# American regionalism **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 22, 2011, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-regionalism/575584 "2011-03-22T07:42:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-regionalism/575584/21 "2011-06-28T07:44:14Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Well, they did have an uncontrollable urge. > > (I believe that’s called a grease.) That’s because they [devolved](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gi4Cn5i_Xs). ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-regionalism/575584/22 "2011-06-28T07:50:46Z")
> [@JBDivmstr](#): > > Don’t you mean, “A guse, will often fly south for the weanter?” :rolleyes: Are they greasy? ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-regionalism/575584/24 "2011-06-28T14:18:02Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > You know, no matter how many times I read the OP I can’t make heads or tails of it. The grammar is appalling and the meaning murky to the point of opaqueness. I suspect the OP is not a native English speaker, but as near as I can tell, here is the question: “Where did most white Americans who live in Washington State come from? That is, what part of the United States? Also, did New England Yankees migrate to Washington State and Oregon the way people from Upstate New York did?” ---
**Author:** ![Dunkelheit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dunkelheit/32/248_2.png) [@Dunkelheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunkelheit)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-regionalism/575584/25 "2011-06-28T14:24:35Z")
> [@thelabdude](#): > > Not that I am Polish, but I noticed a lack of Polish and other Eastern European names on that list. At one time I lived in Detroit and I know such names dominated the area. That was back in the pre politically correct times when Polish jokes were popular. > > Is it just that there are so many different ones, none made it on the map? I’m surprised too, because in my experience Pennsylvania (at least the western part) is full of Polish surnames, and I’m pretty sure the same is true for at least parts of New York and thereabouts. Why are they not represented on the map? My family came over from the UK at various times and settled in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. My mom and I moved to Washington State from the east coast. I imagine a lot of the original settlers in the west came from all over the eastern US, looking for gold, homesteads, railroad work, etc. Don’t know if there’s any specific pattern regarding where they came from originally. There would have been a lot of Irish and Chinese folk, certainly, given the high populations of same working on the railroads. Many of them would probably have stayed out west rather than going back east once the lines were finished. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-regionalism/575584/26 "2011-06-28T14:33:34Z")
There have been several large waves of migration from the South to the West. The first was the California gold rush. What’s important to know about the California gold rush is that it was most immediately preceded by the [Georgia gold rush](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Gold_Rush). And just as the gold in Georgia started to play out, word arrived of the discovery of gold in California. Experienced miners from Georgia left the state in droves and headed west. (And yes, they stayed in California. Several branches of my own family headed west during that time, and their descendants are there today. My own ancestors stayed behind in Georgia.) A second wave came after the Civil War, when many footloose and disheartened Confederate veterans flooded into Texas and points west with or without their families. Depressed economic conditions in the South lingered for decades, and provided further impetus for westward movement, which continued steadily in the late 19th century. Finally, of course, there was a surge westward during the Great Depression, as a result of the Dust Bowl making farming conditions in much of the South untenable. Note the trails to the West on [this map](http://www.tngenweb.org/tnletters/usa-west.htm). Settlers in the West came from _all_ of the eastern states. New Mexico, Arizona, and California, in particular, experienced large influxes of Southerners settlers. To answer the OP’s specific questions, it is likely that most (but not all) of the settlers in Washington and Oregon came from northeastern and midwestern states. By the same token, it is likely that most (but not all) of the settlers in New Mexico and Arizona came from southern states. ---
**Author:** ![Dunkelheit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dunkelheit/32/248_2.png) [@Dunkelheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunkelheit)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-regionalism/575584/27 "2011-06-28T14:35:36Z")
> [@ella1985](#): > > Just want to mention taht you developed avery intresting subject here! American regionalism is a problem and people have to be aware of it. Regionalism is a problem? Do tell. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-regionalism/575584/28 "2011-06-28T15:29:22Z")
> [@Jeneva](#): > > Regionalism is a problem? Do tell. The poster **Jeneva** replied to was a spammer, and I’ve deleted his/her/its posts. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2011, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-regionalism/575584/29 "2011-06-30T02:04:33Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > A geas? Yes, it’s spelled that way [too](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geis). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-regionalism/575584.md?page=1)