American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America

Colin Woodard in the book American Nations (2011) offers an original and provocative interpretation of North American history and politics. Instead of the usual division into "red" and "blue" states or North and South, Woodard claims that the continent has been shaped since the very beginnings of colonization as a federation of eleven different regional cultures which he calls "nations". Each of them has its own specific values, attitudes about freedom, government, religion and social order, inherited from the first settlers.

The book traces the history of these regional cultures from the 16th century to the 21st century. Among the most important are: Yankeedom (the Puritan, collectivist, and reformist North), Deep South (the aristocratic, hierarchical, and individualistic South), Midlands (the pluralistic and temperate belt), Greater Appalachia, Tidewater, New Netherland (multicultural New York and the surrounding area), Left Coast, El Norte, New France, First Nation, and Far West.

Woodard shows how these cultures cooperated, competed, or openly clashed with each other through the American Revolution, the Civil War, the Westward Expansion, the great social movements of the 20th century, and the modern culture wars. Rather than merging into a single “American” culture, they retained their fundamental differences, which still define political divisions, attitudes toward the state, immigration, education, and morality today.

The book’s style is dynamic, journalistically lively, and accessible, full of historical stories and anecdotes. Woodard does not idealize any of the nations, but tries to objectively present their strengths and weaknesses. The book has become very influential because it offers a convincing explanation of why the United States is so deeply divided and why the classic divisions (liberal-conservative, North-South) are not enough.

American Nations is now a classic work of American regional history and geopolitics, often recommended as a key to understanding contemporary American politics.