Government, Economy, and Culture

Representative Democracy- where the people rule through elected representatives.

3 separate branches: Executive-Carries out

laws Legislative- Enacts laws Judicial- Interprets laws,

and reviews decisions of lower courts.

AgricultureUnited States feeds itself and the worldReasons- fertile soil, favorable climate, early mechanization of country’s farms.

Industry Advances in

technology, especially in electronics and computers revolutionized industry and led to the creation of new products and methods of production.

Leading industries: Petroleum Steel Transportation

equipment Chemical

Phase in which manufacturing no longer plays a dominant role.

Most of Americans work in the service industry. Information processing Finance Medicine Transportation education

Exports: Raw materials Agricultural

products Manufactured goods

Imports: Automobiles Electronic

equipment Machinery Apparel

Canada and Mexico are the U.S. most important trading partners. NAFTA

Multinationals- American Corporations that engage in business worldwide

A nation of immigrants 70% Caucasian 13% Hispanic 12% African-

American 4% Asian-American 1% Native

American

English dominant language

Spanish is the 2nd most spoken

Religious Freedom More than 1,000

different religious groups

85% Christian 2% Jewish/ Muslim

1st Artists-Native Americans Pottery, weavings,

carvings Early European

settlers brought with them the artistic traditions of their homelands.

Today, Motion pictures and popular music are two influential American Art forms

80% of Americans live in Cities or Suburbs Highly developed

transportation network Skilled positions

require advanced education Free public education

Leisure Activities- Sports, museums,

libraries, television, movies, video games, etc.

Government, Economy, and Culture

16th and 17th century French claimed Canada

French and Indian War- British defeated French.

French settlers stayed behind.

Canada divided into two: Roman Catholic French Protestant British

British government split it between two provinces. Upper Canada (Ontario)-

English-Speaking majority.

Lower Canada (Quebec)- French-Speaking majority.

Problems still existedDominion of Canada

The Dominion was to be a loose confederation, or political union of Ontario and Quebec, and two British colonies on the Atlantic (Nova Scotia and New Brunswick)

Self-government but still part of the British empire.

1885 1st continental railway- Montreal to Vancouver.

Gold found in Yukon Copper, Zinc, and

Silver later found New railroads and

towns Immigrants came

from Britain and other parts of the world

Parliamentary government- A system in which both legislative and

executive functions are combined in a legislature called parliament.

The majority’s party leader in parliament becomes- Prime Minister

One of the world’s richest countries.

Early economy was based on trade of natural resources.

Important Canadian Industries: Farming, logging, mining,

and fishing. Biggest export is forest

products (pulp and paper) Mining is very important

because of Canada’s extensive mineral deposits.

Biggest export: fish Access to Atlantic, Pacific, and Artic

7th in the world

15% of Canadians earn their living from manufacturing.

1/5 of Nation’s GDP Automobiles, steel,

household appliances, electronics, and high-tech and mining equipment.

60% of GDP Finance, utilities,

trade, transportation, tourism, communications, insurance, and real state

Fastest growing service industry: Tourism.

Historically Canada’s Economy has relied on trade. Fur trade

U.S. and Canada longest open border in the world.

1994 NAFTA (North America Free Trade Association) 85 % of Canada’s export go

to U.S. 75% of Canada’s imports

come from U.S.

1st people in Canada were the First Nation people and the Inuit.

Metis- people of mixed French and native heritage

More recent immigrants from Europe and Asia

Bilingual country- French and English

First Nation languages still survive

Many conflicts between Protestant and Roman Catholic exist.

Muslims and Jews are increasing in numbers.

Much of the population of Canada lives near port cities (Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver)

80% of people live in 10% of land. 4/5 live in the city

75%of French Canadians live in Quebec Native peoples live in 2,300 reserves Inuit live in the Artic North Canadians of Asian decent live in the west

coast

Most Canadians enjoy a high standard of living.

Sports and Recreation: skating, ice hockey, fishing, skiing, golf, and hunting.

Professional ice hockey, baseball, and basketball teams compete in U.S. leagues.

Lacrosse- developed by Native people

Ice hockey- developed by early European settlers.

Carvings of the Inuit- Used ivory, whalebone,

soapstone to carve figurines of animals and people in scenes from everyday life.

Group of Seven- Toronto based group of artists.

Stratford Festival in Ontario- honors William Shakespeare.