1. The Human Geography of the United States and Canada

3. Population

4. The first inhabitants of North America were nomads, (people with no homestead-hunter-gatherer tribes follow the animals they hunt), about 15,000 years ago. Many of these inhabitants crossed the Bering Strait from Asia following the food (animal herds) for survival before settling in across the continent.

6. Waves of Immigration 1600s - Today
From Europe
– 17th to 18th centuries, Northwest, South, & Southeast Europe, for religious & political freedom, for economic opportunity
From Asia
– 1st Wave, 19th century, China / Japan, for economic opportunity
– 2nd Wave, late 20th century, Indochinese Peninsula, to escape wars, for political asylum
From Latin America
– Late 20th to early 21st century, Mexico / Central America, to escape wars, for economic opportunities & political asylum (Cuba 1960s-70s)
TODAY
– from Latin America, Asia, and Africa

7. Population Distribution
Settlements found in similar climates as home
– Europeans living in New England (Northeast U.S.), around same latitude lines
OR with others from similar backgrounds
– Chicago – Italians (away from gangs in NY)
– Texas – Germans in New Braunfels
– Boston – Irish neighborhoods
OR Point of Entry
– Europeans in NYC / Ellis Island
– Cubans / Miami
– East Asians / Angel Island, San Francisco

8. Demographics

9. STOP! Time to complete the US & Canada population pyramids.

10. 1990
2000

11. Culture
and
Lifestyles

12. •Both Canada and the US are multicultural societies.
•Canadians speak both French and English.
•Both have religious freedoms
•Both are mobile societies – automobiles.
•High SOL (average income $35,000 a year)

13. History

14. History and Government
The United States
History and Government

15. Britain’s 13 American colonies began to resent policies forced on them by a distant government. Their protests led to the American Revolution (1775–1783) and the founding of the United States of America. The Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776.

16. Fill in the Timeline…

17. In 1803, the United States nearly doubled in size when the government purchased from France the vast plains region between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. This territory became known as the Louisiana Purchase.

18. Sectionalism began growing
Sectionalism began growing. People placed loyalty to a region above loyalty to the nation. Rising political and economic tensions between an agricultural South and a more industrialized North led, in 1861, to the Civil War.

19. Fill in the Timeline…

20. The second half of the 19th century saw Westward Expansion, pioneers headed west in covered wagons. To make way for white settlers, the U.S. government removed Native Americans from the land by treaty or by force. When the transcontinental railway was completed in 1869, railroads brought people to the West and western cattle and products to markets in the East.

21. Industrial Revolution
Some of the new immigrants headed out West. Others settled in rapidly growing and industrializing urban areas. Americans from rural areas also came to cities to work. The United States was being transformed from a rural, agricultural nation to an urban, industrialized one.
Industrial Revolution
Steam Power
Diesel Machinery
Electricity
Industrialization – transition from an agricultural society to one based on industry
Urbanization – the movement of people into cities.

22. Fill in the Timeline…

23. World War I – 1910s World War II – 1940s
The United States was seen as an isolationist country (avoid conflict not directly related to territorial self defense) by many because of its slow entry into the conflict in Europe during WWI & WWII.
World War I – 1910s World War II – 1940s
When World War II ended in 1945, the United States was the only major nation that had escaped physical damage. The United States had a healthy economy despite going through the Great Depression and Dust Bowl between the two wars.

24. The United States had teamed up with the Soviet Union to defeat Germany, but when the war ended distrust between the two allies led to the cold war.
Cold War - was the period of conflict, tension and competition between the United States and the Soviet Union 1940’s until the 1990’s. There was never a direct military engagement between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, but there was half a century of military buildup, and political battles for support around the world
During the Cold War the United States played an active role in trying to contain the spread of communism. A major political topic today is how best to deal with the threat of Terrorism.

25. Fill in the Timeline…

26. During the last half of the 20th century, Americans experienced prosperity. Many people began migrating from cities to surrounding suburbs. The civil rights and women’s rights movements worked for equality. Immigrants from Latin America and Asia arrived looking for political stability and economic opportunities.

27. The History and Government of Canada

28. People from Asia crossed a land bridge into North America thousands of years ago. Some remained in what are now the Canadian Arctic and Alaska. These people were ancestors of the Inuit, or Eskimos.
The earliest Canadian literature was the oral tradition of First Nations peoples. Early visual art included Inuit carvings and the totem poles of the First Nations peoples of the West Coast. Later, European settlers influenced the literature and artistic traditions.

29. Fill in the Timeline…

30. In 1497, John Cabot landed in Newfoundland and claimed the region for England. Then, during the 16th and 17th centuries, French explorers claimed much of North America for France.
To both countries, the coastal fisheries and the inland fur trade were important. Soon, the French and British challenged each other’s territorial claims. Britain defeated France in the French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, forcing France to surrender its territory. But French settlers remained.

31. Fill in the Timeline…

32. By the end of the 18th century, Canada had become a land of two distinct
cultures—Roman Catholic French and Protestant English. In 1791, the British government split Canada into two provinces. Upper Canada (later, Ontario) had an English-speaking majority, while Lower Canada (later, Quebec) had a French-speaking population.
When conflicts between English-speaking and French-speaking settlers continued, the British government passed the British North America Act, creating the Dominion of Canada in The Dominion was to be a loose confederation of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The Dominion grew rapidly. By 1871, Canada stretched to the Pacific Ocean as more provinces were added. Province is a Canadian political unit, similar to our states.

33. In 1872, the government began construction of a transcontinental railroad. In 1885, the main railway line, from Montreal to Vancouver, was completed.
When gold was discovered in the Yukon, fortune hunters from around the world headed to Canada. Not long after, copper, zinc, and silver deposits were found, prompting the building of new railroads and towns. At the same time, immigrants from other parts of Europe were coming to Canada.
For much of the time after settlement, Canadians had lived in rural areas and engaged in farming. But as population grew and natural resources were developed, Canada became increasingly urban and industrial.

34. Government

35. Amendment –official changes made to the Constitution.
One of the strengths of the United States is the political system created by the U.S. Constitution, adopted in The United States is a representative democracy, where the people rule through elected representatives.
Amendment –official changes made to the Constitution.
Bill of Rights – the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution.

36. Canada was recognized as an independent nation by Britain in 1931
Canada was recognized as an independent nation by Britain in However, Canada’s symbolic head of states remains the British monarch.
Canada has a parliamentary democracy, a system where legislative and executive functions are combined in a legislature called a parliament or a legislative, elected body of government. The majority party’s leader becomes prime minister. The prime minister is the most powerful executive in Canada. However, the country's official head of state is British monarch Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen is the public face of the country, and she acts on advice of the constitutionally-elected government, which is why Canada's government also qualifies as a constitutional monarchy.

37. Economics

38. Three factors have contributed to the overall success of the American economy—A. an abundance of natural resources, B. a skilled labor force, and C. a stable political system that has allowed the economy to develop.
The economy is run largely on free enterprise. Private individuals own most of the resources, technology, and businesses and can operate them with little government control.
The government does place some regulations on companies to protect the Market System. One such law makes Monopolies illegal.
Monopoly – total control of a type of industry by one person or one company.

39. The United States is the world’s major trading nation, leading the world in the value of its exports and imports. Many American corporations engage in business worldwide and are called multinationals.
Still, The U.S. has a trade deficit (spending more money on imports than earning on exports). Due to the high cost of American goods and the tariffs (taxes) placed upon them.
NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) was created to facilitate trade between Canada, The United States, and Mexico.
Canada is the United States biggest trading partner.

41. No other country exports more wood pulp and paper products than Canada.
Mining is a major industry because of Canada’s extensive mineral deposits.
Three ocean coastlines provide Canadians with an abundance of fish, and Canada exports more fish than any other country.
Like the US, Canada has a modern post industrial economy where most of its citizens make their living in service industries.
Canada’s spectacular natural beauty has made tourism one of the fastest growing of the service industries.
Canada’s economy has always relied on trade. In 1994, Canada and the United States, along with Mexico, signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).