United States Great Lakes Region: Michigan and Indiana
Cultural personality
Midwesterners consider themselves a hardworking industrious people. Most live in suburban areas or small towns. Midwesterners drive a lot and life revolves around the automobile. Most families have at least two cars (one for each licensed driver) and towns are not dense enough for walking to be a practical mode of transportation. People tend to be idealistic and see the world in terms of extremes.
The American Civil War was a defining point in the Midwest’s history which claimed the lives of many men from this region. These states formed many regiments such as the famed Iron Brigade http://www.ironbrigade.net/), and civil war memorials can be seen in many villages. Although settlement in the region had been occurring for long before the civil war, this was one of the first main acts the areas took as states.
This region revolves around a number of industries and farming. The automotive industry is very big in Southeast Michigan and mining used to play a large role in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Most open space in this region is taken up by corn and soybean fields which can be seen along every highway. Although the typical Midwesterner does not farm, most have ancestors who farmed or have some ties to farming.
What does a person from this culture look like?
Most Midwesterners descend from Northern Europeans. German and British (English, Scottish, and Irish) ancestries are most common. Until the First World War when the practice was banned by the government, many schools in this region were taught in the German language. Large numbers of Dutch, Polish, and Scandinavians also settled in this region.
Because of their descent, the typical Midwesterner has brown hair and fair skin. As they get older, they tend to become overweight and obesity is a major problem in this region.
Typical clothing consists of jeans and a t-shirt. People are generally very causal as this attire is even common in church. For formal occasions men usually wear khaki pants and blue button up shirts while women will wear a dress. Explorers to the region usually wore cloth pants and shirts as well as leather moccasins and shoes. Work dress used to be a suit and tie but has now settled into more casual attire.
What are the traditional eating habits of the culture?
People generally eat three meals per day. A breakfast of cold boxed cereal and milk is eaten in the morning after waking up and before leaving for work. Pancakes or eggs are commonly fare when on a more leisurely schedule. Lunch is eaten around noon and is either a sandwich or leftovers carried to work, or a meal bought at a restaurant. Dinner is typically eaten around six o’clock. Meals vary widely among families with some families preparing foods from scratch while other families eat more preprocessed foods. Eating out for dinner is also common.
Burgers are frequently purchased from fast food restaurants when people run short on time, and delivered pizza is another common fast food. Steak and potatoes are popular foods, and most people eat a very light sweet white flour bread. Cookbooks such as Joy of Cooking and Betty Crocker’s are a common source for home cooking recipes. Traditional family and regional recipes are more common among recent immigrants.
Traditional foods include Turkey at Thanksgiving; lamb, colored eggs, and egg hunting at Easter; and smoked ham at Christmas.
What are some things that are highly or lowly valued by this culture in comparison to others?
People value independence and freedom very highly. People dislike being monitored and think of themselves as “the land of the free and home of the brave.” People take pride in the fact that they helped free African American slaves in the Civil War and Western Europe in two World Wars.
Relationships and traditions are valued less here than in many other places. It is common for families to be scattered throughout the country. Divorce is common. People generally do not care much for traditional ways and generally assume that newer is better.
