The Country
'E pluribus unum'
The Latin phrase ‘E pluribus unum' ('out of many, one') is an American motto. The US is one country made
up of many parts. On one level, the 'parts' are the 50 states. On another level, the 'parts' are the nation's
many different peoples. On a third level the 'parts' are the environments or geographical surroundings of the
US, which range from rolling countryside to snow-capped mountain peaks and from palm-fringed beaches to
many-coloured deserts.
With an area of 3,615,122 square miles the United States is exceeded in size only by Russia, Canada
and China.
48 of the 50 states lie between the Pacific Ocean to the West, the Atlantic Ocean to the East, Canada
to the North and Mexico to the South.
The other 2 states, Alaska and Hawaii, lie in the north- west corner of the continent and in the Pacific
Ocean respectively.
The most pronounced feature of the country is its variety; the natural environment varies from the
arctic to the tropical, from rainforest to desert, from vast plains to rugged mountains. The country’s
own natural riches remain the main support of its economic life despite the fact that extensive pollution
and wastefulness has also led to dependence on resources of other nations.
Geography:
Atlantic Plain
When you travel from East to West the first land formation you come across is the Atlantic plain: a
coastal strip from the North which widens into large parts of the southern states.
Its soil is mostly poor but its most important natural wealth is found along the Gulf of Mexico where
much of the nation’s crude oil and natural gas reserves are located.
Piedmont
Inland from the Atlantic Plain the land rises to the Piedmont; a gently rolling fertile plateau. Along the
eastern edge of the Piedmont is the fall line, where rivers running down to the Atlantic form waterfalls.
When water power was still used in industries cities grew up along this line (before the Industrial
Revolution).
The Appalachians
The Piedmont rises to Appalachians; an eroded line of mountains from Canada (North East) to
Alabama (South/ South East). These mountains first delayed European settlers in moving further
inland.
Iron, building stone and coal are found there in large quantities but because cleaner fuels have
replaced coal this area is among the most depressed in the country.
Central Lowland
West of Appalachians lies the Central Lowland, a vast area stretching from New York State to central
Texas and north to Canada. The Central Lowland resembles a huge (albeit irregular) bowl rimmed by
the Great Lakes and the highlands. It is not entirely flat and varies in rainfall and temperature. Rainfall
decreases towards the west and as a result the forests mixed with fields you find in the east change to
prairies with few trees in the west and the long winters of the Upper Midwest change to the snow- less
winters of the gulf states.
The Central Lowland is also called ‘the Nation’s Breadbasket’ because of its large- scale agriculture
and its other natural resource are oil and gas, especially in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas.
The Great Plains
Great Plains is a band of semi-arid territory between Canada and Mexico (West of the Central
Lowland). The Plains rise gradually towards the west. The buffalo grass makes it perfect for ranching
but thanks to irrigation you also find high-yield farming there. Low-grade brown coal is also won but is
extremely polluting
Cordillera mountain chains
West of Great Plains are the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ranges with basins and plateaus
between them. These so-called Cordillera mountain ranges make up a third of the continental USA.
The American Cordillera consists of an essentially continuous sequence of mountain ranges that form
the western "backbone" of North America, Central America and South America. From north to south,
this sequence of overlapping and parallel ranges begins with the Alaska Range and the Brooks Range
in Alaska and run through the Yukon into British Columbia. The main belt of the Rocky Mountains
along with the parallel Coast Ranges of mountains and islands continue through British Columbia and
Vancouver Island. In the United States, the Cordillera branches to include the Rockies, the Sierra
Nevada, and the Cascades and Coast ranges of Washington, Oregon, and California.
West of Great Plains are the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ranges with basins and plateaus
between them.
Near the Southern Rockies’ western slope is the Colorado Plateau; a maze of canyons and mesas of
which the Grand Canyon is the most famous. The Grand Canyon is the largest canyon in the world.
Surrounding this Colorado Plateau to the south and west is desert.
The Middle Rockies mostly occupy valleys and plains and thanks to this settlers found a route through
the mountains to the Pacific called the Oregon trail.
The Northern Rockies have vast wilderness areas and borders the Columbia Basin to the west which
was made by the Columbia River which also has a number of remarkable canyons.
Most West on the mainland is the western arm of the Cordillera; two lines of mountains with a series of
valleys between them. These inland valleys contain much of the west coast population. Because of its
rich soils and irrigation these valleys have supplied the nation with fruit and vegetables.
The mountains between the valleys and the coast include major earth quake zones, such as San
Francisco, but the limited water resources seem to be the most serious environmental challenge to
most westerners.
The Cordilleras are famous for veins of metal. The discovery of gold and silver led to the Gold rush in
the 1850s and metals such as copper and lead have also been mined. Large occurrences of oil and
gas are found in California and Wyoming and the Colorado Plateau contains uranium, oil shale, soft
coal
Alaska
In Alaska, the Cordillera split up in 3 parts, including North America’s highest peak; Mount McKinley at
20,320 feet. Alaska’s interior is composed of mountains, broken plateaus and fairly flat valleys with a
cold climate. On the coast there is a more temperate climate because of warm ocean currents.
Environmental organizations worry about Alaska’s wildlife as a result of the fact that the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge has been opened to oil exploitation, the building of the Trans Alaska pipeline and
coastal oil spills.
Hawaii
The natural resources of Hawaii are a lot ‘greener’ than Alaska’s. The state contains almost a million
acres of commercial forest and almost two million acres of tropical farming. The islands are made up
of volcanic mountains which catch much rain on the windward side but have moderate rainfall on the
leeward side.
Coastlines and river systems
Among the most important physical features of the country are its coastlines, harbours, ocean currents
and network of lakes and rivers.
In the East and South one of the world’s greatest water network is the Mississippi which drains the
Central Lowland and carries freight from New Orleans in the south to Minneapolis in the north and
east to Pittsburgh. Because canals connect the Mississippi to the Great Lakes it carries a lot of
shipping and in the past supported the urbanization and industrialization of the Midwest.
In the west there are fewer rivers because of limited rainfall but there are three river systems; the
Columbia River, the Colorado River the San Joaquin- Sacramento which supply electrical power and
drinking water to several states.
National Parks
Although the population is over 300 million most people live in relatively small areas. Some parts of
the country are not suitable for urbanization because of climate or topography while other have been
deliberately set aside as recreation areas or wildlife preserves.
These give the USA a great variety of national, state, and local parks and open spaces
In the late 1800s the conservation of natural beauty and resources, with support from President
Theodore Roosevelt, led to the first nature preserve Yellowstone National Park. Congress established
the National Park Service in 1916 which job it is to make areas accessible for industry and public
enjoyment and preserve these areas for future generations. According to federal law, the government
must balance the interest of developers, holiday makers, environmentalists and Native Americans.
Now there are over 200 National Parks, whose territory exceeds 40,000 sq miles of land and water.
Climate
The USA varies
tremendously in climate
conditions. Generally the
western and southern half
of the USA has overall
warmer weather, as
compared to the eastern
and northern half.
Eastern/Northern half is
extremely cold in winters
accompanied by heavy
snowfall, and has pleasant
summers. Whereas the
Western/Southern part has
extremely hot summers and
comparatively tolerable
winters.
USA can be divided into six climate regions, excluding Alaska, Hawaii and outlying territories. The
climate varies considerably between different regions.
Northwest Pacific – The wettest part of country. Mild temperatures all year round.
Mid/South Pacific Rockies- Hot and dry in summers. Tolerable winters in California but very cold in
Montana, Idaho and Wyoming can be very cold. Colorado, Utah and Nevada
Midwest – Excellent summers but winters are bitterly cold with lots of snow and chilly winds.
Northeast - Moderately rainy. In winter, the area experiences a heavy snow and freezing rain.
Summers are usually pleasantly sunny and warm.
Southeast – Moderate rain all year round. Warm summers. Mild and short winters.
Southwest- Unbearably hot and humid in summers. Short winters but no snow. Tornadoes and
severe thunder storms in summer.
AMERICAN REGIONALISM
Although politically the US is one single country, Americans often speak of it as a country of several large
regions. These regions are cultural rather than governmental units. They have been formed out of the
history, geography, economics, literature and folkways that all parts of a region have in common. Since there
are no easily defined borders between the regions, no two lists of American regions are exactly alike. One
common grouping creates six regions:
The East which can be subdivided into:
New England - Made up of the northernmost five states along the Atlantic seaboard plus Vermont
and parts of New York
The Middle Atlantic Region - Composed of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and
Maryland
The South - Runs from Virginia south to Florida and then west as far as central Texas. The region also
covers West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana and large parts of Missouri and
Oklahoma
The Midwest - A broad collection of states sweeping westward from Ohio to Nebraska and southward from
North Dakota to Kansas
The Southwest - Made up of western Texas, parts of Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and part of
California
The West - Comprising Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, California, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon,
Washington, Alaska and Hawaii.
Within the main regions are several kinds of subregions, centred around river valleys and mountain areas.
As elsewhere in the world, different places are marked by different habits and customs. Regional differences
extend beyond food and dialects. Among more educated Americans, these differences sometimes centre on
attitudes and outlooks, as exemplified by different orientations to foreign news in various local newspapers.
The East- New England The North-East
The cultural region known as the North- East stretches from Maine to Maryland and the Border of
Ohio. It is densely populated, highly urban and ethnically diverse. It is the nation’s richest region and
economic and cultural centre. In the North- East you find cities such as Boston, Philadelphia, New
York and Washington
It consists of two regions; New England and the Mid-Atlantic States.
New England
New England has long had a cultural importance out of proportion to its size, natural resources and
population. Early colonists from Britain settled ‘On a City Upon a Hill’ and believed they were
supposed to be an example for the rest of the world. Americans trace their belief in American
exceptionalism and several other aspects of their national culture back to these settlers.
From the 17th century into the 19th, New England was the nation's preeminent region with regard to
economics and culture. Among other things, the English Protestant settlers gave the region its most famous
political form, the town meeting (an out-growth of the meetings of church elders). As farming in large lots
proved difficult, by 1750 the mainstays of the region became shipbuilding, fishing and trade. By the mid-19th
century, New England possessed the largest merchant navy in the world. In the first half the region had
become the centre of America's Industrial Revolution. Most of the money to run the industries (clothing,
rifles, clocks, etc.) came from the city of Boston, then the financial heart of the nation.
The cultural life of the region was very strong. Literary names such as Hawthorne, Emerson and Thoreau
are closely associated with New England, whose oldest schools of higher learning, such as Harvard
University (Massachusetts) and Yale University (Connecticut) were originally religious in purpose and
orientation, but gradually became more secular.
The region was also a source of pioneers for the westward movement. Immigrants from Ireland, Italy and
Eastern Europe began to take their places. However, despite the changing population, much of the older
spirit of New England still survives today. It can be seen in the simple, woodframe houses and the white
church steeples of many small towns. Although many industries have left the area, leaving many skilled
workers without jobs, there are also signs of hope for a brighter future, for example the growth of newer
industries such as electronics.
The East- The Middle Atlantic Region
The Mid- Atlantic Region
If New England supplied the spirit of invention, the Middle Atlantic region provided 19th-century America with
its muscle. The largest states of the region, New York and Pennsylvania, became major centres of heavy
industry. Here were most of the factories that produced iron, glass and steel. Here, too, were a number of the
nation's greatest cities.
In the early years, the Middle Atlantic region was often used as a bridge between New England and the
South. Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) became the home of the Continental Congress, the group that led the
fight for independence. The same city was the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the
United States Constitution (1787).
Heavy industries sprang up throughout the region because of nearby natural resources. Several mighty
rivers, such as the Hudson and the Delaware, were transformed into vital shipping lanes. Cities along these
waterways, such as New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore expanded into major urban areas. As in New
England, the industries have fallen on hard times. The region's new industries include drug manufacturing
and communications.
During the next century the region grew and grew and thanks to roads, canals and railroads from New
York the states to the west of the coast were ‘opened’ up and made it the nation’s largest and
wealthiest city.
In the 1800s, New England and the Mid-Atlantic Region got welded together by transportation routes
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to one big industrial core. In the 19 and the beginning of the 20 century this region was a real
‘melting pot’ of immigrants from Holland, Sweden, and Great Britain and as a result the distinguishing
aspect of the core of this region is the size and closeness of its racially and ethnically mixed industrial
cities. New York is the centre of business, media and arts.
The South
If all regions of the US differ from one another, the South could be said to differ most. Although it was
devastated socially and economically by the Civil War, it has remained distinct.
Traditionally, this region includes the eleven states from Virginia to Texas that formed the Confederacy
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during the Civil War. In addition, West- Virginia and Oklahoma are arguably Southern. In the 17 and
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18 century British colonists settled here, especially Scottish, Irish, Welsh.
In coastal areas some of the early settlers, who came for economic rather than religious reasons, grew
wealthy by raising and selling crops to Europe such as tobacco and cotton. Huge manual labor was
required so first indentured slaves were imported but later planters turned to African slaves sold into
permanent slavery so they became the main source of workers on the large plantations.
The South played a major role in the American Revolution of the 1770s, but after about 1800 the apparent
interests of the manufacturing North and the more agrarian South began to diverge. In the cotton fields and
slave quarters of the region, black Americans created a new folk music, Negro spirituals. These songs were
religious in nature and some bore similarities to a later form of black American music, jazz. It is widely
agreed that it would not have come into being if there had been no slavery.
The South was an agricultural region and high prices for cotton, cheap labor (slaves) and improved
machinery meant cotton was the backbone of the Southern economy.
In the wake of the Civil War the contrasts between the industrializing north, and the slave-dependent
south became more obvious and although the South lost and slavery ended cotton remained to
region’s cash crop well into the 1930s (and most African Americans remained dependent on their
former masters for work.)
During and after Reconstruction, white southerners voted for the Democratic party with such fervour that
their region became known as the Solid South. Gradual change did come, however, partly because the
region turned to manufacturing of many different kinds. The greatest change of all took place after the return
of the veterans of World War II. It was then that the obvious forms of segregation came to an end. The
changes produced many tensions among southerners. The literary heritage of the South (e.g. Faulkner)
testifies to this.
Although agriculture is still important today the South’s economy is more varied. Industry has moved
South because of low energy, labor costs and natural resources and in the so- called Sunbelt; a strip
in the southern and south-west USA cities such as Atlanta, and Dallas have attracted financial, hightech and media industries. There is a rapidly growing Latino population in Southern States.
Other big cities are Florida, Houston and New Orleans.
Southerners are considered to be more religious, more conservative and less educated.
Other stereotypes are that they are slow paced, resistant to change and more racist.
We have a tendency to say "y'all," never celebrate a holiday without fried chicken and according to my
California roommate, cannot pronounce "nuclear." Obviously, we are a southern family. So
accordingly, we are a bunch of slack-jawed yokels, who sit on the porch of our house all day spitting
tobacco juice and watermelon seeds while shining our guns, sipping moonshine, listening to the
banjoes and planning the next KKK meeting. And of course my sister and I don't date. She's got a
shotgun wedding next week with Cousin LeRoy, and me and my brother are fixin' to get hitched once I
graduate.
The Midwest
The cultural region called the Mid-West consists of the states bordering the great lakes and the two
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tiers of states from Missouri and Kansas north to Canada. In the 19 century many immigrants from
Germany, Sweden, Norway, Poland and Hungary settled here. There is a distinction between the
industrial and agricultural Mid-West.
For the first 75 years of American history, the area west of the Appalachian mountains was not a region at
all. In what are now the states of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, people moving to the frontier found gently
rolling countryside. Further west though, across the Mississippi River, the land became flatter and more
barren. The key to the region was the mighty Mississippi itself. In the early years, it acted as a lifeline,
moving settlers to new homes and great amounts of grain and other goods to market. Mark Twain wrote
about rafting on the river in his celebrated novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
As the Midwest developed, it turned into a cultural crossroads. The region attracted not only
easterners but also Europeans. Gradually, it became known as a region of small towns and huge
fields of wheat and corn. Because of its fertile soil, the region was nicknamed 'the nation's
breadbasket' and culturally speaking it is also referred to as The Agricultural Mid-West.
The agricultural Mid-West is culturally seen as the American heartland of family farms and small
towns, perhaps naively provincial and optimistic but also the moral and social centre that mediates
between the other regions.
Today the hub of the region remains Chicago (Illinois), the nation's third largest city. Also, it is a major Great
Lakes port and a connecting point for rail lines and air traffic. The Great Lakes area is also called The
Industrial Mid-West.
Despite having the reputation of being conservative the Mid-West has been home to many new
political parties, the best- known being the Republican Party, which opposed slavery and nominated
Lincoln for the presidency. Nowadays states such as Wisconsin and Minnesota are leaders in social
and environmental reform.
The Southwest
As compared to the Midwest, the Southwest is drier (rainfall in spring only), emptier and its populations
comprise a different ethnic mix. The South-West consists of New Mexico, Arizona and parts of
surrounding states with the same hot climate and culture. Seized during the Mexican- American War
of 1848, the area has a mixture of old, Spanish- Mexican and Native- American communities and a
blend of people from all over the world who came after 1945.
Cattle and sheep-ranching are important for the economy and thanks to irrigation dry lands have
changed to farmland and cities like Albuquerque and Phoenix have grown. Electronic and aerospace
companies, mining, petroleum industries and tourism in the national parks are important for economy
as well as tourism (The Grand Canyon).
The South- West also has a large concentration of Native American who were forcibly relocated here
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during the 19 and 20 Century.
The West
Americans have long regarded the West as a last frontier. Yet California has a history of (Spanish)
settlement older than that of most mid western states (with the establishment of Spanish missions in the
1700s).
The USA gained sovereignty over the area in the 1840s and California, Oregon and Washington
State attracted sizeable populations when people heard of the green valleys out West.
San Francisco was the first city to experience rapid development from 1849 because it was the port
of entry for the Gold- Rush ‘Forty- Niners’. Today ‘San Fran’ is the hub of a larger area that included
Berkeley and its famous university as well as Silicon Valley and its computer firms and the Nappa
Valley wine area.
The Los Angeles Metropolis consists of a group of cities connected by a maze of highways. LA is
home to the Hollywood film and media conglomerates as well as major energy, defense and
aerospace companies.
Los Angeles and San Francisco and San Diego contain every major racial ethnic and racial group in
the country with especially large Asian and Latino elements.
Los Angeles is now the second most populous city in the nation. Besides being the centre of the film
industry, its reputation also depends on technology and engineering. Partly thanks to LA, but also because of
smaller cities such as San Jose, California is now larger than every other state in size of population.
In the West, scenic beauty exists on a grand scale. In Washington, Oregon and northern California the
mountains present some startling contrasts. In many areas the population is sparse. Colorado, Wyoming,
Montana, Utah and Idaho - the Rocky Mountain States - occupy about 15% of the nation's total land area,
yet they have only 3% of the nation's total population. Lots of mining provided the financial foundation for
urban areas such as Salt Lake City, Denver and Butte. Agriculture depends on ranching and forestry
because other forms of agriculture require irrigation and water has become as precious as rare metals here.
In Las Vegas, Nevada, a ‘water-police’ make sure people do not waste water on things like water features in
their gardens.
Las Vegas and Reno found wealth through the gambling and entertainment industries and Salt Lake
City is the centre of the Mormon faith and as a result is the most homogenous cultural area in the USA
Resource and land management are major issues in Hawaii and Alaska.
Alaska is owned for over 99% by the federal, state and Native-American governments.
Conservationists try to restrict land-use, to preserve the wilderness.
The population of Alaska grew the 1950s and 1960s when a lot of people came to Alaska to escape
the congestion and pollution in the other states.
Unfortunately for environmentalists oil was found in the North, and interest was gained in developing
Alaska. To get hold of the oil the state bought the land from the Native-Americans and the transAlaska pipeline was built.
In Hawaii the State government has been quite successful in protecting its farmlands, natural reserves and
tourist attractions. The majority of Hawaiians is Asian- American and because many Japanese immigrants
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came to Hawaii to work on the sugar plantations in the 19 century people of Japanese descent comprise
the largest nationality group. Hawaii is the only state of the Union where Asian-Americans outnumber
Americans of European stock.