Some people consider Pittsburgh to be part of the Midwest for whatever reason. I guess it’s because it’s a rust belt city that’s closer to Cleveland than it is Philly.
The Appalachians were historically the eastern boundary of the “midwest”. Considering that western PA is to the west of the Appalachians, those Pennsylvanians may, in fact, be correct.
I’m from Western PA, and while I wouldn’t say I see a lot of people calling themselves midwesterners, we’re more alike than we are different. Western PA is hard to classify in terms of region. Most of us just say we’re from Pittsburgh/Erie/whatever and leave it at that. But since it is hard to classify, 10% or so of us saying that we’re “Midwestern” does not surprise me.
Rust Belt works. Ohio is really part of three different places; the Rust Belt, Appalachia and the Midwest. Maybe The Rust Belt isn’t considered polite anymore, I don’t know, but my mother’s side of my family is entirely from the Pittsburgh to Cleveland area so I mean no offense. My grandfather was a career engineer at Bethlehem Steel, for example. His joke was that he literally sold bridges for a living.
80% of the state is to the west of the Appalachian chain. We haven’t been midwestern since Ohio gained statehood in 1803. However, nearly 10% of my state has tied itself to an identity as a Midwesterner because for 20 years conservatives have been calling it “the real america”. It’s like Pennsylvanias flying the Confederate flag. It’s about identity, not history or reality.
It’s because the US started on the east coast and expanded westward, it was named back when it actually was the middle of the west and just never changed it. Same way we still refer to the art movement that began in the late 1800s as “modern art”.
You’ve got the East and West regions defined by the coasts. Then you have the South, but it’s really just the southeast. The rest wants to be called the Midwest. There is no North, I guess…
As someone born and raised in the Midwest (Ohio and Illinois) and is currently a resident on the West Coast (Oregon), the way I define it is as such: if there is corn, it's the Midwest. If there are cowboys on horses, it's the west or southwest. Does your state touch the Atlantic or Pacific? That's what coast you are on (Hawaii and Alaska excepted).
Minnesotan here. Minnesota is in the midwest if that’s the question you’re asking. Minnesota is chock full of proud northerners who have nothing to do with the midwest if you’re asking that question instead.
One thing I can say about Minnesotans is that we’re culturally odd.
We’ll take care of eachother, but don’t expect pleasant hellos and conversations with anyone. There are a lot of people that hunt, not a lot of people that hunt well or frequently. The Mall of America isn’t as awesome as when you were a kid. The death of Prince was a State Tragedy. To outsiders, no, Minnesota does not consist of Duluth, the Twin Cities, and snow filled cornfields. Yes it’s too damn cold. Yes it’s too damn warm for this time of the year. No we won’t quit complaining either way. Say yes to lefsa. Always safe with a caserol at a dinner party.
Never state something in a way that conveys your opinion or feelings too strong. That’s rude. Never stand too close to or facing straight towards people in a conversation. That’s rude. Don’t get too involved. That’s rude.
Do smile and raise a hand when you see someone you might know, or someone who does it to you regardless if you can identify them or not.
Skol!
Edit: So I asked my brother, and while he too was aware of hotdish being the correct entrée for a combination of ingredients baked in a pan, he also defaults to caserol. I think it’s because our parents and extended family do not live here. For those confused, tater tot hotdish != tater tot caserol
10% of Tennessee is so high on hillbilly heroin they don’t know which question they got asked and just said “yes” on the off chance it was “would you like some free oxy?”
13% of Tennessee West Virginia is so high on hillbilly heroin they don’t know which question they got asked and just said “yes” on the off chance it was “would you like some free oxy?”
I bet you that 10 percent are the people who are in the very northwest corner of TN so it would make some sense for them to answer yes given that they’re not far from Missouri.
I don’t know if it’s providence, algorithm, or confirmation bias, but I just ran into a four-day-old Namexplain video on this exact subject.
TLDR: it used to be the westernmost part of the country, called Northwest Territory, but then we got some more land farther west and changed the name, but then we got more land further further west and didn’t.
“It is called the Midwest because of the location of those states in the 1800s before the U.S. expanded to the Pacific Coast. These states were part of the Northwest Ordinance. This term became obsolete once the U.S. expanded westward, resulting in these states becoming the Midwest.”
Another site defines it as West of the Mississippi River, but between North and South. So I guess it qualifies.
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