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.geography.glencoe.com
and click on Chapter OverviewsChapter 6
to preview information about the cultural
geography of the region.

Guide to Reading

Population Patterns

Consider What You Know

Think about news reports, movies,
and songs you know that feature
large, densely populated cities as
topics or settings. What factors make
urban living appealing to people?

Read to Find Out

Who are the peoples of the United
States and Canada?
How are population patterns in
the United States and Canada
influenced by the regions physical
geography?
What geographic factors encouraged the industrialization and
urbanization of the United States
and Canada?

Terms to Know
immigration
Native American
Sunbelt
urbanization

A Geographic View
The Next Wave
For a century and a half this part of
lower Manhattan has functioned as a
catchment [holding place] for successive waves of poor immigrants,
including Irish, Germans, Italians,
and East European Jews. Each
enclave [separate cultural community] dissolved as second and
third generations seized the
opportunities that education
afforded them and then moved
on to better neighborhoods,
greener suburbs, or distant
cities. But lower Manhattan,
with its inexpensive housing,
remained, ready to absorb the next wave.

Chinato
wn, Ne
w York
City

Joel L. Swerdlow, New Yorks Chinatown,

National Geographic, August 1998

metropolitan area
suburb
megalopolis
mobility

Lower Manhattan, a part of New York City, has a history

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

Vancouver

New Orleans

Ottawa

Houston

Detroit

that reflects population patterns throughout the United States

and Canada. Both of these North American countries have been
shaped by immigration, the movement of people into one country
from another. In this section you will read about the peoples of the
United States and Canadawho they are, why they came to the
region, and where they live.

The People
The city skyline rises behind
an outdoor ice rink in
Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

About 5 percent of the worlds population lives in the United

States and Canada. The 285 million people of the United States and
the 31 million people of Canada all are immigrants or descendants
of immigrants. Some arrived only recently. Others belong to families whose ancestors came to North America centuries ago.
Chapter 6

133

and to find better economic opportunities. Others

fled wars or natural disasters. For example, the
Irish potato famine of the 1840s caused about 1.5
million Irish people to immigrate to the United
States.
Rich natural resources and the regions rapid
industrial and economic development made the
United States and Canada attractive destinations.
Popular songs among European immigrants in the
1800s referred to the United States as the land
where the streets are paved with gold. Chinese
immigrants nicknamed it Gold Mountain. The
rumors of gold were exaggerated, but the opportunities were real. Some immigrants faced discrimination
at first, but they offered hard work, talent, enthusiasm, and diverse cultural practices. Throughout their
histories, the United States and Canada have benefited from the contributions of immigrants.

Population Density
and Distribution

Northwest California The Yurok Native

American group is only one of many groups that
help define the populations of the United States and
Canada.
Place About how many Native Americans are there
in the United States? Canada?

History

Waves of Immigrants
North Americas first immigrants probably
moved into the region from Asia thousands of
years ago. Today their descendants, known as
Native Americans, number 2.5 million in the
United States and 700,000 in Canada. Other peoplesEuropeans, Asians, Africans, and Latin
Americanscame later. As a result of these waves of
immigrants, the populations of the United States
and Canada are among the worlds most diverse.
Some immigrants came to the United States and
Canada to seek political and religious freedom
134

Unit 2

Although the United States and Canada are

nations of immigrants, their populations differ
in terms of density and distribution. Slightly larger
than the United States in land area, Canada has an
average population density of only 8 people per
square mile (3 people per sq. km). Much of
Canadas vast territory is inhospitable to human
settlement because of rugged terrain and a bitterly
cold climate. About 90 percent of Canadians live in
a narrow strip of land along Canadas border with
the United States. The poor soil of the Canadian
Shield steered settlement toward the fertile land
and industrial resources of the Great LakesSt.
Lawrence lowlands. Other population centers
include the farming and ranching areas along the
southern sweep of the Prairie Provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta and the Pacific
coast of British Columbia.
Compared with Canada, the United States, with
an average population density of 77 people per

Student Web Activity Visit the Glencoe World Geography

Web site at tx.geography.glencoe.com and click on Student Web
ActivitiesChapter 6 for an activity about the history of
immigration to the United States.

square mile (30 people per sq. km), may seem

relatively crowded. Outside large urban areas, however, the population is widely distributed. The
Northeast and the Great Lakes regions are the most
densely populated areas and the historic centers
of American commerce and industry. Another population cluster lies on the Pacific coast, where
pleasant climate, abundant natural resources, and
economic opportunities attract residents. More
people live in California than in any other state.
Since the 1970s the American South and Southwest, including California, have become the countrys fastest growing areas. Nicknamed the
Sunbelt for its mild climate, the southern United
States draws employees to its growing manufacturing, service, and tourism industries. Retirees
choose the Sunbelt for its mild winters. The areas
geographic closeness to Mexico and the Caribbean
also draws immigrants from those two regions.
The least densely populated areas of the United
States include the subarctic region of Alaska, the
parched Great Basin, and parts of the arid or semi-

arid Great Plains. These areas owe their sparse

populations to difficult climate conditions.

The Cities
Although both the United States and Canada
began as agricultural societies, they have experienced urbanization, the concentration of population in cities. Cities grew as the use of machines in
agriculture gave rise to large commercial farms. As
a result, fewer agricultural laborers were needed,
sending people to urban areas to search for work.
Jobs, education, health care, and cultural opportunities also have drawn people to large cities.
Today most people in the United States and
Canada live in metropolitan areas. A metropolitan
area includes a city with a population of at least
50,000 and outlying communities called suburbs.
More than 80 percent of the population of the
United States lives in the countrys 276 metropolitan areas. Canadas 25 metropolitan areas are home
to about 60 percent of the Canadian population.

GRAPH STUDY
Ethnic Origins in the United States and Canada

White
70.6%

Hispanic
12.5%

Native American,
Inuit, Aleut
0.9%

African
American
12.3%

Asian,
Pacific Islander
3.7%

Source: United States Census Bureau, 2000

1. Interpreting Graphs What percentage of

people in the United States are Hispanic?

Multiple Origin
or Other
40%
British
Isles
28%

French
23%
Asian
7%

Native American
(including Inuit)
2.0 %
Source: Statistics Canada, 1996

2. Applying Geography Skills How does the

percentage of Asians in the United States compare to the percentage of Asians in Canada?

Chapter 6

135

attractive low-rise cities . . . in the world . . .

[because of] the vision of Pierre LEnfant who
conceived the plan for the capital. . . .

Coastal Cities
Many population centers in the United States and
Canada lie in coastal areas where healthy economies support large populations. Along the northern Atlantic coast of the United States, for example,
a chain of closely linked metropolitan areas forms
a megalopolis, or great city. Home to about
42 million people, this megalopolisnicknamed
Boswashincludes the cities of Boston, New York,
Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C.
Four of the citiesBoston, New York, Philadelphia,
and Baltimoreare important world trade centers
because of their coastal or near coastal locations.
The planned city of Washington, D.C., established
on the Potomac River near the Chesapeake Bay, is
the countrys capital. On the capitals 200th birthday,
a native Washingtonian commended the citys chief
designer:

Most American cities grew haphazardly . . .

with little overall planning. . . . But our
nations capital became one of the most

Gilbert M. Grosvenor,
Washington, D.C., Reaches
Its 200th Birthday, National
Geographic, August 1991

Other important U.S. coastal cities include the

busy ports of Miami, on the Atlantic coast, and
New Orleans and Houston, on the Gulf of Mexico.
Houston, connected to the Gulf of Mexico by the
Houston Ship Channel, is the southern end of a
developing megalopolis that stretches north to the
Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area.
Pacific coast cities also provide important commercial links to the rest of the world, especially to
the growing Asian economies of the Pacific Rim.
A developing megalopolis stretches from San
Francisco south through Los Angeles to San Diego.
All three cities have major ports. Another western
port city, Seattle, as well as San Francisco and the
neighboring area nicknamed the Silicon Valley, features innovative computer and Internet
industries. These latter two areas also
have developed aerospace industries,
enterprises that design and manufacture
airplanes, satellites, and space vehicles.
Vancouver is the largest city in the
Canadian province of British Columbia
and an important shipping center for
western Canada. Despite its northern
location, Vancouvers harbor never
freezes, so ships use the busy port yearround. Vancouver handles nearly all
the trade between Canada and Asia.

Inland Cities

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 in
the United States and Canada?

136

Unit 2

Rivers, lakes, and inland waterways

promoted the growth of the regions
inland cities. North Americas waterways offered both natural resources
and transportation routes that contributed to the regions rapid industrialization, or the shift from agriculture
to manufacturing and service industries as the basis of an economy.
In Canada, ships reach the cities of
Quebec, Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa

through the St. Lawrence River, the

Ottawa River, and the Great Lakes.
Detroit, the center of the United States
automobile industry, uses the Great
Lakes for shipping goods. A megalopolis links the U.S. Great Lakes cities of
Chicago, Milwaukee, and Cleveland
with Pittsburgh, a freshwater port on
the Ohio River. Other U.S. river cities
include Cincinnati, on the Ohio River,
and Minneapolis and St. Louis, on
the Mississippi River. Winnipeg, on
the Red River, and Saskatoon and
Edmonton, on the Saskatchewan
River, are inland population centers in
western Canada.
Other inland cities, such as Atlanta,
Denver, Dallas, and San Antonio in the
United States and Regina and Calgary in
Canada, grew from agricultural and
trading centers.

The Grain Trade Workers load grain sacks for

export from the port of Vancouver.
Movement How do port cities sustain an economy?

Future Trends
Like most developed countries, the United States
and Canada have low birthrates, which increase
the population by only 0.5 percent annually. Immigration accounts for most of the regions population growth. In 1998 more than 9 percent of the
population of the United States was born in
another country. Like earlier immigrants, however,

the people of the United States and Canada cherish

their mobility, the freedom to move from place to
place. In a typical year, one in six U.S. residents of
the United States relocates, often to cities. As immigration adds to population diversity, living with
cultural differences and managing urban congestion are ongoing challenges.

Checking for Understanding

Critical Thinking

Analyzing Maps

1. Define immigration, Native

3. Comparing and Contrasting How

6. Human-Environment Interaction

American, Sunbelt, urbanization,

metropolitan area, suburb, megalopolis, mobility.

2. Main Ideas Create a word web like

the one below, listing the various
peoples of North America.

are the population patterns of

Canada and the United States
similar? How do they differ?

4. Making Inferences What are

some of the advantages and
disadvantages of living in a
megalopolis?

5. Categorizing Information Select

Peoples of
North America

three coastal and three inland

cities and indicate the economic
activities important to each city.

Study the population density map

on page 108. How many cities
with populations over 1,000,000
lie along waterways? Explain.

Applying Geography
7. Choosing a Destination
Imagine that you are an
immigrant writing a letter
to relatives about your new
home in the United States.
Explain your reasons for
settling where you live.

Chapter 6

137

GEOGRAPHY
AND H I S T O RY

GIVE-AND-TAKE
ACROSS THE BORDER
ANADA AND THE UNITED
STATES share the longest undefended border in the world.The
3,987-mile (6,416-km) border runs
through the middle of rivers and
lakes, crosses fields and forests, and slices
through towns and farms. Each year more
than a hundred million tourists, truck drivers, sports fans, and other visitors pass
through 96 official border crossings and
thousands of unofficial ones. Even more
impressive, though, is the value of goods and
services that flow between the United States
and Canadaa total that exceeds trade between any other two countries in the world.

A History of Trade
Trade has played an important role in the
growth of both the United States and
Canada.The fur trade in Canada began in
the 1500s. Native Americans gave Europeans
furs in exchange for such items as tools,
weapons, and kettles. During the 1700s,
colonists traded numerous raw materials
timber and fursfor Europes manufactured
goods. In the early 1800s, the quest for furs
by American and Canadian companies
pushed frontiers westward as trading posts
sprang up in the wilderness.

Cars line up to enter Canada

at Fort Erie, Ontario.
138

Unit

NTS
9 IM
MI

GRA

NTS
5,06

IGRA

0 IM
M
10,19

104 B
I
INVE LLION (
U
STM
ENT .S.)
S

75 BI
I N V EL L I O N ( U
STM
ENT .S.)
S

161
CANA BILLION
DIAN
(U
IMPO .S.)
RTS

186
BIL
U.S. LION (
IMPO U.S
RTS .)

42,76

7,73

1 VIS
I TO

RS

RS
2 VI
S I TO
57,19

43,8

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

As the neighboring economies grew and prospered, so did cooperation. Since the late 1800s, trade has flourished between Canada
and the United States. Most goods pass freely across the border, without tariffs of any kind.Two major agreements have sought to eliminate remaining tariffs and other trade barriers: the United StatesCanada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 1989 and the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which includes Mexico, in 1994.
Cooperation and Conflict
Today each country has a major stake in the others economy.
Canadian companies operate plants in the United States and vice
versa. Joint business ventures proliferate.The open border and long
history of cooperation between the United States and Canada have
led to good relations and a friendly give-and-take between neighbors.
Trade disputes do occur, however. Many Canadians dislike the
effect free trade with the United States has on their culture and
way of life. Canadians struggle to maintain a separate identity while
theyre bombarded by American music and movies. Moreover, differences arise over shared resources, such as fishing grounds, and over
solutions to joint problems, such as pollution.

Looking Ahead
Will the spirit of cooperation between the United States and
Canada prevail in this century? Or will trade disputes, disagreements over cultural issues, and other problems lead to conflict?

1500s Fur trade starts

between present-day
Canada and Europe

1605

French explorers set up

first trading post at
Port Royal, Canada
(photo above)

1608

French explorer Samuel

de Champlain establishes
settlement at Quebec

1700s American colonists

trade raw materials

for Europes manufactured goods

1800s U.S.-Canada

border (background
photo) continues
to be defined

1989

U.S.-Canada Free Trade

Agreement takes effect

1994

North American Free

Trade Agreement
takes effect

Unit

139

Guide to Reading
Consider What You Know
You may know that the early history
of Canada and the United States featured the movement of people from
east to west. In what ways did that
movement affect the place where
you live?

Read to Find Out

What was life like for the earliest
Americans and for European settlers?
How did industrialization and
technology enable westward
expansion in North America?
How do the governments of the
United States and Canada differ?

Terms to Know
republic
Underground Railroad
dry farming
Constitution

History and
Government
A Geographic View
Personality and History
History 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. Canada
was 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

amendment

Monum
ent Vall
ey, Ariz
ona

Bill of Rights
cabinet
dominion
Parliament

Places to Locate
Hudson Bay
Quebec
Ontario
Nova Scotia

The United States and Canada share much in terms

of geography, but they have taken different historical and cultural
paths. In this section you will learn how the vast northern part of
North America, originally inhabited by Native Americans, then colonized by Europeans, eventually developed into these two independent countries. You also will discover the key role physical
geography played in the emergence of the United States and Canada
and their development as industrialized countries.

New Brunswick
Yukon Territory
Northwest Territories
Nunavut
Texas
Alaska
Hawaii
Pennsylvania
Ohio
140

Unit 2

History
Archaeologists generally believe that nomads crossing a land
bridge from Asia to Alaska first settled North America thousands of
years ago. Recent evidence suggests, however, that nomads from
Central and South America may have populated North America at
the same time asor even beforethose from Asia. Whatever theory
proves correct, we know that as of 10,000 years ago, people lived in
almost every part of what is now the United States and Canada.

Native Americans
Location and climate shaped the various cultures
later known as Native American. For the peoples
of the cold Arctic tundra, scarce resources and lack
of farmland prompted them to hunt caribou and
other animals for food and fur. By contrast, Pacific
Coast peoples enjoyed a mild climate and abundant resources. They harvested salmon with fiber
nets and used stone and copper tools to split cedar,
fir, and redwood trees into planks for building
houses and canoes.
In the high deserts of the Southwest, Native
Americans used irrigation to farm the dry land.
On the Great Plains, other groups hunted the buffalo, parts of which were used for food, clothing,
shelter, and tools. Native Americans in the woodlands east of the Mississippi River built ceremonial
mounds, hunted game, grew crops, and traded for
shells and freshwater pearls. In the northeastern
woodlands, Native American peoples hunted
deer, turkeys, geese, and squirrels. These northeastern peoples lived in closely knit villages,

developed systems of government, and traded

throughout the region.

European Colonies

European migration had begun by the late 1500s.

Europeans came to North America in search of land
to farm, valuable minerals, and political and religious freedom. Most European migrants came from
Spain, France, and England and settled in colonies.
The Spaniards controlled Florida and a large
area west of the Mississippi River. Many Spanish
settlements were founded as military posts or as
missionsreligious communities founded to convert Native Americans to Christianity. Spanish
colonists also set up farms and huge cattle ranches.
The French came to North America primarily for
the fur trade. French trappers canoed down rivers
such as the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi. They
set up trading posts, collecting beaver pelts and
other furs from Native Americans to ship to
Europe. Those who settled permanently lived
along the St. Lawrence River and the Mississippi
River near the Gulf of Mexico.
By the 1700s England had
colonies or controlled land
along much of the Atlantic
coast and around Hudson
Bay. The settlers in the northern English colonies found
that the thin, rocky soil and
short growing season made
farming difficult. The area,
however, had excellent harbors as well as good timber
and fishing. Shipbuilding,
trade, and fishing became
important industries in this
region. The middle English
colonies had wide river valleys, level land, and fertile soil.
They also had mild winters;
long, warm summers; and an
extended growing season.
Many settlers there raised cash
Fort Ticonderoga
crops to be exported. The
French, British, and American forces fought over Fort Ticonderoga
southern English colonies had
from 1758 through the American Revolution.
mild climates, rich soils, and
Human-Environment Interaction How did the physical geography
open land that encouraged
of the United States influence settlement in the colonies?
plantation agriculture. Most
Chapter 6

141

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

Two New Countries

In 1763 France was forced to give up much of its
North American empire to Great Britain (formed
by the union of England and Scotland in 1707).
Conflicts soon arose between Native Americans
and colonial settlers. Occupying the land, many
settlers pushed out Native American communities
and nearly destroyed their cultures.
During the 1760s the British government
aroused the American colonists anger by imposing
new taxes and limiting their freedoms. Beginning
in 1775, the thirteen British colonies, all of them
along or near the Atlantic coast, fought a war for
independence. The outcome was a new country
the United States of America. Rejecting monarchy,
the Americans set up a republic, a government in
which people elect their own officials, including
their head of state. They elected George Washington as the first president of the United States.
Some American colonists, however, did not
want to break ties with the British monarch. As
many as 100,000 of these people, known as Loyalists, left the new country. Most settled in Frenchpopulated Quebec, which Great Britain controlled.
During the early 1800s, English- and Frenchspeaking communities in British North America
constantly feuded about colonial government policies, but fears of a United States takeover forced
them together. In 1867, under Prime Minister John
A. Macdonald, four of the coloniesQuebec,
Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick
united as provinces of the Dominion of Canada, a
new country within the British Empire. Neighboring areasManitoba, British Columbia, Alberta,
and Saskatchewan in the west and Prince Edward
Island and Newfoundland along the Atlantic
coastbecame provinces of Canada during the
next 100 years. Today Canada encompasses these
10 provinces and 3 additional territories, the Yukon
Territory, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut
(NOOnuhvut).

nearly all the land between the Mississippi River

and the Rocky Mountains. This agreement, known
as the Louisiana Purchase, nearly doubled the size
of the country and gave the United States control of
the Mississippi River and access to the Far West.
The western lands were rich in natural
resources. Texas, a former Mexican territory that
became an independent republic in 1836 and
joined the United States in 1845, was valued for
cotton production and cattle ranching. In the late
1840s, as a result of a war with Mexico, the United
States gained all of the present-day states
of California, Utah, and Nevada and parts of
Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona, and New Mexico.
The discovery of gold and silver boosted settlement in the region. A traveler on the California
Trail during the Gold Rush of 1849 captured the
attraction 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 life
toward Sacramento!

C. B. Darwin, quoted in The Way

West, National Geographic,
September 2000

By trade or treaty, the United States eventually

gained control of land from the Atlantic to the
Pacific coasts, and from the Canadian border in the
north to the Rio Grande in the south. In 1867 the
United States purchased its last great frontier,
Alaska, from Russia. Later it acquired Hawaii and
some other islands located in the Pacific and the
Caribbean. During this period Canada also
acquired western lands, spreading from the
Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean and from the Arctic
region in the north to the United States border to
the south. For Native Americans, however, westward expansion by both countries signaled the
steady loss of their lands and restrictions on their
traditional ways of life.
Economics

From Sea to Shining Sea

Growth, Division, and Unity

During the 1800s the United States and Canada

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

In the 1800s industrialization transformed the

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

142

Unit 2

States, which had many

waterfalls that could be
harnessed to produce power
to run machines. Because
waterpower was limited to a
few places, people in industry later used steam as a
source of power. Large supplies of coal in Pennsylvania
and Ohio, which were used
to power steam engines,
made steam power cheap
and manufacturing very
profitable. The Midwestern
United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario
and Quebec became leading
centers of industry and business. The many rivers and
lakes in these areas, imUnderground
proved by the building of
Railroad Harriet Tubman (inset) helped enslaved people
canals, were used to transescape through the Underground Railroad. This was a system
port goods from factories to
of safe houses like John Rankins home in Ripley, Ohio.
port cities.
Place How did geographic and economic factors help lead to
A growing demand for
the Civil War?
cotton by the textile industry
in the northeastern United
States made cotton production highly profitable. Cotton became the Souths
under the law, and the right to vote. Reunited, the
major cash crop. Swamps were drained and pine
United States set about rebuilding itself.
forests cleared for more cotton plantations. For
plantation owners, the labor of enslaved Africans
Technological and Social Change
became more important than ever before.
During the late 1800s, the United States and
Other people, however, worked to end slavery
Canada both encouraged settlement of the Great
by enabling enslaved people to escape from bondPlains. The United States and Canadian governage. The Underground Railroad, an informal netments wanted to ease the crowding in eastern cities
work of safe houses, helped thousands of escaping
caused by immigration from Europe. They also
enslaved people make their way north to freedom.
wanted people to farm the region, thus providing
Many escapees found shelter in Canada, which
more food for urban populations. Thousands of
never practiced slavery and refused to honor U.S.
people from Atlantic coastal areas, as well as
laws that punished those who escaped.
immigrants from eastern Europe and ScandiDisputes over slavery, along with economic and
navia, started farms on the Great Plains.
political differences between Northern and SouthBecause of dry conditions, settlers on the Great
ern states, led to the American Civil War of 1861
Plains developed a special farming method, called
1865. Under President Abraham Lincoln, the
dry farming, cultivating the land so that it caught
Northern states defeated the Southern states that
and held rainwater. Strong steel plows, better able
had left the Union. After the war the United States
to break the hard prairie sod, soon replaced iron
abolished slavery and gave formerly enslaved
plows. Steam tractors made it possible to plant
African Americans citizenship, equal protection
and harvest large areas of land faster and easier.
Chapter 6

143

The late 1800s also saw the completion of

transcontinental railroads in the United States and
Canada. These made it possible to transport manufactured goods from east to west, as well as food
productsespecially beef cattlefrom west to east.
Immigrants from China, Ireland, Mexico, and other
countries were recruited to help build the railroads.
During the early 1900s, the introduction of assembly lines for mass production cut the cost and the
time needed to make many industrial products.
Perhaps the most influential mass-produced item
was the automobile. At this time people were
becoming increasingly mobile, and more of them
lived in urban areas than in rural areas.
Two world wars during the 1900s spurred economic growth in the United States and Canada.
After 1940 both countries were linked in a close
partnership that included increased trade between
them. By the 1990s certain economic activities,

Growth of Railroads Thousands of Chinese

workers, such as these on the Northern Pacific
Railway, helped build the railroads across western
North America in the late 1800s.
Movement How did the completion of transcontinental railroads affect the United States?

mining and steel production, for example, were

less important than rising high-tech industries.
Social changes also took place. Immigration
increased from Latin America and Asia. Women,
African Americans, Hispanics, and other groups
began to participate in business and the political
process. In both Canada and the United States,
Native Americans have negotiated with governments over land claims, mineral rights, and other
issues. In 1999 the Inuit, one of Canadas native
peoples, won the right to their own territory, called
Nunavut, carved from the eastern half of the
Northwest Territories.

Government
The United States and Canada both are democracies with federal systems, in which the national government shares power with state or provincial
governments. To create a strong national government while preserving the rights of individual states
and citizens, United States leaders in 1787 drafted
a plan of government called the Constitution.
Over the years, changes in the Constitution, called
amendments, have been made to meet the countrys changing needs. The first 10 amendments,
called the Bill of Rights, guarantee the basic rights
of citizens, including the freedoms of speech, religion, and the press.
The national government of the United States
has three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The executive branch includes the president,
the vice president, and the executive departments
that administer various divisions of the national
government. The heads of these departments form
the presidents cabineta group of special advisers. Congress, consisting of elected state representatives to both the Senate and the House of
Representatives, is the legislative branch. The
Supreme Court and lower federal courts make up
the judicial branch.
Canada was created as a dominion, a partially
self-governing country with close ties to Great
Britain. It gained full independence in 1931, but
the British government kept the right to approve
changes to Canadas constitution. In 1982 this legislative link to Great Britain finally ended. Canada
at its founding had a strong central government
with only minor powers given to the individual

provinces. Over the years,

the power of the provinces
has increased.
Today the executive part
of Canadas government
includes the governor-general, the prime minister, and
the cabinet. The British
monarch still serves as the
head of state, appointing
a governor-general to act
in his or her place. The
national legislature, called
Parliament, is made up of
the Senate and the House of
Commons. Canadas prime
minister, who is leader of
the majority political party
in Parliament, is the actual
head of government. Nine
judges sit on the Supreme
Court of Canada, the countrys highest court.
In the next section, you
will learn about the culture
and lifestyles in the United
States and Canada as they
enter the new millennium.

House of Parliament
Ottawas location on the border between Quebec and Ontario helped
determine its role as Canadas capital city.
Place How does Canadas prime minister derive his or her position?

Checking for Understanding

Critical Thinking

Analyzing Maps

1. Define republic, Underground

3. Identifying Cause and Effect How

6. Region Study the political map on

Railroad, dry farming, Constitution, amendment, Bill of Rights,

cabinet, dominion, Parliament.

2. Main Ideas Create a time line

like the one below, and label
major events in the settlement
and development of the United
States and Canada.
Native Americans
settled in region
circa
8000 B.C.

did physical geography influence

the cultures of the regions first
settlers?

4. Drawing Conclusions Why is the

influence of French culture more
pronounced in Canada than in
the United States?

5. Making Generalizations Trace the

spread of railroads in the United
States and Canada. Describe the
effects of the railroad on cultural
sharing and national unity in both
the countries.

page 107. Then, without looking

at this map, label the U.S. states
and Canadian provinces/territories
on an outline map.

Applying Geography
7. Effects of Technology How
did people meet the challenges of settling the West
through innovation and
change? Write a brief essay
describing these changes
and how they affected the
regions physical and human
geography.

Chapter 6

145

Guide to Reading
Consider What You Know
The arts and popular entertainment
of the United States and Canada
influence other culture regions of the
world. What cultural trends can you
think of that began in this region and
spread to other parts of the world?

Read to Find Out

How do the religious practices
and languages of the region
reflect the immigrant history of
the United States and Canada?
How do the arts of the United
States and Canada reflect the
regions colonial past?
What kinds of educational and
health care systems serve the
people of the region?

Terms to Know
bilingual
jazz
socioeconomic status
literacy rate
patriotism

Cultures and
Lifestyles
A Geographic View
The Art of
Everyday Life
Such attention to reality was at
odds with artistic convention in
[painter Winslow] Homers time,
as was his choice of subjects
barefoot boys, farm girls, working
men, freed slaves, North Woods
guides, ordinary soldiers, and women
of leisure, all of whom represented
everyday life in America. Early critics complained about it. . . . But like
other American originals of his
timeWalt Whitman and Mark
TwainHomer kept to his own path.

Fresh E
ggs

by Win
slow H
omer

Robert M. Poole, Winslow Homer: American Original,

National Geographic, December 1998

Places to Locate
New Mexico
Hollywood

Winslow Homer, known for his naturalistic style, was one

of the greatest American painters of the 1800s. His paintings express
the independent thinking and the enthusiasm for new frontiers that
mark the cultures of the United States and Canada. The immigrant
roots of these countries also gives them a respect for diversity. In this
section you will read about the cultures and lifestyles of the United
States and Canada.

Cultural Characteristics
The United States and Canada are countries of many cultures.
Like the threads of a brightly colored blanket, the cultures of these
countries blend into a new pattern without losing their individual
qualities.
146

Unit 2

music of

NORTH AMERICA

The music of North America stems from

Native American, European, and African
influences. Music from this region is
extremely varied and has greatly influenced other types of music around
the world.

Instrument Spotlight
The Native American flute
originated among the
peoples of the Great Plains, and it was often
played by men to express their feelings of love
to women. Each flute, made individually by
hand, has its own unique look and sound.
Traditional flutes are made from a piece of
cedar, cut the same length as the distance
between the armpit and the longest finger of
the musician. In addition to five or six playing
holes, four direction holes are added to send
the sound in all directions.

World Music: A Cultural Legacy Hear music of this region on Disc 1, Tracks 16.

History

Religious Freedom
Freedom of religion has always been valued in
the United States and Canada. Many of the people
who migrated to the region did so to worship freely.
As early as 1774, the British Parliament passed a
law recognizing the religious rights of Roman
Catholic French Canadians. In 1791 the Bill of
Rights, which became part of the United States
Constitution, guaranteed Americans religious
freedom in addition to a number of other rights.
Today most Americans and Canadians who are
members of an organized religion are Christians.
In the United States, the majority of Christians are
Protestant, while in Canada most Christians are
Roman Catholic. Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism
are among other religions practiced in the United
States and Canada.

Languages
English is the main language in the United States.
In Canada, English and French are the official languages. Because of immigration from all over the

world, however, people in the United States and

Canada also speak or use various words and
phrases of other languages. For example, street
signs in ethnic neighborhoods of the regions port
citiesNew York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and
Vancouvermay be printed in Chinese, Korean,
Russian, Arabic, or Hindi. A writer describes this
mix of cultures and languages in New York:

Store owners [on Third Avenue] are often

Asian. Corner groceries are run by families
from the Dominican Republic . . . Arabs
operate the candy stores . . . Koreans run
vegetable stands. . . . [Near 118th Street]
Robert Kosches finished talking in
Spanish to a young couple. . . . My grandfather, who came from Austria, started
this [furniture] business, he said, switching to English. . . .

Jere Van Dyk, Growing Up

in East Harlem, National
Geographic, May 1990
Chapter 6

147

Unity Rally
Supporters of Canadian unity rally in Hull, Quebec, prior
to a 1995 referendum on Quebec independence.
Place Why do some Quebecois desire independence?

Immigrants from Great Britain brought the

English language to the United States and much of
Canada. In the Canadian province of Quebec, however, French is the official language because most of
the provinces population are descended from French
settlers who arrived from the 1500s to the 1700s.
French-speaking Canadians in Quebec and some
other provinces want greater protection for their
language and culture. To achieve this goal, many
Quebecois (kaybehKWAH) want Quebecs
independence and support a movement for separatismthe breaking away of one part of a country
to create a separate, independent country.
The Southwestern United States since colonial
times has had a large Spanish-speaking population. In New Mexico, any communications
with the state government or with local governments may be in Spanish or English. Thus, New
Mexico is bilingual, meaning having two languages. In California the presence of Asian communities is evident in the signs written in Chinese,
Japanese, Korean, and other Asian languages.
148

Unit 2

The Arts
The arts of the United States and Canada go
back to the first Americans, who interwove art and
music into daily life. Native Americans made
detailed carvings from shell and stone, used clay
to produce pottery, and wove baskets, sandals,
and mats from local plants. After European settlement the arts of the region were dominated by
European traditions. By the mid-1800s, however,
Americans and Canadians had begun to create art
forms that reflected their own lives as North
Americans.

Music
In their music Native Americans used drums,
flutes, whistles, and vocal chanting. Europeans
later brought European folk and religious music to
the region. At the beginning of the 1900s, a distinctive form of music known as jazz developed in
African American communities throughout the
United States. Jazz blended African rhythms with

European harmonies. By the end of the century,

country music and rock n roll had become popular musical forms, not only in North America but
around the world. In classical music, dancers and
choreographers created a modern form of ballet.

The Visual Arts

Painting and sculpture in the United States and
Canada moved away from their European roots
and explored new themes. In the early 1900s, a
group of American artists known as the Ashcan
School painted the grim realities of urban life. A
group of Canadian painters called the Group of
Seven showed the rugged landscape of Canadas
far north in bright, dynamic colors. American artist
Georgia OKeeffe gave the world new visions of
the American West. In the mid-1900s many artists
in the region adopted from Europe the abstract
style, which expresses the artists emotions and

performing
arts of

THE UNITED
STATES

Modern Dance Modern dance combines the techniques of social dance

and ballet. One of modern dances
best known performers, Twyla Tharp,
uses movement to
interpret everyday
activities.

attitudes without depicting recognizable images.

Architects in the United States and Canada also
developed innovations. The skyscraper, a tall
building with many floors, first appeared in the
United States. The architects Frank Lloyd Wright
in the United States and Arthur Erickson in
Canada were noted for designing buildings that
harmonized with the regions natural environments.

Literature
Literature in the United States and Canada at first
dealt mainly with European historical and religious
themes. Later writers, such as James Fenimore
Cooper, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allan
Poe, wrote stories about life in North America.
Since the late 1800s, many American and Canadian
authors have written about different parts of
the region. Mark Twain described life on the
Mississippi River, Margaret Laurence focused on
the prairies of central Canada, and Willa Cather
described life on the Great Plains.
More recently, writers have concentrated on highlighting aspects of the regions cultures. For example,
writers such as Richard Wright and Toni Morrison
depict the African American experience, Maxine
Hong Kingston and Amy Tan write about the experience of Asian immigrants, Isaac Bashevis Singers
stories reflect the world of Jewish Americans,
and Rudolfo Anaya and Sandra Cisneros focus on
Hispanic American lives and issues.

Popular Entertainment
The cultural influence of the United States and
Canada on the rest of the world is strongest in the
area of popular entertainment. During the 1900s the
United States became the worlds dominant source
for entertainment and popular fashion, from jeans
and T-shirts to rock stars, movies, and television
programs. The motion picture industry began in
New York City and later moved to southern
California. Today the name of a Los Angeles district,
Hollywood, has become synonymous with the
movie business. Canadas film industry, supported
by the government, is known for its innovative documentaries. In the performing arts, Canada is noted
for its Shakespeare Festival, held annually in
Stratford, Ontario. Broadway, a New York City
street name, is internationally identified with popular theater. The musical, combining elements of
Chapter 6

149

drama with music, became a popular form of theater

in the United States.

Lifestyles
As citizens of two of the worlds wealthiest
countries, most people in the United States and
Canada enjoy a high standard of living. Their
socioeconomic status, or level of income and
education, means having the advantage of many
personal choices and opportunities. Because the
region has an agricultural surplus, foods are relatively inexpensive. Housing varies to suit the
needs of individuals and families, whether it be
high-rise apartments, multifamily row houses, or
suburban houses in a variety of styles.

GRAPH
STUDY
The United States and Canada:
Social Indicators

Health Care
People in both the United States and Canada
can expect to live longer, generally healthier lives
than people in many other parts of the world.
The regions high level of economic development enables governments to devote substantial
resources to health care. Health care is administered differently in the two countries. In Canada,
the government pays for health care. In the United
States, most people are expected to pay for their
own health care through health insurance provided by employers or other organizations. Federal and state governments, however, pay for
some health insurance for people who are older,
people with disabilities, or low-income families.
Still, many people in the United States are unable
to purchase insurance, and others cannot afford
health care even with insurance. In the United
States, the role of the government in providing
health care for all citizens, regardless of their
socioeconomic status, is currently under debate.

Education

100

The United States and Canada have similar educational systems, including networks of public
and private schools. Both countries maintain compulsory education requirements. In the United
States and most Canadian provinces, school systems have 12 grades. Colleges and universities
exist in every state and province. In the United
States, the literacy rate, the percentage of people
who can read and write, is 97 percent; Canadas literacy rate is also 97 percent.

90

Percent of Population

Economics

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Hours
Homes
per week
with
worked electricity

Source: Britannica Book of theYear, 2000

Own
a car

Own
a TV

Canada
United States

1. Interpreting Graphs In which categories do

the United States and Canada appear to be the
same?
2. Applying Geography Skills Compare the
social indicators in the United States and
Canada. Explain why they are similar.

150

Unit 2

Sports and Recreation

Although a strong work ethic is woven into the
culture of both the Americans and Canadians, they
also enjoy plenty of leisure time. Some of the most
popular activities involve watching and participating in sports. Most people associate baseball
and football with the United States and ice hockey
with Canada. Fans and players of these sports,
however, come from both sides of the border. Basketball, soccer, golf, tennis, and competitive iceskating also have their supporters in both countries.
Television transformed sports during the late
1900s. Many people in the United States and Canada
share in exciting sports telecasts throughout the

year: baseball during the spring and summer and

its World Series in the early fall; football during the
fall, capped by the Super Bowl in January; and the
National Basketball Association (NBA) championships in the spring. As a result, sports heroes,
such as baseballs Derek Jeter, footballs Brett
Favre, and basketballs Michael Jordan, have
become household names.
The vast North American landscape is ideal for
camping, canoeing, and hiking. The first U.S.
national park was created in 1872. Located in parts
of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, Yellowstone
National Park covers more than two million acres,
and dazzles visitors from around the world with its
spectacular physical features. Since then, the United
States and Canada have set aside millions of acres
as national parks for conservation and recreation.

Celebrations
Holiday celebrations in the United States and
Canada are essentially similar. Both countries celebrate many of the same religious holidays, and
many civic observances are similar although held
on different dates. Celebrations such as American
Independence Day (July 4) and Canada Day (July 1)
are occasions for public displays of patriotism, or
loyalty to ones country.

United States Patriotism A crowd enjoys a

Fourth of July celebration in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Place What Canadian holiday is associated with
patriotism?

Checking for Understanding

Critical Thinking

Analyzing Maps

1. Define bilingual, jazz, socioeco-

3. Making Generalizations What

6. Place Study the physical map in

nomic, literacy rate, patriotism.

2. Main Ideas Create a diagram like

the one below, listing aspects of
the cultures, arts, and lifestyles
of the region.
Cultures and Lifestyles
Cultural
Characteristics

The Arts

Lifestyles

challenges are created for

government, education, and
business when a country has
two official languages?

4. Making Inferences Why do you

think immigrants to the United
States and Canada did not develop
new styles of art, music, and
literature at first?

5. Identifying Cause and Effect How

has the regions history of religious freedom contributed to the
development of culturally diverse
societies in the United States and
Canada?

the Regional Atlas on page 106.

Why does the physical geography
of California make it ideal for
both surfers and mountain
climbers?

Applying Geography
7. Sports as Culture Think
about the popularity of various sports in the region.
Write a paragraph explaining
how sports can increase cultural understanding among
the peoples of Canada and
the United States.

Chapter 6

151

Understanding GIS and GPS

A

Global Positioning System (GPS) can accurately determine a

position on the earth to within .08 inches (2 mm). Geographic
information systems (GIS) are computer tools for handling, processing, and analyzing geographic data. Both systems help us understand information about location.

Learning the Skill

GPS allows people to locate

themselves inside the map, while
GIS creates maps that highlight
the elements affecting a location. GPS and GIS technology
represents the state of the art in
geography and mapmaking.

GPS satellites in space continually broadcast signals to Earth. By

tracking the signals from several
satellites, a GPS receiver on the
ground can determine its current
latitude, longitude, and altitude.
GPS measurements showed that
Mt. Everest is actually 7 feet
(2.1 m) higher than its official
recorded height! The receiver
can also report current time and
the direction and speed of travel.
The unit even has a feature that
tells exact sunrise, sunset, and
moon phase based on location
and time.
Originally developed by the
United States military, GPS is now
available for many different uses:
Hikers use GPS receivers with
physical maps that show an
areas surface features and
elevations.
Drivers use GPS receivers in
cars to obtain digital street
maps and plot travel routes.
Sailors use GPS technology to
plot a ships course.
GPS receivers often feed data
into geographic information systems (GIS). GIS are computer tools
that gather, combine, and display
information relevant to a specific
geographic location. After information about an area is entered
into the GIS database, the computer can create maps showing
any combination of the data.
152

Unit 2

Practicing the Skill

Using the data you have read,
answer the following questions.
1. What do GPS receivers use

to plot exact locations?

2. Why was the military the

original developer of GPS?

3. How does seeing various fac-

tors on a map help people

make decisions?
4. How is GPS information used

with a GIS database?

Soldier using GPS receiver

5. How could GPS and GIS

improve traffic safety?

Businesses use GIS to find
prime locations to open franchises. Creating a database with
information such as traffic patterns, competitors locations,
average income, and vacant lots
for sale helps pinpoint the best
location for a new store. Using
data from various sources, GIS
technology might display a map
that shows the factories, air pollution count, and cancer rates in
a particular neighborhood. GIS
aid in information analysis by
visually presenting the interaction among various factors in a
given location.

Your community is planning to

build a recreation center. If you
have access to a GIS program,
use the program to help determine the best location. Use three
types of datasuch as roads,
housing estates, and high school
gymsto create maps. Then
analyze the maps and write your
proposal.

SUMMARY & STUDY GUIDE

SECTION 1

Population Patterns

(pp. 133137)

Terms to Know

Key Points

Organizing Your Notes

Both Canada and the United States are home

to various groups of native peoples and descendants of immigrants.
Physical geography impacts the distribution and
density of population in the U.S. and Canada.
North Americas settlements and its largest
cities developed along waterways.
Natural resources and waterways for transportation helped North America industrialize.

Use a table like the one below

to help you organize your notes
about the regions population
patterns.

immigration
Native American
Sunbelt
urbanization
metropolitan area
suburb
megalopolis
mobility

SECTION 2

History and Government

Peoples

Population Patterns

(pp. 140145)

Terms to Know

Key Points

Organizing Your Notes

republic
Underground
Railroad
dry farming
Constitution
amendment
Bill of Rights
cabinet
dominion
Parliament

Native Americans are North Americas earliest

people.
Europeans set up colonies in North America for
trading, conquest, and religious freedom.
The thirteen British colonies won their independence from Britain in 1776 and formed their
own republic, the United States of America.
In 1867 the eastern provinces combined to form
the Dominion of Canada. Canada today encompasses 10 provinces and 3 territories; it became
an independent country in 1931.
Industrialization and technology enabled westward expansion and spurred social change.

Create an outline using the format below to help you organize

your notes for this section.

SECTION 3

Cultures and Lifestyles

History and Government

I. History
A. Native Americans
1.
2.
B. European Colonies
1.
2.

(pp. 146151)

Terms to Know

Key Points

Organizing Your Notes

bilingual
jazz
socioeconomic
status
literacy rate
patriotism

The immigrant roots of the United States and

Canada make these two countries diverse.
Both countries have a heritage of religious
freedom.
Musical and artistic expression began with
immigrants and gradually became uniquely
North American.
Health care is supported by the governments
of both countries but in different ways.
Both countries in the region have high standards of living.

Use a cluster map like the one

below to help you organize your
notes for this section.

Regions Cultures

Chapter 6

153

ASSESSMENT & ACTIVITIES

Critical Thinking
1. Making Generalizations How did physical
features influence population patterns and
urbanization in the United States and Canada?

Reviewing Key Terms

On a sheet of paper, write the key term that
matches the definition. Refer to the Terms to Know
in the Summary & Study Guide on page 153.

ethnic groups influenced the development of

the regions arts.

3. Comparing and Contrasting Use a Venn

level of income and education

diagram to compare and contrast the governments of the United States and Canada.

loyalty to ones country

percentage of people who can read and write

Government

the movement of people into one country

from another

United
States

5. a central city and outlying communities

6. a government in which people
elect their own officials

The United States and Canada: PhysicalPolitical Geography

areas and suburbs

and holds rainwater

9.
10.
11.
12.

Detroit
Nunavut
British Columbia
Hudson Bay

20
W

0W
16

IC C

40
W

60
W

CL

80W

IR

and Canada came from what

region of the world?

Alberta
New Mexico
Miami
Pennsylvania

80

5.
6.
7.
8.

70N

180

ARCT

SECTION 1
1. Most settlers in the United States

Texas
Great Salt Lake
Nova Scotia
Quebec

60N

Reviewing Facts

1.
2.
3.
4.

120
W

9. ability to use two languages

10. cultivating land so that it catches

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

0
W

with close British ties

14

8. partially self-governing country

Canada

Both

Locating Places

7. a chain of closely linked urban

100W

1.
2.
3.
4.

2. Drawing Conclusions Explain how diverse

2. Where is most of Canadas population concentrated?

SECTION 2
3. Explain how the Underground

K
50
N

Railroad helped enslaved African

Americans escape to freedom.

4. What three technological innovations led to the expansion and

development of the United States?

40
N

SECTION 3
5. What is the most widely practiced

religion in Canada? In the United

States?

F
G

30
N

0 mi.

6. How did the literature of the

United States begin to change in
the late 1800s?
154

Unit 2

TR

O PI

CO

B
F CA

N CE
R

500

0 km 500
Azimuthal Equidistant
projection

Self-Check Quiz Visit the Glencoe World

Geography Web site at tx.geography.glencoe.com
and click on Self-Check QuizzesChapter 6 to
prepare for the Chapter Test.

Using the Regional Atlas

Refer to the Regional Atlas on pages 106109.

1. Human-Environment Interaction Compare the political map to the economic

activity map. What commercial crops are
grown in the southern United States?

2. Place Compare the population density map

to the political map. What states and provinces
have the highest population density?

Thinking Like a Geographer

Describe the effects of cultural diffusion between
the United States and Canada and other parts of
the world in recent decades. Trace this process,
using specific examples, such as films, music,
foods, and American slang.

Problem-Solving Activity
Group Research Project Research U.S. voting
patterns and the distribution of political power.
Study a map showing the outcome of the latest
congressional election, district by district. Then
compare it to a map of a previous race. Write a
report explaining the political changes from one
election to the next as well as the factors shaping
the formation of congressional voting districts.

Choose the best answer for each of the following multiple-choice questions. If you have
trouble answering the questions, use the
process of elimination to narrow your choices.
1. Researchers using GIS and GPS technology to correlate water quality indexes,
zoning maps, census figures, and maps
of area rivers and aquifers are most
likely trying to determine which of the
following?
A The relationship between the location of
industrial plants and water quality
B The water pressure for new fire hydrants
for a developing community
C The location of scenic hiking trails
D The lung disease rates for various areas in
the region

Several of the data elements correlated by the researchers relate to

water. Eliminate those answers that
do not relate to water.

GeoJournal
Expository Writing Using your GeoJournal
data, write an essay analyzing the effects of
processes, such as migration, on the territorial
growth of the United States and Canada.
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

Technology Activity

Developing Multimedia Presentations Choose one Native American or immigrant group and describe its influences on the
regions cultures and lifestyles. Include contributions such as religion, language, the arts, food,
clothing, and celebrations. Create a multimedia presentation that displays examples of
these contributions and explains their origins.
To enhance your presentation, play music appropriate to the group you choose for the class.

2. Ships at sea use GPS technology

F
G
H
J

as a communication device.
as a navigational aid.
for inventory control.
to maintain personnel files.

If you know that GPS technology deals

with precise positioning data, you can
eliminate choices H and J, and choose
the best answer from the answer choices that remain.

C
Ch
ha
ap
p tt e
e rr X
6

155