Starting at the beginning

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Chapter oneA Portrait of Americans

Section 1 Who American AreSection 2 America: A Cultural

MosaicSection 3 The Values that Unite

Us

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Chapter 1 Section 1

pages 4-8

“Who Americans Are”

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Who are Americans

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Where Americans live: Americans live on every kind of terrain The United States is a vast and varied

land, and people live all over We live in a variety of homes

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Americans on the Move It used to be that Americans mostly lived

on small farms or in small towns. As the population grew, people spread

westward. 222 million people live in urban areas Americans move from place to place for

many reasons To the Sunbelt To Urban Areas

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The work force: Americans have

always worked hard. 70 million men and 60

million women working in more than 30,000 different occupations.

In the past most jobs were in farming and manufacturing

75% are now service jobs

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Ages of Americans: In 1850, most Americans were between

the ages of 20-59. Very few elderly.

Today there are more elderly then ever before.

Most Americans now are between the ages of 40-60. “Baby Boomers” born 1946-1964

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Ages of Americans

the life expectancy is to age 76 By 2050 there may be a social security,

medical services strain.

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Americans Varied Backgrounds We are known for our diversity You can see our diversity in our jobs, home

towns and ages Our Backgrounds differ because we are

also from many different cultures and belong to different ethnic groups and races.

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Section 2

Pages 10-17

America: A Cultural Mosaic

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An American Mosaic

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The American identity We are a nation of Immigrants Native Americans were the first people Europeans Americans African Americans, came by force Asian Americans Hispanic Americans

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European Americans Came seeking religious freedom and

political freedom They also wanted the opportunity to own

property, their own farms and businesses They brought with them

their languagetheir traditions of government

The number of European immigrants has decreased over the years, but they are the majority group in the U.S.

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Hispanic Americans Sometimes called Latinos Can be of any race and come from Spanish

speaking countries Latino immigrants come from Mexico,

Central and South America, and the Caribbean.

They make up the largest minority group in the United States.

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African Americans Did not come voluntarily Ancestors were enslaved people during

colonial America (1400’s) Enslavement ended in 1865 in the U.S. These people have suffered through

racism, and unequal treatment. P:\Overcoming_Racism.mov

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Asian Americans Chinese young men were some of the

earliest immigrants. In the west, many worked on building the

railroads. Because of competition for jobs the Asians

were victims of the Exclusion laws of 1882 and 1907.

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Native Americans living in North America thousands of years

before Columbus arrived

European Settlements competed with this group for land

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Our Population today : Is getting more diverse All Americans have the same goals 1. To build better lives for themselves2. To share in the land of opportunity All groups fit together to form a whole

nation each group adds to the richness of our

society.

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Section 3

Pages 18-23

The Values that Unite Us

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Americans Believe in the Dream

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Equal Respect: The American Dream

Americans share beliefs and values Beliefs are ideas that we trust are true Values are our standards of behavior We believe that all people are unique

and deserve the same chance to Realize their potential and contribute

to society

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Basic American ValuesEquality: Equal respect is based on the fact that

every one can contribute to society Every one has the same rights and

opportunities in lifeEqual Opportunity: Everyone should have an equal chance to

succeed in life

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Basic American ValuesFreedom: The freedom to make choices With limitations that do not violate other

people’s freedomsJustice: Fair treatment for everyone It does not mean that everyone is treated

equally

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Citizens and the American IdealWe are not perfect: Racism and discrimination still exists Not everyone is treated equally or fairlyThe American Ideal and the Future: Work still needs to be done to make sure

that all Americans have:1. Equality2. Freedom3. Justice

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Do You Know your Key Terms? Demography Census Baby Boom Beliefs Discrimination Exclusion Laws

Equality Values Justice Freedom Racism Sunbelt Diversity

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