US and Canada
Contemporary Issues
One Superpower
• Since the fall of the
USSR, the US has
been the only
superpower in the
world
– Used diplomatic and
military power to
keep peace and
further US interests
US Government
• Representative Democracy (Republic)
– People rule through elected
representatives
• Three Branches
– Executive
• The President
– Approves or vetoes laws
– Legislative
• Make the laws
• Congress
– House of Representatives: Based on
population
– Senate: 2 per state
– Judicial
• Supreme Court
• 9 Justices: one Chief Justice and 8 Associate
Justices
• Review laws to make sure they are okeydokey
Supreme Court Justices
Chief
Justice
Name,
Assoc. Justice
Antonin Scalia
1986–
N.J.
Reagan
Anthony M. Kennedy
1988–
Calif.
Reagan
Clarence Thomas
1991–
Ga.
Bush
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
1993–
N.Y.
Clinton
Stephen G. Breyer
1994–
Calif.
Clinton
N.Y.
Bush
2005–
John G. Roberts
Place
Appointed by
Samuel A. Alito, Jr,
2006–
N.J.
Bush
Sonia Sotomayor
2009–
N.Y.
Obama
Elena Kagan
2010–
N.Y.
Obama
Canada’s Government
• Independence from GB in
1931
– Symbolic head is the
Queen of England
• Parliamentary
Government
Stephen Harper’s Awkward Family photo
– Legislative and executive
combined in a Parliament
– Majority leader: Prime
Minister (currently
Stephen Harper)
US Economy
• World’s Largest national economy
(it is 2nd if the EU is counted as
one economy)
– The U.S. is one of the world's
wealthiest nations, with
abundant natural resources, a
well-developed infrastructure,
and high productivity.
– It has the world's sixth-highest
per capita GDP
– The U.S. is the world's thirdlargest producer of oil
– It is the second-largest trading
nation in the world behind China
• Its five largest trading partners
are : European Union, Canada,
China, Mexico and Japan.
Composition of the Economy
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most of the U.S. economy is composed of
services
the United States is the world's largest
manufacturer, 18% of world’s
manufacturing
– output is greater than of Germany, France,
India, and Brazil combined
– Main industries:
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petroleum, steel, automobiles, construction
machinery, aerospace, agricultural machinery,
telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food
processing, consumer goods, lumber, and
mining.
The US leads the world in airplane
manufacturing
Agriculture:
– less than 2% of economy BUT almost ½ of
world’s grain produced
•
Of the world's 500 largest companies, 132
are headquartered in the United States.
This is twice the total of any other
country
Canadian Economy
• 11th largest economy
• 75% in service industry
– Service industry tends to dominate
post-industrial economies
• Logging and oil very important
• NAFTA (North American Free Trade
Agreement)
– Jan. 1, 1994
– Eliminated trade barriers and tariffs
between Mexico, US and Canada by
2008
– NAFTA created the world's largest
free trade area, which now links 450
million people producing $17 trillion
worth of goods and services
– One goal to boost Mexico’s economy
creating better markets for the US
and reduce immigration from Mexico
REGIONS OF NORTH AMERICA
Northeast
• 5% of land; 20% of population
• New England: ME, VT, MA, NH,
CT, RI
• Mid Atlantic: PA, NY, NJ
• Characteristics:
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First area settled by Europeans
“gateway” of immigration
Fishing
Heavily industrial and urbanized
Megalopolis: “BosWash”
“Rust Belt "declining traditional
industries
– Atlantic seaboard cities (Boston,
NYC, Philly) are international
trade centers
Megalopolis
• BosWash or the Northeast
Megalopolis
• especially Washington, D.C.,
Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York
City, and Boston—are, tied to each
other through the intermeshing of
their suburban zone
• Currently about 50 million people
Midwest
• 12 States: ND, SD, NE, KS,
MN, IA, MO,IL, IN, OH, MI,
WI
• “heartland”, ⅕ of land, ¼ of
population
• Economy split between
agriculture and industry
• “Breadbasket” more food
produced than any other
comparable area in world
– Corn, wheat, soybeans, dairy
• Excellent waterways: great
lakes, Ohio and Mississippi
The South
You are here!
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16 States: TX, LO, OK, KS, MS, AL, GA, SC, NC,
VA, TN, KY, WV, MO, AR, FL
¼ of land of the US
Mix of cultures:
– Early European settlement
– Descendants of enslaved persons
– Cajuns (French Canadian) and Creoles (Fr, Sp, and
Af.)
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“Sunbelt” because of climate
“Bible Belt” because of conservative views
lower percentages of high school graduates,
lower housing values, lower household
incomes, and lower cost of living than the
rest of the United States (summed up as:
boo, yay!, boo, yay!)
Humid subtropical climate was a hindrance
to industrialization until AC invented
The West
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13 states
California most populous state
West is most rapidly growing region
western U.S. is the largest region,
more than half the land of the US
• Most geographically diverse:
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Pacific Coast
temperate rainforests
the Rocky Mountains
the Great Plains and prairie
all of the desert areas located in the
United States (the Mojave, Sonoran,
Great Basin, and Chihuahua deserts)
• “Old West” major part of American
folklore
REGIONS OF CANADA
General Canada Stats
– 75% of
Canada's
population
resides within
100 miles of the
U.S. border.
– 90% of all
Canadians live
within 200 miles
of the boundary.
Atlantic Provinces
• Prince Edward Island,
New Brunswick, Nova
Scotia, and
Newfoundland
• 8% of population (2.3
million)
• Rugged terrain,
severe weather
• Logging, fishing,
mining
Core provinces
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Population:
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Canada's core region lies entirely within the
provinces of Quebec and Ontario.
The core is the historical hearth and has the
overwhelming share of the country's
population & economic activity.
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Advantages of the Core Region
– Canada’s heartland, 62% of population (18.6 million)
– Accessibility resources to link it to major
U.S. markets, where 88% of Canada's
exports are destined
– Open to U.S. immigration and investment
– Close to power resources (hydroelectric and
fossil fuels)
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Most settlement along Great Lakes and St.
Lawrence
Economic Activity: Farming (1/3 of Canada's
total), manufacturing, and hydroelectricity
Core Provinces
• Ontario
– Ottawa: National capital
– Toronto: Provincial Capital
– Population mostly of English descent
• Quebec (French Canada)
– French official language
– 1960s some terrorist and propaganda movement against English
institutions
– 1977 Parti Québécois held power in Quebec
• They had run an unsuccessful campaign to become independent in
the early 70s
• 1995, with the Parti Québécois back a second referendum on
sovereignty took place
– rejected by a slim majority (50.6 percent NO to 49.4 percent YES)
– A poll in Jan of 2012 said that 43% of Quebeckers supported separation
Prairie and Pacific Provinces
• Prairie Provinces
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Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta
5 million
Economy: farming, mining, oil
Part of the Great Plains, 50% of
agriculture in Canada
– Diverse population: Eastern and
Western Europeans, FrenchCanadians, Asians, Indian, etc…
• Pacific Province
– British Columbia (only one province
in this region)
– 4 million
– Part of Rocky Mountains
– Population centered around
southwest: Vancouver (Canada’s
largest port) and Victoria
The Territories
• Yukon, Northwest, and
Nunavut
• 41% of land of Canada
• Not enough population
to be provinces; 100,000
• Nunavut added in 1999
because of large
percentage of Inuit
– Nunavut means “our
land” in Inuit
Tundra in
Nunavut
Dailies: People to Know
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Who is the new pope?
Who is John Kerry?
Who is John Roberts?
Who is Stephen Harper?
Who is Chuck Hagel?
Dailies:
• What is a Megalopolis?
• What Cities make up the Northeast
megalopolis?
• What are two nicknames of the Midwest?
• What are two nicknames of the south?
• What was the goal of NAFTA in Mexico?