American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America

Colin Woodard

Sept 2011 · Sold by Penguin

About this eBook

• A New Republic Best Book of the Year • The Globalist Top Books of the Year • Winner of the Maine Literary Award for Non-fiction

Particularly relevant in understanding who voted for who during presidential elections, this is an endlessly fascinating look at American regionalism and the eleven “nations” that continue to shape North America

According to award-winning journalist and historian Colin Woodard, North America is made up of eleven distinct nations, each with its own unique historical roots. In American Nations he takes readers on a journey through the history of our fractured continent, offering a revolutionary and revelatory take on American identity, and how the conflicts between them have shaped our past and continue to mold our future. From the Deep South to the Far West, to Yankeedom to El Norte, Woodard (author of American Character: A History of the Epic Struggle Between Individual Liberty and the Common Good) reveals how each region continues to uphold its distinguishing ideals and identities today, with results that can be seen in the composition of the U.S. Congress or on the county-by-county election maps of any hotly contested election in our history.

Ratings and reviews

Well written and persuasive. Woodard grounds his analysis of the nations' boundaries, values, choices in enough reliable data and primary sources that it's hard to argue with many of his conclusions. I was disappointed in some of the coverage of the Deep South and Tidewater though. We're given in depth pictures of the lives and values of the rank and file of the other nations, but little about these two. Woodard talks about the diffeences between Anglos and Hispanics in El Norte, both culturally and in their struggles for political power, but he's largely silent on black folks in the Deep South and Tidewater. He mentions that MLK is a Deep Southerner, but doesn't really fit King's values that seem diametrically opposed to the Deep South's into his analysis. Since Woodard uses voting data for much of his analysis it's understandable that he has less to say about a group in a region who have been denied the ability to vote for most of the region's history, but it raises some interesting questions. Are black Deep Southerners and Tidewaterites nations within nations?

A great read and certainly bits the nails head quite right on most things. That said, I can't help but wonder if the author has biases, but also of course cannot deny I might have my own. I think to a degree he ignores or at least does not explain the thoughts of state pride, a phenomenon that certainly exists and influences decision in many states, even if those thoughts and cultures are intertwined with the overall cultures mentioned in the book. Overall a book I'd recommend.

About the author

Colin Woodard is a Maine native and the author of Ocean’s End: Travels Through Endangered Seas. He is a regular contributor to the Christian Science Monitor and the San Francisco Chronicle.