Anthropogenic Activities: Historical Settlement, Population, and Economy

The Beginning?

European Explorers

Settlement Patterns Early Settlements –Growth and development depended on their situation –Based on Accessibility: the locational characteristics that permit a place to be reached by the efforts of those at other places AND –Site: The internal attributes of a place Features related to the immediate environment in which the place is located –E.g., topography, drainage, and soil composition

Settlement Patterns Expansion of Frontier generalizations –Occurred from east to west –Migrations generally followed the paths of least resistance –Distinct migration patterns

Early Settlement Between 2-10 million American Indians and Inuit 4/5 of the natives in the US Natives migrated westward with European Expansion Not much acculturation

Emerging Settlement Patterns

Portuguese & African Settlement

French Settlement (John Fiske New France and New England. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin, and Company.) French In America, by Edward Wells, 1700

Spanish Settlement Historical Land Grant Boundaries in Texas

Dutch Settlement Manhattan Island at the time of Dutch

British Settlement Jamestown (1607) Treaty of Paris Albert Gallatin and “principle of contiguity” William Penn Metes and Bounds

Cultural Diffusion New England Mid-Atlantic Pennsylvania Tidewater Maryland/ Virginia Frontier Zones by 1810 Hearth Areas (Pre ) Secondary Areas ( ) Tertiary Areas ( )

Continued Expansion

USPLSS: Jefferson’s Legacy to the West

Immigration Total immigrants to US & Canada from Europe & Africa = ~60 million Most French came to Canada during the late 1600s (~15,000) First US census in 1790 –2/3 of the white population had British origins –20% had African origins –Sizable % had German and Dutch heritage –Immigration slowed –Warfare in Europe restricted travel across the Atlantic

Immigration –Immigration increased continuously 1920 –U.S. passed its first law to restrict immigration Since 1940s –Steady increases each decade since Current: –US ~900,000/year; Canada ~180,000/year

Immigration in Thousands Decade 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 Immigration

Population Distribution

Population Distribution: Canada

Population Pattern: Religion

Population Patterns: Native Americans

Population Patterns: Hispanic

Population Patterns: Black

Population Patterns: Asian

Economic Sectors Primary –Agriculture (and accompanying technology) Secondary –Manufacturing & Industry Tertiary –Service (e.g., health care, retail) Quaternary –Government, Research, Education

Changing Urban Center

Rise of Urban Center

Final Thoughts 20 th century remarkable for North America Global economic and political leadership Basic background for Geography of North America 14 different landscapes to explore!!

Discussion Questions Why did North America prosper, while South America stagnated? What impacts did the mobility and freedom of the westward movement have on the cultural landscapes and values that characterize and define American and Canadian cultures today? Why has the productivity of individual farms increased so dramatically, while the number of people employed in agriculture continues to decline?

Related Books Conzen, Michael P The Making of the American Landscape. New York and London: Routledge. –Lots of ideas for learning major parts that shaped US cultural landscapes. Fisher, Ron, ed National Geographic Historical Atlas of the United States. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society. McIlwraith, Thomas F. and Edward K. Muller, eds North America: The Historical Geography of a Changing Continent, Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc. –Everything from French migration and settlement patterns to landscape expressions in early North America. Sauer, Carl Ortwin Sixteenth Century North America: The Land and People as Seen by Europeans. Berkeley: University of California Press. –A classic written by a “Classical” Geographer. What North America was like before European arrival. Zelinsky, Wilbur rev The Cultural Geography of the United States. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. –A standard in the regional geographer’s arsenal. Zelinsky writes in a very down to earth style, and his maps are luscious.

Related Books Castells, Manuel The Information Age: Economy, Society, and Culture. Vol. I, The Rise of the Network Society. Cambridge: Blackwell. –How nation states—including the US and Canada—are shaping and reshaping the information age. Meyer, David R The Roots of Industrialization. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. –Industrialization of North America and its various impacts on landscapes and economy. Wheeler, James, Yuko Aoyama, and Barney Warf, eds Cities in the Telecommunication Age: The Fracturing of Geographies. London: Routledge. –Outlines the cities playing a major role in the information age. Zukin, Sharon Landscapes of Power: From Detroit to Disneyland. Berkeley: University of California Press. –Probably the most cited source for urban, economic, and cultural landscapes in North America.

WebSources First Nations United States History Overview North America Map Archive