Theheartland,when referring to acultural regionof theUnited States,is the central land area of the country,[1]usually theMidwestern United States[2]or thestatesthat do not border theAtlanticorPacificoceans,[3]associated with mainstream ortraditional values,such as economicself-sufficiency,conservativepolitical and religious ideals, and rootedness inagrarianlife.[2]
TheUS Census Bureaudefines the Midwest as consisting of 12 states:Illinois,Indiana,Iowa,Kansas,Michigan,Minnesota,Missouri,Nebraska,North Dakota,Ohio,South Dakota,andWisconsin.Portions of other non-coastal states can be included in the region as well. These may include eastern portions of theMountain States(Colorado,Utah,Idaho,Montana,andWyoming) and northern portions of someSouthernstates, such asArkansas,Kentucky,Oklahoma,Tennessee,andWest Virginia.
Location
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There is no consensus regarding the geographical boundaries of America's heartland. However, the American Midwest is the most commonly cited area as being the nation's heartland, although many other places have been referred to as part of it, often extending to rural or farming regions in the Great Plains.[4][5]At least as early as 2010, the termHeartlandhas been used to refer to many so-called "red states",including those in theBible belt.[6]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau,themean center of population in the USin 2010 was in or aroundTexas County, Missouri.In 2000, it had been northeast from there, inPhelps County, Missouri.It is projected for the mean center of population to leave the Midwest and enter theWestern United Statesby the mid-21st century.[7]
Thegeographic center of the 48 contiguous statesis nearLebanon, Kansas.WhenAlaskaandHawaiiwere admitted to the Union in 1959, thegeographic center of the United Statesmoved fromSmith County, KansastoButte County, South Dakota.The largest city by population in the American heartland isChicago, Illinoiswith a metro area nearing ten million people, and it ranks third overall, afterNew York CityandLos Angeles,respectively.
Use of term
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The British geographerHalford Mackindercoined the word in 1904 to refer to the heart of the Eurasian land mass: a strategic center of industry, natural resources and power.[4]The use of the term "heartland" to apply to the American Midwest did not become common until later in the 20th century.[8][2][9]
Culture
editHeartland rockmusicians such asBruce Springsteen(New Jersey),Bob Seger(Michigan),Melissa Etheridge(Kansas),John Mellencamp(Indiana), andTom Petty(Florida) have sung about heartland values. Heartland rock albums include Springsteen'sNebraska.The genre is not necessarily Midwestern, as Springsteen was born inNew Jersey,and Petty was born inFloridaand has sung about the Southern United States, such as in his albumSouthern Accents.Modern artists of heartland rock includeThe KillersandThe War on Drugs.[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"heartland".Merriam-Webster Dictionary.Merriam-Webster.RetrievedAugust 2,2020.
- ^abcThe American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia,pp. 71-73 (2006)
- ^Brownstein, Ronald (November 4, 2010)."Heartland Headache: Democrats have to be more competitive in states that don't touch an ocean if they want to bounce back".National Journal.Archived fromthe originalon November 25, 2010.RetrievedNovember 5,2010.
- ^abBadger, Emily; Quealy, Kevin (January 3, 2017)."Where Is America's Heartland? Pick Your Map".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedMay 16,2017.
- ^"HEARTLAND - What is Heartland".Heartlandeindhoven.nl.RetrievedMay 16,2017.
- ^Boyer, Paul S., Clifford E. Clark, Karen Halttunen, Joseph F. Kett, andNeal Salisbury.The enduring vision: A history of the American people Volume II: Since 1865.Cengage Learning, 2016.
- ^Yen, Hope (March 8, 2011)."US 'heartland' near historic shift from Midwest".Forbes.Associated Press.[dead link]
- ^Imagined Heartland,Frontier to Heartland,Newberry Library(2009), Retrieved 4 February 2015
- ^"Google Ngram Viewer".Books.google.RetrievedMay 16,2017.
- ^Jeremiah Tucker (January 29, 2016)."Jeremiah Tucker: Heartland rock could see major resurgence this year".The Joplin Globe.RetrievedNovember 18,2020.
Further reading
edit- Kristin L. Hoganson,The Heartland: An American History2019