Eastern United States

As of 2011, the Eastern United States had an estimated population exceeding 179 million, representing the majority (over 58 percent) of the total U.S.

The Great Lakes region is sometimes considered a distinct cultural area due to its large concentration of Native American tribes.

New England produced the first examples of American literature and philosophy and was home to the beginnings of free and compulsory public education.

In the 19th century, the region played a prominent role in the movement to abolish slavery in the United States.

As one of two subregional divisions used to categorize the modern Midwest, the East North Central region closely matches the area of the Northwest Territory, excluding a portion of Minnesota.

The East North Central states form a large part of the Great Lakes region,[6] although the latter also includes Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania and the Canadian province of Ontario.

[8] Unlike the Northeast, there is no official U.S. government definition for the Southeast, and it is defined variably among agencies and organizations.

The shift from a mainly rural society to more cities and urbanized metropolitan areas picked up speed following World War II in the 1940s.

[11] In 2020, Fortune 500 companies headquartered in southeastern states included: Virginia with 22, Georgia with 18, Florida with 18, North Carolina with 13, and Tennessee with 10.

With the exception of West Virginia, the region has seen rapid population growth and economic development in recent decades.

Historically, the area has been colonized and influenced by the French, Spanish, British, early US, and Confederate governments.

[20] The East South Central states form the core of Old Dixie,[21] one of the nine moral regions identified by James Patterson and Peter Kim in their acclaimed 1991 geopolitical best-seller, The Day America Told The Truth.