Everything about The Western United States totally explained
The
Western United States—commonly referred to as the
American West or simply
The West—traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost
states of the
United States (see
geographical terminology section for further discussion of these terms). Because the United States
expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time. The
Mississippi River is often referenced as the easternmost possible boundary of the West.
Note: however that according to the
U.S. Coast Guard, "The Western Rivers System consists of the Mississippi,
Ohio,
Missouri,
Illinois,
Tennessee,
Cumberland,
Arkansas and White Rivers and their tributaries, and certain other rivers that flow towards the
Gulf of Mexico" not the
Sacramento and
Columbia.
The "West" had played an important part in
American history; the
Old West is embedded in America's folklore.
Geography
In its most expansive definition, the western U.S. is the largest region, covering more than half the land area of the United States. It is also the most geographically diverse, incorporating geographic regions such as the
Pacific Coast, the temperate
rain forests of the
Northwest, the
Rocky Mountains, the
Great Plains, most of the tall-grass prairie eastward to Western Wisconsin,
Illinois, the western
Ozark plateau, the western portions of the southern forests, the
Gulf Coast, and all of the desert areas located in the United States (the
Mojave,
Sonoran,
Great Basin, and
Chihuahua deserts).
The region encompasses some of the
Louisiana Purchase, most of the land ceded by
Britain in 1818, some of the land acquired when the
Republic of Texas joined the U.S., all of the land ceded by Britain in 1846, all of the land ceded by
Mexico in 1848, and all of the
Gadsden Purchase.
Variation and regionalism
As the largest region in the
United States there's variation to such an extent in the West that it's often broken down into regions.
Arizona and
New Mexico are always considered to be in the
Southwest while portions of
California,
Colorado,
Nevada,
Oklahoma,
Texas, and
Utah are sometimes considered part of the
Southwest, while all or part of
Idaho,
Montana,
Oregon,
Washington, and
Wyoming can be considered part of the
Northwest, more narrowly part or all of those same states, with the exception of
Wyoming and the eastern portions of
Montana and
Idaho, and the addition of the
Canadian province of
British Columbia comprise the
Pacific Northwest.
The West can be divided into the
Pacific States; Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington, with the term
West Coast usually restricted to just California, Oregon, and Washington, and the
Mountain States, always Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Alaska and Hawaii, being detached from the other western states, have few similarities with them, but are usually also classified as part of the West. Western
Texas in the
Chihuahuan Desert is also traditionally considered part of the Western U.S.
Some western states are grouped into regions with eastern states. Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota are often included in the
Midwest, which also includes states like
Iowa,
Illinois and
Wisconsin. Texas and Oklahoma are often considered part of the Southwest, and Texas and Louisiana are also considered part of the
South.
It is rare for any state east of the
Mississippi River to be considered part of the modern west. Historically, however, the
Northwest Territory was an important early territory of the U.S., comprising the modern states of
Ohio,
Indiana,
Illinois,
Michigan and
Wisconsin, as well as the northeastern part of
Minnesota.
Demographics
As defined by the
United States Census Bureau, the Western
region of the
United States includes 13 states (with a total 2006 estimated population of 69,355,643) and is split into two smaller units, or divisions:
- The Mountain States: Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada
- The Pacific States: Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska and Hawaii
However, the United States Census Bureau uses only one definition of the West in its reporting system, which may not coincide with what may be historically or culturally considered the West. For example, in the 2000 Census, the Census Bureau included the state with the second largest Hispanic population, Texas, in the
South, included the state with the second largest
American Indian population, Oklahoma, also in the South, and included the Dakotas, with their large populations of Plains Indians, in with the
Midwest. However, it should be noted that the western half of Oklahoma and far
West Texas, are neither culturally, geographically or socioeconomically identified with the South, as are the eastern portions of those states, and these areas are commonly understood to be part of the West or
Southwest, sometimes interchangeably, by residents and visitors alike.
Statistics from the 2000 United States Census, adjusted to include the second tier of States west of the Mississippi, show that, under that definition, the West would have a population of 91,457,662, including 1,611,447 Indians, or 1.8% of the total, and 22,377,288 Hispanics (the majority Mexican), or 24.5% of the total. Indians comprise 0.9% of all Americans, and Hispanics, 12.5%. Asians, important from the very beginning in the history of the West, totaled 5,161,446, or 5.6%, with most living in the Far West. African-Americans, totaled 5,929,968, or 6.5%--lower than the national proportion (12.8%). The highest concentration (12%) of black residents in the West is found in Texas--the only Western state in which slavery was established.
The West is still one of the most sparsely settled areas in the United States with 49.5 inhabitants per square mile (19/km²). Only Texas with 78.0 inhabitants/sq mi. (30/km²), Washington with 86.0 inhabitants/sq mi. (33/km²), and California with 213.4 inhabitants/sq mi. (82/km²) exceed the national average of 77.98 inhabitants/sq mi. (30/km²).
The entire Western region has also been strongly influenced by
European,
Native and
Hispanics culture; it contains the largest number of minorities in the U.S. and encompasses the only four American states where all racial groups including
Caucasians are a minority (California, Hawaii, New Mexico, and Texas). While most of the studies of racial dynamics in America such as riots in Los Angeles have been written about European and African Americans, in many cities in the West and California, European and African Americans together are less than half the population because of the preference for the region by Hispanics and Asians. African and European Americans, however, continue to wield a stronger political influence because of the lower rates of citizenship and voting among Asians and Hispanics.
Because the tide of development hadn't yet reached most of the West when
conservation became a national issue, agencies of the
federal government own and manage vast areas of land. (The most important among these are the
National Park Service and the
Bureau of Land Management within the
Interior Department, and the
U. S. Forest Service within the
Agriculture Department.)
National parks are reserved for recreational activities such as
fishing,
camping,
hiking, and
boating, but other government lands also allow commercial activities like
ranching,
logging and
mining. In recent years, some local residents who earn their livelihoods on federal land have come into conflict with the land's managers, who are required to keep land use within environmentally acceptable limits.
The largest city in the region is
Los Angeles, located on the West Coast. Other West Coast cities include
San Diego,
San Jose,
San Francisco,
Seattle, and
Portland. Prominent cities in the Mountain States include
Denver,
Colorado Springs,
Phoenix,
Tucson,
Albuquerque,
Las Vegas, and
Salt Lake City.
Natural geography
Along the
Pacific Ocean coast lie the
Coast Ranges, which, while not approaching the scale of the
Rockies, are formidable nevertheless. They collect a large part of the airborne moisture moving in from the ocean. Even in the relatively arid climate of central California, the Coast Ranges squeeze enough water out of the clouds to support the growth of
coast redwoods. East of the Coast Ranges lie several cultivated fertile
valleys, notably the
San Joaquin Valley of California and the
Willamette Valley of Oregon.
Beyond the valleys lie the
Sierra Nevada in the south and the
Cascade Range in the north. These mountains are some of the highest in the United States.
Mount Whitney, at 14,505 feet (4,421 meters) the tallest peak in the contiguous 48 states, is in the Sierra Nevada. The Cascades are also volcanic.
Mount Rainier, a volcano in Washington, is also well over 14,000 feet (4,250 meters approx.).
Mount St. Helens, a volcano in the Cascades
erupted explosively in 1980. A major volcanic eruption at
Mount Mazama around 4860 BCE, forming
Crater Lake. These mountain ranges see heavy precipitation, capturing most of the moisture that remains after the Coast Ranges, and creating a
rain shadow to the east forming vast stretches of arid land. These dry areas encompass much of Nevada, Utah and Arizona. The
Mojave Desert and
Sonoran Desert along with other deserts are found here.
Beyond the deserts lie the Rocky Mountains. In the north, they run immediately east of the Cascade Range, so that the desert region doesn't reach all the way to the Canadian border. The Rockies are hundreds of miles wide, and run uninterrupted from
New Mexico to Alaska. The tallest peaks of the Rockies, some of which are over 14,000 feet (4,250 meters approx.), are found in central Colorado.
The West has several long rivers that empty into the
Pacific Ocean, while the eastern rivers run into the
Gulf of Mexico. The
Mississippi River forms the easternmost possible boundary for the West today. The
Missouri River, a tributary of the Mississippi, flows from its headwaters in the Rocky Mountains eastward across the
Great Plains, a vast
grassy plateau, before sloping gradually down to the forests and hence to the Mississippi. The
Colorado River snakes through the Mountain states, at one point forming the
Grand Canyon. The Colorado is a major source of water in the Southwest and many dams, such as the
Hoover Dam, form reservoirs along it. So much water is drawn for drinking water throughout the West and irrigation in California that in some years, water from the Colorado no longer reaches the
Gulf of California. The
Columbia River, the largest river in volume flowing into the Pacific Ocean from North America, and its tributary, the
Snake River, water the Pacific Northwest. The
Platte runs through Nebraska and is a mile (2 km) wide but only a half-inch (1 cm) deep. The
Rio Grande forms the border between, Texas and Mexico before turning due north and splitting New Mexico in half.
Climate and agriculture
The seasonal temperatures vary greatly throughout the West. Annual rainfall is greater in the eastern portions, gradually tapering off until reaching the Pacific Coast where it again increases. In fact, the greatest annual rainfall in the United States falls in the coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest. The heaviest snows in the nation fall in the Rockies. Drought is much more common in the West than the rest of the United States. The driest place recorded in the U.S. is
Death Valley, California.
Violent thunderstorms occur east of the Rockies. Tornadoes occur every spring on the southern plains, with the most common and most destructive centered on
Tornado Alley, which covers eastern portions of the West, (
Texas to
North Dakota), and all states in between and to the east.
Agriculture varies depending on rainfall, irrigation, soil, elevation, and temperature extremes. The arid regions generally support only livestock grazing, chiefly beef cattle. The
wheat belt extends from Texas through the
Dakotas, producing most of the wheat and soybeans in the U.S. and exporting more to the rest of the world. Irrigation in the
Southwest allows the growing of great quantities of fruits, nuts, and vegetables as well as grain, hay, and flowers. Texas is a major cattle and sheep raising area, as well as the nation's largest producer of cotton. Washington is famous for its apples, and Idaho for its potatoes. California and Arizona are major producers of
citrus crops, although growing metropolitan sprawl is absorbing much of this land.
Local state and Government officials started to understand, after several surveys made during the latter part of the nineteenth century, that only action by the federal government could provide water resources needed to support the development of the West. Starting in 1902, Congress passed a series of acts authorizing the establishment of the
United States Bureau of Reclamation to oversee water development projects in seventeen western states.
During the first half of the 20th century, dams and irrigation projects provided water for rapid agricultural growth throughout the West and brought prosperity for several states, where agriculture had previously only been subsistence level. Following
World War II, the West's cities experienced an economic and population boom. The population growth, mostly in the
Southwest, has strained water and power resources, with water diverted from agricultural uses to major population centers, such as
Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Geology
Plains make up most of the eastern half of the West, underlain with sedimentary rock from the Upper
Paleozoic,
Mesozoic, and
Cenozoic eras. The Rocky Mountains expose igneous and metamorphic rock from both the
Precambrian and the Post Precambrian periods. The Inter-mountain States and Pacific Northwest have huge expanses of volcanic rock from the Cenozoic period.
Salt flats and salt lakes reveal a time when the great inland seas covered much of what is now the West. The Pacific states are the most geologically active areas in the United States.
Earthquakes cause major damage every few years in California. While the Pacific states are the most volcanically active areas, extinct
volcanoes and lava flows are found throughout most of the western half of the West.
Image:DSCN0191.JPG| Columbia River
Image:Rainier_and_sound.JPG| Puget Sound & Mt. Rainier
Image:DSCN1423.JPG|Columbia Coast
Image:Sol_duc_rain_forest.JPG| Olympic National Park
Image:Bild 478.jpg|Antelope Canyon
Image:Yosemite meadows 2004-09-04.jpg|Yosemite
Image:Delicatearch.png|Delicate Arch
Image:Byrcecanyon.jpg|Bryce Canyon
Image:Adams The Tetons and the Snake River.jpg|The Tetons
Image:April 17 2005 Seaside Oregon United States.JPG|Pacific Ocean
Image:Monument Valley 2.jpg|Monument Valley
Image:Rogue River Oregon USA.jpg|Rogue River
Image:Zion angels landing view.jpg|Angels Landing in Zion NP
Image:MtHood TrilliumLake.jpg|Mount Hood
Image:Grandcanyon view1.jpg|Grand Canyon
Image:Yellowstone Grand Geysir 01.jpg|Yellowstone
Image:Fillmorevolcano.jpg|Extinct Volcano, Utah
Image:Rockies USA1.jpg|Colorado Rockies
Image:Looking back to Little Port Walter - NOAA.jpg|Alaska
Image:El Capitan base 2005-03-12.jpg|El Capitan, Texas
Image:Threepatriarchs.jpg|Zion National Park
Image:Big05.jpg|Hawaii
Image:Snakeriveridfls.jpg|Snake River at Idaho Falls
Image:Mojavedesert.jpg|Mojave Desert
Image:Timpafcanyon.jpg|Western Rocky Mountains
Image:GRBA Arial-Wheeler-Winter.jpg|Wheeler Peak, Great Basin National Park
Image:View-from-Spanish-Bay.jpg|Pacific Ocean at Pebble Beach, California
Image:Grandjunctionalpineloop 035.jpg|The Colorado River
Image:Glacier np.jpg|Glacier National Park
Image:Northwest New Mexico.jpg|The Colorado Plateau in northwest New Mexico
Image:USMexicoborder.jpg|The United States/Mexico border
Image:Mount McKinley and Denali National Park Road 2048px.jpg|Mount McKinley, Alaska. The highest point in North America.
Image:Sunset in Saguaro National Park.JPG|Saguaro National Park
Image:SUPERSTITIONS AZ15.jpg|Superstition Mountains
Image:Grand Junction Trip 92007 135.JPG|Green River in Utah.
Image:PSP 018.jpg|The Great Basin in winter.
History and culture
Facing both the Pacific Ocean and the
Mexican border, the West has been shaped by a variety of ethnic groups.
Hawaii is the only state in the union in which
Asian Americans outnumber European American residents. Asians from many countries have settled in
California and other coastal states in several waves of immigration since the 1800s, contributing to the Gold Rush, the building of the transcontinental railroad, agriculture, and more recently, high technology.
The southwestern border states – California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas – all have large
Mexican American populations, and the many
Spanish place names attest to their history as former Mexican territories.
The West also contains much of the
Native American population in the U.S., particularly in the large reservations in the mountain and desert states.
Because of having once been a Southern slave state, Texas has a sizeable, non-migrant and rural, African-American population, particularly in the eastern half.
Alaska – the northernmost state in the Union – is a vast land of few, but hearty, people, many of them native; and of great stretches of wilderness, protected in
national parks and
wildlife refuges. Hawaii's location makes it a major gateway between the U.S. and Asia, as well as a center for tourism.
In the Pacific Coast states, the wide areas filled with small towns, farms, and forests are supplemented by a few big port cities which have evolved into world centers for the media and technology industries. Now the second largest city in the nation,
Los Angeles is best known as the home of the
Hollywood film industry; the area around Los Angeles also was a major center for the
aerospace industry by
World War II, though Boeing, located in Washington state would lead the aerospace industry. Fueled by the growth of Los Angeles – as well as the
San Francisco Bay Area, including
Silicon Valley – California has become the most populous of all the states. Oregon and Washington have also seen rapid growth with the rise of
Boeing and
Microsoft along with agriculture and resource based industries. The desert and mountain states have relatively low population densities, and developed as ranching and mining areas which are only recently becoming urbanized. Most of them have highly individualistic cultures, and have worked to balance the interests of urban development, recreation, and the environment.
Culturally distinctive points include the large
Mormon population of Southeastern
Idaho,
Utah, Northern
Arizona and
Nevada; the extravagant
casino resort towns of
Las Vegas and
Reno, Nevada; and, of course, the many
Native American tribal reservations.
American Old West
Major settlement of the western territories by migrants from the states in the east developed rapidly in the 1840s, largely through the
Oregon Trail and the
California Gold Rush of 1849; California experienced such a rapid growth in a few short months that it was admitted to statehood in 1850 without the normal transitory phase of becoming an official territory. The largest migration in American history occurred in the 1840s as the
Latter-day Saints left the
Midwest for the safety of the West. Both
Omaha, Nebraska and
St. Louis, Missouri laid claim to the title, "Gateway to the West" during this period. Omaha, home to the
Union Pacific Railroad and the
Mormon Trail, made its fortunes on outfitting settlers; St. Louis built itself upon the vast
fur trade in the West before its settlement.
The 1850s were marked by political controversies which were part of the national
issues leading to the Civil War, though California had been established as a non-slave state in the
Compromise of 1850; California played little role in the war itself due to its geographically distance from major campaigns. In the aftermath of the Civil War, many former Confederate partisans migrated to California during the end of the
Reconstruction period.
The history of the American West in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century has acquired a cultural mythos in the literature and cinema of the United States. The image of the
cowboy, the
homesteader and
westward expansion took real events and transmuted them into a myth of the west which has influenced
American culture since at least the 1920s.
Writers as diverse as
Bret Harte and
Zane Grey celebrated or derided
cowboy culture, while artists such as
Frederic Remington created
western art as a method of recording the expansion into the west. The
American cinema, in particular, created the genre of the
western movie, which, in many cases, use the West as a metaphor for the virtue of self-reliance and an American ethos. The contrast between the romanticism of culture about the West and the actuality of the history of the westward expansion has been a theme of late Twentieth and early Twenty-First century scholarship about the West.
Cowboy culture has become embedded in the American experience as a common cultural touchstone, and modern forms as diverse as
country and western music and the works of artist
Georgia O'Keefe have celebrated the supposed sense of isolation and independence of spirit inspired by the unpopulated and relatively harsh climate of the region.
As a result of the various periods of rapid growth, many new residents were migrants who were seeking to make a new start after previous histories of either personal failure or hostilities developed in their previous communities. With these and other migrants who harbored more commercial goals in the opening country, the area developed a strong ethos of self-determinism and individual freedom, as communities were created whose residents shared no prior connection or common set of ideals and allegiances. The open land of the region allowed residents to live at a much greater distance from neighbors than had been possible in eastern cities, and an ethic of tolerance for the different values and goals of other residents developed. California's state constitutions (in both 1849 and 1879) were largely drafted by groups which sought a strong emphasis on individual property rights and personal freedom, arguably at the expense of ideals tending toward civic community.
The twentieth century
By 1890, the frontier was gone. The advent of the automobile enabled the average American to tour the West. Western businessmen promoted
U.S. Route 66 as a means to bring tourism and industry to the West. In the 1950s, representatives from all the western states built the
Cowboy Hall of Fame and
Western Heritage Center to showcase western culture and greet travelers from the East. During the latter half of the twentieth century, several transcontinental interstate highways crossed the West bringing more trade and tourists from the East. In the news, reports spoke of oil boom towns in
Texas and
Oklahoma rivaling the old mining camps for their lawlessness, of the Dust Bowl forcing children of the original homesteaders even further west. The movies replaced the dime novel as the chief entertainment source featuring western fiction.
In recent decades, Western cities' reputation for diversity and tolerance has been marred by
segregation, along with accusations of
racial profiling and
police brutality towards minorities, sometimes leading to racially based riots. Nevertheless, perhaps because so many westerners have moved there from other regions to make a new start, as a rule interpersonal relations remain marked by a tolerant and individualistic "live and let live" attitude. The western economy is varied. California, for example, features both agriculture and high-technology manufacturing as major sectors in its economy.
Major population centers
Image:LosAngeles06.jpg|Los Angeles, California
Image:PhoenixdowntownArizonaUSA.jpg|Phoenix, Arizona
Image:Sandiego_1_bg_071302.jpg|San Diego, California
Image:SJPan.jpg|San Jose, California
Image:2006-07-14-Denver Skyline Midnight.jpg|Denver, Colorado
Image:Lightmatter sanfrancisco.jpg|San Francisco, California
Image:Seattle SW.JPG|Seattle, Washington
Image:PortlandOR allbridges.jpg|Portland, Oregon
Image:Sacramento from Riverwalk.jpg|Sacramento, California
Image:Las Vegas Strip.png|Las Vegas, Nevada
Image:Salt Lake City 092102 03.jpg|Salt Lake City, Utah
Image:Honolulu01.JPG|Honolulu, Hawaii
Image:Downtown Tucson.jpg|Tucson, Arizona
Image:Downtown albuquerque from e.jpg|Albuquerque, New Mexico
Image:Anchorage1.jpg|Anchorage, Alaska
Image:Oaklandatnight02192006.JPG|Oakland, California
Image:Boisetrees.jpg|Boise, Idaho
Image:Reno with mountains.gif|Reno, Nevada
Image:SpokaneWA FromSouthHill.jpg|Spokane, Washington
Image:El Paso Skyline.jpg|El Paso, Texas
Image:Provo010 edited-1.jpg|Provo, Utah
Image:DowntownSprings.jpg|Colorado Springs, Colorado
Image:Downtown Billings MT from Rims.JPG|Billings, Montana
Image:Santa Fe NM.jpg|Santa Fe, New Mexico
Image:Flagstaff_downtown_SFmtn.jpg|Flagstaff, Arizona
Image:Ogden20071.jpg|Ogden, Utah
Image:Downtownfresnoskylineday.jpg|Fresno, California
Rank
(West) |
MSA |
Population
|
State |
| 1 |
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana |
12,829,272 |
California |
| 2 |
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont |
4,157,377 |
California |
| 3 |
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario |
3,642,328 |
California |
| 4 |
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale |
3,593,408 |
Arizona |
| 5 |
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue |
3,141,777 |
Washington |
| 6 |
San Diego |
2,933,462 |
California |
| 7 |
Denver-Aurora |
2,301,116 |
Colorado |
| 8 |
Las Vegas-Henderson-N. Las Vegas-Paradise |
2,040,258 |
Nevada |
| 9 |
Sacramento |
1,974,810 |
California |
| 10 |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara |
1,734,721 |
California |
| 11 |
Portland-Beaverton |
1,576,541 |
Oregon |
| 12 |
Salt Lake City |
1,005,232 |
Utah |
| 13 |
Honolulu |
902,704 |
Hawaii |
| 14 |
Tucson |
892,798 |
Arizona |
| 15 |
Fresno |
850,325 |
California |
| 16 |
Albuquerque |
841,133 |
New Mexico |
| 17 |
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura |
791,130 |
California |
| 18 |
Bakersfield |
713,087 |
California |
| 19 |
Stockton |
632,760 |
California |
| 20 |
Colorado Springs |
572,264 |
Colorado |
| 21 |
Boise City-Nampa |
510,876 |
Idaho |
| 22 |
Modesto |
492,233 |
California |
| 23 |
Ogden-Clearfield |
468,942 |
Utah |
| 24 |
Santa Rosa-Petaluma |
466,725 |
California |
| 25 |
Spokane |
431,027 |
Washington |
| 26 |
Salinas |
414,449 |
California |
| 27 |
Vallejo-Fairfield |
412,336 |
California |
| 28 |
Provo-Orem |
406,851 |
Utah |
| 29 |
Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta |
403,134 |
California |
| 30 |
Visalia-Porterville |
390,791 |
California |
The city of
El Paso, Texas, although belonging to a state considered part of the
Southern United States, is more considered part of the Western United States.
Politics
frontier spirit" of its settlers offer two clichés for explaining the region's independent, heterogeneous politics. Historically, the West was the first region to see widespread
women's suffrage. It birthed both the
property rights and
conservation movements, and spawned such phenomena as the
Taxpayer Revolt and the Berkeley
Free Speech Movement. It has also produced two
U.S. presidents:
Richard Nixon and
Ronald Reagan.
The prevalence of
libertarian political thought, even if not labeled as such, can be widely observed. For example, the majority of Western states have legalized
medicinal marijuana (all but New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming) and some forms of
gambling (except Utah); Oregon has legalized
euthanasia; Utah has a long history of former
polygamous territorial leaders; and most counties in Nevada have legalized
prostitution. There is less resistance to the legal recognition of
same-sex unions: California and Hawaii recognize them, and only 28% of all western residents are against legal recognition (compared to the 48% in southern states). California and Washington have moved to limit
affirmative action.
Most major urban centers on the Pacific Coast lean toward the
Democratic Party. San Francisco's two main political parties are the Green Party and the Democratic Party. Seattle has historically been a center of radical left-wing politics; the union
Industrial Workers of the World is particularly active, and it's one of the few American cities with a monument to the Communist leader
Lenin. The mayor of Salt Lake City, Rocky Anderson, supports same-sex marriage
(External Link
), and Denver's residents have voted to decriminalize marijuana completely. Hawaii has come closest to adopting
single payer healthcare financing in the U.S. Both the Democratic leaders of the
U.S. Congress are from the region:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
Interior areas, especially in the Rocky Mountains, lean toward the
Republican Party. Broadly speaking, the western GOP is less-influenced by conservative evangelical Christians than elsewhere in the country, notably the
South, although
Colorado Springs is a center for religious conservative activity. U.S. Senator
John McCain of
Arizona and California Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger, arguably the Western Republicans best-known across the country, have reputations as mavericks within their party.
As the fastest-growing demographic group,
Latinos are hotly contested by both parties;
immigration remains an important political issue for this group. Backlash against illegal immigration led to the passage of
California Proposition 187 in 1994, a ballot initiative which would have denied many public services to undocumented residents. Association of this proposal with the California Republicans, especially incumbent governor
Pete Wilson, is credited with driving many Hispanic voters to the Democrats.
In presidential elections since 1996, starting with
electoral college importance,
California with its 55 electoral votes generally favors Democratic Party candidates by a margin of 11%,
Washington with its 11 votes favors Democrats by 8%,
Arizona with its 10 votes favors Republican Party candidates by 5%,
Colorado with its 9 votes favors Republicans by 5%,
Oregon with its 7 votes favors Democrats by 4%,
New Mexico with its 5 votes favors Democrats by .3%,
Utah with its 5 votes favors Republicans by 36%,
Hawaii with its 4 votes favors Democrats by 17%,
Idaho with its 4 votes favors Republicans by 33%,
Nevada with its 5 votes favors Democrats by .6%,
Alaska with its 3 votes favors Republicans by 24%, Montana with its 3 votes favors Republicans by 16%, and
Wyoming with its 3 votes favors Republicans by 31%.
This region has several
swing states. There are five states in the region with recent presidential election margins of 5% or less: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Oregon.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Western United States'.
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