Exploring the Northeast

Social Studies Grade 4

Mrs. Susko

Lesson 1 – Geography of the Northeast

• Vocabulary to know….

• Harbor – a protected area of water where ships can dock safely

• Glacier – a huge, slow-moving mass of ice• Blizzard – snowstorms with strong winds • Quarry – a large, open pit cut into the ground,

from which stone is mined

Coasts to Countryside

• The Northeast is the smallest region in the United States.

• The Atlantic Ocean forms the eastern border of the Northeast region.

• The northern coast is rocky and jagged.• The southern part, the Coastal Plain, hugs the

coast all the way to Delaware Bay.• In the west, the Appalachian Mountains cut

through the region.

• Beyond the Appalachian Mountains, two of the Great Lakes separate the Northeast region from Canada.

Shaping the Northeast

• Glaciers shaped many of the physical features of the NortheastAs glaciers moved across parts of the Northeast, they eroded, or wore down landforms. The glaciers carved deep basins into the land.The glaciers melted and filled some of the basins with water. This is how many lakes were formed.

• Glaciers had other effects on the region…they scraped away the topsoil, the fertile upper layers of soil. This left behind poor, rocky soil.

Question

What caused many lakes to form in the Northeast?

Climate

• There are four seasons in the Northeast…winters are usually cold and snowy.

• In the spring, the weather is warm and sunny. Flowers grow and trees grow with bright green leaves. Summers are hot and rainy.

• During the autumn, the leaves turn red, orange, and gold before they fall to the ground.

• The climate in the Northeast varies from place to place. The region is colder in the north and warmer in the south. Coastal areas have warmer climates than inland area.

• The weather can be extreme. Blizzards can occur and block roads, knock down power lines, and damage buildings. In 2005, a record amount of snow fell in the region.

QuestionWhat effects can blizzards sometimes cause?

Natural Resources• Farming– The northern parts of the region have rocky soil and a

cool climate. Farms are there and grow potatoes, blueberries, and cranberries.

– Greenhouses are used to grow crops such as flowers and shrubs.

– Fertile land is found on the Coastal Plain, where farmer is a larger industry. Corn and other vegetables are major crops.

– The inland hills and valleys provide pastures for dairy cows. Milk from the cows is used to make cheese and ice cream.

• Mining Stone– Some people mine stone to earn a living. Every

state has a stone quarry.– Quarries in the region produce a lot of granite and

marble.– New Hampshire and Vermont have many quarries.

People used the stone to make buildings, bridges, roads, statues, and even kitchen counters.

• Using Trees– Logging is an important industry in Maine, New

Hampshire, and Vermont.– People cut down trees use as lumber. They also

make toothpicks and paper.– People use trees to produce food. Many farmers

grow fruits such as apples and pears.– Others collect sap, a liquid from maple trees. Sap

is used to make maple syrup.

• Fishing– Fishing is an important industry. – The Atlantic Ocean provides cod, haddock, and

plenty of oysters and lobsters.– People catch freshwater fish in the region’s lakes

and rivers.

QuestionHow do some people in the Northeast use trees to

earn a living?

Summary

• The Northeast has a varied landscape and a climate with four seasons. The region has many natural resources. People have used them to create important industries.

• Questions– How do the geography and the climate of the

Northeast affect its economy?– Which mountains cut through the western part of the

Northeast?

Lesson 2 – Early History of the Northeast

• Vocabulary to know…• Confederation – a group of governments that work

together • Colony – a settlement that is ruled by a faraway

government• Colonists – people living in colonies• Port – a trading center where goods are put onto and

taken off ships• Independence – the freedom to govern oneself• Declaration – an official statement• Revolution – a major sudden change in government or

in people’s lives

• Early People– Before the 1500s, Native Americans were the only

people living in the Northeast.– The two tribes were the Iroquoian and the

Algonquian. The Algonquian lived near the Atlantic Coast. The Iroquois lived inland.

• Joining Together– At times, Native Americans fought with each

other.– Iroquois legend tells how two leaders came up

with a plan for peace. Hiawatha and Deganawida convinced five of the largest Iroquois tribes to join a confederation. Deganawida wanted the five tribes to act as “only one body, one head, and one heart.”

The Colonies

• In the 1550s, Europeans began to explore the Northeast.

• They sailed ships across the Atlantic Ocean from England, France, and Holland

• Early Settlers– By 1610, the English explorer Henry Hudson

traveled along the Northeast coast. He sailed up the Hudson River area. He said that the area was rich in natural resources.

• Many Europeans decided to move to the Northeast.• Most hoped to make money by selling the region’s

woods, fish, and furs in Europe.• English Puritans and Quakers came for religious

freedom…they wanted to build colonies where they could worship as they pleased.

• Others came for a better life for themselves.

• The Northeast Colonies– During the 1600s, English settlers founded eight

colonies in the Northeast.– To build their colonies, they bought land or took it by

force by the Native Americans.– As the colonies grew, so did their economies.– Some coastal cities became port cities.– The three largest cities in the colonies were: Boston,

Philadelphia, and New York City…where there were ports.

– Farmers and traders traveled to ports to sell their goods – grain, flour, lumber, furs, dried meat, and salted fish

– Ships carried most goods to England, where traders sold them. The ships returned with goods to sell in the colonies.

• Self-Government– By 1733, England (Britain), had 13 colonies along

the Atlantic Coast. (Maine to Georgia)– The colonists had to follow British laws.– However, the colonies governed themselves in

many ways…each set up their own government, they elected most of their leaders, and wrote their own laws.

– One law gave some colonists the freedom to practice any religion.

QuestionWhy did port cities grow?

Forming a Nation

• The British colonists elected their own colonial leaders. However, they did not have representation in the British government in England.

• New Laws in the Colonies– In the 1760s, Britain started passing laws for the

colonies.– Some forced settlers to pay taxes, some made it

difficult to trade….they shouted, “No taxation without representation!”

• Some colonists wrote newspaper articles to speak out against the laws….others refused to buy British goods…eventually, they wanted to form their own country.

• The Declaration of Independence– In 1775, fighting started between colonists and

British soldiers in Massachusetts.– Representatives from every colony except Georgia,

met in Pennsylvania to decide what to do.– The representatives decide to write a declaration of

independence. Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams helped write the declaration..it was signed on July 4, 1776.

Declaration of Independence

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYyttEu_NLU

• Fighting for Independence– George Washington was the leader of the American

army in the Revolutionary War.– After eight years of fighting, the colonists defeated

the British.– A treaty was signed in 1783, officially ending the war.– The colonists then formed a new nation – the United

States of AmericaQuestions

What role did the Northeast have in our nation’s early history?What were the eight English colonies in the Northeast?

Lesson 3 – Growth of the Northeast

• Vocabulary to know…• Waterway – bodies of water that boats can use• Navigable – rivers deep enough and wide enough for

ships to use• Canal – a waterway dug across land• Industrial Revolution – a period in which new sources

of power were used to replace machines powered by hand, allowing people to make more goods faster

• Textile mill – a factory that uses machines to weave cloth

• Urban growth – the growth of cities• Metropolitan area – a large city together with its

suburbs• Megalopolis – an urban region formed when two or

more metropolitan areas grown together

• Early Transportation– In our nation’s early history, people had two

choices for transportation – road or water.– Most roads were rough dirt paths.– Traveling on them by horse and wagon was hard

and slow.– Water travel was often faster.

• Northeast Waterways– The Northeast had many waterways.– Deep harbors lined the Atlantic coast in the East.– The Great Lakes lay to the west.– There were many navigable rivers, which flowed

across the region.

• Linking Waterways– In 1817, state leaders in New York came up with a

plan to link the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean.

– They had workers build a canal.– The new canal, the Erie Canal, was completed in

1825.– It connected the New York cities of Buffalo, on

Lake Erie, and Troy, on the Hudson River.– From Troy, ships traveled down the Hudson River

to New York City on the Atlantic Coast.– By the early 1900s, better roads and miles of

railroads connected much of the Northeast.

– In many places, people used these instead of canals.

– Even so, people continued to build large canals, such as the Saint Lawrence Seaway, for transporting and shipping.

QuestionWhy was the Erie Canal built?

Erie Canal Song

• Industrial Revolution– As transportation improved in the Northeast, so

did its industries.– People replaced machines powered by hand with

new sources of power.– The new machines allowed people to make more

goods faster. – This period is known as the Industrial Revolution.

Children Working at the Textile Mills in the Northeast

• Machines and Power– In the early 1800s, factories that used machines

powered by moving water opened along rivers.– Textile mills were the first factories to use these

machines.– In the mid-1800s, steam engines began to power

machines in factories. They already had provided power for boasts and trains.

– In 1882, Thomas Edison opened the world’s first electric power plant in New York City.

– In time, power plants provided electricity across the country.

– This led to the spread of other inventions, including Edison’s light bulb and Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone.

– By the early 1900s, the United States was a leading industrial nation.

QuestionWhy were most early factories built along rivers?

• Immigration– During the 1800s and early 1900s, millions of

immigrants came to the United States.– Most came by boat from Europe, arriving in New

York.– Their first stop was Ellis Island, the nation’s largest

immigration center.

– Immigrants came to the United States for different reasons.

– Most had difficult lives in their homeland. Many were poor.

– Some had been treated badly because of their race or religion.

– Here, immigrants hoped to make a better life.– For them, the United States was the land of

opportunity.– A person who worked hard could be a success.

– Immigrants moved to every part of the nation.– However, millions stayed in the Northeast to work

in factories. – Most settled in cities, such as New York City,

Trenton, or Boston.– The result was enormous urban growth, or growth

of cities, in the region.

– New immigrants settled mostly in crowded neighborhoods with others from their countries.

– To make a living, most new immigrants worked long hours in factories.

– Some immigrants started businesses, such as restaurants and shops.

– Others helped build bridges, buildings, and roads.Question

How did immigration help cause urban growth?

Immigration Life

Immigration to Ellis Island

Cities Grow and Connect

• Improved transportation, growing industries, and immigration helped cities in the Northeast grow.

• Today, the Northeast is one of the most crowded regions.

• A Region of Cities– The Northeast’s big cities include Boston,

Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Newark, and New York City.– In fact, New York City has more people than any other

city in the United States.– As Northeast cities grew, so did the suburbs around

them.– The result was the growth of metropolitan areas.– A metropolitan area often stretches across state

borders.– The largest metropolitan area in the nation covers

parts of New York and New Jersey.

Major Cities in the Northeast

Boston

Newark

• Most metropolitan areas in the Northeast grew along the Atlantic coast.

• Over time, their boundaries grew closer together.

• Eventually, the metropolitan areas formed a long chain of cities stretching from New Hampshire to Virginia.

• These cities make up the nation’s largest megalopolis – an urban region formed when two or more areas grow together.

The Nation’s Largest Megalopolis

Traveling Between Cities Today• Today, people can travel

easily between cities in the Northeast.

• Modern highways, including turnpikes, or toll roads, crisscross the region.

• Airlines make many flights each day between major cities. Passenger trains also run many times daily, connecting Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and other Northeast cities.

Philadelphia Airport

Lesson 3 Review

• Summary• Changes in transportation

and power helped cities in the Northeast grow and connect during the Industrial Revolution. Immigrants also contribute to urban growth. Today, people and goods move easily from one city to another.

• Review Questions• What changes helped

the Northeast grow?• Why did the state of

New York build the Erie Canal?

Chapter 4 Review - Vocabulary • A loosely united group of

governments that work together• A major, sudden change in

government or in people’s lives• A waterway dug across land• A huge, slow-moving mass of ice• A trading center where goods are put

onto and taken off ships• A body of water that boats can use• A protected area of water where

ships can dock safely• A settlement that is ruled by a

faraway government

• Harbor• Glacier• Confederation• Colony• Port• Revolution• Waterway• Canal

References

• All written material was taken from the Harcourt Social Studies – States and Regions book, 2010 edition.

• Pictures and links to videos were taken from searches on Google Images and Videos.