The Liberal Heartland A Political History of the Postwar American Midwest

<p><span>Over 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. </span><em>The Liberal Heartland</em><span> is a powerful reminder that the American Midwest has a progressive legacy that rivals the coasts.</span></p><p><span>Across twenty chapters, </span><em>The Liberal Heartland</em><span> 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.</span></p><p><span>A companion to the 2020 volume, </span><em>The Conservative Heartland</em><span>, </span><em>The Liberal Heartland</em><span> 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.</span></p>