“Romance of Steel and Iron”: The 1936 Great Lakes Exposition, Regional Identity, and the National Discourse

In her critique of Joseph A. Fry’s article “Place Matters: Domestic Regionalism and the Formation of American Foreign Policy,”[1] Laura Edwards reminds us that “regions emerge at particular moments, around particular issues, and through the interests of particular groups in our nation’s past.”[2] Her point is well taken as any region is determined by the time and space of its analysis and to spend too much time discussing the significance of any area as it relates to the national interests assumes, incorrectly, that the region is static and the issues surrounding the analysis have remained constant. Her focus is on the American south and how that region changed over time, but the same could be said for any region, including the Great Lakes region of which the 1936 Exposition served to represent. The Great Lakes Exposition (GLE) is an excellent lens to examine how the local interests of a region, set in an exact time and space (1936 & Cleveland) sought to define and influence the policies and ideals of the national government. Coming in the midst of the Great Depression, the GLE was one of six such regional events that occurred during this era, beginning with the Chicago Exposition in 1933 and culminating the New York World’s Fair in 1939, all of which presented a regionally diverse yet unified vision of the United States. In this way, the GLE and the other fairs and expositions serve as an excellent way to understand the meaning and implications of regionalism in understanding the American experience. This paper will explore how the GLE both promoted its regional identity and used this definition to advocate for more inclusion in the national discussion.

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[1] Diplomatic History 36 (June 2012), 451-482.

[2] Laura F. Edwards, “What Constitutes a Region?,” Diplomatic History 36 (June 2012), 484

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