Iowa: The Middle Land

Preface

P R E F A C E In 1996Iowans celebrate 150 years of statehood. This book tells the story of the settlement and developmentof the twenty-ninth state admitted to the Union on December 29, 1846.The state's sesquicentennial seemsan appropriatetime to examineonce again the major events and developments of the past 150 years, as well as to recognize the accomplishments of both ordinary and not so ordinary Iowans. Many labels and descriptions have been applied to Iowa throughout its 150 years of statehood-terms such as "land where the tall corn grows," "land between two rivers," and "beautiful land" are encountered frequently.At the same time, some people have described Iowa as dull and provincial, whereas others perceive it as "a perfect gem" of a place. The late Laurence Lafore, professor of history at the University of Iowa, describedhis view of Iowa in Harpers Magazine in 1971.Although he discussed many traits of Iowans themselves,his succinct descriptionof the land best captures the essence of the state: "It is the country-and its accessibility-that most beguilesthe new arrivalfrom the [East].The land is very beautiful, and the special quality of its beauty is coherence and order ." Lafore explained that Iowa "has its own unmistakableaspect, whose most conspicuous trait is geometry. The roads run sternly to compass points, as they do throughout the Midwest." In his description of the land, Lafore captured the sense of stability, beauty, and by implication, the air of industry that pervades the state.' As historian Joseph Wall observed in his bicentennialhistory, in Iowa the land dominates. It does so in a particularly tidy fashion. Anyone driving through the Iowa countryside in late July will see the sense of "coherence and order" displayed by tasseling rows of tall corn and low, bushy clumps of soybeans. The countryside imposes a sense of order through the x PREFACE regular placement of township roads, most clearly viewed from the air. Iowa farmsteads,although declining in number, add to the sense of order, as most farms have neat, landscapedyards, often with rows of trees placed around the farms' perimeters. Recently a relative visiting from Denver announced almost incredulously on a drive through the countryside, "Why, the grass goes right up to the barn door!" The size and shape of the state also contribute to the sense of coherence and order. Iowa is-with the exception of some irregularitiesalong the western and eastern borders-more squarely shaped than any other midwestern state. Where else can one describe the locationof a county by stating it is five tiers up from the bottom or five tiers down from the top? When compared to midwestern states to the east such as Ohio, Indiana, or Illinois, or states to the west such as the Dakotas, Iowa has less diversity in its terrain and climatic features.The state, therefore, has greater uniformity in land appearance and resources than other midwestern states, thus allowing agriculture to be a dominant industry everywhere. Thiscommonalitythrough the years of agriculturalinterests(whether or not one lives on a farm) has produced a sense of like-mindedness among Iowans. This is demonstratedby the fact that people here describe themselves as Iowans.As Professor Lafore has written: "Habits of speech are indicativeof a reality: people rarely refer to themselves as Pennsylvanians ; New Yorkers are the residents of a city; and there is no word by which a citizen of Massachusetts or Connecticut can call himself. But Iowans always speak of themselves as Iowans."* Given the state's location, its time of initial settlement and its general social and demographic characteristics, another apt description might be "middle land." Perhaps this description is best supported by Iowa's geographical location, as the state is tucked almost midpoint between the east and west coasts. If one narrows the perspective and examines only the Midwest, Iowa is situatedclose to the middle of that region. The physical characteristicsof the state also support the term "middle land." As discussed in Chapter 3, Iowa served as a transitionalor middle zone between woodland regions to the east and the Great Plains to the west. When settlersfrom the northeastern United States arrived here, they discovereda region with limited trees but millions of acres of tall grass or prairie. The new environment required some adjustment and, in turn, helped those moving on prepare for the Great Plains, an area almost totally devoid of trees. PREFACE xi Iowa's first inhabitants...