Welcome part 2
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Transcript of Welcome part 2
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