American geography and society

Résumé du document

The country is called the United States because it is made of 50 states, that come together to form one country. [USA = 13 colonies dans leur coin à la base, et pour convaincre les gens, ils ont employés un singulier, comme pour dire : c'est un seul pays] [50 states : France and departments. France to base one country then chopped up by department. USA « departments » who decides to unite to form a country]. We have to understand that the situation is very different from what we have in France, with the system of the departments: in France, the country as a whole existed way before the “departments” were created. In America, some of the states (13 of the actually) existed before the country and it is because these states decided to unite and then the United States as a country was created.

Extraits

[...] The government was supposed to care for your well- being. The 1929 Great Depression changed everything: millions of people lost their jobs (25-30% unemployment), and people got the feeling that this time, people were poor not because they had not worked hard enough, but because of the society and the financial system. Because it was the society's fault if people had become poor, it was the society that had to help those people. In only a few years Americans went from rejecting the Welfare State to seeing it as a necessity. [...]

[...] This presentation of the American Population will highlight this feature which has always defined the US and its population: diversity as the basis for unity. The United States as a land of immigrants: 1607-1830 : how immigration built the United States Immigration is not just an American tradition; it literally created the US as a country. The first settlers (colons), who came to America at the beginning of the 17th century, were English, Spanish, Scandinavians and French who were leaving their country to live a new life in another country, just like immigrants do today. [...]

[...] In 1776, slaves represented 1/6 of the total US population. (Half a million out of three millions) Tensions and Restrictions on Immigration The fact that the United States was from the very beginning a land of immigrants certainly doesn't mean that all immigrants were welcome and that immigration never created tensions within the population. The two great waves who came after the independence created great tension within the American society. Between 1830 and 1860 millions of German, Scandinavian and Irish immigrants reached the US. [...]

[...] Americans have a tendency to prefer sunny states, that is, the Sun Belt. At the end of the 19th century, almost 70% of the population lived in the North East of the country, today they are less than 20%. The South is now the most populated region with 35% of the population. The Midwest accounts for 23% of the population and the West for 22%. At the end of the 18th century, the country's center of gravity was in Baltimore (Maryland). [...]

[...] They are also the fastest growing minority, thanks to both demography and immigration. But there are also very diverse groups which can be divided in at least 3 important categories: - Mexicans (also called Chicanos) represent 60% of the Latino community. They represent a cheap workforce and usually work in agriculture and low-skilled jobs in restaurants and hotels. But some of them are starting to develop what will probably become a Latino middle class. Their electoral behavior is difficult to understand and often changes. [...]