American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America

OverviewAn illuminating history of North America?s eleven rival cultural regions that explodes the red state-blue state myth.North America was settled by people with distinct religious, political, and ethnographic characteristics, creating regional cultures that have been at odds with one another ever since. Subsequent immigrants didn?t confront or assimilate into an ?American? or ?Canadian? culture, but rather into one of the eleven distinct regional ones that spread over the continent each staking out mutually exclusive territory.In?American Nations,?Colin Woodard leads us on a journey through the history of our fractured continent, and the rivalries and alliances between its component nations, which conform to neither state nor international boundaries. He illustrates and explains why ?American? values vary sharply from one region to another. Woodard (author of?American Character:?A History of the Epic Struggle Between Individual Liberty and the Common Good)? reveals how intranational differences have played a pivotal role at every point in the continent?s history, from the American Revolution and the Civil War to the tumultuous sixties and the ?blue county/red county? maps of recent presidential elections.?American Nations?is a revolutionary and revelatory take on America?s myriad identities and how the conflicts between them have shaped our past and are molding our future.Book detailsISBN-13:9781101544457Publisher:Penguin Publishing GroupPublication date:09/29/2011Sold by:Penguin GroupNOOK BookPages:384Sales rank:47,786Age Range:18 YearsAbout the AuthorColin Woodard?is a Maine native and the author of?Ocean?s End: Travels Through Endangered Seas. He is a regular contributor to the?Christian Science Monitor?and the?San Francisco ChronicleTable of ContentsIntroduction 1Part 1 Origins: 1590 to 1769 1Chapter 1 Founding El Norte 23Chapter 2 Founding New France 34Chapter 3 Founding Tidewater 44Chapter 4 Founding Yankeedom 57Chapter 5 Founding New Netherland 65Chapter 6 The Colonies? First Revolt 73Chapter 7 Founding the Deep South 82Chapter 8 Founding the Midlands 92Chapter 9 Founding Greater Appalachia 101Part 2 Unlikely Allies: 1770 to 1815Chapter 10 A Common Struggle 115Chapter 11 Six Wars of Liberation 127Chapter 12 Independence or Revolution? 141Chapter 13 Nations in the North 150Chapter 14 First Secessionists 157Part 3 Wars for the West: 1816 to 1877Chapter 15 Yankeedom Spreads West 173Chapter 16 The Midlands Spread West 183Chapter 17 Appalacia Spreads West 189Chapter 18 The Deep South Spreads West 200Chapter 19 Conquering El Norte 208Chapter 20 Founding the Left Coast 216Chapter 21 War for the West 224Part 4 Culture Wars: 1878 to 2010Chapter 22 Founding the Far West 243Chapter 23 Immigration and Identity 254Chapter 24 Gods and Missions 263Chapter 25 Culture Clash 274Chapter 26 War, Empire, and the Military 285Chapter 27 The Struggle for Power I: The Blue Nations 295Chapter 28 The Struggle for Power II: The Red and the Purple 302Epilogue 314Acknowledgements and Suggested Reading 323Notes 327Index 355