美國中西部

维基百科，自由的百科全书

美國中西部通常指的是美國地理上中北部的州，包括俄亥俄州、印第安那州、密西根州、伊利諾州、威斯康辛州、愛荷華州、肯薩斯州、密蘇里州、明尼蘇達州、內布拉斯加州、北達科他州及南達科他州。美國地理中心（位於肯薩斯州）及人口中心（位於密蘇里州）都位居中西部。美國人口調查局將這個區域再細分為中北部東方（基本上指的是五大湖地區）及中北部西方（基本上指的是大平原區）。

美國中西部一詞已被普遍使用長達百年以上，其他的詞，像是「西北部(Northwest)」、「舊西北部(Old Northwest)」、「中美(Mid-America)」及 「核心地帶(Heartland)」，都曾經被提出來討論是否用在敘述這個區域。但自1929年Middletown一書問世後，社會學家便開始和普羅大眾一般開始廣泛使用中西部來敘述這一帶的城鎮。^[1]

目录 1 名詞釋義 2 範圍 3 地理景觀 4 歷史 5 Culture 6 教育 6.1 公立大學 6.2 私立大學 7 Political trends 8 Linguistic influence 9 See also 10 References

[编辑] 名詞釋義

「中西部」一詞起源於十九世紀，中西部的中心區域被五大湖地區、俄亥俄河和密西西比河谷所包圍，舊西北部（或稱西部）指的則是原來的西北領地，目前舊定義的中西部被美國人口調查局稱作中北部東方，而被當地居民稱為五大湖區。

西北領地原本屬於法國和美國原住民，後由英國佔領。美國獨立戰爭之後，英國將本地區割讓予美國，大陸會議在頒佈美國憲法前通過西北條例(Northwest Ordinance)設立西北領地。西北條例規定西北領地禁止畜奴及宗教歧視，並且鼓勵設置公立學校與私人財產制，但若領地內部份地區成為美國正式的一州，該條例將失效，由州憲法取代。西北條例亦規定土地必須以方格狀進行買賣，俄亥俄州成為第一個採用這種土地交易方式的地區。一般認為，目前中西部各州所屬各郡大部份為長方形與道路系統就是受到這個規定的影響。相反地，肯塔基州和田納西州沿用傳統以測量和地標分割土地(metes and bounds)。獨立戰爭時期，軍人在俄亥俄地區得到新的土地並成為新移民，此時中西部地區開始被認為是美國的一部份。

直至今日，日常生活使用的中西部地區有時不只包括原來西北領地的部份，還包含俄亥俄河南岸和阿帕拉契山脈和洛磯山脈間的所有州份，共計12州。

在美國建國初期，西部指的是阿帕拉契山脈以西。隨著時間流逝，這塊區域再被細分為「遠西」部及「中西」部。中西部原屬西北領地的部份亦被稱為「西北地區」，例如以明尼蘇達州為基地的西北航空和伊利諾州芝加哥近郊的西北大學。美國地理上的西北部一般稱為太平洋西北地區(Pacific Northwest)，以免混淆。

[编辑] 範圍

所謂的中西部範圍並不十分清楚。一般來說，只要是在以往被認為是「西部」的地區以東，就會被認為是中西部地區。在1789年，這個區域稱為西北領地，到了1898年，中西部這個名稱正式開始使用。

19世紀早期，西部地區指的是密西西比河以西，因此美國人把阿帕拉契山與密西西比河之間的土地稱為中西部。在這段時間，有些人開始把明尼蘇達州、愛荷華州和密蘇里州以及由北達科他州至堪薩斯州的廣大平原地區非正式地納入中西部的範圍。今日，「遠西」一詞指的是美國西岸地區，因此，有些科羅拉多州、懷俄明州及蒙大拿州的居民也自認為居住在中西部^[2]。

傳統上中西部包括原屬西北領地及由路易西安那購地案得到的州。原屬西北領地的州又稱為五大湖地區，路易西安那購地案得到的州則大部份屬於美中大平原。

根據美國人口調查局的定義，中北部地區包括12個州：

• 伊利諾州：原屬西北領地、俄亥俄河流域、五大湖地區
• 印第安納州：原屬西北領地、俄亥俄河流域、五大湖地區
• 愛荷華州：路易西安那購地案、美中大平原
• 堪薩斯州：路易西安那購地案、美中大平原
• 密西根州：原屬西北領地、五大湖地區
• 明尼蘇達州：原屬西北領地、五大湖地區；西部則來自路易西安那購地案
• 內布拉斯加州：路易西安那購地案、美中大平原
• 北達科他州：路易西安那購地案、美中大平原
• 俄亥俄州：原屬西北領地(之前為康乃迪克州西部保留地)、俄亥俄河流域、五大湖地區
• 南達科他州：路易西安那購地案、美中大平原
• 威斯康辛州：原屬西北領地、五大湖地區

芝加哥是中西部地區的最大城市，亦為全美第三大城。該市有時被人們稱為「中西部首都」。底特律和印第安納波利斯則名列第二與第三。然而，在南北戰爭之前，辛辛那堤才是本區第一大城，聖路易則緊追在後。本區其他大城還有：明尼阿波利斯─聖保羅、克利夫蘭、哥倫布市、堪薩斯市、密爾瓦基、威奇托、德梅因、麥迪遜及奧馬哈。

中西部有不同定義主要來自於本區西部(核心區和美中大平原區)和東部(五大湖工業區)的不同文化。有些人認為核心區和大平原區的農業州代表傳統中西部的生活方式及價值觀；另外一個觀點是五大湖區在19世紀至20世紀早期的移民史、製造業利基以及天主教的深遠影響較能代表中西部的精神。根據後者的定義，美東的一些工業城市如水牛城也可包含在中西部內。

某些在傳統定義的中西部內的城市常被指為無法代表中西部的精神，但某些在區域外的城市卻被認為是中西部的一部份。這些看法通常都是由歷史、文化、經濟或政治的角度出發。

阿帕拉契山脈傳統上被認為是美東的一部份，但在俄亥俄州南部和地理上的中西部有重疊。俄亥俄河有很長的一段時間被認為是美國南北的分界，亦為中西部和美南的分界。中西部南部各州，包含密蘇里州，均有一部份屬地理上的美南，但在南北戰爭前密蘇里州是允許蓄奴的。

東北地區的部份州在生活形態上與中西部比較接近，例如賓夕凡尼亞州西部，包括伊利和匹茲堡等城市，在文化和歷史均屬中西部，但地理上屬阿帕拉契山脈。水牛城位於伊利運河的西端，為五大湖的門戶，相較於其他東岸城市，水牛城與芝加哥和底特律的文化較為接近。然而這些地區的居民卻很少認為自己來自於中西部。

蒙大拿州、懷俄明州和科羅拉多州的草原區有時被人們認為是中西部的一部份，特別是來自於大平原區的居民，原因是大平原區比較接近美國的地理中心。然而大部份五大湖區的居民並不如此認為，他們甚至覺得大平原區也不屬於中西部。

奧克拉荷馬州東部在文化歷史上和經濟活動上(以煉油工業為主)與附近的阿肯色州、德克薩斯州東部較為類似。相反地，奧克拉荷馬州西部和密蘇里州南部、德克薩斯州西部(德州鍋柄地帶，包括阿瑪利洛和拉巴克)無論在經濟上、氣候上和文化上，均和堪薩斯州、內布拉斯加州和科羅拉多州東部較接近。德克薩斯州南部和這些地區的差異性較為顯著。威奇托瀑布市有一所大學名為中西州立大學(Midwestern State University)，因附近的居民很多來自於南北戰爭時中西部從事農牧業贊成蓄奴的移民而得名。

[编辑] 地理景觀

中西部各州大部份為平原地形，但各地仍有稍為不同。本區東部的阿帕拉契山山腳丘陵區、五大湖盆地和威斯康辛州、明尼蘇達州和愛荷華州北部的地形起伏較有變化。密西西比河以西除了明尼蘇達州東部和密蘇里州南部歐薩克山脈以外，幾乎都是草原地帶。伊利諾地區則是地處「草原半島」，本區為草原地形但除西邊外均與落葉木森林相鄰。雨量則是由東向西減少，東部草原的草較高，中部大平原則長短草夾雜，到西部洛磯山脈背風坡附近則為短草原。今日，東部草原已被玉米和黃豆等作物取代，中部則以小麥為主，西部則是牧場。本區的闊葉木森林已在19世紀末砍代殆盡。中西部現在可以分成都會區和農業區。明尼蘇達北部、密西根北部、威斯康辛州豪豬山區及俄亥俄河谷地大部份仍尚待開發。

一般來說小麥區以東被認為是中西部的一部份，當地居民也認為自己來自中西部；畜牧區的居民則通常不認為自己屬於中西部。當然，確切的地理界線仍然很不清楚而且在移動中。

[编辑] 歷史

這一地區的歐洲移民最初是由十七世紀的法國拓荒活動、建立毛皮交易網路以及傳教活動而開始開墾，開墾的進行主要是沿著密西西比河及大湖區上緣開始。而法國對這一地區的控制於1763年隨著對印地安人的戰爭結束而終止。 而英國移民在1750年代時則開始在俄亥俄地區拓展殖民勢力，但在1763年時曾暫時中止在阿帕拉契山區以西的擴張，但並未完全終止殖民勢力在這一地區的擴張。

早期移民也開始經由陸路（經由Braddock Road）或水路（經由大湖區）來越過阿帕拉契山脈。今日的位於俄亥俄河起點的匹茲堡（當初被稱作Fort Pitt）為早期中西部殖民經由陸路的前哨站。第一批藉由陸路來到內陸地區的拓荒者聚居於俄亥俄州南方及肯塔基州的俄亥俄河兩岸。較廣為人知的拓荒者有Daniel Boone及Spencer Records。而藉由水路經由大湖區來到中西部的第一批拓荒者則是以軍隊碉堡或交易港口為中心開始發展，諸如今日威斯康辛州的Green Bay及密西根州的底特律。

隨著美國獨立戰爭的結束，自東部各州來到中西部的拓荒者開始快速增加。在1790年代，獨立戰爭時期的退伍軍人和來自東部各州的拓荒者由於美國聯邦政府的土地授與法案的通過開始移居此一地區。而賓夕法尼亞的長老教會、荷蘭卡爾文教會（Dutch Reformed Church）、教友教會（Religious Society of Friends — Quaker）及康乃迪克州的公理教會（Congregational church|Congregationalists）是最早移居俄亥俄和中西部地區的先鋒。

在美國南北戰爭時期，移居美洲大陸的歐洲移民通常會繞過當時東岸地區的美國直接定居在美洲大陸內陸地區，這些地區包括俄亥俄州、威斯康辛州、伊利諾州及密蘇里州東部的德國路德教派，威斯康辛州、明尼蘇達州及愛荷華州北部的瑞典及挪威移民，以及德國的羅馬天主教徒和猶太人所建立的中西部城市。許多德國天主教徒也經由俄亥俄河谷地區在移居到大湖區的邊緣。

廿世紀時，隨著工廠和學校所帶來的各種新契機，非裔移民開始由美國南方移入中西部各州，也大幅改變包括芝加哥、聖路易、底特律和其他大都市的都市文化及景觀。

由於中西部地區的肥沃土壤，這一地區盛產包括玉米、燕麥及小麥的各種穀物，其中以小麥最為重要，因此早期中西部也被稱為美國的「麵包籃」。

另外，水路也是中西部地區發展最重要的因素之一，其中最居功厥偉的是流入密西西比河的俄亥俄河。1795年之前，由於西班牙箝制住密西西比河的南方流域並拒絕美國農產品經由密西西比河進入大西洋，中西部的發展也因此受到限制而停頓。

而中西部的河流也是促成馬克吐溫（原名Samuel Clemens）筆下兩本美國經典名著—密西西比河上的生活及哈克歷險記—的靈感來源。馬克吐溫的故鄉，密蘇里州的漢尼伯，目前已經成為著名的觀光景點並提供遊客一窺當年中西部生活方式的機會。

而另一條開拓中西部的水路是經由大湖區而來的航路，1825年時所開鑿完成的伊利運河（Erie Canal）使中西部的貨物可以經由完全水運的方式直接運到紐約港，較之前由密西西比河迂迴的水路來的便捷。而伊利運河也促成許多湖港都市的興盛以因應這一條新航路的完成。在工業革命期間，湖運為將明尼蘇達州梅薩比嶺（Mesabi Range）區域所產的鐵礦石運到大西洋州煉鐵廠的主要輸運管道，之後所開闢的聖羅倫斯海道（Saint Lawrence Seaway）便是為中西部物產運送到大西洋所開闢的航道。而在俄亥俄州及印第安那州境內的陸運河則是連接俄亥俄河與大湖區另一條重要的水路。

由於位於中西部核心的西北領地是美國首先禁止蓄奴的地區（美國東北部於1830年代禁止蓄奴），中西部在文化上承繼了有別於美國其他部分的自由先驅精神並引以為傲。而這個區域的南界為俄亥俄河，是美國歷史與文學上象徵自由和蓄奴的分界線（詳見朗斐羅(Harriet Beecher Stowe)的《黑奴籲天錄(Uncle Tom's Cabin)》和托尼·莫裏森（Toni Morrison）的《寵兒(Beloved)》）。中西部，特別是俄亥俄州，提供了所謂的地下鐵路給越過俄亥俄河的黑奴經由伊利湖前往加拿大。

中西部區域是由包括不蓄奴（除密蘇里州外）、先期居民、自由的一個課堂式的公立學校、由美國獨立戰爭退伍軍人所帶來的民主觀念、新教徒信仰、經由俄亥俄河及鐵路運送而累積的農產財富所塑造成型。在俄亥俄州及印第安那州境內的運河更是開啟中西部農產運銷的關鍵，中西部的農業生產帶動了世界最大的人口和經濟成長並為日後的「合併市場（emerging markets）」奠下基礎。由中西部俄亥俄河經伊利運河的貨輪所運載的日用物資更是超越波士頓地區及費城地區，間接貢獻了紐約地區所累積的財富。

The Midwest was predominantly rural at the time of the Civil War, dotted with small farms across Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, but industrialization, immigration, and urbanization fed the Industrial Revolution, and the heart of industrial progress became the Great Lakes states of the Midwest. German, Scandinavian, Slavic and African American immigration into the Midwest continued to bolster the population there in the 19th and 20th centuries, though generally the Midwest remains a predominantly diverse, Protestant region. Large concentrations of Catholics are found in larger metropolitan areas because of German Irish, Italian, and Polish immigration before 1915, and Mexican American migration since the 1950s. Famous Amish farm settlements are found in northern Ohio, northern Indiana and central Illinois.

[编辑] Culture

Midwesterners are alternately viewed as open, friendly, and straightforward, or sometimes stereotyped as unsophisticated and stubborn. Factors that probably affected the shaping of Midwest values include the religious heritage of the abolitionist, pro-education Congregationalists to the stalwart Calvinist heritage of the Midwestern Protestants, as well as the agricultural values inculcated by the hardy pioneers who settled the area. The Midwest remains a melting pot of Protestantism and Calvinism, mistrustful of authority and power.

Catholicism is the largest single religious denomination in the Midwest, varying between 19 and 29% of the state populations. Baptists compose 14% of the populations of Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, up to 22% in Missouri and down to 5% in Minnesota. Lutherans peak at 22-24% in Wisconsin and Minnesota, reflecting the Scandinavian and German heritage of those states as parodied humorously by Garrison Keillor in his Prairie Home Companion. Pentecostal and charismatic denominations have few adherents in the Midwest, ranging between 1 and 7% (although the Assembly of God began in lower Missouri). Judaism and Islam are each practiced by 1% or less of the population, with slightly higher concentrations in major urban areas, such as Chicago and Cleveland. The suburbs of Detroit however, are home to the largest concentration of Muslims in the U.S.^{[來源請求]} Cincinnati was an early cradle of Reform Judaism, and still has a reform rabbinical seminary and hospital. Those with no religious affiliation make up 13-16% of the Midwest population.

The rural heritage of the land in the Midwest remains widely held, even if industrialization and suburbanization have overtaken the states in the original Northwest Territory. Given the rural, antebellum associations with the Midwest, further rural states like Kansas have become icons of Midwesternism, most directly with the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.

Midwestern politics tends to be cautious, but the caution is sometimes peppered with protest, especially in minority communities or those associated with agrarian, labor or populist roots. The metropolis-strewn Great Lakes region tends to be the most liberal area of the Midwest, and liberal presence diminishes gradually as you move south and west from that region into the less-populated rural areas. The Great Lakes region has spawned people such as the La Follette political family, and Communist Party leader Gus Hall. Minnesota in particular has produced liberal national politicians Walter Mondale, Eugene McCarthy, and Hubert Humphrey and well as protest musician Bob Dylan.

Because of 20th-century African American migration from the South, a large African American urban population lives in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Columbus, Indianapolis, Kansas City, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Toledo, Dayton, and other cities. The combination of industry and cultures, Jazz, Blues, and Rock and Roll, led to an outpouring of musical creativity in the 20th century in the Midwest, including new music like the Motown Sound and techno from Detroit and house music & the blues from Chicago. Rock and Roll music was first identified as a new genre by a Cleveland radio DJ, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is now located in Cleveland. See also Music of the Midwest/Motown, Detroit, 70s Soul Music, Ohio Players, Kool and The Gang, and Dayton.

Today, the wealth of the coastal regions and the growth of the Sunbelt have contributed to a sense of unease in the Midwest. The abandonment by many industries of the Midwest, in favor of the South and overseas, has led some to refer to the industrial Midwest as the Rust Belt.

Today the population of the Midwest is 65,971,974, or 22.2% of the total population of the United States.

[编辑] 教育

這個區域包括許多全國知名的公私立大學。

[编辑] 公立大學

被列名八所公立長春藤大學的其中兩所，密西根大學及邁阿密大學，便是位於中西部。

其他的公立大學還包括：

波爾州立大學(Ball State University) 艾克朗大學（University of Akron） Bowling Green State University Central Michigan University zh-cn:辛辛纳提;zh-hk:辛辛那堤大學（University of Cincinnati） Cleveland State University Eastern Michigan University 伊利諾大學 (University of Illinois) 印第安那大學（Indiana University Bloomington|Indiana University） 愛荷華大學 (University of Iowa) The University of Northern Iowa 愛荷華州立大學 (Iowa State University) 堪薩斯大學 (University of Kansas) 堪薩斯州立大學 (Kansas State University) 肯特州立大學 (Kent State University)

Miami University 密西根大學 (University of Michigan) 密西根州立大學 (Michigan State University) 明尼蘇達大學 (University of Minnesota) 內布拉斯加大學 (University of Nebraska) 密蘇里大學 (University of Missouri) 密蘇里州立大學 (Missouri State University) 俄亥俄州立大學（Ohio State University） 俄亥俄大學（Ohio University） 普渡大學（Purdue University） 托雷多大學（University of Toledo） 萊特州立大學（Wright State University） Wayne State University Western Michigan University 威斯康辛大學 (University of Wisconsin)

[编辑] 私立大學

在十九世紀時，中西部許多宗教組織紛紛設立教育機構，包括凱斯西儲大學、芝加哥大學、聖母大學、西北大學和聖路易華盛頓大學。這個地區也包括許多全美知名的人文藝術學院。

The commitment of many immigrant and religious groups to found institutions of higher learning is further apparent in the many other schools such as Albion College, Drake University in Des Moines, DePauw University, Luther College (Iowa), The University of Findlay, Valparaiso University, the University of Evansville, Taylor University, Hamline University, Hanover College, Bradley University, Beloit College, Capital University, St. Olaf College, Wartburg College, Gustavus Adolphus College, Kalamazoo College, Knox College, Lawrence University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Denison University, Wabash College, The College of Wooster, and Earlham College. Many have since dropped the religious affiliation. Catholic schools include: DePaul University, Creighton University, Marquette University, St. Louis University, Loyola University Chicago, Xavier University, University of Dayton, and University of Detroit Mercy.

[编辑] Political trends

One of the two major political parties in the United States, the Republican Party, originated partially in the Midwest. One of its formational places was Jackson, Michigan in the 1850s and included opposition to the spread of slavery into new states as one of its agendas. Most of the rural Midwest is considered to be a Republican stronghold to this day, and Hamilton County, the home of Cincinnati, is one of the few urban counties in America which voted predominantly Republican at the close of the 20th century. From the American Civil War to the Great Depression and World War II, Midwestern Republicans dominated American politics and industry, just as Southern Democrat farmers dominated antebellum rural America and as Northeastern financiers and academics in the Democratic party would dominate America from the Depression to the Vietnam War and the height of the Cold War.^{[來源請求]}

As political trends have changed and the Midwest's population has slowly shifted from the countryside to its cities, the general political mood has moved to the center, and the region is now home to many critical swing states that have strong allegiance to neither party. Some upper Midwestern states, such as Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan have proven relatively Democratic. Illinois is currently dominated by the Democratic Party, as the state has preferred the Democratic presidential candidate by a significant margin in the past 4 elections (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004). The same is true of Michigan and Wisconsin, which also currently have a Democratic governor and two Democratic senators. Iowa is considered by many analysts to be the most evenly divided state in the country, but has leaned Democratic for the past fifteen years or so - Iowa has a Democratic governor, a Democratic Senator, three Democratic Congressmen out of five, has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in three out of the last four elections, (1992, 1996, 2000) and, as of the 2006 midterms elections, has a state legislature dominated by Democrats in both chambers. Minnesota has voted in favor of the Democratic party for president longer than any other state (excluding the District of Columbia). Minnesota was the only state among the 50 states (along with Washington, D.C.) of the U.S. to vote for Walter Mondale over Ronald Reagan in 1984 (as Minnesota is Mondale's home state). In Iowa and Minnesota, however, the recent Democratic pluralities have often been fairly narrow. Excepting Iowa's support for Bush in the 2004 election, Minnesota has actually shown itself to be a little more Republican than Iowa in recent years, electing and reelecting a Republican governor and passing some of the most pro-gun concealed weapon laws in the nation. This can be attributed to the heavy concentration of Minnesota's urban popluation in the Twin Cities compared to Iowa's smaller but more numerous and widely spread urban communities.

Around the turn of the 20th century, the region also spawned the Populist Movement in the Plains states and later the Progressive Movement, which largely consisted of farmers and merchants intent on making government less corrupt and more receptive to the will of the people. The Republicans were unified anti-slavery politicians, whose later interests in invention, economic progress, women's rights and suffrage, freedman's rights, progressive taxation, wealth creation, election reforms, temperance and prohibition eventually clashed with the Taft-Roosevelt split in 1912. Similarly, the Populist and Progressive Parties grew out intellectually from the economic and social progress claimed by the early Republican party. The Protestant and Midwestern ideals of profit, thrift, work ethic, pioneer self-reliance, education, democratic rights, and religious tolerance influenced both parties despite their eventual drift into opposition.

The Midwest has long been a hot-bed of isolationism, the belief that Americans should not concern themselves with foreign wars and problems. It gained much support from German American and Swedish American communities, and leaders like Robert La Follette, Robert A. Taft, and Colonel Robert McCormick, publisher of the Chicago Tribune. ^[3]

Before 1970 the region tended to favor low tariffs and free trade; after 1970 world competition (especially in automobiles and steel) led to protectionist sentiments. The decline of industry in the Midwest led to the "Rust Belt" era when productivity stagnated and large factories closed. Unemployment remains low (under 5%),^[4] but the replacement of high paying unionized jobs by minimum-wage service jobs is a major issue.

[编辑] Linguistic influence

主条目：Inland Northern American English、North Central American English和Yooper dialect

The accents of the region are generally distinct from those of the South and many urban areas of the American Northeast. The accent of most of the Midwest is considered by many to be "standard" American English. This accent is preferred by many national radio and television broadcasters, who go so far as to actually have potential broadcasters receive training in speaking "Midwestern."^{[來源請求]}

This may have started because many prominent broadcast personalities — such as Walter Cronkite, Johnny Carson, Tom Brokaw, John Madden and Casey Kasem — came from this region and so created this perception. More recently, a National Geographic magazine article (Nov. 1998) attributed the high number of telemarketing firms in Omaha, Nebraska to the "neutral accents" of the area's inhabitants.

However, many Midwestern cities are now undergoing the Northern Cities Shift away from the standard accent.

However, in some regions, particularly the farther north into the Upper Midwest one goes, a definite accent is detectable, usually reflecting the heritage of the area. For example, Minnesota and western Wisconsin both have a strong Scandinavian accent, which intensifies the farther north one goes. Many parts of Michigan have noticeable Dutch-flavored accents. Also, residents of Chicago are recognized to have their own distinctive nasal accent, with a similar accent occurring in parts of Wisconsin, Michigan, Cleveland, and Western New York State. Arguably, this may have been derived from heavy German, Polish, and Eastern European influences in the Great Lakes Region. The most southern parts of the Midwest, generally south of U.S. Route 50, shows distinctly southern speech patterns.

[编辑] See also

• 美國地區列表
• 美國中西部城市列表
• Inland Northern American English
• Midwestern cuisine
• Islands of the Midwest
• Juliette Augusta Magill Kinzie (early female pioneer)

美國地理區域
中部 | 沿海地區 | 上南方 | 深南部 | 東部 | 東岸 | 墨西哥灣沿岸地區 | 中大西洋地區 | 中西部 | 山岳地區 | 新英格蘭 | 北部 | 東北部 | 西北部 | 太平洋沿岸地區 | 南大西洋地區 | 南部 | 中南部 | 東南部 | 西南部 | 上中西部 | 西部 | 西岸
跨國分區：大西洋東北地區 | 邊界地區 | 五大湖地區 | 大平原地區 | 太平洋西北地區

[编辑] References

• Buley, R. Carlyle. The Old Northwest: Pioneer Period 1815-1840 2 vol (1951), Pulitzer Prize
• Cayton, Andrew R. L. Midwest and the Nation (1990)
• Cayton, Andrew R. L. and Susan E. Gray, Eds. The American Midwest: Essays on Regional History. (2001)
• Frederick; John T. ed. Out of the Midwest: A Collection of Present-Day Writing (1944) literary excerpts
• Garland, John H. The North American Midwest: A Regional Geography (1955)
• Jensen, Richard. The Winning of the Midwest: Social and Political Conflict, 1888-1896 (1971)
• Fred A. Shannon, "The Status of the Midwestern Farmer in 1900". The Mississippi Valley Historical Review. Vol. 37, No. 3. (Dec., 1950), pp. 491-510. in JSTOR
• Richard Sisson, Christian Zacher, and Andrew Cayton, eds. The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia (Indiana University Press, 2006), 1916 pp of articles by scholars on all topics covering the 12 states; ISBN 0-253-34886-2 ISBN-13: 978-0-253-34886-9
• Terre Haute Tribune-Star (West Central news daily)
• Meyer, David R. "Midwestern Industrialization and the American Manfucaturing Belt in the Nineteenth Century". Vol. 49, No. 4 (Dec., 1989) pp. 921-937. The Journal of Economic History, [5], JSTOR.