Chapter 6
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People
◦ 5% of Earth’ population live in the U.S and Canada
 US = 300 million
Canada = 33 million
◦ All are immigrants
 Native Americans thousands of years ago
 Waves of Europeans/Asians/Africans in past 400 years
 Sought political/religious freedom
 Improved economic opportunity
 Enslaved Africans
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Population Density and Distribution
◦ US and Canada are vastly different
 US = 78 people per sq mi.
Canada = 8 per sq. mi.
◦ Canada
 90% live along US border
 Rugged terrain and brutal climate make most of
Canada inhospitable to human inhabitation
 Canadian Shield has poor soil
 Who lives there?
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Population Density and Distribution
◦ US and Canada are vastly different
 US = 78 people per sq mi.
◦ United States
 Population Centers
 Northeast and Great Lakes
 Pacific Coast
 Sunbelt
 Sparsely populated areas
 Alaska
 Great Basin and Great Plains
Canada = 8 per sq. mi.
How physical
geography
effects
human
geography
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Cities
◦ US and Canada have experienced urbanization
 The concentration of population in cities
◦ Jobs, education, health care and cultural
opportunities draw people to cities
◦ Metropolitan areas = city with +50,000 people and
its outlying communities called suburbs
 80% of the U.S.
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Cities (cont.)
 Coastal Cities
 People tend to live along the ocean coast
 Megalopolis – “great city”
 Combines Boston-New York-Philadelphia-BaltimoreWashington DC
 Over 42 million residents
 Other coastal cities include: Miami, New Orleans, Houston,
Los Angeles, Vancouver
 All are major port cities
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Cities (cont.)
 Inland Cities
 People tend to live along inland lakes and rivers as well
 Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Cities
 Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Buffalo, Cleveland,
Detroit, Milwaukee, Chicago
 Mississippi River System Cities
 Winnipeg, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati,
New Orleans, Memphis, Nashville
 Other inland cities grew from being commercial hub
 Kansas City, Dallas, Atlanta, Charlotte, Calgary, Edmonton,
Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Las Vegas
 How is each city represented by professional sports?
New York
Charlotte
Miami
Montreal
Vancouver
Cleveland
Pittsburgh
Boston
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Toronto
Memphis
New Orleans
History and Government!

History
◦ Native Americans
 Native peoples traveled across a land bridge from Asia to
North America thousands of years ago
 By 10,000 years ago people lived in across what is now
the USA and Canada
 Native Culture varied by location
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Subarctic & tundra – hunt caribou, seals, and wear thick furs
Maritime Northwest – hunt whales, salmon; carve totems
Southwest – irrigation farmers
Plains – migrant hunters
Lower Mississippi – mound builders, farmers
Northeast – farmers, hunters

History
◦ European Colonies
 Migration began in the 1500s
 Mostly from Spain, France, and England
 French in the North, Spain in the South, England in the middle
 Came for “God, Gold, and Glory”
 Religious zeal/freedom, seeking wealth, and personal
adventure
 Set up colonies
 English and Spanish imported African slaves to work cash crop
plantations
 European disease and warfare decimates Native populations
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History
◦ Two New Countries
 1754-1763 French & Indian War
 (French/Indians vs. British/Americans)
 France loses…gives territory to Britain
 French in Quebec region of Canada keep French
culture/language
 1775-1783 American Revolution
 Americans tire of British taxes
 Win Independence
 Britain keeps control of Canada until 1982!
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
From 1812-1815 the US tried to conquer
Canada?
And lost!
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History
◦ Sea to Shining Sea
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Both USA and Canada expand westward to the Pacific
1803 Louisiana Purchase
1845 Texas
1846 Mexican Cession & Oregon Territory
1867 Alaska and Hawaii
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Economics
◦ Growth, Division, Unity
 1800s Industrial Revolution
 Turns the northeast USA and southeastern Canada into
manufacturing hubs
 Massive Eastern and Southern European immigration
 Agriculture in the southeast USA
 Relies on slave labor
 Leading cause of the American Civil War 1861-1865
 20th Century
 Technology and expansion help USA and Canada become world
leaders
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Government
◦ USA
 Federal Government with a Constitution
 Bill of Rights lists out basic freedoms
 Legislative (Senate & House of Representatives) – make
laws
 Executive (President and Cabinet) – enforce law
 Judiciary (Supreme Court) – interpret laws

Government
◦ Canada
 Was a Dominion until 1982
 Only partially independent from United Kingdom (Great Britain)
 Parliamentary Government
 Two houses legislature (Senate & House of Commons)
 Prime Minister acts as the executive
 Supreme Court interprets law
Culture and Life Styles

Cultural Characteristics
◦ Religious Freedom
 Americans and Canadians both enjoy protected
religious freedom
 USA – 1st Amendment
 Most Americans and Canadians are Christians…but
both countries have many Jews, Muslims, Buddhists
and nonreligious peoples
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Languages
◦
◦
◦
◦
English is the primary language
French is spoken in Quebec
Spanish is spoken by millions in America as well
Locally Chinese, Korean, Viet, etc are spoken

The Arts
◦ Music
 Native American, Folk, Country, Rock, Jazz, Blues, HipHop, Rap, all originated in North America

The Arts
◦ Visual Arts
 Paintings, architecture, sculpture all thrive in North
America
Wright
Pollack
Art Deco

The Arts
◦ Literature thrives across US and Canada

The Arts
◦ Pop Culture
 Hollywood
 New York

Lifestyles
◦ Americans and Canadians enjoy a high socio-economic
status
◦ Both are developed countries
◦ Healthcare and Education are available to people
◦ Leisure activities are popular – sports, outdoors etc.