US and Canada

Contemporary Issues

One Superpower

• Since the fall of the USSR, the US has been the only superpower in the world– Used diplomatic and

military power to keep peace and further US interests

US Government• Representative Democracy (Republic)

– People rule through elected representatives

• Three Branches– Executive

• The President– Approves or vetoes laws

– Legislative• Make the laws• Congress

– House of Representatives: Based on population

– Senate: 2 per state

– Judicial• Supreme Court• 9 Justices: one Chief Justice and 8 Associate

Justices• Review laws to make sure they are okey-

dokey

Supreme Court Justices

Name, Assoc. JusticeChief

Justice Place Appointed by

Antonin Scalia 1986– N.J. Reagan

Anthony M. Kennedy 1988– Calif. Reagan

Clarence Thomas 1991– Ga. Bush

Ruth Bader Ginsburg 1993– N.Y. Clinton

Stephen G. Breyer 1994– Calif. Clinton

John G. Roberts 2005– N.Y. Bush

Samuel A. Alito, Jr, 2006– N.J. Bush

Sonia Sotomayor 2009– N.Y. Obama

Elena Kagan 2010– N.Y. Obama

Canada’s Government

• Independence from GB in 1931– Symbolic head is the

Queen of England• Parliamentary

Government– Legislative and executive

combined in a Parliament– Majority leader: Prime

Minister (currently Stephen Harper)Stephen Harper’s Awkward Family photo

US Economy

• World’s Largest national economy (it is 2nd if the EU is counted as one economy)– The U.S. is one of the world's

wealthiest nations, with abundant natural resources, a well-developed infrastructure, and high productivity.

– It has the world's sixth-highest per capita GDP

– The U.S. is the world's third-largest producer of oil

– It is the second-largest trading nation in the world behind China

• Its five largest trading partners are : European Union, Canada, China, Mexico and Japan.

Composition of the Economy• most of the U.S. economy is composed of

services• the United States is the world's largest

manufacturer, 18% of world’s manufacturing– output is greater than of Germany, France,

India, and Brazil combined– Main industries:

• petroleum, steel, automobiles, construction machinery, aerospace, agricultural machinery, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, and mining.

• The US leads the world in airplane manufacturing

• Agriculture: – less than 2% of economy BUT almost ½ of

world’s grain produced

• Of the world's 500 largest companies, 132 are headquartered in the United States. This is twice the total of any other country

Canadian Economy• 11th largest economy• 75% in service industry

– Service industry tends to dominate post-industrial economies

• Logging and oil very important• NAFTA (North American Free Trade

Agreement)– Jan. 1, 1994– Eliminated trade barriers and tariffs

between Mexico, US and Canada by 2008– NAFTA created the world's largest free

trade area, which now links 450 million people producing $17 trillion worth of goods and services

– One goal to boost Mexico’s economy creating better markets for the US and reduce immigration from Mexico

REGIONS OF NORTH AMERICA

Northeast

• 5% of land; 20% of population• New England: ME, VT, MA, NH, CT,

RI• Mid Atlantic: PA, NY, NJ• Characteristics:

– First area settled by Europeans– “gateway” of immigration– Fishing– Heavily industrial and urbanized– Megalopolis: “BosWash”– “Rust Belt "declining traditional

industries– Atlantic seaboard cities (Boston, NYC,

Philly) are international trade centers

Megalopolis

• BosWash or the Northeast Megalopolis

• especially Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston—are, tied to each other through the intermeshing of their suburban zone

• Currently about 50 million people

Midwest

• 12 States: ND, SD, NE, KS, MN, IA, MO,IL, IN, OH, MI, WI

• “heartland”, ⅕ of land, ¼ of population

• Economy split between agriculture and industry

• “Breadbasket” more food produced than any other comparable area in world– Corn, wheat, soybeans, dairy

• Excellent waterways: great lakes, Ohio and Mississippi

The South

• 16 States: TX, LO, OK, KS, MS, AL, GA, SC, NC, VA, TN, KY, WV, MO, AR, FL

• ¼ of land of the US• Mix of cultures:

– Early European settlement – Descendants of enslaved persons– Cajuns (French Canadian) and Creoles (Fr, Sp, and Af.)

• “Sunbelt” because of climate• “Bible Belt” because of conservative views• lower percentages of high school graduates,

lower housing values, lower household incomes, and lower cost of living than the rest of the United States (summed up as: boo, yay!, boo, yay!)

• Humid subtropical climate was a hindrance to industrialization until AC invented

You are here!

The West

• 13 states• California most populous state• West is most rapidly growing region• western U.S. is the largest region, more

than half the land of the US• Most geographically diverse:

– Pacific Coast– temperate rainforests– the Rocky Mountains– the Great Plains and prairie– all of the desert areas located in the United

States (the Mojave, Sonoran, Great Basin, and Chihuahua deserts)

• “Old West” major part of American folklore

REGIONS OF CANADA

General Canada Stats

– 75% of Canada's population resides within 100 miles of the U.S. border.

– 90% of all Canadians live within 200 miles of the boundary.

Atlantic Provinces

• Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland

• 8% of population (2.3 million)

• Rugged terrain, severe weather

• Logging, fishing, mining

Core provinces

• Population:– Canada’s heartland, 62% of population (18.6 million)

• Canada's core region lies entirely within the provinces of Quebec and Ontario.

• The core is the historical hearth and has the overwhelming share of the country's population & economic activity.

• Advantages of the Core Region– Accessibility resources to link it to major

U.S. markets, where 88% of Canada's exports are destined

– Open to U.S. immigration and investment– Close to power resources (hydroelectric

and fossil fuels)• Most settlement along Great Lakes and St. Lawrence• Economic Activity: Farming (1/3 of Canada's total),

manufacturing, and hydroelectricity

Core Provinces

• Ontario– Ottawa: National capital– Toronto: Provincial Capital– Population mostly of English descent

• Quebec (French Canada)– French official language– 1960s some terrorist and propaganda movement against English

institutions– 1977 Parti Québécois held power in Quebec

• They had run an unsuccessful campaign to become independent in the early 70s

• 1995, with the Parti Québécois back a second referendum on sovereignty took place– rejected by a slim majority (50.6 percent NO to 49.4 percent YES)– A poll in Jan of 2012 said that 43% of Quebeckers supported separation

Prairie and Pacific Provinces• Prairie Provinces

– Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta– 5 million– Economy: farming, mining, oil– Part of the Great Plains, 50% of

agriculture in Canada– Diverse population: Eastern and

Western Europeans, French-Canadians, Asians, Indian, etc…

• Pacific Province– British Columbia (only one province in

this region)– 4 million– Part of Rocky Mountains– Population centered around

southwest: Vancouver (Canada’s largest port) and Victoria

The Territories

• Yukon, Northwest, and Nunavut

• 41% of land of Canada• Not enough population to

be provinces; 100,000• Nunavut added in 1999

because of large percentage of Inuit – Nunavut means “our land”

in Inuit Tundra in Nunavut

Dailies: People to Know

• Who is the new pope?• Who is John Kerry?• Who is John Roberts?• Who is Stephen Harper?• Who is Chuck Hagel?

Dailies:

• What is a Megalopolis?• What Cities make up the Northeast

megalopolis?• What are two nicknames of the Midwest?• What are two nicknames of the south?• What was the goal of NAFTA in Mexico?