American nations:A cultural geography of North America

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etalian: Mar 20, 2006

Some journalist nerd broke down North America into regions by cultural values, pretty interesting.

http://www.tufts.edu/alumni/magazine/fall2013/features/up-in-arms.html

also lol if you live in a flyover state

quote:

YANKEEDOM. Founded on the shores of Massachusetts Bay by radical Calvinists as a new Zion, Yankeedom has, since the outset, put great emphasis on perfecting earthly civilization through social engineering, denial of self for the common good, and assimilation of outsiders. It has prized education, intellectual achievement, communal empowerment, and broad citizen participation in politics and government, the latter seen as the public�s shield against the machinations of grasping aristocrats and other would-be tyrants. Since the early Puritans, it has been more comfortable with government regulation and public-sector social projects than many of the other nations, who regard the Yankee utopian streak with trepidation.

NEW NETHERLAND. Established by the Dutch at a time when the Netherlands was the most sophisticated society in the Western world, New Netherland has always been a global commercial culture�materialistic, with a profound tolerance for ethnic and religious diversity and an unflinching commitment to the freedom of inquiry and conscience. Like seventeenth-century Amsterdam, it emerged as a center of publishing, trade, and finance, a magnet for immigrants, and a refuge for those persecuted by other regional cultures, from Sephardim in the seventeenth century to gays, feminists, and bohemians in the early twentieth. Unconcerned with great moral questions, it nonetheless has found itself in alliance with Yankeedom to defend public institutions and reject evangelical prescriptions for individual behavior.

THE MIDLANDS. America�s great swing region was founded by English Quakers, who believed in humans� inherent goodness and welcomed people of many nations and creeds to their utopian colonies like Pennsylvania on the shores of Delaware Bay. Pluralistic and organized around the middle class, the Midlands spawned the culture of Middle America and the Heartland, where ethnic and ideological purity have never been a priority, government has been seen as an unwelcome intrusion, and political opinion has been moderate. An ethnic mosaic from the start�it had a German, rather than British, majority at the time of the Revolution�it shares the Yankee belief that society should be organized to benefit ordinary people, though it rejects top-down government intervention.

TIDEWATER. Built by the younger sons of southern English gentry in the Chesapeake country and neighboring sections of Delaware and North Carolina, Tidewater was meant to reproduce the semifeudal society of the countryside they�d left behind. Standing in for the peasantry were indentured servants and, later, slaves. Tidewater places a high value on respect for authority and tradition, and very little on equality or public participation in politics. It was the most powerful of the American nations in the eighteenth century, but today it is in decline, partly because it was cut off from westward expansion by its boisterous Appalachian neighbors and, more recently, because it has been eaten away by the expanding federal halos around D.C. and Norfolk.

GREATER APPALACHIA. Founded in the early eighteenth century by wave upon wave of settlers from the war-ravaged borderlands of Northern Ireland, northern England, and the Scottish lowlands, Appalachia has been lampooned by writers and screenwriters as the home of hillbillies and rednecks. It transplanted a culture formed in a state of near constant danger and upheaval, characterized by a warrior ethic and a commitment to personal sovereignty and individual liberty. Intensely suspicious of lowland aristocrats and Yankee social engineers alike, Greater Appalachia has shifted alliances depending on who appeared to be the greatest threat to their freedom. It was with the Union in the Civil War. Since Reconstruction, and especially since the upheavals of the 1960s, it has joined with Deep South to counter federal overrides of local preference.

DEEP SOUTH. Established by English slave lords from Barbados, Deep South was meant as a West Indies�style slave society. This nation offered a version of classical Republicanism modeled on the slave states of the ancient world, where democracy was the privilege of the few and enslavement the natural lot of the many. Its caste systems smashed by outside intervention, it continues to fight against expanded federal powers, taxes on capital and the wealthy, and environmental, labor, and consumer regulations.

EL NORTE. The oldest of the American nations, El Norte consists of the borderlands of the Spanish American empire, which were so far from the seats of power in Mexico City and Madrid that they evolved their own characteristics. Most Americans are aware of El Norte as a place apart, where Hispanic language, culture, and societal norms dominate. But few realize that among Mexicans, norte�os have a reputation for being exceptionally independent, self-sufficient, adaptable, and focused on work. Long a hotbed of democratic reform and revolutionary settlement, the region encompasses parts of Mexico that have tried to secede in order to form independent buffer states between their mother country and the United States.

THE LEFT COAST. A Chile-shaped nation wedged between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade and Coast mountains, the Left Coast was originally colonized by two groups: New Englanders (merchants, missionaries, and woodsmen who arrived by sea and dominated the towns) and Appalachian midwesterners (farmers, prospectors, and fur traders who generally arrived by wagon and controlled the countryside). Yankee missionaries tried to make it a �New England on the Pacific,� but were only partially successful. Left Coast culture is a hybrid of Yankee utopianism and Appalachian self-expression and exploration�traits recognizable in its cultural production, from the Summer of Love to the iPad. The staunchest ally of Yankeedom, it clashes with Far Western sections in the interior of its home states.

THE FAR WEST. The other �second-generation� nation, the Far West occupies the one part of the continent shaped more by environmental factors than ethnographic ones. High, dry, and remote, the Far West stopped migrating easterners in their tracks, and most of it could be made habitable only with the deployment of vast industrial resources: railroads, heavy mining equipment, ore smelters, dams, and irrigation systems. As a result, settlement was largely directed by corporations headquartered in distant New York, Boston, Chicago, or San Francisco, or by the federal government, which controlled much of the land. The Far West�s people are often resentful of their dependent status, feeling that they have been exploited as an internal colony for the benefit of the seaboard nations. Their senators led the fight against trusts in the mid-twentieth century. Of late, Far Westerners have focused their anger on the federal government, rather than their corporate masters.

NEW FRANCE. Occupying the New Orleans area and southeastern Canada, New France blends the folkways of ancien r�gime northern French peasantry with the traditions and values of the aboriginal people they encountered in northeastern North America. After a long history of imperial oppression, its people have emerged as down-to-earth, egalitarian, and consensus driven, among the most liberal on the continent, with unusually tolerant attitudes toward gays and people of all races and a ready acceptance of government involvement in the economy. The New French influence is manifest in Canada, where multiculturalism and negotiated consensus are treasured.

FIRST NATION. First Nation is populated by native American groups that generally never gave up their land by treaty and have largely retained cultural practices and knowledge that allow them to survive in this hostile region on their own terms. The nation is now reclaiming its sovereignty, having won considerable autonomy in Alaska and Nunavut and a self-governing nation state in Greenland that stands on the threshold of full independence. Its territory is huge�far larger than the continental United States�but its population is less than 300,000, most of whom live in Canada.

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:16

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# ? Apr 19, 2024 21:09

Applewhite: Aug 16, 2014; by vyelkin; Nap Ghost

Yankeedom sounds like the best one, OP.

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:22

Cake Smashing Boob: Nov 5, 2008; I support black genocide

Applewhite posted:

Yankeedom sounds like the best one, OP.

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:29

Edgar: Sep 9, 2005; Oh my heck!
Oh heavens!
Oh my lord!
OH Sweet meats!; Wedge Regret

Far west will murder you all. We had enough of the bullshit.

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:32

Applewhite: Aug 16, 2014; by vyelkin; Nap Ghost

Edgar posted:

Far west will murder you all. We had enough of the bullshit.

lol at the nation literally composed entirely of quitters. 'Oh, it's too much work to make it all the way to the Pacific. I guess I'll just spend the rest of my life in the desert and raise kids here."

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:35

redshirt: Aug 11, 2007; Reporting for shovel mission Sir.

Boston is the real capital of the world.

BAHSTAN!

GO PATS! GO SAWX! GO BRUINS! GO CELTS!

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:35

etalian: Mar 20, 2006

Texas is basically west virginia in terms of values.

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:36

subhuman filth: Nov 1, 2006

hmm yes when i think of texas panhandle values and cultural norms they really remind me of maryland.

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:37

Edgar: Sep 9, 2005; Oh my heck!
Oh heavens!
Oh my lord!
OH Sweet meats!; Wedge Regret

Applewhite posted:

lol at the nation literally composed entirely of quitters. 'Oh, it's too much work to make it all the way to the Pacific. I guess I'll just spend the rest of my life in the desert and raise kids here."

Given the choice to live with those fruitcakes or around a salty lake. I'll take the lake! Also little do the left coast know, we got a hold on majority of their water.

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:39

etalian: Mar 20, 2006

subhuman filth posted:

hmm yes when i think of texas panhandle values and cultural norms they really remind me of maryland.

the western parts of maryland are mad at the more blue urban areas and talked about succeeding from the state.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/12/western-marylanders-continue-push-to-secede-from-state/

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:40

Boner Zone: Jan 14, 2006; by Nyc_Tattoo

lmao at new france

it even has livingston parish in it which is somehow like 95% white, quite the feat in southern louisiana

home to one of the only remaining active kkk chapters in the state of louisiana: among the most liberal places on the continent

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:40

etalian: Mar 20, 2006

Boner Zone posted:

lmao at new france

it even has livingston parish in it which is somehow like 95% white, quite the feat in southern louisiana

home to one of the only remaining active kkk chapters in the state of louisiana: among the most liberal places on the continent

I don't think the author of the book ever visited Louisiana.

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:41

Applewhite: Aug 16, 2014; by vyelkin; Nap Ghost

Boner Zone posted:

lmao at new france

it even has livingston parish in it which is somehow like 95% white, quite the feat in southern louisiana

home to one of the only remaining active kkk chapters in the state of louisiana: among the most liberal places on the continent

Liberals: The real racists?

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:42

Extra Large Marge: Jan 21, 2004; Fun Shoe

But I hate the Yankees

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:43

subhuman filth: Nov 1, 2006

etalian posted:

I don't think the author of the book ever visited Louisiana.

i suspect the map may not be grounded in evidence, experience, or good guessing

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:44

Boner Zone: Jan 14, 2006; by Nyc_Tattoo

Applewhite posted:

Liberals: The real racists?

this goes without saying but liberals tend to abstain from giving their groups names like the dixie rangers knights of the ku klux klan

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:49

Correnth: Aug 29, 2000; Cold hard science trumps ponies.; Fun Shoe

etalian posted:

NEW FRANCE. Occupying the New Orleans area and southeastern Canada, New France blends the folkways of ancien r�gime northern French peasantry with the traditions and values of the aboriginal people they encountered in northeastern North America. After a long history of imperial oppression, its people have emerged as down-to-earth, egalitarian, and consensus driven, among the most liberal on the continent, with unusually tolerant attitudes toward gays and people of all races and a ready acceptance of government involvement in the economy. The New French influence is manifest in Canada, where multiculturalism and negotiated consensus are treasured.

looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
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oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:49

Time Machine: Feb 24, 2006; When this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious shit.

Applewhite posted:

Yankeedom sounds like the best one, OP.

Correct.

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:50

Robo Reagan: Feb 12, 2012; by Fluffdaddy

This is some RPG bullshit

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:50

Al Nipper: May 7, 2008; by XyloJW

history/map nerd revisionism is great

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIDKPydxAFM

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:51

Applewhite: Aug 16, 2014; by vyelkin; Nap Ghost

subhuman filth posted:

i suspect the map may not be grounded in evidence, experience, or good guessing

Check out the map *I* made:

I think you'll find it much more accurate.

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:51

etalian: Mar 20, 2006

Basically to make US a good nation you would have to back in time, annihilate settlers in the southern slave holding colonists and replace them with lots of puritan colonists.

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:52

Fojar38: Sep 2, 2011; Sorry I meant to say I hope that the police use maximum force and kill or maim a bunch of innocent people, thus paving a way for a proletarian uprising and socialist utopia

also here's a stupid take
---------------------------->

quote:

THE MIDLANDS. America�s great swing region was founded by English Quakers, who believed in humans� inherent goodness and welcomed people of many nations and creeds to their utopian colonies like Pennsylvania on the shores of Delaware Bay. Pluralistic and organized around the middle class, the Midlands spawned the culture of Middle America and the Heartland, where ethnic and ideological purity have never been a priority, government has been seen as an unwelcome intrusion, and political opinion has been moderate. An ethnic mosaic from the start�it had a German, rather than British, majority at the time of the Revolution�it shares the Yankee belief that society should be organized to benefit ordinary people, though it rejects top-down government intervention.

ahahaha why the gently caress is ontario in this group

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:56

Al Nipper: May 7, 2008; by XyloJW

the fake map thread is back

# ? Feb 13, 2015 18:57

BrutalistMcDonalds: Oct 4, 2012; Lipstick Apathy

Al Nipper posted:

the fake map thread is back

so Austin is like divided Cold War Berlin in this scenario

# ? Feb 13, 2015 19:00

Whiirrr: Feb 14, 2006; Soiled Meat

quote:

In every town, city, and state you�ll likely find a full range of political opinions and social preferences. Even in the reddest of red counties and bluest of blue ones, twenty to forty percent of voters cast ballots for the �wrong� team.

Whatever I said, not even true.

# ? Feb 13, 2015 19:25

etalian: Mar 20, 2006

Fojar38 posted:

ahahaha why the gently caress is ontario in this group

A majority of anglo-canadian settlers were crown loyalists who got forced out after the revolutionary war.

Basically the crown gave them a 200 acres of land if they settled permanently, which was very successful in attracting settlers to the region.

canadians are just american losers who hated freedom lol and wanted to worship a king instead

# ? Feb 13, 2015 19:29

poorlifedecision: Feb 13, 2012; Lipstick Apathy

Applewhite posted:

Check out the map *I* made:

I think you'll find it much more accurate.

Seems accurate. Are you looking for peer review before publishing?

# ? Feb 13, 2015 19:33

sexy young infidel: Nov 13, 2014; Faggot of the Year
2012, 2014

sounds like some liberal bullshit OP

# ? Feb 13, 2015 19:35

etalian: Mar 20, 2006

Also despite US schoolbook propaganda, a good portion of the original 13 colonies weren't too excited about the revolution.

It was mainly started by yankeedom, in other areas like New York, NYC or Pennsylvania it wasn't popular.

# ? Feb 13, 2015 19:36

poorlifedecision: Feb 13, 2012; Lipstick Apathy

sexy young infidel posted:

sounds like some liberal bullshit OP

It insinuates that white people are responsible for the great aspects of the "nations" so it can't be that liberal.

# ? Feb 13, 2015 19:37

Applewhite: Aug 16, 2014; by vyelkin; Nap Ghost

poorlifedecision posted:

Seems accurate. Are you looking for peer review before publishing?

That's why I posted it here.

# ? Feb 13, 2015 19:37

redshirt: Aug 11, 2007; Reporting for shovel mission Sir.

Fuckin' PATS RULE!

# ? Feb 13, 2015 19:38

Nefarious: Sep 26, 2000; by XyloJW

I only listen to vinyl because the sound is warmer

# ? Feb 13, 2015 19:39

pathetic little tramp: Dec 12, 2005; by Hillary Clinton's assassins; Fallen Rib

Al Nipper posted:

the fake map thread is back

came to post this

# ? Feb 13, 2015 19:39

poorlifedecision: Feb 13, 2012; Lipstick Apathy

Applewhite posted:

That's why I posted it here.

I'm forwarding my review straight to the American Journal of Ethnographic Anthropology with a ringing endorsement.

# ? Feb 13, 2015 19:39

fuccboi: Jan 5, 2004; by zen death robot

Map summary: Places with black people--strict gun control

# ? Feb 13, 2015 19:42

Whiskey Sours: Jan 25, 2014; Weather proof.

Applewhite posted:

Check out the map *I* made:

I think you'll find it much more accurate.

You forgot to color Canada orange.

# ? Feb 13, 2015 20:52

etalian: Mar 20, 2006

redshirt posted:

Fuckin' PATS RULE!

Lance Armstrong's favorite team is the PATS

# ? Feb 13, 2015 22:58

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# ? Apr 19, 2024 21:09

glowing-fish: Feb 18, 2013; Keep grinding,
I hope you level up!

I was about to say a serious rebuttal, but it probably isn't needed.

The most ridiculous part is how it tries to force thing down to a county level, with arbitrary boundaries. So, according to this map, you can be in a county in North Dakota and basically be sharing the lifestyles and values of Boston, Massachusetts, and then three counties over you are in the "Far West" and it is the same as being in Barstow, California.

# ? Feb 13, 2015 23:05

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