Historical and Cultural

Geography of North America

Part 2

ByProfessor

Lisa Schmidt

Language• The United States has NO official language.

– English is the language of business and government– Spanish is spoken by about 30 million households– Chinese is spoken by about 2 million households

• French by about 1.6 million

California Languages

• California is ethnically diverse!

• Many languages from around the world are spoken here.– Not depicted: Farsi,

Arabic, and Native Languages

Languages OTHER than English spoken in California

Dialects

• In the United States you will find MANY different dialects.– New England: Connections with England influence

the language– Middle Colonies: Influence from Dutch and German

settlers– Southern States: Influence from Africans– Great Plains: Influence from Scandinavia and

Germany– Northwest: British Influence– Southwest: Spanish Influence

• ALL DIALECTS: Native American influence

Religion

• A “Christian Country”

• Religious Freedom

• Possibly every religion known to man can be found here!

• Northeast: Catholic and Protestant• Middle Colonies: More Catholic• South: Baptists• Southwest: Catholic• Great Plains: Lutherans

Economy• Economic Regions

– NE: Manufacturing/Services/Small Farms

– Mid-Atlantic: Manufacturing/Services– SE: Agriculture/Manufacturing– SW: Resource

Extraction/Agriculture/Tourism– Central Plains: Agriculture/Food

Processing– Great Lakes: Heavy

Industry/Agriculture/Food Processing– Rocky Mountains:

Mining/Timber/Ranching– Pacific Alaska Region:

Timber/Mining/Fishing/Light Industry– Pacific Region: Light

Industry/Agriculture/Mining/Timber

Economic Trends

• Movement of Industry– Trend: out of the

north to the south, then out of the south to other parts of the world.

• Recession

California: Industry centered in coastal regions. Resource extraction in Eastern California, agriculture in the Central Valley.

Politics

• Many parties, only two that actually get elected.– Republicans– Democrats

2012 Election

• November 6, 2012– Election Day

Structure of the US Government

Structure of the US Government

US Court System

Approval Rating for Barack Obama

California

• Our new, old governor: Jerry Brown

Current Issues in California

• Illegal Immigration– AB 540 Dream Act

• Legalization of Marijuana– Proposition 215

Structure of Schools

• Preschool– Usually ages 3 to about 6– Not mandatory, not free

• Kindergarten through 12th grade– Grade School: Kindergarten through 5th or 6th grade– Junior High School/Middle School: 6th or 7th grade through 8th grade– High School: 9th grade through 12th grade– Compulsory enrollment from 1st grade through 12th

– Free, based on property taxes– The neighborhood you live in determines what kind of a school your children will

go to.• College

– 13th and 14th grade or trades/technical– Not mandatory, not free

• University– 13th grade through PhD.– Not mandatory, not free