1. Human Geography of the US Ch. 6

2. Governing the People  Constitution written and adopted in 1787  Representative democracy  Federal republic – powers are divided among the national government and various other governments.  3 separate and equal branches  Executive – president and his cabinet – executes (carries) out the laws  Legislative – Congress – makes the laws  Judicial – Court system – interprets the laws

3.  The 50 states also have executive, legislative, and judicial branches.  They exercise powers not specifically granted to the federal government.

4. Economy and Culture  US has 7% of the world’s land area and 5% of the world’s population  World’s largest economy is the US’s  Leader in agriculture, manufactured goods and global trade  3 factors contributing to the success of the American economy  Natural resources  Skilled labor force  Stable political system

5.  Economy is a free enterprise system  American farms and ranches supply about 40% of the world’s production of corn, 12% of cotton, 9% of wheat, and 19% of cattle  The industrial output of the US is larger than that of any other country.  Petroleum  Steel  Electronics  Food processing  Lumber

6.  Major industrial areas  Atlantic Coast  Great Lakes region  Detroit – cars  Seattle – planes  Silicon Valley – computers  Today the American economy is driven by the service industry – economic activity that produces a service rather than a product.

7.  Information processing  Finance  Medicine  Education  US is the world’s major trading nation  Canada and Mexico are two of the US’s most important trading partners.

8. A Diverse Society  Ethnic Make-up (groups) – English, African, Asian  Language – English, Spanish  Religion – Protestant, Catholic, Mormon, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim  Population – 321 million  Major Urban areas – New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, Washington

9.  Average life expectancy – 79 years  80% of Americans live in cities or surrounding suburbs  60% of adults are employed  ¾ work in the service industry  Leisure activities  Spectator sports/play sports  Arts  Music

10.  About 1out of every 8 American lives in poverty.