FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN ACTIVITY (CHAPTER 3)

INTRODUCTION <European settlement, North America hosted a population estimated between 2-10 million American Indians and Inuit. 4/5 of the natives were concentrated in the U.S. As Europeans migrated westward across the continent, so did the natives. Consequently, there was not as much mixing between the two cultures as one might think.

CULTURAL DIFFUSION - (CIRCA 1820) New England Mid-Atlantic Pennsylvania Tidewater Maryland/ Virginia Frontier Zones by 1810 Hearth Areas (Pre ) Secondary Areas ( ) Tertiary Areas ( )

IMMIGRATION  About 60 million immigrants have entered the U.S. and Canada from Europe and Africa.  Most of the French came to Canada during the late 1600s, and numbered approximately 15,000.  First U.S. census in 1790…  2/3s of the white population had origins in the British Isles  20 % of the population had African origins.  A sizable % had German and Dutch heritage.   Immigration slowed.  Warfare in Europe restricted travel across the Atlantic.

IMMIGRATION (continued)  1815 – 1914  Immigration increased continuously (table 3-1, pg 44).  1920  U.S. passed its first law to restrict immigration.  In both the U.S. and Canada…  Steady increases in the number of immigrants during each decade since the 1940s  Source areas have changed significantly.  Currently…  U.S. receives about 900,000 "legal" immigrants yearly  Canada receives about 180,000 annually.  See table 3-1, pg 44, principal source regions.

Immigration in Thousands Decade The Immigrant Experience British Isles Germany Scandinavia South/East Europe Latin America Asia Push FactorsPull Factors 1840s: Irish Potato FamineEconomic Opportunity : Overpopulation, WarPolitical/Religious Freedom Recent: Overpopulation, War, OppressionLand Availability

U.S. SETTLEMENT PATTERNS  Early Settlements Based on accessibility and site. Growth and development depended on their situation. Accessibility  The locational characteristics that permit a place to be reached by the efforts of those at other places. Site  The internal attributes of a place  The features of a place related to the immediate environment in which the place is located  Examples include: aspects of topography, drainage, and soil composition.

SETTLEMENT PATTERNS (continued)  Situation  The external attributes of a place  Features of a place related to its location relative to other places  Examples:  Accessibility to regional or national transportation networks  Proximity to important industrial resources  Economic links with other major urban centers  Break-in-bulk points  Places where goods and/or people must transfer from one mode of transportation to another

SETTLEMENT PATTERNS (continued) Expansion of the Frontier: Several generalizations can be made concerning both the U.S. and Canada.  Expansion occurred from east to west.  Migrations generally followed the paths of least resistance.  Distinct migration patterns can be identified. See maps on pages 47 and 48.

EMERGING SETTLEMENT PATTERNS

POPULATION DISTRIBUTION

POPULATION PATTERNS American Religious Patterns –Catholics: Northeast & Southwest; major cities outside the South –Baptists: South –Lutherans: Northern Great Plains –Mormons: Utah, Southern Idaho, and Eastern Nevada –Methodists: Midwest –Jews: Large metropolitan areas (Megalopolis, Southern California, and Southern Florida)

POPULATION PATTERNS (continued)  American Regional Cultures (ethnicity)  American Indians  Reservations in the Southwest and Northwest  Relatively immobile compared to other segments  Hispanics  Southwest border area, South Florida, and NYC  Originating from Mexico (largely destined for the Southwest)  Originating from the Caribbean (inclined to migrate to the Southeast or New York City).  Extremely mobile; a general migration trend north and east into large urban areas

POPULATION PATTERNS (continued)  Blacks  Located in major urban areas outside the South  Maintain a historically large concentration throughout the Southeast.  Asian Americans  Mainly clustered in California, centered in Los Angeles in the southern part of the state and San Francisco to the north.  Large concentrations continue to grow in the major urban centers of Megalopolis.

NATIVE AMERICAN POPULATION

HISPANIC AMERICAN POPULATION

AFRICAN AMERICAN POPULATION

ASIAN AMERICAN POPULATION

FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN ACTIVITY (CHAPTER 3)