Once The Cobwebs are cleared from old diaries, forgotten records are consulted and The the veil of stereotypes is pierced, a remarkable world is discovered.
By Jon K. Lauck
Excerpt from The Good Country: A story of The American Midwest, 1800-1900 by Jon K. Lauck, published November 2022 by the University of Oklahoma Press.
For a long time The The American Midwest has suffered from a mixture of scientific neglect and ridicule. Consistent with The past mocking of The area, The The Midwest has been largely neglected by historians, a condition that a small group of academics and other writers, located mostly in The The Midwest has been attempting to rectify that in recent years through new study groups, journals, and other publications. I count this book in that number.
Given The The atmosphere of disdain and indifference prevailing, readers may be surprised at what a fresh look at midwestern history reveals. Once The Cobwebs are cleared from old diaries, forgotten records are consulted and The the veil of stereotypes is pierced, a remarkable world is discovered. Contrary to the prevailing clichés and The modern platitudes about retardation, infertility, racial injustice and oppression, an in-depth look at The his story The The American Midwest reveals a country of democratic vigor, cultural strength, racial and gender progress, and civic energy. Good Countrya place that was lost The fog of time from years of neglect but worth recovering, because The for the sake of both The accuracy of our history and our own well-being. The Midwest of The long nineteenth century, to say it boldly, recommended The more advanced democratic society which The world had seen until today, but his achievements are rarely noted in historical texts and even rarely mentioned.
In this old and forgotten Midwest, where the theories of democracy went so far into practice, there were also, I dare say, elements of idealism. These arose from The its democratic nature The Northwest Ordinance but also from The emergence of Young Americans, people born and raised in The fledgling republic The ties and limitations of Europe and colonial life with its indentures, slavery and persistent aristocracy. They mocked those who tried to restore Old World privileges The open borders of Ohio and Indiana. They recognized The absence of deprivation, The his natural generosity The area, and The access to fertile land, a precious rarity in feudal Europe, so The The extent to which they embraced the stimulation and promotion of their new territory and its expansion and fertility makes sense. Invoking Midwestern idealism is not naïve. Pragmatism and common sense reigned supreme. But there was a commonly accepted ideal, a model of behavior, a goal to strive for, a moral code, a way of inspiration The youth, a motive for political duty, a virtuous patriotism, a recognition of political obligations, and, perhaps most characteristically, a willingness to bleed and die for one's home, especially in relation to the sinful rebels who put The new democracy at risk. Above all, there was little of the corrosive cynicism of modernity, The kind that conveys indifference and decay. It is difficult to detect, analyze and quantify, but this idealism runs The his record The Midwest and is a key part of its history, albeit elusive The written speach. That's why, during The his rocky decades The later in the twentieth century, when hard times came, there was so much nostalgia for The old Midwest. This does not mean fake feelings or empty feeling, but a nostalgia based on a lived and real experience.
As profound and successful as Midwestern growth has been, it has failed on some fronts. This book is titled The Good Countrynot The Perfect Countryand so examines The his failures The Midwest regarding women, Native Americans, racial and ethnic minorities, and other issues, while recognizing The the context, complexity and ambiguity of this history along with evidence of substantial advances to address these failures. This exercise represents The great challenge of modern historiography, met by very few historians or even acknowledged. The history profession in The The United States, many would admit, has become too one-sided, too judgmental, and too focused on American mistakes, and has not paid enough attention to what would be considered great achievements in their proper historical context.
It's past time for a big fix The field of American history. A rebalancing of what we think we know is required to place people and events in the right place, to better understand what has worked and what has failed, and to provide hope from The past to those seeking democratic progress The present. American history has not been one long train of abuses and sufferings, as it would sometimes seem based The dominant sentiments and results from American history departments. Nor was it a steady climb toward perfection, as some critics of academia might assume. It was a mixture of advances and defeats, but more The former than many recent historians admit. Looking with fresh eyes The his story The american midwest, The the most historically neglected area The United States, we can begin to see elements of American history that have almost disappeared The main currents of the historical work in the last decades and beginning The big correction that can balance our view The past and to correct The recent deformation of it The American history.
Beyond The historical record and The scholarly interpretive agendas and controversies—and more importantly for all our daily lives—is The we must reflect The political culture in which we are now immersed. For several decades at least, a common way to frame cultural and political conflicts The The United States is to pit The traditions and practices of Old America v The new and emerging and youthful forces of change, in contrast The squared against The hip. This has become our most fundamental political dynamic and what we continue to fight about in most of our political and cultural discussions. If The Assumptions surrounding Old America are wrong, however, mixed with a prevalent framing device for contemporary American politics. A different framework based on a more accurate history could reduce social tensions and democratic blockages by causing The initial forces of change to draw contrast The his successes The past rather than dismissing them or, worse, denying their existence. After a long and tormented spiritual journey, The Midwestern intellectual Christopher Lass came to these realizations and began to worry The cost to forget our once prevailing state and community traditions. He realized that “his parents' early twentieth-century Midwestern world” was rooted and decent and democratic and worth remembering.
Tending to reminders from Lasch and others and embracing a broad global perspective, one can see The democratic development of The Midwest right and realize how advanced The area was vis-à-vis The rest of The world. In The In the Midwest there was a jealous commitment to education The masses so that reason and learning can support democratic government. This included a college education. Old World social hierarchies and privileges analyzed The Midwest, fostering a democratic culture. Most people in other places were landless farmers, while in The In the Midwest most people were peasant farmers who owned land. Most people elsewhere were not guaranteed civil rights, unlike The its citizens The its constitutional policies The Midwest. People voted actively The Midwest. Religious freedom prevailed. A realistic and entrepreneurial spirit is signed The Civilization. This is why an Ohio orator could reasonably say during The early nineteenth century when Ohio, The first of The midwestern states to emerge during The early democracy and a model for those who followed, it was The “The truest democracy that ever existed.” when The Midwestern regionalist writer William Gallagher said in 1850 that The area was a great “Experiment in Humanity” where The “The Freest Forms of Social Development” in The people could be found, it was not inflated. He was objectively and comparatively right. The The emerging Midwestern culture, Gallagher said, could one day allow its citizens to realize “their true dignity and importance in the The social scale, declaring them to be neither slaves nor non-entities, but true men and women', which was saying a lot in The world of 1850. Gallagher's focus on The its outstanding democratic character The The Midwest highlights why it's past time for a fresh look at a region whose history has been lost The American fantasy. It is a story we need now to remind us of our ideals and how many battles we have already won.
Jon K. Lauck is the founding president of the Midwestern History Association, its associate editor and book review editor Midwest Review, and assistant professor of history and political science at the University of South Dakota. He is the author or editor of several books, including The Lost Region: Toward a Revival of Midwestern History (Iowa, 2013). He lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
