Geographically, the Midwest encompasses the corn and grain belt and it's
associated heavy industries.  Roughly, it spans the territory from the Ohio
valley to approximately Cairo, Illinois on the east to the 98th meridian on
the west, and from the 37th parallel on the south to the Canadian border
and the Great Lakes on the north.  In short, we're talking about the area
of Chicago's direct economic sphere of influence, including its commodities
markets and transportation/distribution networks.  I'm a native of
Illinois, and from where I stood, there was certainly a measure of
cultural, geographical, and economic kinship within those bounds to justify
its singularity as a region.

I hope I did not offend anyone, particularly my colleagues here in the
Mountain-Plains region, who are glad that we include Kansas, Nebraska, and
the Dakotas among our member states.

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Henry B. Crawford                                       v
Curator of History                                       v
Museum of Texas Tech University               v
Box 43191                                                   v
Lubbock, TX  79409-3191                         v
806/742-2442                                          v
FAX 742-1136                                            v
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All opinions expressed are mine                   v
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