{"product_id":"the-liberal-heartland-a-political-history-of-the-postwar-american-midwest-hardback-9780700638642","title":"The Liberal Heartland; A Political History of the Postwar American Midwest (Hardback) 9780700638642","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe Liberal Heartland\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eA Political History of the Postwar American Midwest\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eJon K. Lauck (Edited by), Catherine McNicol Stock (Edited by)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780700638642\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 29 April 2025\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e400 pages, 6 tables\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 2.9 cm, 0.744 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eCatherine McNicol Stock and Jon Lauck have brought together a collection of essays that adds nuance and depth to the historical discussion of Midwestern politics—where they have been, and where they are going. The region’s political tradition is far more layered and complicated than most people realize. Anyone who wants to understand Midwestern politics, or who thinks they already do, should read this engaging and eye-opening set of essays.\"—Pamela Riney-Kehrberg, author of \u003ci\u003eWhen a Dream Dies: Iowa, Agriculture, and the Farm Crisis of the 1980s\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Readers will be rewarded with a deeper understanding of a region that Americans ignore at their own peril. The editors and authors of these essays show that progressive and left-leaning politics in the Midwest remain vital to the American nation, despite dominant—and simplistic—red state\/blue state narratives. Broadening the political history of the Midwest to include more voices and perspectives, \u003ci\u003eThe Liberal Heartland\u003c\/i\u003e constitutes a bold declaration that the Midwest remains the true battleground region of American politics.\"—Joe Anderson, author of \u003ci\u003eIndustrializing the Corn Belt: Agriculture, Technology, and Environment, 1945–1972\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Here is a fascinating look at the politics of the great American Midwest, which is too often ignored while other regions are covered more extensively. You will come away from this fine anthology with new perspectives on a wide variety of topics that explain the Midwest’s significant role in shaping our modern politics.\"—Larry J. Sabato, coeditor of \u003ci\u003eA Return to Normalcy? The 2020 Election That (Almost) Broke America\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eOver the last two decades, the political narrative of the “liberal coasts” and the “conservative heartland” has become something of a truism, leading many Democrats to write off much of the Midwest as a Republican stronghold. Today’s polarized divide between rural and urban voters makes it easy to forget that things have not always been this way. \u003ci\u003eThe Liberal Heartland\u003c\/i\u003e is a powerful reminder that the American Midwest has a progressive legacy that rivals the coasts.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcross twenty chapters, \u003ci\u003eThe Liberal Heartland\u003c\/i\u003e traces the political history of this region from the post–New Deal period to the rise of the New Right and Donald Trump’s right-wing populism. The contributors explore the way liberals and progressives across the Midwest fought for expanding environmental protection, engaged in community activism, developed a queer-labor coalition before Stonewall, struggled for women’s rights and representation in the Plains states, opposed the death penalty, and mobilized for Indigenous self-determination, among other topics. In addition to well-known leaders like Harry Truman and George McGovern, the book highlights lesser-known figures, such as Lydia Cady Langer, Mary Jean Collins, Richard Hatcher, Jim Jontz, and Paul Wellstone.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA companion to the 2020 volume, \u003ci\u003eThe Conservative Heartland\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Liberal Heartland\u003c\/i\u003e explores the history of the Midwest from a less-acknowledged perspective, recounting often forgotten stories that demonstrate the importance of the Midwest for New Deal liberalism and various forms of left-wing politics. This is a long-overdue book that represents a fresh look at the American heartland.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n","brand":"University Press of Kansas","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52531016401176,"sku":"9780700638642","price":33.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-liberal-heartland-a-political-history-of-the-postwar-american-midwest-hardback-9780700638642","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}