The United States and Canada Human Geography

The United States a “nation of immigrants”, settled by people from all over the world The most diverse and highly industrialized and urbanized nation in the world.

Creating a nation Many peoples settled the land First inhabitants were nomads from Asia that came to North America over 13,000 years ago Became the Native American groups that were scattered throughout the continent The Europeans showed up in the 15th century calling the area the “new world”. The Spanish arrived first! “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” Glory, God, and Gold!!! The French and English come over in the 1600s and 1700s First English settlement is Jamestown, Virginia in 1607 Colombian Exchange!!!!

Establishing and Maintaining the Union By 1763, Great Britain controlled all of the land east of the Mississippi 1776 – United States declares independence American Revolution (1775 – 1783) Westward expansion takes over 1803 – Louisiana Purchase Political and economic tensions between the agricultural south and the industrial north led to the Civil War 1861 - 1865

An Industrial and Urban Society Westward Expansion continues Native Americans were removed from their homelands by the U.S. government to make room for American settlers Immigration From 1860 -1900 about 14 million people, mostly from Europe, came to the United States Mostly settled in large cities in the east to work in factories New York Boston Pittsburgh Cleveland Detroit Chicago The nation became an urban industrial nation.

World Power WWI : 1914-1918 WWII: 1939 -1945 The Cold War: 1945 – 1991 The U.S. did not get involved until 1917 WWII: 1939 -1945 The U.S. did not get involved until 1941 The Cold War: 1945 – 1991 The U.S. became the leader of the world’s non-Communist nations Goal was to stop the spread of communism

Domestic Change Last half of the 20th century was a time of rapid social change People began moving to suburbs Immigrants continued to arrive (but now came from Latin America and Aisa) Social unrest 1960’s & 1970’s Civil rights movement Feminist movement War protests U.S. Economy boomed Computers and the internet!!! We become a developed nation and become service oriented rather than production oriented The Recession of 2008 Housing market collapsed triggering a recession that affected the entire world More than 8 million Americans lost their jobs in fewer than 3 years National unemployment rate more than doubled in 10 years

Governing the People We have a representative democracy People rule through elected representatives We are also a federal republic Powers are divided among the federal and states governments

Three Branches of Government We have a system of checks and balances that prevents any one part of the government from becoming too powerful. Three Branches of Government

Economy Largely free enterprise Three factors have contributed to the success of the U.S. economy Available natural resources A skilled labor force A stable political system An agricultural and industrial giant Commercial agriculture industry helps to feed the world The industrial output of the U.S. is larger than that of any country in the world A post industrial economy The economy today is driven by the service industry Manufacturing no longer plays a dominant role

A Diverse Society About 65% of Americans can trace their lineage to Europe Hispanic Americans make up about 15% of the population African Americans are about 13% of the population Asian Americans are 5% Native Americans are 1% The largest ethnic groups in the U.S. : English German Irish African French Italian Scottish Polish Mexican

Languages & Religion English is the dominant language Spanish is the second most common language Religious freedom is a cornerstone of American society More than 1,000 different religious groups practice their faith in the U.S. today The majority (about 75%) are Christian 50% Protestant 24% Roman Catholic 2% Jewish and Muslim 15% do not identify with any religion

Sub-regions of the U.S.

Sub-Regions of Texas

Canada French and British settlement greatly influenced Canada’s political development Canada’s size and climate affected economic growth and population distribution

First Settlers and Colonial Rivalry The native peoples are called Inuit Live near the Canadian Arctic and Alaska Colonization by France and Britain To both countries, the coastal fisheries and the inland fur trade were important After the French surrendered their territory at the end of the French and Indian war, many French settlers remained in Canada

The Dominion of Canada 1791 – the British government split Canada into two provinces Upper Canada (today Ontario) An English-speaking majority Mostly Protestant Lower Canada (today Quebec) A French-speaking majority Mostly Roman Catholic 1867 – created the Dominion of Canada A loose confederation of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick 1949 – Newfoundland was the last province added (this is the Canada we know today)

Governing Canada Became an independent nation in 1931 A peaceful independence that was encouraged by Great Britain A parliamentary government much like that of Great Britain It’s symbolic head of state remains the King/Queen of England

Canada’s Economy Primary Industries Manufacturing Sector Farming, logging, mining, and fishing A leader in the production of newsprint Manufacturing Sector 13% of Canadians work in manufacturing Service Industries drive the economy More than 70% of the GDP comes from the service industries Tourism is one of the fastest growing of their service industries The U.S. is Canada’s chief trading partner

Many Cultures French English Metis Languages People of mixed French and native heritage Languages Officially a bilingual country English and French Mostly Christian Protestant and Roman Catholic

Canada’s Population Settlement patterns have been influenced by the country’s harsh environment and the accessibility of transportation routes Increasingly urban

Sub-Regions of Canada

Today’s Issues in the U.S. and Canada Terrorism threatens the safety and security of society

The 9/11 Attacks Terrorism is a critical threat to national and global security Both domestic and international terrorist acts have increased in violence Terrorist weapons and operations Bombs & planes Biological weapons Anthrax Recent Threats ISIS “home-grown” terrorists that are linked ideologically with foreign terrorist groups

Storytelling with artifacts https://app.discoveryeducation.com/learn/videos/e 16d5936-83e9-44c9-816d- c20a641993e9?hasLocalHost=false

Urban Sprawl Many metropolitan areas of the U.S. and Canada have sprawled, or spread out, father and farther Cities are focusing on smart-growth solutions to urban sprawl Homework: Read the two news articles about Urban Sprawl and complete a SPRITE chart over each one.