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The North American Midwest
By John H. Garland
Only within the present century has the significance of the Midwest become apparent, for it is within this time that the continent has completed its political growth, an unparalleled technology has developed, and the whole world order has changed drastically. Two devastating world wars have been fought, two attempts at world political organization have been made, and national unrest is on every hand. The leadership of northwestern European nations with far-flung empires has largely given way to the dominance of the strong continental nations, the focal center of one of which is the Midwest. Not only is it unique as all regions are unique earth areas, it is exceptional in that as a total region this extensive interior land, far distant from both mountains and sea, is a gigantic center of agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation unexcelled or perhaps unequaled anywhere. As such it exerts a dominating influence on the affairs of the nation and indirectly of the world. It is, perhaps, the most important single region in North America and one of great significance in the future of the Western World.
Its significance is due to an unprecedented combination of site factors in a continental situation without equal. It should be obvious that the North American continent without the Midwest would be severely handicapped, and, likewise, the Midwest without the benefit of its continental position would be weak indeed. How pathetic would be a European-style nation of the Midwest!
However, important as the world relations may be, this book is concerned with the internal geographic structure of the Midwest. Based upon a regional concept in which neither fixed size nor definite boundary is an ascribed quality, the Midwest is considered a total region or compages within a hierarchy of regions of ascending and descending magnitude. Thus it is equated with the South and the Northeast in a regional magnitude of which Eastern North America is composed. In turn, regions of this magnitude form the general pattern of North America whereas the Midwest regions of lesser magnitude compatible with the scope of this presentation are recognized and developed.
The Midwest is definitely a nodal region with a clearly defined structure. It consists of an inner zone of several diverse regions, in one of which is embedded the second largest metropolitan core in the country, surrounded by a periphery of several diverse regions in which lies the indistinctly defined regional boundary. Transportation routes of all types, knotted in secondary regional nodes, focus on the major node which likewise is the focal point of the entire continent. If the metropolitan district at this critical point expands and intensifies to a place of world preeminence, it will be due to more than accident.
Although a concept of total regions is employed, an exhaustive treatment is not attempted. Emphasis is placed upon the dominant qualities of the various human, cultural, and natural environmental associations. If the economic factors seem to be outstanding, it is because they are dominant in the Midwest, not that the book is intended to be an economic geography of the region. Little attention is paid to regionality or sectionalism, the attitudes of the layman as to where or what the Midwest is. In this respect, no doubt, the term is unfortunate, but any other would be equally disturbing. The term is utilized strictly in a geographic sense to indicate the associations and interrelations of human, cultural, and natural environmental conditions within an integrated earth area. Likewise, physical terms to designate the regions of lesser magnitude within the Midwest may seem to indicate a consideration of the physical aspects only or perhaps an environmental determinism. It must be kept in mind that the total region, a compages, consists first of all of an earth area, including the fourth dimension, within which lives a population whose impact upon the natural environment produces the culture. The presentation and interpretation of these intrarelated elements of the region and the interregional connections, qualities of site and situation, are the geographic factors. This portrayal must have the breath of life, for it is vital, yet it must not unwittingly suggest a living organism for it is geographic, not biologic. In keeping with this philosophy, the several parts of this book have been developed.
Planned as a joint project, the book was written by contributors, each of whom was invited to participate in a topic of his specialty or a Midwestern region of which he had an intimate knowledge. Each contributor prepared the material as he saw the problem, and to each full credit is due. That original meanings have suffered through editorial attempts at uniformity of style is highly probable. For that reason, I assume full responsibility for errors in fact, distorted meaning, and altered emphasis. Endless delays are inevitable in a project of this type. Therefore I wish to express my appreciation for the indulgence and patience of the contributors, especially to those whose manuscripts were submitted promptly.
The Land
The landforms of the Midwest, for the most part, are unimpressive. Scenic grandeur is notably lacking, and much of the landscape is monotonously flat. Physically, the region centers upon the Central Lowland of the continent, a broad plain which varies in elevation from a few hundred feet above sea level to a thousand or more. At no place does it reach an elevation of 2000 feet. The surface, in places essentially flat, in others is definitely rolling. Much of the present surface configuration is the result of glacial deposition which coincides closely with the Central Lowland. Exceptions are the Driftless Area and the Osage Plain. Over most of the area, as the result of several glacial advances and retreats, the ground moraine is deep, and to it has been added a mantle of loess of varying depth.
In all directions from the Central Lowland, a transition of varying width occupies terrain which, in general, is less advantageous. To the north, the outer margins fade away on the glaciated crystalline rocks of the Laurentian Upland and the lake-studded, glaciated lowland of the Upper Great Lakes. On the west, the transition takes place on the eastward are of the Great Plains. On the south, a transition of varying width fades into the periphery of the South, the Upper South, on the Ozark Plateau south of the Missouri River, and on the Interior Low Plateau and the alluvium of the Mississippi and Gulf plains south of the Ohio River. Eastward the periphery terminates in the maturely dissected terrain of the Appalachian Plateaus. Since the terrain of the eastern margin is by far the most formidable, and since it blocks the way to the populated East, the corridors through or around it are of special significance. Of extraordinary importance are the lacustrine plain of Lake Erie, at the northern margin of the plateau, and the Ohio River which flows westward from the Appalachian Highlands into the Interior Low Plateaus and thus to the Mississippi.
The Upper Mississippi Valley is not a highly diversified region. The pre-eminence of the dairy cow exerts its influence throughout the region. However strongly the cow may be tied to the area and the area tied to the cow, the knots are not sufficiently tight to be an irrevocable arrangement. Human occupance is dynamic and responds and readjusts itself toward efficiency and economy. As human desires change, or as new and better technological processes are developed, they will be reflected in the utilization of the area. The development, acceptance, and increased use of margarine is restricting the growth of the area. Early-maturing hybrid corn is encroaching on the area from the south. With the decrease in butter production, more milk is being converted into chicken feed, and chicken and egg production is moving into the area, especially in southern Minnesota. On the other hand, the increased national per capita consumption of milk and cheese and improved methods of shipping concentrated milk and cream for longer distances are positive factors in maintaining or expanding the dairy area. It appears that the dairymen are fighting a steadily losing battle and the dairy area of the Upper Mississippi Valley will become smaller but more highly concentrated. Although tourism should continue to increase in this attractive region, a dairying economy should continue to be dominant.
The Lower Ohio Valley, a land of numerous contrasting natural environmental elements, is not only a region of transition but also a region in transformation. The corridor of the Ohio River is the dominant element with which the bottom lands, the rolling uplands, and the hills are associated. In terms of the Midwest, the Lower Ohio Valley is old. That it possesses a marked extraregional orientation is enhanced by the fact that the metropolitan center of the region occupies the northern apex of the valley corridor rather than the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi.
The natural advantages and the present economic and cultural momentum are such that it should become one of the more prosperous areas of the United States. Adverse world events and lack of cooperation among the several commonwealths composing the region might thwart this promising prospect.
In the minds of most Americans, a distinct difference exists between the Midwest and the West. According to American folklore, the Midwest is defined in terms of corn, hogs, fat cattle, hot summers, cold winters, rich soil, luxurious vegetation, monotonously smooth surfaces, and, perhaps, a hundred other phenomena. But the West is different. To the average American, the West means "magnificent" distances, sparse population, grass, stock ranches, sagebrush, wheat, water shortages, friendliness, democracy, irrigation, black-top roads, silver dollars, and a long list of related items well preserved in our literature, art, music, and drama. These are contrasting phenomena. Certainly there are marked differences between the Midwest and the West, but where the boundary between them lies is a question.
Categorically no line of separation--no linear boundary--satisfies all the criteria. However, definite lines can be drawn to show the boundaries between dry climate and humid climate, between wheat and corn, between range cattle and fat cattle, between sparse population and dense population, or between any other contrasting criteria that might be used to distinguish these two areas. The result, however, is not a single boundary but a series of boundaries that run generally north and south through the tier of states known as the Great Plains states. No boundary is exactly coincident with any other. And that is the way the tourist from Chicago to Denver encounters these changes. The boundary obviously depends on the criteria used to define the Midwest and the West. The westbound tourist begins to notice these changes shortly after leaving Omaha, Fargo, or Kansas City. Westward one after another of the various boundaries are crossed. Within the next 3 or 4 hours fewer trees are observed. Farmhouses and villages are farther apart. There is more wheat and alfalfa in the fields. More of the land is in pasture. Highways are less crowded, and the traffic is moving faster. These are signs of the West, and sooner or later, perhaps near the middle of Nebraska, North Dakota, or Kansas, a purely arbitrary decision of being "out West" is reached. In fact, a zone that includes a series of lines has been crossed. This transition zone is a region solely because it is unlike surrounding areas in its transitional character. This is the Missouri Valley region, a transitional area that marks the western borderlands of the Midwest. Transition is its identifying characteristic. It should not be thought of as a region in any other sense.
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