8.1 Introduction
Two Nicknames:
America’s Breadbasket
America’s Heartland
8.2 St. Louis, Missouri: Gateway to the West
Settlement of the West & Midwest began here
Began as a frontier town
Frontier – the wild country began
Mississippi & Missouri Rivers join here
Gateway Arch was built to honor the pioneers (first people to settle the West)
630 feet above the Mississippi River
Can ride a tram to the top
8.3 The Farm State of Iowa
Began as flat prairie country (an area of flat or rolling land covered mostly with tall grasses)
Fertile soil covers most of the state
Lies between Mississippi & Missouri Rivers (great transportation)
Produces – corn, soybean, oats, and hay (mostly for livestock – animals raised on farms)
8.4 Dodge City, Kansas: Where Cattle Still Roam
Famous for cowboys & wheat (produces more than any other state)
Meatpacking plants – the preparation of meat for sale
Cattle drives brought the cattle to town to be shipped east for sale
Cowboys were rowdy made this the “wickedest little city in America”
Vaquero – a cowboy
The work is hot, dusty, smelly but outdoors and work with animals
8.5 South Dakota’s Heroes
Two monuments in the Black Hills: Mount Rushmore & Crazy Horse Memorial
Mt. Rushmore – Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, & Theodore Roosevelt
Each head – 6 stories tall
Crazy Horse Memorial –honors a Sioux Indian Chief
When finished – world’s largest statue
Black Hills are sacred to Sioux and other Native Americans
Tried to keep settlers out
George Custer was attacked (and killed) by Sioux Indians at Little Big Horn
Crazy Horse led the way – “It is a good day to die”
Sioux Indians lost most land and now live on reservations (special areas for their use)
8.6 Michigan Soo Locks: Linking the Great Lakes
The two longest locks in the world - can lift ships up to 1000 feet long
Ships move along the lakes through canals
Locks raise and lower ships from one lake to the next
Lift ships 21 feet between Lake Huron to Lake Superior
Ocean going ships (called salty) carry iron, coal, grain, and other cargos
8.7 Detroit, Michigan: America’s Motor City (Motown for short)
Henry Ford – built first car in 1896 (Cars were for rich to begin with)
Mass production – producing all the parts that go into cars at once
Assembly line – a belt that carried unfinished cars past workers
Attracted other industries to the Midwest as well
8.8 O’Hare International Airport: The Midwest’s Transportation Hub
One of the US’s busiest airports & employs 50,000 workers
Transportation hub – a center for moving goods and people
Uses roads, highways, airports, rivers and lakes
Allows goods to be transported worldwide
8.90 Chicago’s Wrigley Field
Home of the Chicago Cubs baseball team
Sports are popular
First professional baseball team played in Cincinnati, Ohio
Second oldest park in America
Babe Ruth’s “called shot” was here
8.10 Minnesota’s Amazing Mall of America
Located in Bloomington, Minnesota
Largest shopping mall in the United States (520 stores, 50 restaurants, & amusement park)
First covered mall built in Midwest in 1956 (makes shopping pleasant during any weather)
Blizzards – heavy snow and high winds
Spring – hailstorms instead of rain & tornadoes
Also gives customers choices of stores to shop