The document discusses the history and modern state of the American West and Midwest regions. It describes how the Midwest was historically an agricultural center but declined as manufacturing industries left, while the West grew rapidly and became more diverse. Today, Native Americans live on reservations and face socioeconomic challenges. Elements of the Wild West still exist like cowboys, but gun laws are now less restrictive than in the past. Remnants of the past like gold mines, wagon ruts, and Route 66 remain visible and celebrated as symbols of American heritage.

2. 1. CURRENT WEST & MIDWEST SITUATION
2. MULTICULTURAL AMERICAN WEST
3. MODERN NATIVE AMERICANS
4. HOW WILD IS THE WILD WEST TODAY?
5. VISIBLE REMAINS OF THE WILD WEST

3. The Midwest is both rural and industrial.
It is called the "corn belt" and "breadbasket” of the nation.
The U.S. produces 40% of the world crop.
The automobile and steel industries were central to community and economy in the Great lakes area.
As those industries declined, the upper Midwest became known as the rust belt.
Major cities that suffered from the Rust Belt problems include Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and
Columbus.
The West is associated with national dreams and myths of unlimited opportunity and individualism. It
also has the nation's most open landscapes.
California has emerged as the most populous state and one of the top 10 economies in the world.
1. CURRENT WEST & MIDWEST SITUATION

4. Linguistic Characteristics of this region:
The accents of the region are generally distinct from those of the South and many
urban areas of the American Northeast. The accent of most of the Midwest is
considered by many to be "standard" American English. This accent is preferred by many
national radio and television broadcasters.
Minnesota, western Wisconsin, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula have strong Scandinavian
accents, which intensifies as one travels north.
Michigan accents closely resemble Canadian ones across the border.
Many parts of western Michigan have a noticeable Dutch-flavored accent.
Chicago is recognized as having its own distinctive nasal accent, with a similar accent
occurring in parts of Wisconsin, Michigan, northern Indiana, Cleveland, and western New
York State. This may have been derived from Irish, German, Polish, and Eastern
European influences in the Great Lakes region.
1. CURRENT WEST & MIDWEST SITUATION

5. 2. MULTICULTURAL AMERICAN WEST
Today the West is the most rapidly growing part of the United States. It is also one of
the most ethnically diverse, as people from other cultures continue to be drawn to the
West.
Los Angeles is said to have the largest Mexican population outside of Mexico, while San
Francisco has the largest Chinese community in North America and also has a large LGBT
community. California has a large percentage of residents being African-American.

6. 3. MODERN NATIVE AMERICANS
As many as 100,000 Native Americans moved to the West as a result of the Indian Removal policy in
1830. In theory, relocation was supposed to be voluntary and many Native Americans did remain in
the East.
In practice, great pressure was put on Native American leaders to sign removal treaties. In 1838-
1839 US troops expelled the Cherokee Indians from their ancestral homeland in the Southeast and
removed them to what is now Oklahoma.
A. How do the Native Americans live today?
There are 562 federally recognized tribal governments in the United States. These tribes possess
the right to form their own governments.

7. 3. MODERN NATIVE AMERICANS
Where do the Native Americans live today?

8. 3. MODERN NATIVE AMERICANS
A. How do the native Americans live today?
A public opinion research showed that most non-Native Americans admitted they rarely encountered
Native Americans in their daily lives. While sympathetic toward Native Americans and expressing
regret over the past, most people had only a vague understanding of the problems facing Native
Americans today. For their part, Native Americans told researchers that they believed they
continued to face prejudice and mistreatment in the broader society.
“The cultural clash that still exists today between Native Americans and the dominant society around
them has led to conflict, depression, and low self-esteem in the Native American culture. Poverty
abounds, along with unemployment, poor education, depression, and drug abuse.”

9. 3. MODERN NATIVE AMERICANS
Byrney, Montana August 1941

10. 3. MODERN NATIVE AMERICANS
B. Use of indigenous imagery and names in American sport
The use of Native American names and images in sports has been a topic of debate in the United
States and Canada since the 1960. Numerous civil rights, religious, athletic and academic
organizations consider the use of native names and symbols by non-native teams to be a harmful form
of ethnic stereotyping which should be eliminated.

11. 3. MODERN NATIVE AMERICANS
Some teenagers talk about their daily life as Native Americans
Click on image to start video

12. 4. HOW WILD IS THE WILD WEST TODAY?
A. Modern Day Cowboys
There are still cowboys all over the West, from North Dakota down to New Mexico, partly because
there is still some rugged terrain where the horse remains the best way of getting around. But it is
also partly because the cowboy embodies many of the characteristics which Americans see as part of
their identity - the tough, self-reliant figure riding alone who tamed the unconquerable wilderness
from which America drew its wealth.
Cowboy hats and cowboy boots are still a widely accepted style in public places throughout the Wild
West. You can hear Country music nearly anywhere you wander and certainly you still find plenty of
horses, cattle, deer and antelope.

13. 4. HOW WILD IS THE WILD WEST TODAY?
B. Gun Control
In the Old West you needed a gun to be safe from bandits, natives, and wildlife. In the cities and
towns of the West, however, the law often prohibited people from toting their guns around.
A visitor arriving in Wichita, Kansas in 1873, the heart of the Wild West era, would have seen signs
declaring, "Leave Your Revolvers At Police Headquarters, and Get a Check.“
A check? That's right. When you entered a frontier town, you were legally required to leave your
guns at the stables on the outskirts of town or drop them off with the sheriff, who would give you a
token in exchange. You checked your guns then like you would check your coat today at a Boston
restaurant in winter.

14. 4. HOW WILD IS THE WILD WEST TODAY?
B. Gun Control
The second most common cause of arrest in the Old West was illegally carrying
a firearm. Somehow, we’ve got to the point that “Modern West” actually has
less-restrictive gun laws than the supposedly lawless Old West.

15. 5. VISIBLE REMAINS OF THE WILD WEST
A. The Gold Mines Today
The old mining districts and settlements, including "ghost" towns, are visited by
increasing numbers of tourists each year. In a few districts the old camps have been
reconstructed as recreation areas.
In recent years more people have become aware of the importance of California's gold
rush in the history and development of the western United States.
Unfortunately, little visible evidence remains of many of California's important gold-
quartz mines other than caved shafts and tunnels.

16. 5. VISIBLE REMAINS OF THE WILD WEST
B. Wagon Ruts
More than 400,000 people traveled the Oregon Trail during the 19th century—so many that there
are spots where wagon ruts are still visible today.
Wagons really did wear down certain patches of ground so much that nothing grows there to this day.
The National Parks Service, Bureau of Land Management and other groups have marked many of
these spots (you can see a marker in the above photo on the right) and have taken steps to preserve
them.

17. Though it is not a remain of the Wild West, Route 66 became a very important symbol of the east-
west migration in the 20th century, just like the Oregon trail in the 19th.
During the latter half of the 20th century, several transcontinental interstate highways crossed the
West bringing more trade and tourists from the East.
5. VISIBLE REMAINS OF THE WILD WEST

18. 5. VISIBLE REMAINS OF THE WILD WEST
C. Route 66
People who started doing business along the route became prosperous due to the growing popularity
of the highway, and those same people later fought to keep the highway alive in the face of the
growing threat of being bypassed by the new Interstate Highway System.
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Route 66 became a thoroughfare for thousands of hopeful
Midwesterners and southerners on their way to California seeking a better life.
About 210,000 emigrants came to California during the depression years.

19. 5. VISIBLE REMAINS OF THE WILD WEST
C. Route 66
Route 66 Today After the decertification of Route 66 in 1985, some states along its route chose
to keep the 66 designation and use it as a state road. In addition, beginning in 1987, Arizona founded
the Route 66 Association.
In 1999, President Bill Clinton signed the Route 66 Preservation.
In recent years, Route 66 has been featured in a variety of mass media. For example, in 2006, the
Disney-Pixar film Cars highlighted the highway.
Route
66 is
cool!!

20. 5. VISIBLE REMAINS OF THE WILD WEST
C. Route 66
John Steinbeck wrote of the dust bowl immigrants in his book "The Grapes of Wrath" in 1939
Steinbeck described Route 66 as:
“The path of a people in flight, refugees from dust and shrinking land, from the thunder of tractors
and shrinking ownership . . .
They come into 66 from the tributary side roads, from the wagon tracks and the rutted country
roads. 66 is the mother road, the road of flight".
The highway is a symbol of a changing America. “The Mother Road” also symbolizes three aspects of
everyday life such as The New Optimism and Migration, Freedom and Mobility, and a Trademark.
“The most famous road in the world”
Nowadays, it represents American history and heritage and is some kind of icon of American pop
culture.

21. 5. VISIBLE REMAINS OF THE WILD WEST
C. Route 66
Click on image to start video

22. 5. VISIBLE REMAINS OF THE WILD WEST
C. Route 66
Click on image to start video