Why is the Chicago area called the midwest when it is closer to the east coast than the west?

Answer 1

Geographically, there are three major regions to the continental US. There's the Atlantic seaboard (the area east of the Appalachian Mountain chain), The Pacific seaboard (the area west of the Rockies), and the Great Plains, which is everywhere in between the mountain ranges.

In the early days of settlement, everyone was coming from Europe and landing on the Eastern (atlantic) seaboard. This meant the West was largely an unknown. As expansion occurred, the borders of known territory were pushed further west ... the first major "stop" was at the Mississippi River, which drains the great plains area and is only slightly east of the actual centerline of the present-day country.

Eventually, exploration poushed onward to the next boundary (the Rockies), and finally all the way to the west coast. Once the "Far West" regions beyond the Rockies was discovered, the previous "west" had to become the "Midwest".

And since Chicago (among other places) falls into the drainage basin of the Mississippi, it's in the Midwest.

Answer 2

Before the railroad arrived,
West was as far as: i.e. Chicago
St Louis has the Gateway Arch to celebrate that was to be conquered by the railroads
All West Coast to that -Midwest - was occupied by native Americans cultures
Then in time it went all the way to the West Coast

Answer 3

because it is on the east side of the midwest boundary

Answer 4

Using that logic you could say that the Earth is flat since some time in the past people said it was!

Answer 5

there was a time when the US was mostly in the east