{"product_id":"liberal-heartland","title":"Liberal Heartland","description":"Over 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. \u003ci\u003eThe Liberal Heartland\u003c\/i\u003e is a powerful reminder that the American Midwest has a progressive legacy that rivals the coasts.\u003cp\u003eAcross twenty chapters, \u003ci\u003eThe Liberal Heartland\u003c\/i\u003e 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, \u003ci\u003eThe Conservative Heartland\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Liberal Heartland\u003c\/i\u003e 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","brand":"University Press of Kansas","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54260481065304,"sku":"9780700638659","price":31.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780700638659.jpg?v=1778639461","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/liberal-heartland","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}