Review: 'The Good Country' revives Midwest's history

Dismissed as Flyover Country. Romanticized as the Heartland. Now, historian Jon K. Lauck seeks to redefine the Midwest as “The Good Country” — a place of progress and democratic ideals — in his chronicle of the region’s 19th century.

“The Good Country” argues that Midwestern roots are a far cry from the way the region is imagined in popular culture today — that is puritanical, repressive and dull. Instead, Lauck presents a Midwestern century from 1800 to 1900 when it formed a bulwark against slavery, fostered a pluralistic, education-rich society and ascended to lead the country through progressivism rooted in community.