Midwestern United States

The region consists of 12 states:

Illinois;
Indiana;
Iowa;
Kansas;
Michigan;
Minnesota;
Mossouri;
Nebraska;
North Dakota;
Ohio;
South Dakota;
Wisconsin.

History

The settlement of the area began in the 17th century because of the French exploration of the region. In 1763 their control over the area of Mississippi River ended as a conclusion of the French and Indian War. Later, British colonists began to expand into the Ohio Country during the period of the 1750s.

● To the development of the Midwest, two waterways have been very important. The first was the Ohio River, which flowed into the Mississippi River. The second was the network of routes within the Great Lakes. The Erie Canal completed an all-water shipping route, so Lakeport and River cities grew up to start these new shipping routes.

● In the middle of the 19th century the region got its first railroads. The railroad junction in Chicago grew to be the world’s largest.
The population of automobiles and buses travelling was growing very quickly. Henry Ford and Charles Kettering, the inventor of the electrical starting motor and leaded gasoline, were products of the Midwest, as were the Wright brothers.

● The Northwest Ordinance region, which could be also called the heart of Midwest, was the first region of the United States that prohibited slavery.
Democratic notions were brought by American Revolutionary veterans.

Culture

● Like the most regions of the United States, the region of Midwest is mostly Christian. Roman Catholicism is the largest religious domination, although there are other religions as: Southern Baptists, Lutherans, Judaism and Islam. More or less 50% of the people in the Midwest regularly go to church.

● A large African-American urban population lives in the most of the region’s major cities because of the 20th century migration from the South. There is a huge combination of industry and cultures, blues, jazz and rock and roll led to a musical creativity in the 20th century who has produced new music genres such as the Motown Sound and techno from Detroit and house & blues music from Chicago.


Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwestern_United_States#History

Egle Medisauskaite, Group AA