{"product_id":"the-liberal-heartland-a-political-history-of-the-postwar-american-midwest-9780700638642","title":"The Liberal Heartland: A Political History of the Postwar American Midwest","description":"\u003cp\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. The Liberal Heartland is a powerful reminder that the American Midwest has a progressive legacy that rivals the coasts.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcross twenty chapters, The Liberal Heartland 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, The Conservative Heartland, The Liberal Heartland 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\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLauck, Jon K.:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Jon K. Lauck is the founding president of the Midwestern History Association, editor in chief of the \u003ci\u003eMiddle West Review\u003c\/i\u003e, and adjunct professor of political science at the University of South Dakota.\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eStock, Catherine McNicol:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Catherine McNicol Stock is the Barbara Zaccheo Kohn '72 Professor of History at Connecticut College.","brand":"University Press of Kansas","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51260107260178,"sku":"9780700638642","price":54.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_52e7f457-7f18-4ea4-abf5-ceacde563122.jpg?v=1746636520","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-liberal-heartland-a-political-history-of-the-postwar-american-midwest-9780700638642","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}