American Nations - Colin Woodard

Sub-title: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America

Do you have ancestors from the 17th and 18th centuries in North America? Are you tracing families as they migrated across the United States?  Woodard takes us through the wave of settlers in North America and illustrates the impact of their differing beliefs and values on our society today.  I recommend this book as a must read for any genealogist!

The book asks "Why do Americans have such a difficult time agreeing on basic issues?"  The answer is that the different regions of the country evolved from eleven different "nations".  For genealogists, his description of their settling and migrating across the United States provides essential insight into the origins of our ancestors.

The 11 regions described are: El Norte, New France, Tidewater, Yankeedom, New Netherland, Deep South, Midlands, Greater Appalachia, Far West, the Left Coast, and First Nation. Each region grew from their founding members into distinct groups with shared goals reflected in their viewpoints.

El Norte originated with the Spanish explorers and settled New Mexico, Texas, Arizona.  New France settled North East Canada and Louisiana. Tidewater originated with English settlers to Virginia. the Pilgrims and Puritans desired to build new societies in Yankeedom. New Netherland originated with the Dutch settlers in New York.  

The Deep South grew from entrepreneurs from the Caribbean exploiting slave labor..the Midlands from those moving away from the East Coast regions...Greater Appalachia from Scotch/Irish wanting to be left alone.  The Far West ...Left Coast and First Nation grew from the migration of the first groups across the continent.  The author goes into detail on each regions' founding and it evolution to date.

Interestingly, in the Epilogue, he addresses what the future of these regions that now form the United States. He predicted in 2011 when the book was published the possibility that 

"faced with a major crisis, the federations leaders will betray their oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution... In the midst of say, a deadly pandemic outbreak...a fearful public might condone the suspension of civil rights. One can easily imagine circumstances in which some nations are happy with the new order and others deeply opposed to it."

A great read with a fascinating perspective on how we all got here. 

Quotes:

"Cultural geographers came to similar conclusions decades ago.  ...formulating a key theory...called the Doctrine of First Effective Settlement" 

p. 317 "the red and blue nations will continue to wrestle with one another for control over federal policy...just as they have since the First Continental Congress."  

MAP of nations

 

Published: 2011  Read: September 2022