The moniker “Midwest” is liberally sprinkled across countless institutions in cities like Chicago. Midwest Tool. Midwest Foods. Midwest Laundries. Midwest Chiropractic Center. As the Encyclopedia of Chicago aptly notes, Chicago stands as the “capital of the Midwest”—the vibrant commercial and industrial core of a region built upon trade and manufacturing.
But how accurately does “Midwest” truly depict Chicago’s position within North America? Do we genuinely belong in the same geographical category as cities like Des Moines, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Sioux Falls – urban centers with whom our cultural, linguistic, and political connections feel tenuous at best? Furthermore, are the commonly accepted boundaries of the Midwest—west of the Appalachian Mountains, north of the Ohio River, south of the Canadian border, and east of the Rockies—simply too expansive to be meaningfully encompassed by a single label?
The answer, to borrow a distinctly Midwestern turn of phrase, is a resounding “nope” and “you betcha!” We aren’t really Midwesterners in the way the term suggests, because the “Midwest” as a singular, cohesive place is largely a construct. The term “Midwest” emerged in the 19th century, initially intended to describe the states of the old Northwest Ordinance. However, this designation became increasingly obsolete as the United States expanded westward to the Pacific coast.
“Midwest” became a label applied to a section of America that seemed to defy easy categorization for those on the coasts: it was neither North, South, East, nor truly West. Its geographical borders have historically been fluid and contested, a point of ongoing debate. A Vox poll of nearly 35,000 readers revealed that while 95% agreed Iowa is a Midwestern state, and 91% included Illinois, states like Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, and Missouri hovered in the low 80s, highlighting the ambiguity of the region’s definition. What we currently refer to as the Midwest is, in reality, a collection of distinct sub-regions, not all of which neatly fit within the traditional understanding of “the Midwest.”
Take Chicago, for instance. We are Great Lakers, inhabitants of a freshwater realm that transcends not only the conventional boundaries of the Midwest but also the national borders of the United States. Our fellow Great Lakes communities extend to Milwaukee, Detroit, and Cleveland, all conventionally labeled “Midwestern,” but also encompass Buffalo, Rochester, and even Toronto, Canada.
Chicago’s very incorporation into Illinois was initially predicated on its vital connection to the Great Lakes. The Northwest Ordinance stipulated that Illinois’s northern boundary would follow a line defined by the southern tip of Lake Michigan. Had this original plan prevailed, present-day Chicago would actually be part of Wisconsin. In 1817, as Illinois prepared for statehood, territorial delegate Nathaniel Pope advocated for shifting the boundary northward by 55 miles. Pope’s strategic move aimed to counterbalance the pro-Southern, pro-slavery sentiments in the southern part of the state by attracting Yankee settlers migrating westward via the Great Lakes, thereby ensuring Illinois would enter the Union as a free state.
These “Yankees,” primarily hailing from western New York and New England, laid the foundation for Chicago’s distinctive culture and linguistic patterns. In his insightful book, American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America, journalist Colin Woodard places Chicago within a region he terms “Yankeedom.” This cultural zone stretches across the northernmost tier of the United States, from Maine to Minnesota, and is characterized by a strong inclination towards political progressivism. Woodard observes that “residents in Northeastern states and the industrial Midwest tend to be more comfortable with government regulation. They value education and the common good more than other regions.” Furthermore, the Inland North dialect, the linguistic bedrock of the Classic Chicago Accent, closely mirrors the contours of the lower Great Lakes, extending from Rochester to Milwaukee.
(When I authored How to Speak Midwestern, a book exploring regional dialects, I faced criticism for broadening the region’s borders to include cities like Buffalo and Pittsburgh. My rationale was that the accent features commonly associated with “the Midwest” actually originated in these eastern cities and were carried westward by migrating populations.)
These distinct political and linguistic characteristics set us apart from those typically considered “Midwesterners” in states like Iowa or Kansas. These differences are further amplified by Chicago’s identity as a major port city with a deep-rooted industrial heritage.
Beyond the overarching Great Lakes region, the so-called Midwest can be further broken down into several distinct sub-regions, each possessing its own unique cultural nuances, speech patterns, and traditions:
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The Corn Belt: A vast agricultural heartland stretching across central Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa, dominated by corn and soybean farming.
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The North Country: Encompassing the mining and logging territories of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, characterized by its rugged landscapes and resource-based economy.
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Upper Appalachia: Spanning the Ohio Valley regions of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, and Kentucky, this area was initially settled by migrants from the South and retains cultural links to Appalachia.
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The Great Plains: Extending into the eastern Dakotas, Kansas, and Nebraska, this sub-region is defined by its expansive prairies and agricultural focus.
Even prior to Woodard’s regional analysis, Deborah Miller of the Minnesota Historical Society recognized this complexity. She remarked to Hour Detroit magazine, “I would put Minnesota and Wisconsin and Michigan into a particular part of the Midwest that I would call the Upper Midwest. They’re also part of a different region that you might call the Great Lakes states, along with their Canadian contemporaries.”
Chicago’s closest urban counterpart isn’t found further west, but rather north, in Toronto. It’s hard to imagine two major cities more alike. Both boast similar populations—Toronto at approximately 2.9 million and Chicago at 2.7 million—and are both vibrant, multicultural metropolises planned on a grid system situated along the shores of a Great Lake. Navigating Toronto feels remarkably intuitive to a Chicagoan. (A key difference: Toronto embraced its waterfront with development, while Chicago famously preserved its lakefront “forever free and clear.”) We are also the respective capitals of improvisational comedy in our nations, each hosting a Second City comedy troupe. For ambitious individuals in both the US and Canada, Chicago and Toronto represent major career hubs before reaching the ultimate stages of New York and Los Angeles. Unsurprisingly, Chicago and Toronto are officially sister cities.
No one would mistakenly label Toronto a Midwestern city, primarily because it’s not even located in the United States. However, its identity as a Great Lakes city is undeniable. So, the next time someone from the East Coast, West Coast, or the South casually refers to you as a Midwesterner, politely challenge that overly simplistic label. Suggest instead, “I’m a Great Laker,” and perhaps encourage them to consult a map.
