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GeoJournal As you read this chapter, use your journal to note specific examples of the role the geography of North America has played in the history, arts, and lifestyles of people in the United States and Canada. Chapter Overview Visit the Glencoe World Geography Web site at tx.geogr aphy .glencoe .com and click on Chapter Overviews—Chapter 6 to preview information about the cultural geography of the region.

Chapter 6: The Cultural Geography of the United States and ... · geography of North America has played in the history, arts, and lifestyles of people in the United States and Canada

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Page 1: Chapter 6: The Cultural Geography of the United States and ... · geography of North America has played in the history, arts, and lifestyles of people in the United States and Canada

GeoJournalAs you read this chapter, use your journal to note specific examples of the role thegeography of North America has played inthe history, arts, and lifestyles of people inthe United States and Canada.

Chapter Overview Visit the Glencoe WorldGeography Web site at tx.geography.glencoe.comand click on Chapter Overviews—Chapter 6 to preview information about the cultural geography of the region.

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Population Patterns

A Geographic ViewThe Next WaveFor a century and a half this part oflower Manhattan has functioned as acatchment [holding place] for succes-sive waves of poor immigrants,including Irish, Germans, Italians,and East European Jews. Eachenclave [separate cultural commu-nity] dissolved as second andthird generations seized theopportunities that educationafforded them and then movedon to better neighborhoods,greener suburbs, or distantcities. But lower Manhattan,with its inexpensive housing,remained, ready to absorb the next wave.

—Joel L. Swerdlow, “New York’s Chinatown,” National Geographic, August 1998

Lower Manhattan, a part of New York City, has a historythat reflects population patterns throughout the United States and Canada. Both of these North American countries have beenshaped by immigration, the movement of people into one countryfrom another. In this section you will read about the peoples of theUnited States and Canada—who they are, why they came to theregion, and where they live.

The PeopleAbout 5 percent of the world’s population lives in the United

States and Canada. The 285 million people of the United States andthe 31 million people of Canada all are immigrants or descendantsof immigrants. Some arrived only recently. Others belong to fami-lies whose ancestors came to North America centuries ago.

Guide to ReadingConsider What You KnowThink about news reports, movies,and songs you know that featurelarge, densely populated cities astopics or settings. What factors makeurban living appealing to people?

Read to Find Out• Who are the peoples of the United

States and Canada?

• How are population patterns inthe United States and Canadainfluenced by the region’s physicalgeography?

• What geographic factors encour-aged the industrialization andurbanization of the United Statesand Canada?

Terms to Know• immigration

• Native American

• Sunbelt

• urbanization

• metropolitan area

• suburb

• megalopolis

• mobility

Places to Locate• Washington, D.C. • Los Angeles

• Miami • Vancouver

• New Orleans • Ottawa

• Houston • Detroit

C h a p t e r 6 133

The city skyline rises behindan outdoor ice rink inToronto, Ontario, Canada.

Chinatown, New York City

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134 U n i t 2

History

Waves of ImmigrantsNorth America’s first immigrants probably

moved into the region from Asia thousands ofyears ago. Today their descendants, known asNative Americans, number 2.5 million in theUnited States and 700,000 in Canada. Other peo-ples—Europeans, Asians, Africans, and LatinAmericans—came later. As a result of these waves ofimmigrants, the populations of the United Statesand Canada are among the world’s most diverse.

Some immigrants came to the United States andCanada to seek political and religious freedom

and to find better economic opportunities. Othersfled wars or natural disasters. For example, theIrish potato famine of the 1840s caused about 1.5million Irish people to immigrate to the UnitedStates.

Rich natural resources and the region’s rapidindustrial and economic development made theUnited States and Canada attractive destinations.Popular songs among European immigrants in the1800s referred to the United States as the land“where the streets are paved with gold.” Chineseimmigrants nicknamed it “Gold Mountain.” Therumors of gold were exaggerated, but the opportuni-ties were real. Some immigrants faced discriminationat first, but they offered hard work, talent, enthusi-asm, and diverse cultural practices. Throughout theirhistories, the United States and Canada have bene-fited from the contributions of immigrants.

Population Density and Distribution

Although the United States and Canada are“nations of immigrants,” their populations differin terms of density and distribution. Slightly largerthan the United States in land area, Canada has anaverage population density of only 8 people persquare mile (3 people per sq. km). Much ofCanada’s vast territory is inhospitable to humansettlement because of rugged terrain and a bitterlycold climate. About 90 percent of Canadians live ina narrow strip of land along Canada’s border withthe United States. The poor soil of the CanadianShield steered settlement toward the fertile landand industrial resources of the Great Lakes–St.Lawrence lowlands. Other population centersinclude the farming and ranching areas along thesouthern sweep of the Prairie Provinces of Mani-toba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta and the Pacificcoast of British Columbia.

Compared with Canada, the United States, withan average population density of 77 people per

Student Web Activity Visit the Glencoe World GeographyWeb site at tx.geography.glencoe.com and click on Student WebActivities—Chapter 6 for an activity about the history ofimmigration to the United States.

Northwest California The Yurok NativeAmerican group is only one of many groups thathelp define the populations of the United States andCanada.

Place About how many Native Americans are therein the United States? Canada?

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C h a p t e r 6 135

square mile (30 people per sq. km), may seem relatively crowded. Outside large urban areas, how-ever, the population is widely distributed. TheNortheast and the Great Lakes regions are the mostdensely populated areas and the historic centersof American commerce and industry. Another pop-ulation cluster lies on the Pacific coast, wherepleasant climate, abundant natural resources, andeconomic opportunities attract residents. Morepeople live in California than in any other state.

Since the 1970s the American South and South-west, including California, have become the coun-try’s fastest growing areas. Nicknamed theSunbelt for its mild climate, the southern UnitedStates draws employees to its growing manufac-turing, service, and tourism industries. Retireeschoose the Sunbelt for its mild winters. The area’sgeographic closeness to Mexico and the Caribbeanalso draws immigrants from those two regions.

The least densely populated areas of the UnitedStates include the subarctic region of Alaska, theparched Great Basin, and parts of the arid or semi-

arid Great Plains. These areas owe their sparsepopulations to difficult climate conditions.

The CitiesAlthough both the United States and Canada

began as agricultural societies, they have experi-enced urbanization, the concentration of popula-tion in cities. Cities grew as the use of machines inagriculture gave rise to large commercial farms. Asa result, fewer agricultural laborers were needed,sending people to urban areas to search for work.Jobs, education, health care, and cultural opportu-nities also have drawn people to large cities.

Today most people in the United States andCanada live in metropolitan areas. A metropolitanarea includes a city with a population of at least50,000 and outlying communities called suburbs.More than 80 percent of the population of theUnited States lives in the country’s 276 metropoli-tan areas. Canada’s 25 metropolitan areas are hometo about 60 percent of the Canadian population.

Native American(including Inuit)

2.0 %

Hispanic12.5% African

American12.3%

White70.6%

Native American,Inuit, Aleut

0.9% Asian,Pacific Islander3.7%

Multiple Originor Other

40%

French23%

Asian7%

BritishIsles28%

Source: United States Census Bureau, 2000 Source: Statistics Canada, 1996

GRAPH STUDY

Ethnic Origins in the United States and Canada

2. Applying Geography Skills How does the percentage of Asians in the United States com-pare to the percentage of Asians in Canada?1. Interpreting Graphs What percentage of

people in the United States are Hispanic?

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attractive low-rise cities . . . in the world . . .[because of] the vision of Pierre L’Enfant whoconceived the plan for the capital. . . .”Gilbert M. Grosvenor,

“Washington, D.C., Reaches Its 200th Birthday,” NationalGeographic, August 1991

Other important U.S. coastal cities include thebusy ports of Miami, on the Atlantic coast, andNew Orleans and Houston, on the Gulf of Mexico.Houston, connected to the Gulf of Mexico by theHouston Ship Channel, is the southern end of adeveloping megalopolis that stretches north to theDallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area.

Pacific coast cities also provide important com-mercial links to the rest of the world, especially tothe growing Asian economies of the Pacific Rim.A developing megalopolis stretches from SanFrancisco south through Los Angeles to San Diego.All three cities have major ports. Another westernport city, Seattle, as well as San Francisco and theneighboring area nicknamed the Silicon Valley, fea-

tures innovative computer and Internetindustries. These latter two areas alsohave developed aerospace industries,enterprises that design and manufactureairplanes, satellites, and space vehicles.

Vancouver is the largest city in theCanadian province of British Columbiaand an important shipping center forwestern Canada. Despite its northernlocation, Vancouver’s harbor neverfreezes, so ships use the busy port year-round. Vancouver handles nearly allthe trade between Canada and Asia.

Inland CitiesRivers, lakes, and inland waterways

promoted the growth of the region’sinland cities. North America’s water-ways offered both natural resourcesand transportation routes that con-tributed to the region’s rapid industri-alization, or the shift from agricultureto manufacturing and service indus-tries as the basis of an economy.

In Canada, ships reach the cities ofQuebec, Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa

The United States at Night City lights as seen at night from space reveal dense population clusters in the east and on the west coast.

Region What pattern do you observe in the distribution of cities inthe United States and Canada?

Coastal CitiesMany population centers in the United States and

Canada lie in coastal areas where healthy econ-omies support large populations. Along the north-ern Atlantic coast of the United States, for example,a chain of closely linked metropolitan areas formsa megalopolis, or “great city.” Home to about42 million people, this megalopolis—nicknamedBoswash—includes the cities of Boston, New York,Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C.Four of the cities—Boston, New York, Philadelphia,and Baltimore—are important world trade centersbecause of their coastal or near coastal locations.The planned city of Washington, D.C., establishedon the Potomac River near the Chesapeake Bay, isthe country’s capital. On the capital’s 200th birthday,a native Washingtonian commended the city’s chiefdesigner:

“ Most American cities grew haphazardly . . .with little overall planning. . . . But ournation’s capital became one of the most

136 U n i t 2

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C h a p t e r 6 137

through the St. Lawrence River, theOttawa River, and the Great Lakes.Detroit, the center of the United Statesautomobile industry, uses the GreatLakes for shipping goods. A megalopo-lis links the U.S. Great Lakes cities ofChicago, Milwaukee, and Clevelandwith Pittsburgh, a freshwater port onthe Ohio River. Other U.S. river citiesinclude Cincinnati, on the Ohio River,and Minneapolis and St. Louis, on the Mississippi River. Winnipeg, onthe Red River, and Saskatoon andEdmonton, on the SaskatchewanRiver, are inland population centers inwestern Canada.

Other inland cities, such as Atlanta,Denver, Dallas, and San Antonio in theUnited States and Regina and Calgary inCanada, grew from agricultural andtrading centers.

Future TrendsLike most developed countries, the United States

and Canada have low birthrates, which increasethe population by only 0.5 percent annually. Immi-gration accounts for most of the region’s popula-tion growth. In 1998 more than 9 percent of thepopulation of the United States was born inanother country. Like earlier immigrants, however,

the people of the United States and Canada cherishtheir mobility, the freedom to move from place toplace. In a typical year, one in six U.S. residents ofthe United States relocates, often to cities. As immi-gration adds to population diversity, living withcultural differences and managing urban conges-tion are ongoing challenges.

Checking for Understanding1. Define immigration, Native

American, Sunbelt, urbanization,metropolitan area, suburb, mega-lopolis, mobility.

2. Main Ideas Create a word web likethe one below, listing the variouspeoples of North America.

Critical Thinking3. Comparing and Contrasting How

are the population patterns ofCanada and the United Statessimilar? How do they differ?

4. Making Inferences What aresome of the advantages and disadvantages of living in a megalopolis?

5. Categorizing Information Selectthree coastal and three inlandcities and indicate the economicactivities important to each city.

Analyzing Maps6. Human-Environment Interaction

Study the population density mapon page 108. How many citieswith populations over 1,000,000lie along waterways? Explain.

7. Choosing a DestinationImagine that you are animmigrant writing a letterto relatives about your newhome in the United States.Explain your reasons for settling where you live.

Applying Geography

Peoples of North America

The Grain Trade Workers load grain sacks forexport from the port of Vancouver.

Movement How do port cities sustain an economy?

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CANADA AND THE UNITEDSTATES share the longest unde-fended border in the world.The3,987-mile (6,416-km) border runsthrough the middle of rivers and

lakes, crosses fields and forests, and slicesthrough towns and farms. Each year morethan a hundred million tourists, truck driv-ers, sports fans, and other visitors passthrough 96 official border crossings andthousands of unofficial ones. Even moreimpressive, though, is the value of goods andservices that flow between the United Statesand Canada—a total that exceeds trade be-tween any other two countries in the world.

A History of Trade

Trade has played an important role in thegrowth of both the United States andCanada.The fur trade in Canada began inthe 1500s. Native Americans gave Europeansfurs in exchange for such items as tools,weapons, and kettles. During the 1700s,colonists traded numerous raw materials—timber and furs—for Europe’s manufacturedgoods. In the early 1800s, the quest for fursby American and Canadian companiespushed frontiers westward as trading postssprang up in the wilderness.

Cars line up to enter Canadaat Fort Erie, Ontario.

GIVE-AND-TAKE ACROSS THE BORDERGIVE-AND-TAKE ACROSS THE BORDER

AND

GEOGRAPHYHISTORY

138 U n i t 2

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1500s Fur trade startsbetween present-dayCanada and Europe

1605 French explorers set up first trading post at Port Royal, Canada (photo above)

1608 French explorer Samuelde Champlain establishessettlement at Quebec

1700s American coloniststrade raw materialsfor Europe’s manu-factured goods

1800s U.S.-Canada border (background photo) continuesto be defined

1989 U.S.-Canada Free TradeAgreement takes effect

1994 North American FreeTrade Agreement takes effect

As the neighboring economies grew and prospered, so did coop-eration. Since the late 1800s, trade has flourished between Canadaand the United States. Most goods pass freely across the border, with-out tariffs of any kind.Two major agreements have sought to elimi-nate remaining tariffs and other trade barriers: the United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 1989 and the North AmericanFree Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which includes Mexico, in 1994.

Cooperation and Conflict

Today each country has a major stake in the other’s economy.Canadian companies operate plants in the United States and viceversa. Joint business ventures proliferate.The open border and longhistory of cooperation between the United States and Canada haveled to good relations and a friendly give-and-take between neighbors.

Trade disputes do occur, however. Many Canadians dislike theeffect free trade with the United States has on their culture and way of life. Canadians struggle to maintain a separate identity whilethey’re bombarded by American music and movies. Moreover, differ-ences arise over shared resources, such as fishing grounds, and oversolutions to joint problems, such as pollution.

Looking Ahead

Will the spirit of cooperation between the United States andCanada prevail in this century? Or will trade disputes, disagree-ments over cultural issues, and other problems lead to conflict?

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Each year, Canadians and Americans exchange products and people. Investorsseek profits in real estate, mines, oil, and other ventures.

U n i t 2 139

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Guide to ReadingConsider What You KnowYou may know that the early historyof Canada and the United States fea-tured the movement of people fromeast to west. In what ways did thatmovement affect the place whereyou live?

Read to Find Out• What was life like for the earliest

Americans and for European settlers?

• How did industrialization andtechnology enable westwardexpansion in North America?

• How do the governments of theUnited States and Canada differ?

Terms to Know• republic

• Underground Railroad

• dry farming

• Constitution

• amendment

• Bill of Rights

• cabinet

• dominion

• Parliament

Places to Locate• Hudson Bay

• Quebec

• Ontario

• Nova Scotia

• New Brunswick

• Yukon Territory

• Northwest Territories

• Nunavut

• Texas

• Alaska

• Hawaii

• Pennsylvania

• Ohio

History andGovernment

A Geographic ViewPersonality and HistoryHistory has bred the caricatures. The United States was born of rebellion and the cult of independence. It spread west two hops ahead of the law. Canadawas formed by consensus among public servants. On its way west the law went first. Canadians never had a Wild West.

—Priit J. Vesilind, “Common Ground, Different Dreams: The U.S.–Canada Border,”National Geographic, February 1990

The United States and Canada share much in termsof geography, but they have taken different historical and culturalpaths. In this section you will learn how the vast northern part ofNorth America, originally inhabited by Native Americans, then colo-nized by Europeans, eventually developed into these two indepen-dent countries. You also will discover the key role physicalgeography played in the emergence of the United States and Canadaand their development as industrialized countries.

HistoryArchaeologists generally believe that nomads crossing a land

bridge from Asia to Alaska first settled North America thousands ofyears ago. Recent evidence suggests, however, that nomads fromCentral and South America may have populated North America atthe same time as—or even before—those from Asia. Whatever theoryproves correct, we know that as of 10,000 years ago, people lived inalmost every part of what is now the United States and Canada.

140 U n i t 2

Monument Valley, Arizona

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C h a p t e r 6 141

Native Americans Location and climate shaped the various cultures

later known as Native American. For the peoplesof the cold Arctic tundra, scarce resources and lackof farmland prompted them to hunt caribou andother animals for food and fur. By contrast, PacificCoast peoples enjoyed a mild climate and abun-dant resources. They harvested salmon with fibernets and used stone and copper tools to split cedar,fir, and redwood trees into planks for buildinghouses and canoes.

In the high deserts of the Southwest, NativeAmericans used irrigation to farm the dry land.On the Great Plains, other groups hunted the buf-falo, parts of which were used for food, clothing,shelter, and tools. Native Americans in the wood-lands east of the Mississippi River built ceremonialmounds, hunted game, grew crops, and traded forshells and freshwater pearls. In the northeasternwoodlands, Native American peoples hunteddeer, turkeys, geese, and squirrels. These north-eastern peoples lived in closely knit villages,

developed systems of government, and tradedthroughout the region.

European ColoniesEuropean migration had begun by the late 1500s.

Europeans came to North America in search of landto farm, valuable minerals, and political and reli-gious freedom. Most European migrants came fromSpain, France, and England and settled in colonies.

The Spaniards controlled Florida and a largearea west of the Mississippi River. Many Spanishsettlements were founded as military posts or asmissions—religious communities founded to con-vert Native Americans to Christianity. Spanishcolonists also set up farms and huge cattle ranches.

The French came to North America primarily forthe fur trade. French trappers canoed down riverssuch as the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi. Theyset up trading posts, collecting beaver pelts andother furs from Native Americans to ship toEurope. Those who settled permanently livedalong the St. Lawrence River and the MississippiRiver near the Gulf of Mexico.

By the 1700s England hadcolonies or controlled landalong much of the Atlanticcoast and around HudsonBay. The settlers in the north-ern English colonies foundthat the thin, rocky soil andshort growing season madefarming difficult. The area,however, had excellent har-bors as well as good timberand fishing. Shipbuilding,trade, and fishing becameimportant industries in thisregion. The middle Englishcolonies had wide river val-leys, level land, and fertile soil.They also had mild winters;long, warm summers; and anextended growing season.Many settlers there raised cashcrops to be exported. Thesouthern English colonies hadmild climates, rich soils, andopen land that encouragedplantation agriculture. Most

Fort TiconderogaFrench, British, and American forces fought over Fort Ticonderogafrom 1758 through the American Revolution.Human-Environment Interaction How did the physical geographyof the United States influence settlement in the colonies?

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142 U n i t 2

plantation owners used enslaved Africans to pro-vide the labor such large-scale farming required.

Two New CountriesIn 1763 France was forced to give up much of its

North American empire to Great Britain (formedby the union of England and Scotland in 1707).Conflicts soon arose between Native Americansand colonial settlers. Occupying the land, manysettlers pushed out Native American communitiesand nearly destroyed their cultures.

During the 1760s the British governmentaroused the American colonists’ anger by imposingnew taxes and limiting their freedoms. Beginningin 1775, the thirteen British colonies, all of themalong or near the Atlantic coast, fought a war forindependence. The outcome was a new country—the United States of America. Rejecting monarchy,the Americans set up a republic, a government inwhich people elect their own officials, includingtheir head of state. They elected George Washing-ton as the first president of the United States.

Some American colonists, however, did notwant to break ties with the British monarch. Asmany as 100,000 of these people, known as Loyal-ists, left the new country. Most settled in French-populated Quebec, which Great Britain controlled.During the early 1800s, English- and French-speaking communities in British North Americaconstantly feuded about colonial government poli-cies, but fears of a United States takeover forcedthem together. In 1867, under Prime Minister JohnA. Macdonald, four of the colonies—Quebec,Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—united as provinces of the Dominion of Canada, anew country within the British Empire. Neighbor-ing areas—Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta,and Saskatchewan in the west and Prince EdwardIsland and Newfoundland along the Atlanticcoast—became provinces of Canada during thenext 100 years. Today Canada encompasses these10 provinces and 3 additional territories, the YukonTerritory, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut(NOO•nuh•vut).

From Sea to Shining SeaDuring the 1800s the United States and Canada

expanded into western North America. In 1803, forexample, the United States bought from France

nearly all the land between the Mississippi Riverand the Rocky Mountains. This agreement, knownas the Louisiana Purchase, nearly doubled the sizeof the country and gave the United States control ofthe Mississippi River and access to the Far West.

The western lands were rich in naturalresources. Texas, a former Mexican territory thatbecame an independent republic in 1836 andjoined the United States in 1845, was valued forcotton production and cattle ranching. In the late1840s, as a result of a war with Mexico, the UnitedStates gained all of the present-day statesof California, Utah, and Nevada and parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona, and New Mexico.The discovery of gold and silver boosted settle-ment in the region. A traveler on the CaliforniaTrail during the Gold Rush of 1849 captured theattraction of the West in his journal:

“ On, on, stay not for those who linger,on , on, look not for those behind. . . .America with one heave throws her lifetoward Sacramento!”C. B. Darwin, quoted in “The Way

West,” National Geographic, September 2000

By trade or treaty, the United States eventuallygained control of land from the Atlantic to thePacific coasts, and from the Canadian border in thenorth to the Rio Grande in the south. In 1867 theUnited States purchased its last great frontier,Alaska, from Russia. Later it acquired Hawaii andsome other islands located in the Pacific and theCaribbean. During this period Canada alsoacquired western lands, spreading from theAtlantic to the Pacific Ocean and from the Arcticregion in the north to the United States border tothe south. For Native Americans, however, west-ward expansion by both countries signaled thesteady loss of their lands and restrictions on theirtraditional ways of life.

Economics

Growth, Division, and UnityIn the 1800s industrialization transformed the

United States and Canada. The first factories inNorth America arose in the northeastern United

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States, which had manywaterfalls that could beharnessed to produce powerto run machines. Becausewaterpower was limited to afew places, people in indus-try later used steam as asource of power. Large sup-plies of coal in Pennsylvaniaand Ohio, which were usedto power steam engines,made steam power cheapand manufacturing veryprofitable. The MidwesternUnited States and the Cana-dian provinces of Ontarioand Quebec became leadingcenters of industry and busi-ness. The many rivers andlakes in these areas, im-proved by the building ofcanals, were used to trans-port goods from factories toport cities.

A growing demand forcotton by the textile industryin the northeastern UnitedStates made cotton produc-tion highly profitable. Cotton became the South’smajor cash crop. Swamps were drained and pineforests cleared for more cotton plantations. Forplantation owners, the labor of enslaved Africansbecame more important than ever before.

Other people, however, worked to end slaveryby enabling enslaved people to escape from bond-age. The Underground Railroad, an informal net-work of safe houses, helped thousands of escapingenslaved people make their way north to freedom.Many escapees found shelter in Canada, whichnever practiced slavery and refused to honor U.S.laws that punished those who escaped.

Disputes over slavery, along with economic andpolitical differences between Northern and South-ern states, led to the American Civil War of 1861–1865. Under President Abraham Lincoln, theNorthern states defeated the Southern states thathad left the Union. After the war the United Statesabolished slavery and gave formerly enslavedAfrican Americans citizenship, equal protection

C h a p t e r 6 143

under the law, and the right to vote. Reunited, theUnited States set about rebuilding itself.

Technological and Social ChangeDuring the late 1800s, the United States and

Canada both encouraged settlement of the GreatPlains. The United States and Canadian govern-ments wanted to ease the crowding in eastern citiescaused by immigration from Europe. They alsowanted people to farm the region, thus providingmore food for urban populations. Thousands ofpeople from Atlantic coastal areas, as well asimmigrants from eastern Europe and Scandi-navia, started farms on the Great Plains.

Because of dry conditions, settlers on the GreatPlains developed a special farming method, calleddry farming, cultivating the land so that it caughtand held rainwater. Strong steel plows, better ableto break the hard prairie sod, soon replaced ironplows. Steam tractors made it possible to plantand harvest large areas of land faster and easier.

UndergroundRailroad Harriet Tubman (inset) helped enslaved peopleescape through the Underground Railroad. This was a systemof safe houses like John Rankin’s home in Ripley, Ohio.

Place How did geographic and economic factors help lead tothe Civil War?

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Growth of Railroads Thousands of Chineseworkers, such as these on the Northern PacificRailway, helped build the railroads across westernNorth America in the late 1800s.

Movement How did the completion of transconti-nental railroads affect the United States?

The late 1800s also saw the completion oftranscontinental railroads in the United States andCanada. These made it possible to transport manu-factured goods from east to west, as well as foodproducts—especially beef cattle—from west to east.Immigrants from China, Ireland, Mexico, and othercountries were recruited to help build the railroads.

During the early 1900s, the introduction of assem-bly lines for mass production cut the cost and thetime needed to make many industrial products.Perhaps the most influential mass-produced itemwas the automobile. At this time people werebecoming increasingly mobile, and more of themlived in urban areas than in rural areas.

Two world wars during the 1900s spurred eco-nomic growth in the United States and Canada.After 1940 both countries were linked in a closepartnership that included increased trade betweenthem. By the 1990s certain economic activities,

mining and steel production, for example, wereless important than rising high-tech industries.Social changes also took place. Immigrationincreased from Latin America and Asia. Women,African Americans, Hispanics, and other groupsbegan to participate in business and the politicalprocess. In both Canada and the United States,Native Americans have negotiated with govern-ments over land claims, mineral rights, and otherissues. In 1999 the Inuit, one of Canada’s nativepeoples, won the right to their own territory, calledNunavut, carved from the eastern half of theNorthwest Territories.

GovernmentThe United States and Canada both are democra-

cies with federal systems, in which the national gov-ernment shares power with state or provincialgovernments. To create a strong national govern-ment while preserving the rights of individual statesand citizens, United States leaders in 1787 drafteda plan of government called the Constitution.Over the years, changes in the Constitution, calledamendments, have been made to meet the coun-try’s changing needs. The first 10 amendments,called the Bill of Rights, guarantee the basic rightsof citizens, including the freedoms of speech, reli-gion, and the press.

The national government of the United Stateshas three branches: executive, legislative, and judi-cial. The executive branch includes the president,the vice president, and the executive departmentsthat administer various divisions of the nationalgovernment. The heads of these departments formthe president’s cabinet—a group of special advis-ers. Congress, consisting of elected state represen-tatives to both the Senate and the House ofRepresentatives, is the legislative branch. TheSupreme Court and lower federal courts make upthe judicial branch.

Canada was created as a dominion, a partiallyself-governing country with close ties to GreatBritain. It gained full independence in 1931, butthe British government kept the right to approvechanges to Canada’s constitution. In 1982 this leg-islative link to Great Britain finally ended. Canadaat its founding had a strong central governmentwith only minor powers given to the individual

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provinces. Over the years,the power of the provinceshas increased.

Today the executive partof Canada’s governmentincludes the governor-gen-eral, the prime minister, andthe cabinet. The Britishmonarch still serves as thehead of state, appointinga governor-general to actin his or her place. Thenational legislature, calledParliament, is made up ofthe Senate and the House ofCommons. Canada’s primeminister, who is leader of the majority political partyin Parliament, is the actualhead of government. Ninejudges sit on the SupremeCourt of Canada, the coun-try’s highest court.

In the next section, youwill learn about the cultureand lifestyles in the UnitedStates and Canada as theyenter the new millennium.

C h a p t e r 6 145

Checking for Understanding1. Define republic, Underground

Railroad, dry farming, Constitu-tion, amendment, Bill of Rights,cabinet, dominion, Parliament.

2. Main Ideas Create a time line like the one below, and labelmajor events in the settlementand development of the UnitedStates and Canada.

Critical Thinking3. Identifying Cause and Effect How

did physical geography influencethe cultures of the region’s firstsettlers?

4. Drawing Conclusions Why is theinfluence of French culture morepronounced in Canada than inthe United States?

5. Making Generalizations Trace thespread of railroads in the UnitedStates and Canada. Describe theeffects of the railroad on culturalsharing and national unity in boththe countries.

Analyzing Maps6. Region Study the political map on

page 107. Then, without lookingat this map, label the U.S. statesand Canadian provinces/territorieson an outline map.

7. Effects of Technology Howdid people meet the chal-lenges of settling the Westthrough innovation andchange? Write a brief essaydescribing these changesand how they affected theregion’s physical and humangeography.

Applying Geography

House of ParliamentOttawa’s location on the border between Quebec and Ontario helpeddetermine its role as Canada’s capital city.

Place How does Canada’s prime minister derive his or her position?

Native Americanssettled in region

circa8000 B.C.

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Guide to ReadingConsider What You KnowThe arts and popular entertainmentof the United States and Canadainfluence other culture regions of theworld. What cultural trends can youthink of that began in this region andspread to other parts of the world?

Read to Find Out• How do the religious practices

and languages of the regionreflect the immigrant history ofthe United States and Canada?

• How do the arts of the UnitedStates and Canada reflect theregion’s colonial past?

• What kinds of educational andhealth care systems serve the people of the region?

Terms to Know• bilingual

• jazz

• socioeconomic status

• literacy rate

• patriotism

Places to Locate• New Mexico

• Hollywood

Cultures andLifestyles

A Geographic ViewThe Art of Everyday LifeSuch attention to reality was at odds with artistic convention in [painter Winslow] Homer’s time, as was his choice of subjects—barefoot boys, farm girls, working men, freed slaves, North Woods guides, ordinary soldiers, and womenof leisure, all of whom representedeveryday life in America. Early crit-ics complained about it. . . . But likeother American originals of histime—Walt Whitman and MarkTwain—Homer kept to his own path.

—Robert M. Poole, “Winslow Homer: American Original,”National Geographic, December 1998

Winslow Homer, known for his naturalistic style, was oneof the greatest American painters of the 1800s. His paintings expressthe independent thinking and the enthusiasm for new frontiers thatmark the cultures of the United States and Canada. The immigrantroots of these countries also gives them a respect for diversity. In thissection you will read about the cultures and lifestyles of the UnitedStates and Canada.

Cultural CharacteristicsThe United States and Canada are countries of many cultures.

Like the threads of a brightly colored blanket, the cultures of thesecountries blend into a new pattern without losing their individualqualities.

146 U n i t 2

Fresh Eggs by Winslow Homer

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History

Religious FreedomFreedom of religion has always been valued in

the United States and Canada. Many of the peoplewho migrated to the region did so to worship freely.As early as 1774, the British Parliament passed alaw recognizing the religious rights of RomanCatholic French Canadians. In 1791 the Bill ofRights, which became part of the United StatesConstitution, guaranteed Americans religiousfreedom in addition to a number of other rights.

Today most Americans and Canadians who aremembers of an organized religion are Christians.In the United States, the majority of Christians areProtestant, while in Canada most Christians areRoman Catholic. Judaism, Islam, and Buddhismare among other religions practiced in the UnitedStates and Canada.

LanguagesEnglish is the main language in the United States.

In Canada, English and French are the official lan-guages. Because of immigration from all over the

world, however, people in the United States andCanada also speak or use various words andphrases of other languages. For example, streetsigns in ethnic neighborhoods of the region’s portcities—New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, andVancouver—may be printed in Chinese, Korean,Russian, Arabic, or Hindi. A writer describes thismix of cultures and languages in New York:

“ Store owners [on Third Avenue] are oftenAsian. Corner groceries are run by familiesfrom the Dominican Republic . . . Arabsoperate the candy stores . . . Koreans runvegetable stands. . . . [Near 118th Street]Robert Kosches finished talking in Spanish to a young couple. . . . ‘My grand-father, who came from Austria, startedthis [furniture] business,’ he said, switch-ing to English. . . .”Jere Van Dyk, “Growing Up

in East Harlem,” National Geographic, May 1990

music of NORTH AMERICA

World Music: A Cultural Legacy Hear music of this region on Disc 1, Tracks 1–6.

The music of North America stems fromNative American, European, and Africaninfluences. Music from this region isextremely varied and has greatly influ-enced other types of music aroundthe world.

Instrument SpotlightThe Native American fluteoriginated among the

peoples of the Great Plains, and it was oftenplayed by men to express their feelings of loveto women. Each flute, made individually byhand, has its own unique look and sound.Traditional flutes are made from a piece ofcedar, cut the same length as the distancebetween the armpit and the longest finger ofthe musician. In addition to five or six playingholes, four “direction” holes are added to sendthe sound in all directions.

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The ArtsThe arts of the United States and Canada go

back to the first Americans, who interwove art andmusic into daily life. Native Americans madedetailed carvings from shell and stone, used clayto produce pottery, and wove baskets, sandals,and mats from local plants. After European settle-ment the arts of the region were dominated byEuropean traditions. By the mid-1800s, however,Americans and Canadians had begun to create artforms that reflected their own lives as NorthAmericans.

MusicIn their music Native Americans used drums,

flutes, whistles, and vocal chanting. Europeanslater brought European folk and religious music tothe region. At the beginning of the 1900s, a distinc-tive form of music known as jazz developed inAfrican American communities throughout theUnited States. Jazz blended African rhythms with

Immigrants from Great Britain brought theEnglish language to the United States and much ofCanada. In the Canadian province of Quebec, how-ever, French is the official language because most ofthe province’s population are descended from Frenchsettlers who arrived from the 1500s to the 1700s.

French-speaking Canadians in Quebec and someother provinces want greater protection for theirlanguage and culture. To achieve this goal, manyQuebecois (kay•beh•KWAH) want Quebec’sindependence and support a movement for sepa-ratism—the breaking away of one part of a countryto create a separate, independent country.

The Southwestern United States since colonialtimes has had a large Spanish-speaking pop-ulation. In New Mexico, any communicationswith the state government or with local govern-ments may be in Spanish or English. Thus, NewMexico is bilingual, meaning “having two lan-guages.” In California the presence of Asian com-munities is evident in the signs written in Chinese,Japanese, Korean, and other Asian languages.

148 U n i t 2

Unity RallySupporters of Canadian unity rally in Hull, Quebec, prior to a 1995 referendum on Quebec independence.

Place Why do some Quebecois desire independence?

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C h a p t e r 6 149

European harmonies. By the end of the century,country music and rock ‘n’ roll had become popu-lar musical forms, not only in North America butaround the world. In classical music, dancers andchoreographers created a modern form of ballet.

The Visual ArtsPainting and sculpture in the United States and

Canada moved away from their European rootsand explored new themes. In the early 1900s, agroup of American artists known as the AshcanSchool painted the grim realities of urban life. Agroup of Canadian painters called the Group ofSeven showed the rugged landscape of Canada’sfar north in bright, dynamic colors. American artistGeorgia O’Keeffe gave the world new visions ofthe American West. In the mid-1900s many artistsin the region adopted from Europe the abstractstyle, which expresses the artist’s emotions and

attitudes without depicting recognizable images. Architects in the United States and Canada also

developed innovations. The skyscraper, a tallbuilding with many floors, first appeared in theUnited States. The architects Frank Lloyd Wrightin the United States and Arthur Erickson inCanada were noted for designing buildings thatharmonized with the region’s natural environments.

LiteratureLiterature in the United States and Canada at first

dealt mainly with European historical and religiousthemes. Later writers, such as James FenimoreCooper, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar AllanPoe, wrote stories about life in North America.Since the late 1800s, many American and Canadianauthors have written about different parts ofthe region. Mark Twain described life on theMississippi River, Margaret Laurence focused onthe prairies of central Canada, and Willa Catherdescribed life on the Great Plains.

More recently, writers have concentrated on high-lighting aspects of the region’s cultures. For example,writers such as Richard Wright and Toni Morrisondepict the African American experience, MaxineHong Kingston and Amy Tan write about the expe-rience of Asian immigrants, Isaac Bashevis Singer’sstories reflect the world of Jewish Americans,and Rudolfo Anaya and Sandra Cisneros focus onHispanic American lives and issues.

Popular EntertainmentThe cultural influence of the United States and

Canada on the rest of the world is strongest in thearea of popular entertainment. During the 1900s theUnited States became the world’s dominant sourcefor entertainment and popular fashion, from jeansand T-shirts to rock stars, movies, and televisionprograms. The motion picture industry began inNew York City and later moved to southern California. Today the name of a Los Angeles district,Hollywood, has become synonymous with themovie business. Canada’s film industry, supportedby the government, is known for its innovative doc-umentaries. In the performing arts, Canada is notedfor its Shakespeare Festival, held annually in Stratford, Ontario. Broadway, a New York Citystreet name, is internationally identified with popu-lar theater. The musical, combining elements of

Modern Dance Modern dance com-bines the techniques of social danceand ballet. One of modern dance’sbest known performers, Twyla Tharp,

uses movement tointerpret everydayactivities.

performing arts of THE UNITED

STATES

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150 U n i t 2

drama with music, became a popular form of theaterin the United States.

LifestylesAs citizens of two of the world’s wealthiest

countries, most people in the United States andCanada enjoy a high standard of living. Theirsocioeconomic status, or level of income and education, means having the advantage of manypersonal choices and opportunities. Because theregion has an agricultural surplus, foods are rela-tively inexpensive. Housing varies to suit theneeds of individuals and families, whether it behigh-rise apartments, multifamily row houses, orsuburban houses in a variety of styles.

Economics

Health CarePeople in both the United States and Canada

can expect to live longer, generally healthier livesthan people in many other parts of the world.The region’s high level of economic develop-ment enables governments to devote substantialresources to health care. Health care is adminis-tered differently in the two countries. In Canada,the government pays for health care. In the UnitedStates, most people are expected to pay for theirown health care through health insurance pro-vided by employers or other organizations. Fed-eral and state governments, however, pay forsome health insurance for people who are older,people with disabilities, or low-income families.Still, many people in the United States are unableto purchase insurance, and others cannot affordhealth care even with insurance. In the UnitedStates, the role of the government in providinghealth care for all citizens, regardless of theirsocioeconomic status, is currently under debate.

EducationThe United States and Canada have similar edu-

cational systems, including networks of publicand private schools. Both countries maintain com-pulsory education requirements. In the UnitedStates and most Canadian provinces, school sys-tems have 12 grades. Colleges and universitiesexist in every state and province. In the UnitedStates, the literacy rate, the percentage of peoplewho can read and write, is 97 percent; Canada’s lit-eracy rate is also 97 percent.

Sports and RecreationAlthough a strong work ethic is woven into the

culture of both the Americans and Canadians, theyalso enjoy plenty of leisure time. Some of the mostpopular activities involve watching and partici-pating in sports. Most people associate baseballand football with the United States and ice hockeywith Canada. Fans and players of these sports,however, come from both sides of the border. Bas-ketball, soccer, golf, tennis, and competitive ice-skating also have their supporters in both countries.

Television transformed sports during the late1900s. Many people in the United States and Canadashare in exciting sports telecasts throughout the

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Perc

en

t o

f P

op

ula

tio

n

Hoursper weekworked

Homeswith

electricity

Owna car

Owna TV

Source: Britannica Book of theYear, 2000

Canada

United States

GRAPHSTUDY

The United States and Canada:

Social Indicators

1. Interpreting Graphs In which categories dothe United States and Canada appear to be thesame?

2. Applying Geography Skills Compare thesocial indicators in the United States andCanada. Explain why they are similar.

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C h a p t e r 6 151

year: baseball during the spring and summer andits World Series in the early fall; football during thefall, capped by the Super Bowl in January; and theNational Basketball Association (NBA) champi-onships in the spring. As a result, sports heroes,such as baseball’s Derek Jeter, football’s BrettFavre, and basketball’s Michael Jordan, havebecome household names.

The vast North American landscape is ideal forcamping, canoeing, and hiking. The first U.S.national park was created in 1872. Located in partsof Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, YellowstoneNational Park covers more than two million acres,and dazzles visitors from around the world with itsspectacular physical features. Since then, the UnitedStates and Canada have set aside millions of acresas national parks for conservation and recreation.

CelebrationsHoliday celebrations in the United States and

Canada are essentially similar. Both countries cele-brate many of the same religious holidays, andmany civic observances are similar although heldon different dates. Celebrations such as AmericanIndependence Day (July 4) and Canada Day (July 1)are occasions for public displays of patriotism, orloyalty to one’s country.

Checking for Understanding1. Define bilingual, jazz, socioeco-

nomic, literacy rate, patriotism.

2. Main Ideas Create a diagram likethe one below, listing aspects ofthe cultures, arts, and lifestyles of the region.

Critical Thinking3. Making Generalizations What

challenges are created for government, education, and business when a country has two official languages?

4. Making Inferences Why do youthink immigrants to the UnitedStates and Canada did not developnew styles of art, music, and literature at first?

5. Identifying Cause and Effect Howhas the region’s history of reli-gious freedom contributed to thedevelopment of culturally diversesocieties in the United States andCanada?

Analyzing Maps6. Place Study the physical map in

the Regional Atlas on page 106.Why does the physical geographyof California make it ideal forboth surfers and mountainclimbers?

7. Sports as Culture Thinkabout the popularity of var-ious sports in the region.Write a paragraph explaininghow sports can increase cul-tural understanding amongthe peoples of Canada andthe United States.

Applying Geography Cultures and Lifestyles

CulturalCharacteristics

••••

The Arts

••••

Lifestyles

••••

United States Patriotism A crowd enjoys aFourth of July celebration in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Place What Canadian holiday is associated with patriotism?

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152 U n i t 2

Learning the SkillGPS satellites in space continu-

ally broadcast signals to Earth. Bytracking the signals from severalsatellites, a GPS receiver on theground can determine its currentlatitude, longitude, and altitude.GPS measurements showed thatMt. Everest is actually 7 feet (2.1 m) higher than its officialrecorded height! The receivercan also report current time andthe direction and speed of travel.The unit even has a feature thattells exact sunrise, sunset, andmoon phase based on locationand time.

Originally developed by theUnited States military, GPS is nowavailable for many different uses:

• Hikers use GPS receivers withphysical maps that show anarea’s surface features andelevations.

• Drivers use GPS receivers incars to obtain digital streetmaps and plot travel routes.

• Sailors use GPS technology toplot a ship’s course.

GPS receivers often feed datainto geographic information sys-tems (GIS). GIS are computer toolsthat gather, combine, and displayinformation relevant to a specificgeographic location. After infor-mation about an area is enteredinto the GIS database, the com-puter can create maps showingany combination of the data.

Businesses use GIS to findprime locations to open fran-chises. Creating a database withinformation such as traffic pat-terns, competitors’ locations,average income, and vacant lotsfor sale helps pinpoint the bestlocation for a new store. Usingdata from various sources, GIStechnology might display a mapthat shows the factories, air pol-lution count, and cancer rates ina particular neighborhood. GISaid in information analysis byvisually presenting the interac-tion among various factors in agiven location.

GPS allows people to locatethemselves inside the map, whileGIS creates maps that highlightthe elements affecting a loca-tion. GPS and GIS technologyrepresents the state of the art ingeography and mapmaking.

Practicing the SkillUsing the data you have read,

answer the following questions.

1. What do GPS receivers use to plot exact locations?

2. Why was the military theoriginal developer of GPS?

3. How does seeing various fac-tors on a map help peoplemake decisions?

4. How is GPS information usedwith a GIS database?

5. How could GPS and GISimprove traffic safety?

Your community is planning tobuild a recreation center. If youhave access to a GIS program,use the program to help deter-mine the best location. Use threetypes of data—such as roads,housing estates, and high schoolgyms—to create maps. Then analyze the maps and write yourproposal.

Understanding GIS and GPSAGlobal Positioning System (GPS) can accurately determine a

position on the earth to within .08 inches (2 mm). Geographicinformation systems (GIS) are computer tools for handling, process-ing, and analyzing geographic data. Both systems help us under-stand information about location.

Soldier using GPS receiver

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SUMMARY & STUDY GUIDE

Key Points• Both Canada and the United States are home

to various groups of native peoples and descen-dants of immigrants.

• Physical geography impacts the distribution anddensity of population in the U.S. and Canada.

• North America’s settlements and its largestcities developed along waterways.

• Natural resources and waterways for trans-portation helped North America industrialize.

Organizing Your NotesUse a table like the one belowto help you organize your notesabout the region’s populationpatterns.

Terms to Know• republic• Underground

Railroad• dry farming• Constitution• amendment• Bill of Rights• cabinet• dominion• Parliament

Key Points• Native Americans are North America’s earliest

people.

• Europeans set up colonies in North America fortrading, conquest, and religious freedom.

• The thirteen British colonies won their indepen-dence from Britain in 1776 and formed theirown republic, the United States of America.

• In 1867 the eastern provinces combined to formthe Dominion of Canada. Canada today encom-passes 10 provinces and 3 territories; it becamean independent country in 1931.

• Industrialization and technology enabled west-ward expansion and spurred social change.

Organizing Your NotesCreate an outline using the for-mat below to help you organizeyour notes for this section.

Terms to Know• immigration• Native American• Sunbelt• urbanization• metropolitan area• suburb• megalopolis• mobility

SECTION 1 Population Patterns (pp. 133–137)

SECTION 2 History and Government (pp. 140–145)

C h a p t e r 6 153

Peoples Population Patterns

I. HistoryA. Native Americans

1.2.

B. European Colonies1.2.

History and Government

Terms to Know• bilingual• jazz• socioeconomic

status• literacy rate• patriotism

Key Points• The immigrant roots of the United States and

Canada make these two countries diverse.

• Both countries have a heritage of religiousfreedom.

• Musical and artistic expression began withimmigrants and gradually became uniquelyNorth American.

• Health care is supported by the governments of both countries but in different ways.

• Both countries in the region have high stan-dards of living.

Organizing Your NotesUse a cluster map like the onebelow to help you organize yournotes for this section.

SECTION 3 Cultures and Lifestyles (pp. 146–151)

Region’s Cultures

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Critical Thinking1. Making Generalizations How did physical

features influence population patterns andurbanization in the United States and Canada?

2. Drawing Conclusions Explain how diverseethnic groups influenced the development ofthe region’s arts.

3. Comparing and Contrasting Use a Venndiagram to compare and contrast the gov-ernments of the United States and Canada.

Reviewing Key TermsOn a sheet of paper, write the key term thatmatches the definition. Refer to the Terms to Knowin the Summary & Study Guide on page 153.

1. level of income and education

2. loyalty to one’s country

3. percentage of people who can read and write

4. the movement of people into one countryfrom another

5. a central city and outlying communities

6. a government in which peopleelect their own officials

7. a chain of closely linked urbanareas and suburbs

8. partially self-governing countrywith close British ties

9. ability to use two languages

10. cultivating land so that it catchesand holds rainwater

Reviewing FactsSECTION 1

1. Most settlers in the United Statesand Canada came from whatregion of the world?

2. Where is most of Canada’s popu-lation concentrated?

SECTION 23. Explain how the Underground

Railroad helped enslaved AfricanAmericans escape to freedom.

4. What three technological innova-tions led to the expansion anddevelopment of the United States?

SECTION 35. What is the most widely practiced

religion in Canada? In the UnitedStates?

6. How did the literature of theUnited States begin to change inthe late 1800s?

Locating PlacesThe United States and Canada: Physical-Political Geography

Match the letters on the map with the places and physical features of theUnited States and Canada. Write your answers on a sheet of paper.

1. Texas2. Great Salt Lake3. Nova Scotia4. Quebec

5. Alberta6. New Mexico7. Miami8. Pennsylvania

9. Detroit10. Nunavut11. British Columbia12. Hudson Bay

A

B

C

E

F

K

L

G

H

I

D

J

160°W

140°W

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60°W

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80°N70°N

60°N

50°N

40°N

30°N

TRO

PICOF CANCER

AR

CT

IC

CIR

CLE

Azimuthal Equidistantprojection

500

5000 mi.

0 km

N

ASSESSMENT & ACTIVITIES

154 U n i t 2

United States Canada

Government

Both

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C h a p t e r X 155

Several of the data elements corre-lated by the researchers relate towater. Eliminate those answers that

do not relate to water.

If you know that GPS technology dealswith precise positioning data, you caneliminate choices H and J, and choose

the best answer from the answer choices that remain.

Self-Check Quiz Visit the Glencoe WorldGeography Web site at tx.geography.glencoe.comand click on Self-Check Quizzes—Chapter 6 toprepare for the Chapter Test.

Using the Regional AtlasRefer to the Regional Atlas on pages 106–109.

1. Human-Environment Interaction Com-pare the political map to the economic activity map. What commercial crops aregrown in the southern United States?

2. Place Compare the population density mapto the political map. What states and provinceshave the highest population density?

Thinking Like a GeographerDescribe the effects of cultural diffusion betweenthe United States and Canada and other parts ofthe world in recent decades. Trace this process,using specific examples, such as films, music,foods, and American slang.

Problem-Solving ActivityGroup Research Project Research U.S. votingpatterns and the distribution of political power.Study a map showing the outcome of the latestcongressional election, district by district. Thencompare it to a map of a previous race. Write areport explaining the political changes from oneelection to the next as well as the factors shapingthe formation of congressional voting districts.

GeoJournalExpository Writing Using your GeoJournaldata, write an essay analyzing the effects ofprocesses, such as migration, on the territorialgrowth of the United States and Canada.

Technology ActivityDeveloping Multimedia Presenta-

tions Choose one Native American or immi-grant group and describe its influences on theregion’s cultures and lifestyles. Include contribu-tions such as religion, language, the arts, food,clothing, and celebrations. Create a multime-dia presentation that displays examples of these contributions and explains their origins. To enhance your presentation, play music appro-priate to the group you choose for the class.

Choose the best answer for each of the follow-ing multiple-choice questions. If you havetrouble answering the questions, use theprocess of elimination to narrow your choices.

1. Researchers using GIS and GPS technol-ogy to correlate water quality indexes,zoning maps, census figures, and mapsof area rivers and aquifers are mostlikely trying to determine which of thefollowing?

A The relationship between the location ofindustrial plants and water quality

B The water pressure for new fire hydrantsfor a developing community

C The location of scenic hiking trailsD The lung disease rates for various areas in

the region

2. Ships at sea use GPS technology

F as a communication device.G as a navigational aid.H for inventory control.J to maintain personnel files.

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C h a p t e r 6 155