UNITED STATES CULTURE Complete the PERSIA chart On your Warm-up sheet tell me: What are major physical features of the United States (Mountains, rivers, etc)? *On your notes: Draw a sketch map of US

Political System

Establishing a Government Constitutional Convention meets to draft US Constitution; eventually the Bill of Rights is added to Constitution Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition—power is shared between local, state, and national government Republic—people choose representatives to make decisions Democracy—government authority is based on the will of the people. People either vote on issues directly, or they elect representatives who make government decisions for them.

Economy

 The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $47,200. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace.  Free enterprise—system that lets competition among businesses determine the price of products  Developed country—high levels of industrialization and high standard of living

Economy  Labor Force-By Occupation:  farming, forestry, and fishing: 0.7%  manufacturing, extraction, transportation, and crafts: 20.3%  managerial, professional, and technical: 37.3%  sales and office: 24.2%  other services: 17.5%

Economy 1992—United States, Canada and Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA): eliminates tariffs on products flowing between the three countries —trade between the three countries has boomed Although the US has the largest economy in the world, it relies heavily on global trade and has a trade deficit most years.

Religion

 Christianity is the major religion  51% Protestant Christian  Nearly 25% Catholic Christian  Immigration has increased the numbers of people who practice Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam  About 6 million Jews live in the US

Social Structure

Language  No official language in the United States  English is main language and has been since colonization  Spanish is second most widely spoken language Many of these speakers are bilingual—able to speak two languages

Innovations and Technology

 245 million internet users in the United States (rank 2 nd in the world)

Area and geography

Settlement Patterns  Why do you think the population is concentrated in these areas?

Settlement Patterns  Why do you think the population is concentrated in these areas?  Reflects the history of the country’s settlement  First large US cities were located in Northeast  Population is shifting South and West toward the Sun Belt

Physical Features