggle for Power II The Red and the Purple
302
Epilogue
314
57
320
Afterword to the TenthAnniversary Edition
323
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND SUGGESTED READING
333
NOTES
337
65
343
92
350
141
365
Copyright

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About the author (2012)

Colin Woodard is a Maine native and the author of Ocean’s End: Travels Through Endangered Seas. He is a regular contributor to the Christian Science Monitor and the San Francisco Chronicle.

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