Geography of the USA

25. The Native Americans. Broken treaties.

The USA was originally peopled by Indians and was opened to European colonization by the first voyage of Columbus in 1492. By the time the white man appeared, the Indians had spread and occupied all parts of the new world. The story of Native Americans is unique, because they are the original inhabitants; tragic, because of the conflict between Native Americans and Europeans; inspiring, because they have survived, asserted their rights, retained their identity and contributed immensely to the American heritage.

Indian foods and methods of planting, hunting, and fishing helped the settlers to survive in their new home.  Two of the most important  crops  in the world today —  Indian corn and white potatoes - were first planted by American Indians,  who also  introduced the settlers  to more  than  80 other foods,  including the sweet potato,  pumpkin, squash,  banana,  pineapple, and avocado.  The Native Americans showed the settlers how to cook these unknown plants to make grits, hominy, popcorn, succotash, and tapioca. Cacao (for chocolate), and tobacco were also among the new crops.  Many of the drugs which Indians received from plants (such as cocaine, which was used to kill pain) are used today for medical purposes.

The influence of Indian cultures is quite evident in American English. Countless US place-names derive from Indian words, including 28 states (Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Idaho, Montana), thousands of mountains,  lakes,  rivers as  well as  common nouns -tobacco,  skunk,  moose, canoe,  and others.

Under President Andrew Jackson, United States Congress passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which authorized the President to conduct treaties to exchange Native American land east of the Mississippi River for lands west of the river. As many as 100,000 Native Americans relocated to the West as a result of this Indian Removal policy. In theory, relocation was supposed to be voluntary and many Native Americans did remain in the East. In practice, great pressure was put on Native American leaders to sign removal treaties.

Tribes were generally located to reservations where they could more easily be separated from traditional life and pushed into European-American society.

On June 2, 1924 U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act making all Native Americans born in the United States and its territories citizens of the United States.

In 1975 the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act was passed. The Act recognized the need of Native Americans for self-determination. It marked the U.S. government's turn away from the policy of termination; the U.S. government encouraged Native Americans' efforts at self government and determining their futures.

There are 562 federally recognized tribal governments in the United States. These tribes possess the right to form their own government, to enforce laws (both civil and criminal), to tax, to establish requirements for membership, to license and regulate activities and to exclude persons from tribal territories. Limitations on tribal powers of self-government include the same limitations applicable to states; for example, neither tribes nor states have the power to make war, engage in foreign relations, or coin money.

As of 2000, the largest tribes in the U.S. by population were Navajo, Cherokee, Choctaw, Sioux, Chippewa, Apache, Blackfeet, Iroquois, and Pueblo.

In July 2000 the Washington state Republican Party adopted a resolution recommending that the federal and legislative branches of the U.S. government terminate tribal governments. In 2007 a group of Democratic Party congressmen introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to "terminate" the Cherokee Nation.  As of 2004, various Native Americans are wary of attempts by others to gain control of their reservation lands for natural resources, such as coal and uranium in the West.

According to 2003 United States Census Bureau estimates, a little over one third of the 2,786,652 Native Americans in the United States live in three states: California (413,382), Arizona (294,137) and Oklahoma (279,559).

American Indians today in the U.S. have all the rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution, can vote in elections, and run for political office.

About 62 per cent of American Indians and Alaska Natives live in large cities or rural areas. The rest live in some 300 federal reservations. Altogether, the reservations make up 2,5 per cent of US territory, mostly west of the Mississippi River.

 

 

 

26. Urban culture: 1812-1918

In 1812 there was the very rapid growth of urban population. 4 causes: rapid industrialization; the construction of roads and railways made easier the movement of goods and people; a great majority  of immigrants; farm workers displaced by machinery went to the cities in search of better future. The ratio of urban dwellers in the much expanded national population rose from 8% to 25%.

By the end of the 19th century, the United States was dotted with large and small cities. By 1830, New York had gained a reputation as a place of great motion and constant activity.  At the same time, NY experienced archaic sanitation, severe poverty, insufficient housing and schools. The immigrants came from practically every country and area of the world. They crowded into the cities, often living together in distinct communities, or ethnic neighborhoods separated by language, religious and cultural differences. Many of these enclaves still exist today.

City government leaders saw their role as one of maintaining civil order, not as engaging in city planning. Between 1880 and 1920, many urban problems found at least temporary solutions. Movement to bring about social, economic and political reform arose in all large cities. Collectively, these reform activities came to be known as the Progressive Movement. Public health programs were started to offer help to the poor. Public school systems were enlarged and strict qualification standards for teachers were set. Housing quality laws were passed. Agencies were created to teach language and job skills to millions of immigrants. In addition, there were many technical innovations: the electric light and the electrification of machinery, water and sewage systems, the trolley car and subway, and the elevator and skyscraper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

27.   Urban culture. Early years: 1625-1812

The original North American colonies were regarded by Britain, Holland and France primarily as sources of raw material from field, forest and ocean, and as potential markets for finished goods manufactured in Europe. While this approach required rural and wilderness settlement, it was necessary, at the same time, to establish small towns in the colonies as administrative centers to control the emerging trans-Atlantic trade. These towns were gathering places for artisans and shopkeepers who served the agricultural hinterlands. In the large wilderness, the towns provided security and also served as social centers. Eventually, with increasing numbers of European settlers arriving in the New World, coastal cities—the largest of which were Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Charleston, South Carolina—were built. At the same time, as port cities, they were flourishing centers of international commerce, trading with Europe and the Caribbean. By 1660, Boston contained about 3,000 people. New York (then called New Amsterdam) was founded in 1625 by the Dutch West India Company, which exported furs, timber and wheat. Captured by the British in 1664, New Amsterdam was renamed New York. Because of its favorable geography, it soon became an important trading port.

Most American towns of this early period featured open spaces alternating with built-up areas. Much free land was available, and, as fewer than 10 percent of the people lived in the towns, few people opposed their growth. By the middle of the 18th century, however, many people opposed this growth because the towns had begun to seem too large and crowded.  By 1750, the larger cities were dominated by a wide range of commercial and craft activities. A corresponding range of social groups developed: from an economically and socially dominant merchant and administrative class to a middle class of artisans, shopkeepers, farmers and smaller traders. Culturally, the colonies were outposts of Britain. The colonial cities were visited by touring actors and musicians and enriched by the development of schools, libraries and lecture halls. In terms of administration, the development of towns created a web of social, economic and governmental structures and regulations. Councilmen were first elected to govern New York City in 1684.

The War of Independence (1775-1783): the British imposed strict limitations on manufacture and trade, and the British Parliament's repeated taking of taxes without prior consultation with the colonists. The war secured political independence for the United States, but economically, the new nation was still dependent upon the trading patterns that had developed over a century. The country supplied raw material and imported finished goods. This situation lasted until the War of 1812 (with England), during which great suffering occurred as a result of the British blockade of American ports. Even those Americans who had earlier resisted the development of a larger manufacturing sector and the growth of cities now changed their minds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

28. Science and technology.

From its emergence as an independent nation, the United States has encouraged science and invention. It has done this by promoting a free flow of ideas, by encouraging the growth of "useful knowledge," and by welcoming creative people from all over the world. The United States Constitution itself reflects the desire to encourage scientific activity.

Two of America's founding fathers were actually scientists of some repute. Benjamin Franklin conducted a series of experiments that proved that lightning is a form of electricity. Thomas Jefferson was a student of agriculture who introduced various types of rice, olive trees and grasses into the New World.

The great American inventors include Robert Fulton (the steamboat); Samuel F.B. Morse (the telegraph); Eli Whitney (the cotton gin); Cyrus McCormick (the reaper); the Wright Brothers (the powered flying machine) and Thomas Alva Edison, the most fertile of them all, with more than a thousand inventions credited to his name.

In the second half of the twentieth century, American scientists were increasingly recognized for their contributions to "pure" science, the formulation of concepts and theories. The changing pattern can be seen in the winners of the Nobel Prizes in physics and chemistry. During the first half-century of Nobel Prizes -- from 1901 to 1950 -- American winners were in a distinct minority in the science categories. Since 1950, Americans have won approximately half of the Nobel Prizes awarded in the sciences.

One of the most spectacular and controversial achievements of world science in the second half of the 20th century has been the harnessing of nuclear energy. The concepts that led to the splitting of the atom were developed by the scientists of many countries, but the conversion of these ideas into the reality of nuclear fission was the achievement of U.S. scientists in the early 1940s.

Nuclear power and nuclear medicine are two examples of peaceful uses of atomic energy. Nuclear energy to produce electricity commercially began in the U.S. in 1957. Today, over 100 nuclear power plants produce about 21 percent of all the electricity generated in the United States.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established in 1970 by President Nixon. Its mission is to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment - air, water, and land - under the laws enacted by Congress. EPA's purpose is to ensure that: all Americans are protected from significant risks to human health and the environment where they live, learn and work. 

National efforts to reduce environmental risk are based on the best available scientific information. Environmental protection is an integral consideration in U.S. policies on natural resources, human health, economic growth, energy, transportation, agriculture, industry, and international trade, and these factors are similarly considered in establishing environmental policy.

The "Space Age". American Robert Goddard was one of the first scientists to experiment with rocket propulsion systems. Goddard's rockets achieved modest altitudes of nearly two kilometers. Expendable rockets provided the means for launching artificial satellites & manned spacecraft. In 1958 US launched Explorer I. Communications satellites transmit computer data, telephone calls, and radio and television broadcasts. Weather satellites furnish the data necessary to provide early warnings of severe storms.

Medicine and health care. Numerous medical achievements have been made: mortality from heart disease dropped, the death rate for strokes decreased, the cancer death rate fell, children cancer is cured. Molecular genetics and genomics research have revolutionized biomedical science, trials of gene therapy in humans and are now able to locate, identify, and describe the function of many genes in the human genome.

 

 

 

 

 

29. Immigration to America.

The English were the dominant ethnic group among early settlers. They came not only from GB, but also from other European countries, including Spain, France, Holland, Germany and Sweden. In 1780 three out of every four citizens of the USA were of English or Irish descent.  Between 1840 and 1860 the US received its first great wave of immigrants.

During the late 19th century, so many people were entering the USA that the government operated a special port of entry on Ellis Island. Between 1892 and 1954 Ellis Island was the doorway to the USA for 12 million people. During the peak immigration years, from 1905 to 1907, there were 10 thousand immigrants a day.

As a result of mass immigration the USA is termed as the “melting pot” of nations. It meant that as immigrants from many different cultures came to the USA, their previous national identity melted away and they became part of a completely new culture. 

African Americans: There was one group of immigrants came to North America unwillingly. These were Africans, 500 000 of whom were brought over as slaves from 1619 until 1808, when slave trade became illegal. Slavery was abolished throughout the USA with passage of the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution in 1865 (by President Abraham Lincoln). Even after the end of slavery. In search of opportunity, African Americans formed an internal wave of immigration, moving from rural South to the Urban North.

Asian Americans: They include groups such as Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Pakistani Americans and others whose national origin is from the Asian continent. Today Asian Americans are one of the fastest-growing racial groups in the country. About 10 million people of Asian descent live in the US. Although most of them have arrived recently, they are among the most successful of all immigrant groups. They have a higher income than many other ethnic groups (many of them working in high-tech industry), and large members of their children study at the best US universities as undergraduate and graduate students.

In 1990s were passed laws, reducing Immigration, especially from Asia. It began to pass laws barring the entry of certain types of immigrations. The USA refused to accept immigrants who were prostitutes, convicts, insane, revolutionaries, people suffering from serious diseases and children without at least 1 parent. Today there are many illegal immigrants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

30. American agriculture

America has such a powerful agricultural sector that it not only feeds its own country people but also exports tons of agricultural products every day to different under developed, developing and even developed countries.

American economy is largely dependent on its powerful agricultural sector. American agriculture generates considerable amount of employment in America.

The history of agriculture in the United States covers the period from the first settlers to the present day. In Colonial America 90 percent of the population was involved in agriculture; most towns were shipping points for the export of agricultural products. Plantation agriculture, using black slaves, was widely spread at that time. It developed in Virginia and Maryland (where tobacco was grown), and South Carolina (where indigo and rice were grown). Cotton became a major plantation crop after 1800 in the "Black Belt," that is the region from North Carolina in an arc through Texas where the climate allowed for cotton cultivation.

The United States of America, in World War I, was a great supplier to other Allied nations of armaments, supplies, and food. The American farmer took advantage of this opportunity to expand their farms to meet the ever growing demand for their crops. The rapid expansion of the farms coupled with the invention of the automobile, which allowed for rapid transportation of crops, allowed the agricultural market to expand to a big size.

The early 1920s saw a rapid expansion in the American agricultural economy largely due to new technologies and especially mechanization. Competition from Europe and Russia had disappeared due to the war and American agricultural goods were being shipped around the world.

The new technologies, such as the combine harvester, meant that the most efficient farms were massive in size and, gradually, the small family farms were replaced by far larger concerns.

The most dramatic changes in agriculture came in the 1950-1970 era, driven by a rise in productivity that made most farmers economically redundant. As farming has become more mechanized, increasing numbers of unneeded farm workers have gone to urban areas. In 1987, there were slightly more than 2 million farms in the United State. Although family farms are not disappearing, smaller farms are disappearing.

Nowadays American agriculture has started facing problems because of rising competition in the agricultural field and also because of unpredictable climate change and natural disasters.

At present, American Agriculture supplies almost one fifth of world wheat exports whereas in 1980s, it used to supply almost half of the World Wheat Market.

To get more detailed knowledge about American agriculture one is advised to browse through the following links:

In California, top agricultural produces constitute almonds, lettuce, tomatoes, grapes and strawberries. Agriculture plays a major role in the state.

In Florida agriculture, major crops produced are Wheat, Soybeans, Corn, cotton and Cottonseed.

In Texas agriculture, production of cotton has ranked 1 in United States. Other agricultural products in the state are wheat and Corns.

CURRENT FARM POLICIES:

1. Deficiency Payments. Congress sets a "target price" for various crops. To receive any benefit, farmers must take some of their land out of production. If the market price that the farmers receive when they sell the crop falls short of the target price, they receive a check from the government to make up the difference.

2. Marketing Orders. A few crops, including lemons and oranges, are subject to outright restrictions on marketing. So-called "marketing orders" limit the amount of a crop that a grower can send to market week by week. By restricting sales, such orders are intended to increase the prices that farmers receive.

3. Farm Credit. As early as 1916, the federal government began to provide assistance to private and cooperative farm credit programs.

4. Soil Conservation. Some federal programs are aimed specifically at promoting soil conservation. Under one program, for example, the government shares with farmers the cost of seeding unused land to grass or legumes in order to reduce the danger of erosion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

31. Nature of American business today.

A population of more than 310 million people provides both workers and consumers for American businesses.

• What role for government? For more than two centuries, the theory of laissez-faire has dominated government policy toward American business. Laissez-faire ("leave it alone") allows private interests to have virtual free rein in operating business.

• Protectionism or free trade? As a rule, manufacturers and industrial workers have been the strongest supporters of protectionism. The United States had generally high tariffs. In response to complaints that high tariffs were making the Great Depression of the 1930s worse, a period of trade liberalization began with Congress' adoption of the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1934. In the 1970s and 1980s renewed economic stress has evoked calls for a return to protectionism.

• Big business or small business? Since about the time of the Civil War, the United States has experienced several waves of business concentration. Supporters of concentration have argued that only large enterprises can benefit from the advantages of money that accompany modern industrial methods. Few, if any, Americans believe that complete return to small-money enterprise would be either possible or desirable. But many have criticized the ways in which concentration has occurred.

 • Relations between management and labor. Still another contentious issue has been the relative rights and responsibilities of management and labor. While management has usually held the upper hand in management-labor disputes in the United States, organized labor, promising higher wages and improved benefits, made major gains under laws adopted by Congress in the 1930s. Those laws established a legal framework for worker representation and for the collective bargaining process.

• The ups and downs of the business cycle. Business activity in the United States has followed a cyclical pattern of ups and downs, as is common in market economies. Because of the cyclical nature of business activity, such economic indicators as employment rates and investment levels are constantly fluctuating. Over time, however, the level of business activity has tended to rise.

International business. American diplomacy has often opened doors for American business abroad. American political leaders have often encouraged American businesses to invest abroad as a way of strengthening the American diplomatic hand. Not surprisingly, the American business presence has received a mixed welcome in the rest of the world. Many people see American business activities as an extension of its diplomacy. On the other hand, many people in other countries have welcomed investments by American firms as a means of raising their own standards of living. By investing abroad, American businesses have provided many new jobs and new products for people who lacked access to the benefits of modern industrial society. Business organizations in the United States have been eager to spread the message of free enterprise to new generations of Americans. One of many activities sponsored by United States businesses is a nationwide program called Junior Achievement. Local business people help high-school-age "junior achievers" to organize small companies, sell stock to friends and parents, produce and market a product and pay stockholders a dividend. The same young people act as company officers, salespeople and production workers. The idea is to give young people a deeper appreciation to the role of business in a capitalist society and to give them experience in business practices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

32.  American economy and Financial Institutions.

The United States has a capitalist mixed economy where corporations and other private firms make the majority of microeconomic decisions regulated by government. The US economy maintains a low unemployment rate, and is still an attraction to immigrants worldwide. The economy of the United States is large and complicated, but there remain certain features which are easily to identify. A central feature of the US economy is freedom in economic decision-making, for both the individual and corporation. This is enhanced by relatively low levels of regulation, taxation and government involvement, as well as a court system that generally protects property rights and enforces contracts.