Name_____________________________
Warm up:
Directions: There are many important elements that contribute to the development of an area. These elements are often unique to
that region and are shaped as a result of the geography and people. You live in Greensburg. Describe Greensburg’s climate,
transportation, economy, and society. (Bullet Points) Compare those factors with Alaska and Tokyo.
Greensburg, PA (USA)
Climate
Social
Economy
Housing
Transportation
Climate
Tokyo, Japan
Social
Economy
Housing
Transportation
1. Describe how a particular factor (ex. Climate, Population, Religion etc.) impacts an aspect of society (ex. Housing,
transportation, economy etc).
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2. How did the geography impact the way of life for the Homesteaders? EXPLAIN.
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3. How might living in Tokyo, Japan be very different from living in Greensburg, PA? EXPLAIN.
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Geography (Section 3)
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Economy (Section 4)
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South
Transportation (Section 7)
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Society (Section 8)
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Geography (Section 2)
Transportation (Section 6)
Economy (Section 5)
North
Society (Section 9)
Answer Key:
South
Geography
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Mild winters and long, hot, humid summers
Fertile coastal plains with swamps and marshes
Rolling hills and mountain hollows
Thick pine forests in North Carolina broad, flat rivers
Economy
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Agriculture
Agrarians favored a way of life based on farming and policies that supported agricultural interests
Most whites worked their own small farms.
Plantations used slaves to raise cash crops, especially cotton
With Eli Whitney’s cotton gin, cotton became the South’s most important crop
Transportation
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River travel was the main form of transportation
Cities sprang up along waterways
Southerners opposed federal funding for internal improvements
In 1860, the South had 10,000 miles of rail
Society
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Wealth was measured in terms of land and slaves
Rigid social structure with rich plantation owners at the top, white farmers and workers in the middle, and blacks at the bottom
Wealthy plantation owners dominated the economy and politics
Most white families worked their own fields
Free blacks worked as craftspeople, servants, and laborers
Most blacks in the South were slaves
North
Geography
 Four distinct seasons
 Jagged New England coast with rocky soil
 Thick forests in New England
 Plains with rich soil in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey
 Large, forested region in the Central Plains
 Region is undergoing deforestation
Economy
 Center of the Industrial Revolution, the shift from hand manufacturing to machines
 The economy was spurred by industrialists, people who owned large factories and other businesses based on manufacturing
 New inventions and manufacturing methods, like steam-powered engines, made goods cheaper and more plentiful
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Industrialists favored a strong national government
Transportation
 The National Road connected the new western states with the East
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Steamboats made river travel faster and cheaper
 The Erie Canal linked the Central Plains to East Coast cities
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20,000 miles of rail linked Northern factories to cities hundreds of miles away
Society
 More Northerners were moving to towns and cities
 Cities lacked sewers and paved streets
 African Americans were free but not equal
 Immigrants settled in cities.
Greensburg
 Climate ---Four Seasons
 Economy ---Small Businesses, Railroad, Mining, Courthouse
 Housing—Suburban
 Transportation –Amtrak, High Way, Arnold Palmer
 Social –Small population, Various religious buildings/colleges, cultural centers
Tokyo, Japan
 Climate –Four Season
 Economy ---Fishing/ Technology
 Housing / Apartments, condensed
 Transportation---bullet train, bicycles
 Tectonic Plates “Ring of Fire”---earthquakes, monsoons
 Respect for elders, population 13 million, Shintoism