Seattle Times takes up American Nations

The ongoing decomposition of the republic may be a terrible thing for humanity, but it has driven interest in the American Nations thesis, which provides the historical background for the United States's existential crisis.

Case in point: this Sunday's lead story in the opinion section of the Seattle Times. That paper's staff cartoonist, David Horsey, is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and devoted both his artistic and literary skills to this package on how American Nations describes how we got here.

Here's a taste:

"Is it any surprise then that, in Left Coast Seattle, business leaders have rallied in good Yankee fashion to support hospitals and Gov. Inslee’s social distancing measures while, over the mountains in the “Far West” counties of Benton and Franklin, officials have tried to defy Inslee’s stay-at-home orders?

When we wonder why Americans seem so disunited, even in the midst of a pandemic that threatens us all, the answer may be simple: We are one country composed of several nations that have seldom seen things eye to eye."

Thanks to Horsey for giving voice (and a face) to the book and for doing such an excellent job summarizing its lessons for this moment.

Introducing Left Coast, the magazine

Last week saw the launch of a new web-based magazine, Left Coast, which credits American Nations as its conceptual inspiration. Here's an excerpt from their About Us page:

"Living in a Left Coast city, you have more in common with people thousands of miles away in other Left Coast cities than you do with people in inland cities much nearer to you geographically. Left Coast reflects this shared experience and culture, allowing us to get to know ourselves in a deep and meaningful way.

Perhaps like us, you’ve grown weary of the rancorous national debate that seems to go nowhere—especially when so many of the topics are a nonissue on the Left Coast. It’s like we had this debate maybe 30 years ago, and now we’re over it and we’ve moved on, and it gets exasperating to debate these things with people who live elsewhere. It can also leave us feeling like our own region is stagnating.

Wouldn’t it be great if we, like Dash in The Incredibles, could simply run as fast as we wanted to? Yes it would."

The early articles include a look at how the hybrid Appalachian/Yankee origins of the region are reflected in some of its music and a take on how to make the best of rising seas.

Good fun. Now someone needs to start Yankeedom.

OpEd on American regionalism picked up by McClatchy

My recent OpEd on American regionalism is making the rounds after having been picked up by the McClatchy-Tribune News Service. Originally written for last Sunday's edition of the Fredericksburg (Va.) Free Lance-Star, in the past 48 hours its run in at least five other U.S. dailies. (Some versions are shortened from the original). Hopefully this list includes one near you:

The San Jose Mercury-News (Left Coast)


The Savannah Morning News (Deep South)


The Bellingham Herald (Washington; Left Coast)


The Oregonian (Left Coast)


The Bradenton Herald (Florida; Deep South)

[Update, 2/12/2012: a seventh, eighth, and ninth paper:]

The Lewiston Sun Journal (Maine; Yankeedom)


The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky; Greater Appalachia)


Sacramento Bee (Far West)

[Update, 2/14/2012: Two more:]

Juneau Empire (Alaska, Left Coast)


Contra Costa Times (California, Left Coast)

[Update, 2/20/12: my hometown paper:]

Maine Sunday Telegram (Yankeedom)

Maine in the making of Yankeedom and the nation

Yankeedom -- the portions of the country colonized by New Englanders and blessed/cursed with their culture -- encompasses the New England states, upstate New York, Ohio's Western Reserve, most or all of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, P.E.I, and portions of northern Illinois, eastern Iowa, and beyond. They also tried -- but only half succeeded -- to make the West Coast a "New England on the Pacific," literally sending missionaries to "save" the region for Yankees. It's a story of cultural transmission told in my recently released book, American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America.

Within that migration, Mainers sometimes played a key role, particularly where the lumber industry loomed large: Michigan, Minnesota, and coastal Washington state. It's a tale I explore in this month's Down East magazine, and one you can now read online.