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Encore: The Lost Region

 
                                    

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Transcript for file: focus140219a.mp3

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some parts of our country stand out in
terms of the attention they get in American history New England invokes the
colonial era as well as many of our nations founding fathers. The South
flares up Civil War the far west reminds us of the
settlement of the American frontier the last conflicts between settlers and Native Americans

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what about the Midwest will Midwestern historian jobs
things to give in the Midwest short shrift
history Nexus case in his book
the most recent to make it today

program continues after the news good morning
good morning I’m Jim meadows in your listening to an encore broadcast of a previous focus program

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program for not taking calls this hour but will be back live tomorrow at 10
10 a.m. On wyll AM 580 today were talking about
talking about the history of the Midwest and how historians have treated by Midwest
Midwest or focus in here on the Prairie Midwest Eye not for instance the Great Lakes region
my guess John Lauck describes the region stretching from Ohio Indiana
Anna in Illinois on the eastern Nebraska Kansas in the Dakotas
the Western some people the states are all in flyover country not working

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what’s bothering about John Lauck says for many years historians secreted the Midwest much
much the same way not that important to the story of America
Johnson’s the Midwest has an important stories to tell in the historians
should be examining it remix the case for Midwestern history in his book The Lost Region
most recent toward a revival of Midwestern history is published by the universe
University of Iowa Press Jon Lovitz on the phone with us from South Dakota John welcome to f***
thanks Jim glad to be here I hope so I don’t know how

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well the car this morning
when I start it 23
Apartments in yes or no prior to
wind chill factor that it’s pretty chilly I saw in North Dakota
62 and 1000 so we’re doing pretty well compared to that
well we will try to take her thoughts of the cold and then look at Midwestern history
NFS far is is far is everybody listening today maybe you’re a student

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even historian yourself what are your thoughts about the history of
our part of the country and how was presented and maybe what we still don’t know you can
you can give us your thoughts email us at wilderness talking Illinois .edu
welcome your questions on Facebook and Twitter at focus
focus 580 and you know I never thought
Country Inn affect competing for attention from historians
different parts of the country have their own story

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mythologies connected to them what’s the story of the American Midwest
well it’s because they’re
of competition and I think that’s been good it’s been
Ben a healthy competition in the past unfortunately it’s kind of
dwindle down to essentially nothing in terms of the mid
the Midwest competing for center stage of a historian
the tension in recent years but you know that if course New England

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the American South first and especially New England and New York
New York what swear so much of academic research was based
alot of History focused on that region in the late 19th century
Centralia man from Wisconsin from portage Wisconsin Frederick Jackson
Jackson Turner said you know there’s a lot of a lot of History out here in our part of the country
the country to why don’t we write about that its just
just as important as the history and other regions and sell baseball hits leader

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leadership high school of historians was organized and they begin to focus
gifts on the Midwest in a very serious fashion on a bill to pay bill
scholarly organization and journals
Pulitzer Prize is it was a center of intellectual
selectivity for a long time then in Urbana
University of Illinois that was a man by the name of Clarence Alvord thank you for bringing that name up
I was going to buy was going to ask about them

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great well I just since we were talking and talking to an expert about Illinois
why is dimension all of his tremendous
this work for 20 or 30 years at the University of Illinois
part of the 20th century where he bill
built a very impressive a body of
historical research and I brought in a lot of others
and they turned out a lot of important books about the region in Alberta

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self important books about how the Midwest figured in Meijer
world events such as the American
Revolution and the French and Indian War etcetera mean it was very impressive
endeavor and there’s nothing like it today no one does this
now I want to get back to some of the specific you said about the Midwestern impact on American history
what else you said your ear saying that’s the Midwest
doesn’t get to the center of attention from historians today and I gather

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gather from what you wrote something changed around the mid century after World War II
it that after World War II the old
school of Midwestern history just fell apart the key
leaders of the group retired they moved on
Frederick Jackson Turner have died because stripper fashion became interested
other topics of course the Cold War had a major
major influence on focusing United States outward

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Blaine to attach to the Midwest for not being in c**
incomplete sync with the efforts of the efforts of the Cold War
the isolationist region of the United
United States and sell there was a bit of a hangover from
from certain people who thought the Midwest
world leadership whats up her because of back
historical profession and of course it became more diverse and better in a lot of ways

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play the one of the things that happened was the Midwest complete
completely dropped out of the conversation no longer was considered a
final region in a place where im portant
research took place another thing that happened was about 1960
Westerners became so much frustrated with lack of attention
region meeting trans Missouri West or the egg
the area of the United States be on the Missouri River and so they form their own sky

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so some Midwesterners
there and their old organization focus on the Midwest
begin the weather in a finally completely dropped
any offices on the Midwest in the 1960s well
end in tion in terms of more recent years
historians have schools of history been organized in terms of region or have they been Oregon
organized by a bike in other way there still

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important regional dimensions to American history
of course the history of the American South still get some
tremendous amount of attention and part of that is because everybody knows exactly what the
what the south is in Pittsfield Confederacy behold states of the
the Confederacy everybody knows what the boundaries of the South R
and there’s a greater degree of historical and regional consciousness
in the south for good or bad

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helps to justify Moore historical research let me give you a
statistic Jim that I think reveals
how much further had the south is from of the Midwest
terms of its historical research at the University of Georgia
just to take one example there are 10 people who do research
in the history of the American South Salt n southern historia
at the University of Minnesota contrast which I think it’s bigger school

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there are exactly is zero is story ends
who are experts in the history of Minnesota where the Midwest
it’s just not done in the Midwest like it is another region
and so as a result there are no young
young professors there are no young graduate students are people writing dissertation
books there are no scholarly
organizations that faster research on the region and soul

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so therefore our consciousness of the region suffered as a result
well first of all let me remind
talking about history and Midwestern history and its side Nicolette
recent years with John Locke in South Dakota along with Illinois
Illinois is part of the Midwest is the author of the Lost region 20
Midwestern history published by the University of Iowa press
you have a question or comment on Midwest history college did 1 800 222

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29455 are you can email your question to talk in Illinois
phone number 1 800 222
the sides of the male you can send them to Wauseon Twitter or Facebook and focus
580 John I was wanting to get back in the sum of the areas
Midwestern history looked at
really thought of one of that was the Midwest impact
leading up to the Revolutionary War which is not the first

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the first thing that comes about because of course the 13 colonies that form the US
did not extend into the Midwest the Midwest then was divided between us
France and England what was going on Alta there in colonial times
affected the development of a nation yes this is one of those
things that gets overlooked and I think it can be attributed to
do a certain New England orientation to American history
words with people think about the spark that led to the American Revolution

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separation of the American colonies from Britain Bellefontaine
think about the conflicts in Boston and you know Massachusetts merchant
merchants reacting to wifey mean when was doing this
ultimately setting in motion the train of events that led to the revolution
as several Midwesterners pointed out including
Clarence Alvord at the University of Illinois way back in the 19
teens in 2013 the conflict

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originally stems from what was Ben called the backcountry
the colonial backcountry which we know it today as the Midwest because after the
after the French and Indian War the British took control of this Basque region
call the Midwest and they decided that they work
how to manage this area with something at the heavy hand
and they sent in a lot of troops and anchor delotta respect expensive because
because of this is a result they started to turn the screws

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rules on the colonists try to squeeze more money out of them
deal with all of these conflicts in the colonial backcountry and Co
salver pointed out and have no respect way back
back in the day the original spark of friction lab
lead to the revolution started
in the Midwest what we would think of as the Midwest
left today turned into an American tail the 19th century

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essentially the same region and so if we are conscious of the Midwest
Midwest and its history we understand events like the American Revolution
much much better but with no one pricing for a greater degree
historical awareness of the Midwest role in American history all of that
gets left on the cutting room floor and porch in Italy I guess
this soda foot works like the section of a James Fenimore Cooper
The Last of the Mohicans 20 years ago

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as as being part of the Midwestern missiles set the time on though I don’t think
I don’t think that movie came out that its parked at a big resurgence
no but I mean II love the movie of course because its set
in that area in this old French
Indian War era and area that is is absolutely
fascinating this is what led to the creation of the Midwest that led to the
dissolution of the French Empire in the New World

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world Atlanta to get all the British short term British occupation
Westin ultimately to the
the American seizure of the Midwest in the opening days of the
American Revolution when they sent George Rogers Clark outta place
places like Illinois and Indiana to seize the British outpost there
there and make this claim for the United States until Wednesday
negotiated the peace treaty at the end of the American Revolution they had strong clean

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claims to bring this territory into the new United States
but yes this the whole story of Cooper
leather stocking tail hawk eye of course that’s where
that’s where the term Iowa Hawkeyes comes from the people in
early Iowa James Fenimore Cooper and they like you
from these books and so that’s why we now have the Iowa Hawkeyes football team
what you may not like in Urbana

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another another piece of fiction which I guess that’s my Midwest Road soda
The Little House on the Prairie books of Laura’s Lauren
Laura Ingalls Wilder in the Midwest yes yes
they were she grew up Laura I’m talking about
primarily in western Minnesota and eastern South Dakota
and then ultimately she move down to Missouri northern Missouri where she
the writing help for daughter has been on a bus

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Hertz stories were about the early days in places like
Lake Minnesota settlers first moved and they first setup
setup Town the first till the Prairie they first began
rudimentary process of building Institution
Duchin Zen and assembling social life and building churches in school
school so this is this is a very important part of Midwestern history and probably
probably as your and you’re listener points out probably

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the one that’s best 9022 a popular
popular Audi I mean I would be interested in your opinion on this gem
little bit if your 40 and above your problem
probably fairly aware of the show
Michelle but I think it’s beginning to fade quite a bit earlier
generation so we’re going to have even left consciousness of this region I fear
yeah that’s something I wonder about that because I don’t know if I was a boy

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talk to people younger than my generation has a baby boomer one of my grade school
school teachers red from Laura Ingalls Wilder books to est
TV show came about which was tremendously popular but I think that was
was it was a use for jumping off point and I don’t know what the TV show
show did but I get the impression that there was the the books
books did a pretty good job of giving some idea of daily life
life at least from a child support if you sign out from the from the light from the 19th century

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I can’t they did a good job and I am a great
advocate of the books and I read them to my children
but I do think that it’s collective impact is feeding someone
somewhat because there are just a few are people who are familiar with them
I think the show gave a little bit of added boost
do the reading of the books and I think you know people in the last 15 years
is there cell are so inundated with media messages

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Obama Barnard with iPhones and Twitter etc
did just causes us to lose touch with those
deeper regional connections even more maybe I’m a bit too pessimistic about
about that but I think we’re going to have to work a little bit harder to maintain
connections to our shared regional past if you want to continue them
we have a cooler online for Steven Hoopeston good morning Iran focus
good morning thanks for taking my call

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falling up with you guys just talking about I couldn’t agree with you

im 13 and up what up what are not being taught
finish school about to you about the area and then also to agree with your
hello to compete with now it is so you know with the Internet
top of that they want to find something they can very easily find it
instantaneously I guess it doesn’t hold much of an interesting year up Midwest

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call the great flyover regions
which perhaps is unfortunate f*** my quick question is
John Hubbard
Palm Harbor
maybe not with allergies that he
Randy Indians for a mile and a half in the play that important in settling


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part of that thank you very much Steve
come to think of it I grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago myself and I remember
to the Hobbit trail is are all those concerning the same Hubbard
well I would just say very generally about
early Midwestern history that it is almost completely
erased from historical consciousness in terms of K 12
teaching and what children learn of courses is going on now

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what children where will learn and I
paper goggle Tribune a couple weeks ago
when they were preparing to launch this civics History Program
they found that like 50 K 12
didn’t even know who attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor and that’s what
so there’s a great day munition
mission of historical consciousness generally comes

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region is especially bad and yes Hubbard and
you mention the Leatherstocking Tales and James Fenimore Cooper at the early explorers
borders of the area George Rogers Clark in southern Illinois
all these people are so the boss 2 history
but I think it’s a little bit more attention and maybe a little pressure
pressure on are state legislators vocal teachers we can revive interested
local figures and I help but think it helped children become

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understand where they are in the world
the place that surrounds an unfortunate
sucked into this a digital world which is somewhat
and I think it hurts them in the long run it’s good to have roots
roots it’s good to know where you’re from it’s good to have a base
family is an important part of that it was the New York Times
story couple weeks ago about what’s the best thing that you can do to

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ensure for lack of a better word psychic stability
children and the all these this article went through the research
research done by many different professors around the country
the the key thing you can do is just teach your children who they are
and where they come from and what their family stories are and what the family
Family what’s the families ups and downs open
prepares them for life to get a better sense of where they are and where they’re going at home

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everybody has ups and downs but you can’t do that unless people understand where there from
what were going to take a short break right now and then we will continue
continue work talk about Midwestern history
dismiss it with my guest John Locke this is focus on wyll
MGM meadows in your listening to an encore broadcast of a previous program

00:24:25

 

 

 

 

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my back with focus on wyll AM 580 mg Meadows
encore edition of focus for not taking life phone calls this hour
what we welcome your feedback on our website at will.illinois.edu
focus for talking with John Locke an attorney
AT&T store in South Dakota Tristan Midwest
Western history call the lost its published by the University of
Iowa Press what are the sing you were talking about in yearbook

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if I add Midwestern history isn’t getting on the right side of attention
is how many Western Area contributed to the Industrial Development
talk a little bit about that job yes
yes in the 19 century there was a bit off
commercial activity in New England in terms of industrial
dust realization that building plans
held in comparison to what can later in the Midwest

00:26:10

mini pitbull this is what many people think of the Midwest as this Industrial Court
core of the region what’s now start off as the Rust Belt
but for decades of the central
industrial plant of the United States was basically
clear and from Central Ohio through to Michigan
Detroit of course in northern Indiana and Chicago
an unfortunate that heart of the country has fallen on sometimes

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tough times in recent decades but there is something about manufacturing
revival these days by in terms of Midwestern
Western history this period of rapid economic development
made the region an industrial power house and it made
Barry economically strong and supply
supplied to the plains and answer
supplied the guns on the shelves that help the world

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100 thing I would mention to is is the impact of
West on the Civil War because gifts
it had simply been a contest between the Old South England
it’s very likely that the South would have prevailed
seated and the early experiment
forming a republican government in the United States would a falling apart
but luckily for the north at that time they had

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the where with all of the Midwest to draw include
including its manufacturing sector but more importantly it’s so
soldiers and if you don’t through the list of who signed up to fight
Civil War you will find that the quotas
vastly oversubscribed in the Midwest
meaning bad about 55 of the people who could sign up to go
the gold fight in places like Indiana win in slot and this was buried

00:28:30

very true also Illinois and Michigan Wisconsin
godson and they took the balance they made it possible for the north to win the war
when the war are you saying that may be on the number of people are you going in the army
Armed Forces for the Civil War was not a tie ins in New England it wasn’t
it was not it was not a specially in places in the urban centers in the Northeast in New York City
York City for example the could not be there
there a draft quote its infected big riots in New York City

00:29:05

city anti draft riots I’m thinking of the movie are Gangs of New York
switch off of course is fertilized but it touches another little bit yeah exactly
that’s what I’m talking about this is the same set of circumstances but in
in the in the Midwest this was not a problem people rush to sign up because
does there was a great deal of empathy for the cause of the north
north and preserving the Union during the American republic and sew
there was not a problem raising Regiment Spartacus on tree of course

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where you’re located we had
prominent leaders like Abraham Lincoln who made it possible
who led the war effort and Ulysses S Grant from Galena Illinois
and then there were dozen
Illinois health north to win the war so I think
I think the role of the Midwest Inn in critical
episodes of American history Civil War it just gets it just gets forgotten

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people don’t remember
call now and this is Bruce in the mint good morning good morning
interesting topics and Happy New Year
originally from Iowa and but I grew up all over United States
when the sky goes back to you that’s what I call was part of your discussion
wilder and IQ ever been called American history on the East Coast
coastin this is back in the early 60’s hard is it to teachers

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ugly because of history teacher that thought
windmills word for drilling oil wells and
yeah I tell me about it and it took several pictures from my grandfather
farming Iowa to convince her otherwise but
what’s getting lost is the grandparents
kids are getting more more removed from farms I was lucky enough to spend a couple years with
look like grandfather feel like move around with my step father and stuffy work

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IBM from home without running away from home
home but I stayed on the farm for 2 years including up one room schoolhouse
what was that is now gone disappeared and its just the generational gap
more more removed from
people see you in 20 minutes to disconnect and is you said technologies
doesn’t really help anything anyway enjoy the show thank you
continue listening thank you very much and I wonder if I

00:32:00

if it actually helps you think about history more
if your parents and grandparents live in a different situation in you
you grew up in the city but ur parents and grandparents who who grub on a farm
that might lead you to think about things more than fusa it all grown up in pharmacy
all grown up in the suburbs yeah I think his life truth to that Jem I
I think I think especially as we get older probably when we turn about 50
50 we really begin to think a little more seriously about what are we

00:32:35

are roots are as I parents age they get older we wonder about their
experiences we wonder what kind of a culture
have a country that came from that’s a great opportunity for people that take a step back
soaking a little bit more their history
hope that if people hear about the book if they have something
klixen their minds think you know what I need to take my roots
I bit more seriously I have to stop being swept away

00:33:10

what type of culture Elsmere support because of faith
if you are just glue dent popper
culture where are you going to take your kids from we’re going to take
take your kids from Hollywood to New York City cause that’s what most pop culture comes from
and it’s not the kind of place is its just to say that’s worth
that’s worth manufactured that’s where it comes from
there was a time in the Midwest where they were some more focused effort to

00:33:45

create regional voices of people who wrote about the region
poets who were serious about the region that she’ll Lindsay
the in Illinois Edgar Lee masters in central Illinois
people that talk about their region therefore connected with other people
people that were located in the region had their own culture
think about and enjoy as opposed to
relying on a culture manufactured somewhere else by other people

00:34:20

people who don’t understand where you left I just wanted ads
jim says were talking about central Illinois
writing this book end in a little bit of time
after I finish the writer from central Illinois
named Edgar Lee masters and I always knew him
courses in history I would always talk about him as being part
part of this movement that was once called the rim full from the village

00:34:55

who began to turn against their hometown
criticize the region for being too austere and Puritans
when it cetera Apple iPhone but I actually look into the historical
miracle record and red what masters road
I didn’t rely on what other people told me was significant about him I found
doubt that he wrote a tremendous Obama about southern Illinois
very positive and its very impressive body of work including his

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books on the Sangam on river which is its a wonderful
are the rivers of America series but no one remembers
they only remember that one book the Edgar Lee masters
1915 because some people thought of you detect the Midwest
River anthology where in the in the end
of having of people in a small town graveyard
tell their stories he actually told stories based on some concept of the town

00:36:05

the town clit Ray Rice
but it’s time as a young man in Illinois between St Peter
Petersburg New Salem and he is love
Petersburg in Lewiston okay I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m thinking something else but
but he he he spent a lifetime is young man there there was one of the town
what wonderful the other one he he thought there was some problems with it
Spoon River anthology that he was very much

00:36:40

mixed bag it was very colorful and it was kinda funny and it was very clever because
because he was writing these poems in the book in the form of
tombstone in in inscriptions but anyway
too many people just take that one book and I think he was critical in the Midwest
mark this big rebellion among writers in the region
to attack the region that is really completely wrong is it special
specially as it relates to Edgar Lee masters if you look at the corpus of his way

00:37:15

is work in the years after the Spoon River anthology
very writing about his home
how much he cares for it and its unfortunately he’s remember that way
what is remember that way because no one is writing Midwestern history anymore
attention to the other things you wrote and
unless we have a more sophisticated view of history in the region
we’re not going to hear those other voices well we are talking with John Locke on focus

00:37:50

wyll author of the Lost region
tension to Midwestern history and that’s which port is full so much
92 County good morning around focus
hiya hiya Turner
talking about amazing Midwestern Apopka theatrical
exactly he’s he’s the guy that gave the Columbian Exposition speech
show that talked about the frontier was called the frontier thesis

00:38:25

if basically helped develop the
the American myths that beat her empty land for free people
and it just implicitly accepted
tablets of of European racial
racialism for one I mean on the Thea
the great takeover of this land is a remedy
and the other is but a time does struck by the fact that

00:39:00

Turner as if this was the only thing that he was talking about I think that hoe
contacts disc is quite important is sleep
exhibition wasnt really looked around in economics
but he started circulating it too
what’s a newspaper writers in it became
justified that the dominant phenomenon seems to me and
first hearing it out of service labor is

00:39:35

is street is is not talk about much is labor history everywhere but the
but the end of the article for mint in Chicago
European left this and that gave us a tower work day which we don’t have anymore
is something that also get short Riften in and that’s not
not because of many Midwestern anti Midwestern think it’s just because of lack of
really authentic labor history so there’s a to justice and Oates I can I get some
I’m going to go back and try my pipes good luck thank you pump

00:40:10

and I’m talking about a couple of areas
what’s been done about it both in terms of labor history
Native Americans in the Midwest well I was just going to come
comin on the corner of courses
remember to the extent is remembered very much for the frontier thesis
which basically argues that the fact that the United States had this western frontier
frontier were people kept moving out into had a major impact on how the country

00:40:45

unlike other countries France or whatever
frontier influence so I think that’s an appointment
22 rays that’s why I remember
what is not remember 4 and this was my point and I & I hope I didn’t
clarified very well but my point was he became a leader in the
19 century in addition to promoting the frontier thesis
heat promoted the idea of focusing on this region and he said

00:41:20

set after spending time on the East Coast at Johns Hopkins in other places that
that they just didn’t really focus on the interior of the country they were focused
full cast on other subject matter and this is
this is kind of a forgotten part of Frederick Jackson Turner the extent to which he was original
regional is an original s voice and that was my point with regard to Turner
okay let’s go ahead and take another call
flat Illinois good morning run Focus

00:41:55

very interesting I just got to comments to make one and you can
Chicago reinventing the tell if you’re talking about the rough spot
Bell parts fit a one time Chicago was the lumber capital of the world
worldwide Chino bring that up in conversation I don’t know anybody that realizes that
how important was the mother of the reinvention to Chicago the other
iced out my vacation Nebraska
a book to read that might get people interested in their background

00:42:30

Joe’s comes to mind but very entertaining
families there similar
tumblr stories of 00 jewels and then I’ll stop right now
okay well thank you very much for your call Ron and I’m wondering
in terms of capital of what’s up before after
after the fire im wondering that would have been before of course much
much of the Midwest you know we talked earlier about that you’re up James Cinemark

00:43:05

Cooper in the French and Indian War etc during that period time
was heavily covered with with lumber
timber and sell one of the early industries
of the region was lumber and this is where we get
Blue Ox in all of this mythology surrounding
the lumber cancion of course still up farther north in northern Minnesota
Minnesota northern Michigan

00:43:40

that was a phase in the economic development of the Midwest it was
it was followed up by this industrial fans in this industry
Trey still process to a certain extent but its not like it once was
okay let’s go ahead and I take another color let’s go to a line 1
110 good morning gentleman
I just want to make a little comet about
the state I grew up in Iowa

00:44:15

62 grades
studying Nebraska I don’t remember who the author wife
social studies class you study to from where
coolant in a column in the city
that’s all I have to say the education thank you thank you very much
much and I actually that reminds me also reminds me
why I wanted to people riding in a similar specialties

00:44:50

on a unit of local history Dana Wright Kentucky junior high school
high school social studies where you say they learned about the early settlers are local one room schoolhouse
full house in house smaller on clays became one town
interesting neighborhoods name street names
cetera what’s your opinion about hyper localizing
forgetting the story today students
what I think that is a great way to introduce

00:45:25

children to the story of the region you have to start somewhere and if you
if you can localiza and have them dia de la loca
cool story and then have that local story fit into a bigger picture
picture important part of an exercise like that is to help the sea
what this local history means in terms of the totality of the region
region of the country in the world and I think of you can do that
if you can at once focus on the micro but still but use it

00:46:00

to tell if your story then it starts to sing can people become more conscious of the
sense of their place and where they fit
Anne at same time Elko Nevada globalized sense of
things to do so it can be win win if its done properly
properly we are running out of time apologize for the calls and I’m not able to
table to get to one another in this hour a focus to Johnny wanted to get
get to give you the last word on do you see any hope for getting a bigger

00:46:35

how big your voice from Midwestern history how do you change things in terms of history
why don’t you might think there is a little bit of hope
without a conference in Wisconsin last fall
Empire going to the conference I send an email to some of the other people think
let’s meet at the bar at the conference hotel and spa
talk about this problem of Midwestern history come on down will have a chat about
can think of some ways to deal with it and I thought maybe 3 or 4 people

00:47:10

we at 35 people come to that meeting and so we formed
Midwestern history Working Group and weed
starter our own Facebook page in Twitter account
email list and sore trying to get people organize the little bad and we’re going to
to have some more meetings talk about this in March we’re going to meet in Omaha
Missouri Valley history conference center and we have some more meaning
land after that so if you’re really interested in that please

00:47:45

can a member of the Midwestern history Working Group on the internet in
and maybe we can turn things around a little bit okay John
John John Locke we are out of time but I wanted to thank you for being on focus today
Johnlock of South Dakota is the author of the Lost region published by the University of
city of Iowa Press coming for a revival of interest in the Midwest History thank you for being
on the show today listening to an encore presentation
presentation of focus on wyll tuning for conversations about issues

00:48:20

Susan ideas that affect your life each weekday morning at 10 with a replay
at 8 p.m. We welcome any additional comments are questions you have about today’s show
show on our website at will.illinois.edu/focus
today’s show was produced by Lindsey moon Jason Croft our technical director
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The American Midwest played a crucial role in the development of the US as a whole, helped spark a revolution of American manufacturing by producing food for urban centers and played a critical role in the Union victory of the Civil War. If you ask most historians about the Midwest, however, you might find yourself explaining all that.

This hour on Focus, we'll listen back to a conversation Jim Meadows had with Jon Lauck, author of the new book “The Lost Region: Toward a Revival of Midwestern History,” about the forgotten moments when the Midwest played a crucial part in US history. We’ll also hear about the vital role state and local historical societies have played in documenting history in the region.