The States Of America: The Midwest: Volume Four

Ohio, South Dakota & Wisconsin

The Histories Of Ohio, South Dakota & Wisconsin In One Collected Volume

Far from the flyover country of popular imagination, the American Midwest has been a crucible where competing visions of democracy, identity, and progress have collided for centuries. In this compelling volume, Daniel Hardy examines three states that reveal the true complexity of the Midwestern experience.

Ohio, the industrial powerhouse and perennial political battleground, has produced presidents and shaped national debates from abolition to labor rights to the fate of American manufacturing. South Dakota's sweeping prairies tell a different story—of Indigenous resistance and resilience, agricultural boom and bust, and the ongoing struggle between tradition and transformation. Wisconsin, the birthplace of progressive reform and bitter contemporary political conflict, demonstrates how a single state can pioneer social innovation while wrestling with profound divisions.

Hardy uncovers the common threads binding these disparate states: the displacement of Native peoples and their enduring presence, the radical impact of mass immigration, the rise and fall of industrial might, and the environmental legacies that haunt the present. Through meticulous research and vivid storytelling, he reveals how Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin have served as laboratories for the American experiment, testing what democracy means on contested ground.

This is Midwestern history that refuses simple narratives, demanding instead that we grapple with the region's contradictions and recognize its central role in shaping American life. Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand where America has been—and where it's heading.