11-12-09

Today we looked at a powerpoint and here are some of my notes

• 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean
• Before that, indigenous (native) people lived in the Americas. But how many? Due to a lack of written records, estimates vary widely
• In any case, 95% of them died after Europeans arrived
1. The Europeans settle on the east coast of N.America
2. Settlers surge across the Appalachian Mountains
3. The move continues to great plains, Utah, Oregon, California
• One of the largest and most rapid human transformations of the landscape in history
• Megalopolis
○ A mega-metropolis stretching from Boston to NYC to Philly to Baltimore to Washington, DC
○ Over 40 million people in Baltimore
• Westward movement
○ Offer high-tech, jobs, cool recreation, great scenery, a break from winters
○ Expansion means more homes, subdivisions, malls, retirement complexes
• Black Exodus from South
○ Post-Civil War, freed slaves still worked as sharecroppers
○ Fewer farming jobs sent blacks north to the cities
§ Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, LA, SF
• Rural-to-Urban Migration
○ Country folks moving to big city
○ 200 years ago population was 5% urban
○ In 2008, it's 82% urban (CIA Factbook)
• Counterurbanization
○ Leaving large cities for small towns or rural areas
§ More affordable
§ Less crime
§ Better schools
§ Easier retirement
• North America is a mosaic of different peoples
• The US was formed by breaking violently from Great Britain
• This region has the most powerful economy and the most affluent population