Historical and Cultural

Geography of North America

By

Professor

Lisa Schmidt

North America Geographic Regions

• Coastal Plain: warm, rainy summers, mild winter with some snow

• Appalachian Mountains: valleys and ranges, varied climates, warm summers, snowy winters

• Canadian Shield: cold most of the year, most frozen during winter

• Interior Lowland: strong seasonal variation, hot summers, snowy winters

• Great Plains: east wetter, west drier, extensive grasslands, warm summers, cold winters, high winds

• Rocky Mountains: mountains and valleys, varied climates, snowy winters, warm summers, warmer in the south.

• Basin and Range: system of valleys and mountains, mild to extremely hot summers, snow on mountains in winter

• Coast Range: mostly rainy, south deserts, cool summers, mild winters

North America Geographic Regions

Biomes of North America

California Land and Climate• San Diego County

– Mild year round• Orange County

– warm summers, mild winters• Los Angeles County

– Warm summers, mild winters• Inland Empire

– Hot summers, cooler winters– Heat waves and occasional snow

• Deserts– Very hot summers, cold winters

• High Sierra– Cool summers, snowy winters

• Gold Country– Cool summers, snowy winters– Valleys warmer

• Shasta/Cascade– Cool summers, cold winters– Western side substantial

rainfall• Central Valley

– Very warm summers, cool winters

• Central Coast– Mild summers, cool winters

• San Francisco & Bay Area– Cool summers, cool winters– Very rainy

• North Coast– Cool summers, cool winters– Rainy most of the year

California Land and Climate

Geographical Boundaries

• Our neighbors– Mexico– Canada

• California’s Neighbors– Arizona– Nevada– Oregon– Mexico*

Geographical Boundaries

Transportation Routes

• Interstate 10• Interstate 5 • Interstate 15• Interstate 80

– Pacific Coast Highway #1

– Highway 101• Routes that end in odd

numbers usually are north/south

• Routes that end in even numbers usually east/west

Good Resource for highways: http://carevealed.com/hwys.php

Interstate HighwaysFederal HighwaysState HighwaysCounty Roads

California Scenic Highways• State Route 2-Angeles

Forest• State Route 38-San

Bernardino National Forest• State Route 74-Cleveland

National Forest• State Route 78-Anza Borego

Desert• State Route 190-Death

Valley• Highway 395-Eastern Sierra

(California and Nevada)• Historic Route 66

Land Mass and Quality• East-heavily

populated: Megalopolis Boston to Washington DC

• Midwest: manufacturing and farming

• Interior West: Ranching, mining, logging

• West Coast: Dense population, farming, light industry

Population Density

Vital Historical Periods

• Native American settlement patterns

– Came from Asia, Europe, and other places

– Traveled across ice/land bridges, came in boats

– Came in through the Pacific AND the Atlantic

– Evidence of human habitation from 25,000 years ago, some sites even older.

Exploration, Discovery, Settlement, Exploitation

• Many texts treat Native Americans as one culture.

• In fact they were much more diverse than the newcomers from Europe.

• Belief is that they came following game, changed the landscape with fire and hunted large mammals into extinction.– Mastodon, dire wolves, saber

tooth cats, armored rhino• Comet/Meteor hits Canadian

Ice sheet 13,000 years ago, evidence of impact ALL over North American continent, even here as far away as California. Native Peoples of California

Exploration, Discovery, Settlement, Exploitation

• Europeans arrive 15th century (1400’s)– Report back to Europe

that indigenous people are all over.

– Living in small groups and even in cities as large as several thousand.

– Living all over the continent in all of the different environments and actively trading with each other.

Exploration, Discovery, Settlement, Exploitation

• Europeans bring diseases that the natives have no resistance to.– Spanish and French make

contact with Native Peoples end of the 1400’s.

– Both go far into the interior, bringing their diseases.

– Native people are actively trading and communicating with each other, spread new diseases amongst each other.

Exploration, Discovery, Settlement, Exploitation

• English are late on the scene, settlements in 1607 and 1621.– One hundred plus years after Spanish and

French.– Most of the Native population is gone by the

time the English come.• Plymouth colony is started in an abandoned

village, all the residents had died earlier from European diseases.

Implications

• By 1900, estimates are that only 10% of the original Native Peoples were left.– Today try to hold on to

native culture and survive economically.

– Impact on today’s culture seen in place names (Cucamonga), food, clothing, environmental attitudes, and religious beliefs in New Age spiritual seekers.

Christopher Columbus

• He has symbolized many things over the years:– 1792: Independence from

England– 1892: American Progress

and Potential– 1992: By Native Americans

as despoiling their cultures, decimating their numbers; by Africans Americans forced migration and slavery

Christopher Columbus

• He was never in the Spanish Borderlands

• He landed in the Bahamas

• He explored the coast of Cuba

• Established a headquarters on Hispaniola– Came back three times in twelve years

He established the Columbian Exchange

Came from Europe1. Bananas2. Sugar3. Coffee4. Cotton5.Citrus fruits6. Rice7. Sheep8. Dogs9. Rats10. Horses11. Goats12. Many diseases, including the flu and smallpox

Came from America1. Guinea pigs2. Llamas3. Turkeys4. Alpacas (like a camel)5. Cocoa/chocolate6. Corn7. Peanuts8. Tobacco9. Potato10. Sunflowers11. Chili pepper12. Beans

The Columbian Exchange

Hernan Cortez• Landed near Vera Cruz, Mexico is 1519• Defeated the Aztecs in 1521• Destroyed Tenochtitlan, founded Mexico City on top

of Tenochtitlan– Would not have been possible with out guns, horses,

and La Malinche/Dona Marina

La Malinche (Dona Marina)

• She was a slave, she was given to Cortez’ party along with 20 other women

• She was tall, pretty, and smart• It is rumored that she was of

noble birth, but ended up a slave

• She spoke at least three languages before she learned Spanish– She was given to another

Spaniard, but he was sent back to Spain

– After that she was given to Cortez

La Malinche (Dona Marina)

• She bore Cortez a son– For this she is seen as the mother of the Mexican people– The birth of La Raza (the race)

• She translated for Cortez as he conquered the Aztecs– For this she is seen as a traitor – Malinchismoism-being a traitor

La Malinche (Dona Marina)

• Some say that it would have been much worse for the Aztecs if she was not there to translate and tell them what Cortez wanted.

Francisco Coronado

• Took 300 Spanish soldiers, 1,000 Tlaxcalan Indians and four Franciscan Monks looking for riches– Didn’t find any– Was eventually tried for ‘atrocities against Indians’

• Opened the way for settlement

Laws of the Indies• Guidelines for creating and

expanding Spanish towns in the Americas

• History: comes from the Laws of Burgos 1512 which were to regulate relations with the Spaniards and the Indians to ensure spiritual and material welfare for the Indians who were severely treated.

• 1542 New Law of the Indies written and met with armed resistance, was supposed to correct inadequacies in the first version.

CHOLULADate of map: 1581

Alta California

• A response to Russian settlement– Built a chain of missions

and presidios• 1769 San Diego, first one• 1770 Monterey-made the

capital• 1776-San Francisco

– Eventually 20 missions

• San Jose and Los Angeles:– Founded as civil

communities to supply food to soldiers

French Settlement

Map of New France, by Samuel de Champlain (1567?-1635): 1612

Jacques Cartier• 1534: King Francis I

sends Cartier to explore between Labrador and Newfoundland.

• Wanted him to discover “certain islands,” gold and other precious things.– Hoping for another Aztec or

Inca Empire• Sailed almost to present

day Quebec on the St. Lawrence River– His voyages were

considered a failure.– He didn’t find riches,

plantation crops wouldn’t grow, and he didn’t find a route to Asia.

16th Century• Settlements along the

northeast coast were seasonal migratory work camps.– Fishing– Furs

• There was contact between the French and the Native people.

• Even though there was not a successful attempt at colonization until 1604, European diseases were spreading through Native populations and they were dying in great numbers because of them.

Samuel de Champlain: The Father of New France

• 1608: Went down the St. Lawrence River and founded Quebec.

• The valley that was chosen for Quebec was depopulated.

– The Native people that had been there had died.

• These were the same people that Cartier had encountered.

• A talented map maker and explorer

• Opened North America to trade with France

– He was on the St. Lawrence in 1603 and made a map

– He was at the Port Royal settlement until 1607

– 1605 and 1606 he was exploring the New England coast

Etienne Brule• Was sent to live with the

Huron by Champlain.– Champlain also spent time

with the Huron in the winter of 1615-16 when he was injured attacking a village south of Lake Ontario.

• The French were acquiring geographical information from the natives as well as learning their ways, especially the birch bark canoe.

Étienne Brûlé at the mouth of the Humber

1700’s• By 1700, the French were

also having trouble with the English who had set up trading posts west of the French in the Hudson Bay area.

• There were many battles between the English (who were allied with the Iroquois) and the French.

• The French were also establishing forts in the South at Biloxi, Mobile, and on the Mississippi at this time.

The Treaty of Utrecht 1713

• Ended a long war between the French and English but there were still conflicts between them

• The French had to give up Acadia in 1755– Acadians had to leave– Some were taken back to England or France– Many ended up in New Orleans and the areas around it

• This is where ‘Cajun’ comes from• The Acadians who went to New Orleans had been in North America

for several generations already and were a mixture of French and Native American

– English had to agree to allow the French to continue fishing in the area

– Keep their French language– Keep their Catholic religion

After the Treaty of Utrecht

• France tried to strengthen its hold on the lower Mississippi

• 1710 New Orleans founded– Tried to establish an export staple

• Sugar didn’t work• Grains didn’t grow well in the hot, humid climate• Citrus, figs, and pineapples had no market• Cotton was not being ginned yet, so was not feasible

– Rice, Indigo, and Tobacco became the principal plantation products– Plantation is the key word– Plantation system had to be established because of the labor

intensiveness of growing those crops, which meant slavery– There were conflicts with the local natives too, who were often taken to

the islands and put into slavery on the sugar plantations

LegacyFrench language spread in theUnited States. Counties marked inyellow are those where 6-12% of the population speak French at home; brown, 12-18%; red, over 18%.

St. Martin Parish, Louisiana (pop. 48,583) - 27.44% French-speaking Evangeline Parish, Louisiana (pop. 35,434) - 25.71% French-speaking Vermilion Parish, Louisiana (pop. 53,807) - 24.89% French-speaking Aroostook County, Maine (pop. 73,938) - 22.37% French-speaking

Lafourche Parish, Louisiana (pop. 89,974) - 19.12% French-speaking Acadia Parish, Louisiana (pop. 58,861) - 19.04% French-speaking

Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana (pop. 41,481) - 17.64% French-speaking Assumption Parish, Louisiana (pop. 23,388) - 17.58% French-speaking St. Landry Parish, Louisiana (pop. 87,700) - 16.70% French-speaking

Coos County, New Hampshire (pop. 33,111) - 16.17% French-speaking Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana (pop. 31,435) - 16.15% French-speaking

Lafayette Parish, Louisiana (pop. 190,503) - 14.37% French-speaking

Androscoggin County, Maine (pop. 103,793) - 14.29% French-speaking

Jamestown 1607• Established in 1607

– Most of the first settlers were aristocrats

• Picked an island that was swampy and not well suited for agriculture

– It was picked because it was uninhabited

• The site was defensible– The water around the island was

deep so it could be protected by ships

• Many colonists died– England sent more

• The first factories were established here

– England sent experts to establish them from Poland and Germany

– Glassware was exported

Dutch Settlement• Began in 1609 at Ft. Nassau

– Dutch government gave land grants to wealthy nobles.

– Settlers could not own land, another feudal system like at home (similar to the French experience)

– The first Jewish people came to America with the Dutch

– They also brought Africans, some slaves and some servants.

• Ended in 1664, taken over by England and slowly anglicized.

• Only real impact: some place names in NY

Plymouth Colony 1621• The area was surveyed by John Smith before

settlement• It was formed by a group of English separatists called

the Pilgrims– They came to America looking for religious freedom– They DID NOT come to make a profit like in Jamestown

• They came to start a new society

• The first colonists were aided by Squanto, a Native American

• The tradition of Thanksgiving comes from Plymouth• The legend of Plymouth Rock comes from Plymouth• The Pilgrims came to Plymouth on The Mayflower• They were supposed to land in Newfoundland, but

ended up at Plymouth• The site chosen for Plymouth Colony was an

abandoned Native American Village– The reason it was abandoned was because disease had

wiped out the people who lived there before the English came

Squanto

The First Winter

• There were 104 original colonists.

• Only 53 were alive to celebrate the first Thanksgiving.

• They died for lack of shelter, disease, and on the ship before they even arrived.

• They would not have survived without the help of the Native Americans, especially Squanto.

Thanksgiving

• Celebrated the third Thursday of November• Feast of turkey, pumpkin pie, and other fall

favorites

First Thanksgiving at Plymouth Colony

Plymouth Rock

Plymouth Rock, described by some as "the most disappointing landmark inAmerica" because of its small size and poor visitor access.

13 Colonies• England grants permission

for each of the 13 colonies.• Purposes are different,

some are for settlement, some are to make money.

• Reflected in our flag today.

Cultural Hearths

• Different Development based on settlement patterns:– North British Isles

• Small farms, big cities

– Middle German/Dutch• Small farms, cities

– South Plantation Economies

• Large plantations, slavery, small towns

American Revolution

• No taxation without representation

• Eventually the colonists become tired of sending all of their profits to England…

• 1775-1783 Independence

Yankees

Paul Revere

July 4th

• Independence Day

• Celebrated with food and fireworks

North and South Develop Differently

• The north was settled for different reasons than the south.

• The north was characterized by small, family farms, factories, and port cities.

• The south was characterized by giant plantations growing tobacco, rice, indigo, and cotton using slaves from Africa as labor.– The two areas were distinctly

different and eventually broke away from each other.

– Civil War 1861-1865

Impact of Slavery

• From early years of settlement, slaves integral to organization, social environment

• Contributed key elements of Southern life– Speech patterns– Diet– Music

• Belief in inferiority of blacks as rationale for slavery

• Blacks and whites living in close proximity

The Civil War

• Prewar distribution of slaves– Almost every county

outside Appalachian highlands

– Greatest concentrations

• Original plantation areas• New lands most suited

to cotton production

• Largest % of Civil War battles fought on Southern soil

Economic Impact of the Civil War

• Railroads disrupted or in disrepair

• Equipment confiscated

• Shipping terminals in ruins

• Confederate currency and bonds worthless

• Labor supply formally eliminated (emancipation)

• Large land holdings heavily taxed and/or subdivided

Post–Civil War Transition

• White reaction to emancipation: Institutionalized segregation

• Few opportunities for blacks until World War I• Greater isolation of the South• Persistent poverty:

– Destruction of economic infrastructure and plantation economy– Lack of factors for economic development:

• Local capital (used for war or drawn off by Northerners)

• Credit

• Continued dependence on agriculture

Segregation

• Reconstruction (to late 1870s)– Antiblack actions localized– Black advances in certain

places• Landownership • Entry to professions • Election to public office

• Jim Crow laws – Institutionalized alternative

to slavery─ Established virtually total

legal separation

1960’s North Carolina

Segregation (continued)

• De jure segregation (segregation by law)

– Allowed by courts if separate facilities were equal (but they were not)

– Despite daily interaction, institutionalized physical separation

• Schools• Restaurants• Recreation facilities and parks• Drinking fountains• Restrooms• Housing• Employment

• Disenfranchisement of blacks Fish restaurant for Negroes, Memphis, Tennessee, 1937.

Dual Landscapes

• Different human landscapes, one black and one white

• Little overlap in– Mississippi– Louisiana– Eastern Texas

• Common workplaces, retail shopping

• Violent reaction to protest, including lynching

• Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)

1954 Clarendon County, South Carolina Colored School

Black Outmigration

• Push factors– Jim Crow Laws, violence– Subsistence economic conditions– Severe boll weevil infestation– War in Europe, cutting off market for

cotton

• Pull factors– Jobs in industry (decline in

immigration from Europe)– Opportunity for a better life– Positive information/feedback from

previous migrants

• Impact on the Southern economy– Most migrants 18-35 years old, most

productive workers among blacks– Old (no longer in labor force) and

young (not yet in labor force) left behind

U.S. Route 61: Blues Highway

States with Jim Crow Laws

The New South

• Before World War II: belief that region had seceded decades earlier

• Trends breaking down isolation– Influences from outside the

region– Events affecting entire nation– Federal intervention in

affairs of the South– Maturation of South’s

distinctive culture

President Johnson meeting with civil rights leaders

Cultural Integration

• Increased urbanization of blacks

• Return migration of blacks from the North

• New immigrant groups:– Latinos– Asians

Changes in regional distribution of black population

Westward Expansion

Westward Expansion

• Soon after colonization, the east was densely populated and there was not much space for newcomers.

• Move west to the Frontier

Waves of Immigration

1. 1600-1840’s: British, French (small)

2. 1840’s-1880’s: Germans & Irish

3. 1890’s-1918: Southern & Eastern European

4. 1920’s-Present: Latin America (mostly Mexico)

5. 1950’s-Present: Asia

British Isles

Germany,Scandinavia

Southern, Eastern Europe

Restrictions

Asia, Latin America

U.S. Immigration

Push Factors Pull Factors1840s: Irish Potato Famine Economic opportunity1850-1920: Overpopulation, wars Political/religious freedomRecent: Overpopulation, war, oppression Land availability

Settlement Expansion

• Small early Spanish settlements in Southwest

• Other European settlement– Beginnings on East Coast– Reached Appalachians by 1750– Crossed continent by 1850– Canada: Barrier of Canadian Shield north of

Lake Superior

First Euro-American Settlers

• Hindered by – Lack of trees for

building, fencing, fuel– Lack of water

• First settlers– Best waterways—riparian rights

– Excluded later settlers

• Great Plains bypassed in favor of West Coast

Sodbusters

Nineteenth-Century Population Pressures in the East As nineteenth-century population pressures increased in the east, European-American settlers increasingly came into conflict with native tribes. This was especially true in the South, where many of the soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War were given Indian land instead of the salary they were entitled to.

Native Americans were not considered US citizens; however, the US Supreme Court had declared in 1831 that the federal government must protect their rights under the US Constitution. White settlers openly took Indian lands in the east. President Jackson refused to enforce any laws protecting Indian rights, thereby engaging in a legally impeachable offense.)

Sioux Indian VillageThe picture was taken in 1891 near the pine ridge Indian Reservation

1846-1848 War with Mexico

• Gold was discovered in California

• The US went to war with Mexico and gained what is today California as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo– All Mexican citizens

living in California automatically become US citizens.

Impact Today

• Very strong Mexican cultural influence in California today.– Food– Language– Music– Clothing– Architecture– Place Names

California High Schools Population

Cinco de Mayo• May 5• Celebrates “Mexican

Independence”• An Americanized

holiday– September 16th is

actually Mexico’s Independence Day (liberated from Spain)

• Celebrated all of the US as a day of Mexican heritage and pride

Olvera Street, Los Angeles

California Missions

San Gabriel

San Juan CapistranoSan Diego