Remaking the Heartland: Middle America since the 1950s
The social transformation of the American Midwest in the postwar era

For many Americans, the Midwest is a vast unknown. In Remaking the Heartland, Robert Wuthnow sets out to rectify this. He shows how the region has undergone extraordinary social transformations over the past half-century and proven itself surprisingly resilient in the face of such hardships as the Great Depression and the movement of residents to other parts of the country. He examines the heartland's reinvention throughout the decades and traces the social and economic factors that have helped it to survive and prosper.

Wuthnow points to the critical strength of the region's social institutions established between 1870 and 1950—the market towns, farmsteads, one-room schoolhouses, townships, rural cooperatives, and manufacturing centers that have adapted with the changing times. He focuses on farmers' struggles to recover from the Great Depression well into the 1950s, the cultural redefinition and modernization of the region's image that occurred during the 1950s and 1960s, the growth of secondary and higher education, the decline of small towns, the redeployment of agribusiness, and the rapid expansion of edge cities. Drawing his arguments from extensive interviews and evidence from the towns and counties of the Midwest, Wuthnow provides a unique perspective as both an objective observer and someone who grew up there.

Remaking the Heartland offers an accessible look at the humble yet strong foundations that have allowed the region to endure undiminished.

"1116828969"
Remaking the Heartland: Middle America since the 1950s
The social transformation of the American Midwest in the postwar era

For many Americans, the Midwest is a vast unknown. In Remaking the Heartland, Robert Wuthnow sets out to rectify this. He shows how the region has undergone extraordinary social transformations over the past half-century and proven itself surprisingly resilient in the face of such hardships as the Great Depression and the movement of residents to other parts of the country. He examines the heartland's reinvention throughout the decades and traces the social and economic factors that have helped it to survive and prosper.

Wuthnow points to the critical strength of the region's social institutions established between 1870 and 1950—the market towns, farmsteads, one-room schoolhouses, townships, rural cooperatives, and manufacturing centers that have adapted with the changing times. He focuses on farmers' struggles to recover from the Great Depression well into the 1950s, the cultural redefinition and modernization of the region's image that occurred during the 1950s and 1960s, the growth of secondary and higher education, the decline of small towns, the redeployment of agribusiness, and the rapid expansion of edge cities. Drawing his arguments from extensive interviews and evidence from the towns and counties of the Midwest, Wuthnow provides a unique perspective as both an objective observer and someone who grew up there.

Remaking the Heartland offers an accessible look at the humble yet strong foundations that have allowed the region to endure undiminished.

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Remaking the Heartland: Middle America since the 1950s

Remaking the Heartland: Middle America since the 1950s

by Robert Wuthnow
Remaking the Heartland: Middle America since the 1950s

Remaking the Heartland: Middle America since the 1950s

by Robert Wuthnow

Paperback(New Edition)

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Overview

The social transformation of the American Midwest in the postwar era

For many Americans, the Midwest is a vast unknown. In Remaking the Heartland, Robert Wuthnow sets out to rectify this. He shows how the region has undergone extraordinary social transformations over the past half-century and proven itself surprisingly resilient in the face of such hardships as the Great Depression and the movement of residents to other parts of the country. He examines the heartland's reinvention throughout the decades and traces the social and economic factors that have helped it to survive and prosper.

Wuthnow points to the critical strength of the region's social institutions established between 1870 and 1950—the market towns, farmsteads, one-room schoolhouses, townships, rural cooperatives, and manufacturing centers that have adapted with the changing times. He focuses on farmers' struggles to recover from the Great Depression well into the 1950s, the cultural redefinition and modernization of the region's image that occurred during the 1950s and 1960s, the growth of secondary and higher education, the decline of small towns, the redeployment of agribusiness, and the rapid expansion of edge cities. Drawing his arguments from extensive interviews and evidence from the towns and counties of the Midwest, Wuthnow provides a unique perspective as both an objective observer and someone who grew up there.

Remaking the Heartland offers an accessible look at the humble yet strong foundations that have allowed the region to endure undiminished.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780691158020
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication date: 03/03/2013
Edition description: New Edition
Pages: 376
Product dimensions: 5.70(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Robert Wuthnow is the Gerhard R. Andlinger '52 Professor of Social Sciences at Princeton University. His many books include Red State Religion and America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity (both Princeton).

Table of Contents

List of Tables vii

Preface ix

Introduction 1

Chapter One: Here in the Middle 7

Chapter Two: Recovering from the Great Depression 22

Chapter Three: Reinventing the Rustic Life 57

Chapter Four: Education in Middle America 92

Chapter Five: The Decline of Small Communities 126

Chapter Six: The Changing Face of Agribusiness 171

Chapter Seven: From Towns to Sprawling Suburbs 214

Afterword 254

Appendix 261

Notes 285

Selected Bibliography 335

Index 349

What People are Saying About This

R.F. Diffendal

Remaking the Heartland takes a refreshing look at Middle America and dispels common myths about what is happening there. It turns out that it is not one big place that ought to be turned into a buffalo commons after all. Robert Wuthnow has written a fine and well-researched book that will change the minds of many readers in positive directions.
R. F. Diffendal, Jr., University of Nebraska-Lincoln

From the Publisher

"In Remaking the Heartland, Robert Wuthnow demonstrates that the widely reported demise of the Midwest has been significantly exaggerated. Instead of a dying region, he finds a thriving one which has adapted to a challenging world by drawing on its own enduring institutions and behaviors."—David B. Danbom, author of Born in the Country: A History of Rural America

"Remaking the Heartland takes a refreshing look at Middle America and dispels common myths about what is happening there. It turns out that it is not one big place that ought to be turned into a buffalo commons after all. Robert Wuthnow has written a fine and well-researched book that will change the minds of many readers in positive directions."—R. F. Diffendal, Jr., University of Nebraska-Lincoln

"One of America's most prolific scholars of culture and change now turns his attention to his native Midwest. Robert Wuthnow paints a compelling portrait of the enduring vitality of this special part of America and offers a provocative narrative of how it is changing. Wuthnow's many fans—especially those with Midwestern ties—will enjoy his spirited, graceful, and well-evidenced argument that the heart of the American heartland still beats strong."—Robert D. Putnam, author of Bowling Alone and American Grace

"Drawing on published sources, government statistics, and autobiographical material, this book is a comprehensive appraisal of the social transformation of Middle America."—Glenn Fuguitt, University of Wisconsin-Madison and coauthor of Rural and Small Town America

"Remaking the Heartland is a compelling examination of the transformation of the Midwest in the postwar era. Combining an insider's empathy with the critical distance of someone who has moved away, Wuthnow debunks the myths of the heartland's decline and highlights the region's institutional riches and cultural creativity."—John Schmalzbauer, Missouri State University

John Schmalzbauer

Remaking the Heartland is a compelling examination of the transformation of the Midwest in the postwar era. Combining an insider's empathy with the critical distance of someone who has moved away, Wuthnow debunks the myths of the heartland's decline and highlights the region's institutional riches and cultural creativity.
John Schmalzbauer, Missouri State University

David B. Danbom

In Remaking the Heartland, Robert Wuthnow demonstrates that the widely reported demise of the Midwest has been significantly exaggerated. Instead of a dying region, he finds a thriving one which has adapted to a challenging world by drawing on its own enduring institutions and behaviors.
David B. Danbom, author of "Born in the Country: A History of Rural America"

Putnam

One of America's most prolific scholars of culture and change now turns his attention to his native Midwest. Robert Wuthnow paints a compelling portrait of the enduring vitality of this special part of America and offers a provocative narrative of how it is changing. Wuthnow's many fans—especially those with Midwestern ties—will enjoy his spirited, graceful, and well-evidenced argument that the heart of the American heartland still beats strong.
Robert D. Putnam, author of "Bowling Alone" and "American Grace"

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