In 1978 historian Joseph Wall wrote that Iowa was “still seeking to assert its own identity. . . . It has no real center where the elite of either power, wealth, or culture may congregate. Iowa, in short, is middle America.” In this collection of well-written and accessible essays, originally published in 1996, seventeen of the Hawkeye State’s most accomplished historians reflect upon the dramatic and not-so-dramatic shifts in the middle land’s history in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Marvin Bergman has drawn upon his years of editing the Annals of Iowa to gather contributors who cross disciplines, model the craft of writing a historical essay, cover more than one significant topic, and above all interpret history rather than recite it. In his preface to this new printing, he calls attention to publications that begin to fill the gaps noted in the 1996 edition. Rather than survey the basic facts, the essayists engage readers in the actual making of Iowa’s history by trying to understand the meaning of its past. By providing comprehensive accounts of topics in Iowa history that embrace the broader historiographical issues in American history, such as the nature of Progressivism and Populism, the debate over whether women’s expanded roles in wartime carried over to postwar periods, and the place of quantification in history, the essayists contribute substantially to debates at the national level at the same time that they interpret Iowa’s distinctive culture.

German immigrants created leafy beer gardens here nearly two centuries ago, establishing Bucktown as the heart of entertainment in downtown Davenport for generations. In 1916, the founding of the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra at the Burtis Opera House embodied the neighborhood's reputation for high culture. The numerous saloons and theaters, as well as the forty-two documented brothels that flourished within two blocks, lent a bawdy side to the good times. Varied industries thrived through World War II, and downtown bustled with shoppers visiting department stores like Petersen's. Later, the neighborhood struggled and declined as a farming crisis hit the region hard. With revitalized landmarks like the magnificent Hotel Blackhawk and the historic Redstone Building, the community is growing more vibrant as a place to live, work and play. Author Jonathan Turner explores this dynamic history and transformation.

Offers a new, polycentric vision of modern German history, focusing on the great plurality of Germans across Europe and around the world.

Is America the new Germany? Focusing on Iowa, this book explores the hidden meaning of that question, and seeks its answer in the forgotten history of nineteenth-century migration. Between 1847 and 1881, more than 300,000 North Germans migrated to the Midwestern state of Iowa. Despite their experiences in the failed revolutions of 1848-1849 in Europe's German speaking kingdoms, leaders among these immigrants developed a program of political change that successfully influenced Iowans through the early twentieth century. The eight essays in German-Iowan Studies focus on both the individuals and the ideas that shaped a powerful vision of America for more than 150 years. Using interdisciplinary approaches and overlooked archival materials, this unique approach to ethnic studies skillfully reconstructs German influence in Iowa and the Midwestern region.

This "work is organized by subject. Materials are grouped under twelve main sections in the body of the work, with appropriate subdivisions and subtopics within each main subject. Each section is assigned a two-letter designation, and entries are numbered consecutively within each section. This subject code system was designed to facilitate referals from the Index to the main body of the text, and to allow for cross-referencing between sections."--Introduction.

In the early 1900s, three small-town midwestern playwrights helped shepherd American theatre into the modern era. Together, they created the renowned Provincetown Players collective, which not only launched many careers but also had the power to affect US social, cultural, and political beliefs. The philosophical and political orientations of Floyd Dell, George Cram Cook, and Susan Glaspell generated a theatre practice marked by experimentalism, collaboration, leftist cultural critique, rebellion, liberation, and community engagement. In Three Midwestern Playwrights, Marcia Noe situates the origin of the Provincetown aesthetic in Davenport, Iowa, a Mississippi River town. All three playwrights recognized that radical politics sometimes begat radical chic, and several of their plays satirize the faddish elements of the progressive political, social, and cultural movements they were active in. Three Midwestern Playwrights brings the players to life and deftly illustrates how Dell, Cook, and Glaspell joined early 20th-century midwestern radicalism with East Coast avant-garde drama, resulting in a fresh and energetic contribution to American theatre.

This biographical dictionary catalogs the Union army colonels who commanded regiments from Missouri and the western States and Territories during the Civil War. The seventh volume in a series documenting Union army colonels, this book details the lives of officers who did not advance beyond that rank. Included for each colonel are brief biographical excerpts and any available photographs, many of them published for the first time.