Written by Colin Woodard, American Nations proposed a theory that the United States was actually 11 nations vying for cultural and political supremacy.
These maps are excellent! The best I've found for the American Nations book. Thank you for including the cities! I am working on a Podcast episode explaining American cultures for authors in other countries. Would it be ok if I included some of these maps in the blog version of the episode?
As a Left Coaster with ties to Portland and the northern cities of California, I would say that Sacramento and Bend are closer to Left Coast than Far West.
Sacramento is by far the biggest city in California not actually on the coast, and many of its people pretty regularly go back and forth to the Bay Area. It’s got much more in common with Oakland than it does with Fresno.
And Bend is increasingly being settled by Portland and California ex-pats, to a point that politically it’s become a blue island in the sea of red east of the Cascades. While it’s true that most of eastern and southern Oregon is culturally indistinguishable from Idaho (and a bunch of it wants to secede from the state to join Idaho), Bend is the exception, and is closer culturally to a Portland suburb and tourist destination than it is to an eastern Oregon city.
While politically it's mostly true that those are enclaves (as are Chico and many smaller towns) in other ways culturally, Central and Northeastern Oregon as a whole are actually part of a large transitional region between Left Coast and Far West. Southern Oregon is actually very Left Coast not even transitional really, just a conservative leaning and rural version of it and none of these areas are close to fully like the majority of Idaho in most aspects of culture. Only the Southeastern Oregon desert east of Klamath County is pure Far West.
The same transitional Left Coast Far West transitional nature is also true of the Alaska Panhandle, all of Washington State east of the Cascades, the Idaho Panhandle (not the rest of Idaho!), most of inland Northern and Central California (except for Modoc and Lassen Counties which are almost pure Far West). Meanwhile, Southern California (except for Imperial County which is El Norte) as a whole, California's Central Coast, and the San Joaquin Valley are all transitional between Left Coast, Far West and El Norte.
The above is true in terms of actual settlement history which I have read about for Counties throughout these areas, dialect and slang, personality type, religion, cuisine, arts and entertainment culture, architecture and gardening culture, social mores and values, and local politics beyond partisanship.
Oddly enough, Nevada has very little Left Coast influence and is pretty much pure Far West depite the very sizeable ex California population. The migration there has been very self selective it seems. But even the eastern California Counties of Modoc and Inyo have become full of coastal transplants and Left Coast culture in recent decades.
I have traveled through these areas and have relatives living throughout the region, and live in inland Northern California myself, and the truthis that the Left Coast influence simply does NOT stop when you head south untill you get to Mexico, nor when you merely head inland, -but only MUCH father inland! Conservative politics in the Western US does not on it's own mean an area is not Left Coast.
Partisan politics is mostly national these days at the state and Federal leval. There are still some significant regional differences however, all else being equal. And certainly there are still major regional differences in political trends at the local level, though even that is changing.
As a lifelong Californian who has traveled extensively around the west Coast and read history and pioneer biographies from across the region and beyond, I find your work to be fascinating. But I have a somewhat different perspective.
I will say that most of Inland Northern and Central California, Central and Northeastern Oregon (the Southeast Oregon Desert east of Klamath County as well as Modoc and Lassen Counties in California are almost pure far West), all of Washington State east of the Cascades, and both the Alaska and Idaho Panhandles are all actually part of a vast transitional region between the Left Coast and the Far West.
Many coastal residents don't want to identify with these areas for purely political and demographic/soceoeconomic reasons, and this leeds them to honestly believe they are not part of the same broad region. But they truly are the same broad region depite their major differences, including historically, their largely shared vernacular culture once you take into account current demographic and soceoeconomic differences, and in terms of current social network clustering as well. Much of what you actually see in Northern California is actually a form of very large scale social segregation that transcends single metropolitan areas rather then a true regional cultural difference, which is something that many coastal Californians are in deep denial about.
While it is true most of these inland areas are poltically closer to the Far West (though still somewhat less conservative on average when adjusted for other factors) and their demographics and soceoeconomics resemble the Far West, in most aspects of vernacular culture these areas are all transitional, and often more Left Coast then not.
I have also read up on the history of counties throughout these areas and their settlement histories, and while also transitional in character, are in terms of by whom and how they were settled actually closer to that of the Left Coast as well so it isn't just more recent migration that makes these areas transitional. They are pretty much like coastal Southern Oregon or other more conservative rural parts of the West Coast in this regard.
Finally most of Southern California, the Central Coast and San Joaquin Valley (the latter more recently) are likewise transitional between The Left Coast, El Norte and Far West though I do see the wisdom in classifying most of Southern California as part of El Norte, -the history of this region differs from Northern California more then many realize. I don't think San Bernardino can be culturally seperated from Riverside though. I would Say Imperial County is pure El Norte however.
Hm I'm not sure what's going on. If you use Gmail sometimes Substack newsletters can end up in the 'promotions' folder. Sometimes they get flagged as spam as well. If you like you can email me the email you used to sign up and I can try and troubleshoot with you: Geoff(dot)mapstack(at)Gmail(dot)com
These maps are excellent! The best I've found for the American Nations book. Thank you for including the cities! I am working on a Podcast episode explaining American cultures for authors in other countries. Would it be ok if I included some of these maps in the blog version of the episode?
Given that Hawaii isn't strictly North American, it's not surprising that a book taking a North American perspective would omit it.
As a Left Coaster with ties to Portland and the northern cities of California, I would say that Sacramento and Bend are closer to Left Coast than Far West.
Sacramento is by far the biggest city in California not actually on the coast, and many of its people pretty regularly go back and forth to the Bay Area. It’s got much more in common with Oakland than it does with Fresno.
And Bend is increasingly being settled by Portland and California ex-pats, to a point that politically it’s become a blue island in the sea of red east of the Cascades. While it’s true that most of eastern and southern Oregon is culturally indistinguishable from Idaho (and a bunch of it wants to secede from the state to join Idaho), Bend is the exception, and is closer culturally to a Portland suburb and tourist destination than it is to an eastern Oregon city.
While politically it's mostly true that those are enclaves (as are Chico and many smaller towns) in other ways culturally, Central and Northeastern Oregon as a whole are actually part of a large transitional region between Left Coast and Far West. Southern Oregon is actually very Left Coast not even transitional really, just a conservative leaning and rural version of it and none of these areas are close to fully like the majority of Idaho in most aspects of culture. Only the Southeastern Oregon desert east of Klamath County is pure Far West.
The same transitional Left Coast Far West transitional nature is also true of the Alaska Panhandle, all of Washington State east of the Cascades, the Idaho Panhandle (not the rest of Idaho!), most of inland Northern and Central California (except for Modoc and Lassen Counties which are almost pure Far West). Meanwhile, Southern California (except for Imperial County which is El Norte) as a whole, California's Central Coast, and the San Joaquin Valley are all transitional between Left Coast, Far West and El Norte.
The above is true in terms of actual settlement history which I have read about for Counties throughout these areas, dialect and slang, personality type, religion, cuisine, arts and entertainment culture, architecture and gardening culture, social mores and values, and local politics beyond partisanship.
Oddly enough, Nevada has very little Left Coast influence and is pretty much pure Far West depite the very sizeable ex California population. The migration there has been very self selective it seems. But even the eastern California Counties of Modoc and Inyo have become full of coastal transplants and Left Coast culture in recent decades.
I have traveled through these areas and have relatives living throughout the region, and live in inland Northern California myself, and the truthis that the Left Coast influence simply does NOT stop when you head south untill you get to Mexico, nor when you merely head inland, -but only MUCH father inland! Conservative politics in the Western US does not on it's own mean an area is not Left Coast.
Partisan politics is mostly national these days at the state and Federal leval. There are still some significant regional differences however, all else being equal. And certainly there are still major regional differences in political trends at the local level, though even that is changing.
As a lifelong Californian who has traveled extensively around the west Coast and read history and pioneer biographies from across the region and beyond, I find your work to be fascinating. But I have a somewhat different perspective.
I will say that most of Inland Northern and Central California, Central and Northeastern Oregon (the Southeast Oregon Desert east of Klamath County as well as Modoc and Lassen Counties in California are almost pure far West), all of Washington State east of the Cascades, and both the Alaska and Idaho Panhandles are all actually part of a vast transitional region between the Left Coast and the Far West.
Many coastal residents don't want to identify with these areas for purely political and demographic/soceoeconomic reasons, and this leeds them to honestly believe they are not part of the same broad region. But they truly are the same broad region depite their major differences, including historically, their largely shared vernacular culture once you take into account current demographic and soceoeconomic differences, and in terms of current social network clustering as well. Much of what you actually see in Northern California is actually a form of very large scale social segregation that transcends single metropolitan areas rather then a true regional cultural difference, which is something that many coastal Californians are in deep denial about.
While it is true most of these inland areas are poltically closer to the Far West (though still somewhat less conservative on average when adjusted for other factors) and their demographics and soceoeconomics resemble the Far West, in most aspects of vernacular culture these areas are all transitional, and often more Left Coast then not.
I have also read up on the history of counties throughout these areas and their settlement histories, and while also transitional in character, are in terms of by whom and how they were settled actually closer to that of the Left Coast as well so it isn't just more recent migration that makes these areas transitional. They are pretty much like coastal Southern Oregon or other more conservative rural parts of the West Coast in this regard.
Finally most of Southern California, the Central Coast and San Joaquin Valley (the latter more recently) are likewise transitional between The Left Coast, El Norte and Far West though I do see the wisdom in classifying most of Southern California as part of El Norte, -the history of this region differs from Northern California more then many realize. I don't think San Bernardino can be culturally seperated from Riverside though. I would Say Imperial County is pure El Norte however.
Hey! I have subscribed to your newsletter but not sure why I don't get any update?
Hm I'm not sure what's going on. If you use Gmail sometimes Substack newsletters can end up in the 'promotions' folder. Sometimes they get flagged as spam as well. If you like you can email me the email you used to sign up and I can try and troubleshoot with you: Geoff(dot)mapstack(at)Gmail(dot)com