POLL: The 11 Nations of North America

Events occurring and how they relate/affect Anabaptist faith and culture.

Which Cultural "Nation" most closely describes you?

 
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Dan Z
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POLL: The 11 Nations of North America

Post by Dan Z »

In a fascinating sociological study, Colin Woodard argues that North America is not three nations, but actually 11 culturally/historically distinct areas.

What do you think of this model?

Did where you grew up affect this? The birthplace of your parents?

Which cultural area do you resonate with most?

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Dan Z
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Re: The 11 Nations of North America

Post by Dan Z »

Here are the descriptions of each area taken from this article:

Yankeedom
Encompassing the entire Northeast north of New York City and spreading through Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, Yankeedom values education, intellectual achievement, communal empowerment, and citizen participation in government as a shield against tyranny. Yankees are comfortable with government regulation. Woodard notes that Yankees have a "Utopian streak." The area was settled by radical Calvinists.

New Netherland
A highly commercial culture, New Netherland is "materialistic, with a profound tolerance for ethnic and religious diversity and an unflinching commitment to the freedom of inquiry and conscience," according to Woodard. It is a natural ally with Yankeedom and encompasses New York City and northern New Jersey. The area was settled by the Dutch.

The Midlands
Settled by English Quakers, The Midlands are a welcoming middle-class society that spawned the culture of the "American Heartland." Political opinion is moderate, and government regulation is frowned upon. Woodard calls the ethnically diverse Midlands "America's great swing region." Within the Midlands are parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska.

Tidewater
Tidewater was built by the young English gentry in the area around the Chesapeake Bay and North Carolina. Starting as a feudal society that embraced slavery, the region places a high value on respect for authority and tradition. Woodard notes that Tidewater is in decline, partly because "it has been eaten away by the expanding federal halos around D.C. and Norfolk."

Greater Appalachia
Colonized by settlers from the war-ravaged borderlands of Northern Ireland, northern England, and the Scottish lowlands, Greater Appalachia is stereotyped as the land of hillbillies and rednecks. Woodard says Appalachia values personal sovereignty and individual liberty and is "intensely suspicious of lowland aristocrats and Yankee social engineers alike." It sides with the Deep South to counter the influence of federal government. Within Greater Appalachia are parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Indiana, Illinois, and Texas.

Deep South
The Deep South was established by English slave lords from Barbados and was styled as a West Indies-style slave society, Woodard notes. It has a very rigid social structure and fights against government regulation that threatens individual liberty. Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina are all part of the Deep South.

El Norte
Composed of the borderlands of the Spanish-American empire, El Norte is "a place apart" from the rest of America, according to Woodard. Hispanic culture dominates in the area, and the region values independence, self-sufficiency, and hard work above all else. Parts of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California are in El Norte.

The Left Coast
Colonized by New Englanders and Appalachian Midwesterners, the Left Coast is a hybrid of "Yankee utopianism and Appalachian self-expression and exploration," Woodard says, adding that it is the staunchest ally of Yankeedom. Coastal California, Oregon, and Washington are in the Left
San Francisco City and Homes
San Francisco is a natural fit for Woodward's Left Coast.Shutterstock / prochasson frederic
Coast.

The Far West
The conservative west. Developed through large investment in industry, yet where inhabitants continue to "resent" the Eastern interests that initially controlled that investment. Among Far West states are Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Washington, Oregon, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Nebraska, Kansas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California.

New France
A pocket of liberalism nestled in the Deep South, its people are consensus driven, tolerant, and comfortable with government involvement in the economy. Woodard says New France is among the most liberal places in North America. New France is focused around New Orleans in Louisiana as well as the Canadian province of Quebec.

First Nation
Made up of Native Americans, the First Nation's members enjoy tribal sovereignty in the US. Woodard says the territory of the First Nations is huge, but its population is under 300,000, most of whose people live in the northern reaches of Canada.
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RZehr
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Re: The 11 Nations of North America

Post by RZehr »

I think this map at least has Oregon, Washington, and California pegged quite accurately.
I might toss a couple SW Oregon counties near California that show Left Coast, into Far West.

Can't really say that I "identity" with any of them. I lived all my life in Left Coast. I'm quite familiar with Far West, and moving there soon. Certain superficial conservative cultural things in the Far West may mesh with me better than the Left Coast.
And I think the Far West resents the Left Coast more than they do the East.

Hebrews 11:14-16
Last edited by RZehr on Wed Feb 22, 2017 11:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Dan Z
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Re: POLL: The 11 Nations of North America

Post by Dan Z »

I've spent most of my days in the Netherland and Midland cultural context, but have a lot of New England heritage as well. All three descriptions...while certainly oversimplified...seem correct to me.

I find myself reflecting a Yankeedom-Midland hybrid, and can speak both cultural "languages" - oh...with a dash of Netherland for spice - "You got a problem wit dat?" ;)
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MaxPC
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Re: POLL: The 11 Nations of North America

Post by MaxPC »

Having full timed in an RV while traveling for almost 9 years I see this classification set as somewhat dated now which isn't unusual for long term studies using the scientific methods. By the time data is collected and interpreted with multiple verifying double blinds, it's almost certainly outdated by the time it hits print. The data for this study was published in 2012, 5 years ago. Assuming the study did a thorough job of data collection in each area, I would expect the chronological span of data to be 30 years prior to publication.

I'm not trying to be a wet blanket. It's an interesting study that I would have agreed with 30-40 years ago. Clearly the political prognosticators and campaign strategists depend on these categories still. In some cases these categories might still apply but I see it changing even as we write.

In the last 20 years the demographic cultures have changed somewhat with geographical shifts for jobs, infrastructure and socio-political impacts such as immigration and economic health. Example: Texas has shown a visible increase in liberal political culture over the past 30 years. It's concentrated in pockets near their larger cities.

I can't really identify with any of these cultures probably because of the political components of those categories - I don't find resonance or identity with politics. I guess it's because I most closely identify with the culture of Christ's kingdom which is more culturally diverse. Who can say? YMMV :lol:
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temporal1
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Re: POLL: The 11 Nations of North America

Post by temporal1 »

growing up, we did not travel, many did not. my parents, with 6 children, had no resources for such.
many were like this.

we traveled through literature, books of all description.

by the time i was married, in our early 20's, young people were traveling everywhere! road trips were common.
we traveled without cellphones, fancy cars, insurances .. how did we ever manage?
we traveled expecting to find work and housing where we landed. we did.

i was delighted to find, as we experienced different areas of the country, lots of different kinds of people.
i remember thinking, radio and television, marketing, bring all of us the same kind of (toilet paper, let's say) - but, thankfully, people remain distinct .. there were regions. the northeast, southeast, the south, the midwest, the upper midwest, etc., etc. .. huge california had regions - it was not "homogenized."

when we visited Mexico, we experienced even less "homogenization." (not everything was covered, packaged, served in plastic.) Canada was a lot like the U.S., except the Province of Quebec was warring fiercely within over the French language. young+naive, i was surprised, i thought all warring at that time was about Vietnam. surprise-surprise. fighting over language? .. it had not occurred to me. (Quebec's problem since resolved.) U.S. news has never covered even our closest neighbors.

i pray regional, area, community flavors will not change.
the idea of one homogenized U.S./world is depressing. please, not that. :-|

i'm sorry for young people today. what do they know of freedom?
they are trapped in safety regulations, subsidies, credit/another word for debt. homogenization. they don't even seem to know what hit 'em.

we did not hang out in our parents' basements with video games.
i suppose what young people today spend on technology, we spent on travel.
.. no, that's not right. we worked and saved our money BEFORE we traveled/moved. no "easy" credit.
Last edited by temporal1 on Wed Feb 22, 2017 12:11 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Dan Z
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Re: POLL: The 11 Nations of North America

Post by Dan Z »

MaxPC wrote:I can't really identify with any of these cultures probably because of the political components of those categories - I don't find resonance or identity with politics. I guess it's because I most closely identify with the culture of Christ's kingdom which is more culturally diverse. Who can say? YMMV :lol:
Interesting...the descriptions seem to me both sociological and political in nature - with strong historical rationale for the cultural context.

I suspect we are all a product, to some extent, of our cultural context - including you MaxPC. :)
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Re: POLL: The 11 Nations of North America

Post by MaxPC »

Dan Z wrote:
MaxPC wrote:I can't really identify with any of these cultures probably because of the political components of those categories - I don't find resonance or identity with politics. I guess it's because I most closely identify with the culture of Christ's kingdom which is more culturally diverse. Who can say? YMMV :lol:
Interesting...the descriptions seem to me both sociological and political in nature - with strong historical rationale for the cultural context.

I suspect we are all a product, to some extent, of our cultural context - including you MaxPC. :)
Cultural, of course we are: on that I agree with you. Yet the one culture never mentioned in that study is our abiding religious/faith culture of beliefs and praxis. My identity is with Christ's kingdom and that wasn't identified on the map :lol:
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Re: POLL: The 11 Nations of North America

Post by lesterb »

I grew up in Ontario but have spent almost 17 years in the far west. Alberta was still pretty redneck when we got here but it's been shifting left fairly rapidly. Edmonton especially is trying to become our version of Vancouver and is an NDP stronghold. Calgary is moving that way. Rural areas are more old fashioned of course. So I would consider the study to be perhaps a bit overly general. But it gives an interesting frame of reference.
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Re: POLL: The 12 Tribes of North America

Post by ohio jones »

They label South Florida as Spanish Caribbean but don't even include it in the list. :?

Sure, Miami-Dade I can see in that category. But not the south half of the Gulf coast. I would classify that on a seasonal basis: Deep South in the summer and fall, Midlands in the winter and spring.
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