All Over the Map
Subtitle: Rethinking American Regions
Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Published: December 1, 1995
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 152
ISBN-13: 9780801853920
Subjects: American history; Cultural studies; United States - General; Regionalism; Anthropology - Cultural; Social Science; History - U.S.; United States; Sociology; USA; Sectionalism (United States); History / United States / General; History
First sentence: The sectional crisis that destroyed the union in 1861 resulted from the failure of national political institutions, including, finally and most tellingly, the political parties.
Description: Even as Americans keep moving "all over the map" in the late twentieth century, they cherish memories of the places they come from. But where do these places--these regions--come from? What makes them so real? In this groundbreaking book a distinguished group of historians explores the concept of region in America, traces changes the idea has undergone in our national experience, and examines its meaning for Americans today. Far from diminishing in importance, the authors conclude, regional differences continue to play a significant role in Americans' self-image. Regional identity, in fact, has always been fed by the very forces that many people think threaten its existence today: a central government, an aggressive economy, and connections with places beyond regional boundaries. Calling into question widely held notions about how Americans came to differ from one another and explaining why those differences continue to flourish, this iconoclastic study--by scholars with differing regional ties--will refresh and redirect the centuries-old discussion over Americans' conceptions of themselves -- Back cover.