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Anglais ggraphie et conomie S.2

Chapter one: The country

I - Key elements

- The USA is 4th largest country in the world (Russia > Canada > China). It is

separated from Europe by the Atlantic Ocean: 3 000 km, same distance

between New York and Los Angeles.

- It is huge country: 3 718 711 miles or 9 631 418 km = 14.3 times the size of

France and 2.5 times the size of Europe.

- 308 990 000 inhabitants

- 48 continental states = contiguous states = contiguous 48 and 2 other states(Alaska, at North West end of North America, and Hawaii, archipelago in the

Pacific Ocean)

II - Geographic presentation

- From Canada in the North to Mexico in the South: 4 517 km.- From Canada to Texas: 2 572 km- Highest point: Denaly on Mount Mc Kinley in Alaska (6194m) and in the

contiguous 48, the Sierra Nevada with Mount Whitney (4421 m)- Lowest point: Death valley in California (-86 m, below sea level)

Divided into mountainers half in the West, the Rockies, small lines of ills and

the plains with grand prairies in the East. The Atlantic coastal plain is banded by

the Apalachians on the West separated from New England.

III - Major areas

1 - Atlantic coastal plain

New England is the most British part of Amrica where the americans speak a

better English than Enland (in Boston). Its collective name for the most

tensioned states = Main, Massachussets, New Hampshire, Rhode Island,

Vermont and Connecticut.

This place has retained the tradition of Pilgrim Fathers (les pres pellerins), the

tradition architectural and cultural.

The name given to the New Englanders by the South during the Civil War

(1850) is Yankees. Now its for all the Americans.

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The southern part of New England is industrial. The states of New York, New

Jersey and Pennsylvania are the most populated, financial, industrial, lituary

and artistic areas of the US with New York City (the Big Apple or Gottam City).

The West southern states are different: luxurian vegetation allowing big trees

to grow, agriculture (cotton and tobacco) and vast domains where the slavesused to work with a rural area veritably poor.

2 - The Middle West

On the West of the Appalachians, the Middle West represents half the

surface of the USA.

Its composed by rich prairies with the Mississippi River (le pre des eaux),

providing the necessaring means of transportation.

We can find the North Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin andMinnesota that form parts of the Middle West.

Big Plains which are important for industry, 90% of car manufacturing is based

around the Great Lakes (Ford in Detroit)

Paradoxicaly, the West is the greatest agricultural region.

3 - The Mississipi valley

Development of the Mississipi valley was helped by steam power applied to

river boat. In 1819, the first inboats were built to reach Pittsburg to New

Orleans.

Today, along the Mississipi River, there are chemical and oil industries which

have been set up. Nickname: Cancer Valley (esprance de vie faible). In 40

years the population passed of 2 millions at 14 million inhabitants. In this part

80% of the inhabitants are black. During the last flood Katrina (2005), there was

a scandal about the help reluctantly given to them by the government.

4 - High plains

Its a treeless arid country, cattle breeding composed by Nebraska, Kansas,

North Dakota, South Dakota (Mount Rushlire: George Washington, Thomas

Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt) are flat (agriculture) and

Oklahoma (dust storm, dust bowl) . This part wasnt really populated on the

19th

century. Irigated and catal rising, this country is by enriched human work

at nivel of agriculture and breeding.

5 - Cordilleran region

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It is situated between the Rockies and the Pacific Ocean and composed by

states of Washington, Oregon (with their luxurian forests) and California which

produces million of fruits and vegetables, with famosal aircraft and informatic

industry (Hollywood and Silicon Valley).The South West is totally seperated by States of New Mexico and Arizona, and

has an original Spanish architecture (adobe) and a specific vegetation (cactus) .

IV - Climate

We can find every type of climate in the USA:

- In most areas, it's temperate.

- In South Florida, Tropical.

- In Alaska, polar.- In the Great Plains, semi-arid.

- In coastal California, mediterranean.

- In the great Basin, arid.

The state of Hawaii has a year round tropical climate whereas California has a

mediterranean climate with rain falls from October to April, and nothing after.

Northern Alaska: Toundra and artic (-62C)

Death Valley: 56.7C (second highest temperature on earth)

In the Center: tornadoes (more in spring)

Alond the Atlantic sea bord and golf of Mexico: hurricanes.

The Appalachian and Midway: floods.

South West: droughts (wind tournadoes)

West: wildfires

The main influence in USA climate is the polar jet stream which is made of

cold air from the Pacific north of the Pacific Ocean.

In northern Alaska, you find arctic conditions and the vegetation is reduced to atundra with temperatures as low as -22 , at the other land at the spectrum,

the warmest temperatures was noted in Death Valley with about 60. In the

central part of the USA, tornados are more common than anywhere on earth.

Deadly and destructive hurricanes almost occur every year along the Atlantic

seaboard and the Gulf of Mexico, the Appalachian region and the Midwest

experience terrible floods, the south west has periods of draughts and the west

is regularly affected by wild fires.

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V - Political state

Capital: Washington since 1800's.

The biggest states are Alaska, Texas, California, Montana, New Mexico, Arizona

and Nevada.American flag: 50 stars for 50 states and 13 stripes for the 13 original colonies

(7 are red and 6 are white)

Of the USA is marked by the division of the continental space into 48 states.

When the country began to be conquered, there were only 13 states

represented on the flag by white and red lines while the rest of the state was

represented by a constellation of stars.

New England: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, andConnecticut.

Then you find N-Y state: Delaware, Pennsylvania, N-J, and Maryland. And then in the south: Virginia, Northern & South Carolina, Georgia.

The first state of the US was Philadelphia. But very soon there was jealousy

between the states and so an artificial state was created = the district of

Columbia; the federal capital was built there. The big city was called

Washington (Major LEnfant), its been the seat of the federal government

since the??? . The biggest states: Alaska (surface) Texas (biggest continental

state) California, Montana (state of silver and gold), New Mexico, Arizona

(Nevada Colorado Oregon Wyoming are the followers). The states capital of the

colonies:

- North Carolina: Raleigh- South Carolina: Columbia- Connecticut: Hartford- Delaware: Dover- Georgia: Atlanta- Maryland: Annapolis- Massachussets: Boston- New Hampshire: Concord- New Jersey: Trenton- New York: Albaley- Pennsylvania: Harrisburg- Rhode Island: Providence- Virginia: RichmondVI - Ressources and Environment

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The US consumes 50 % of the earth resources; this is due to the riches of the

country in natural resources and the diver city of climate which is favorable to a

great diversity of gropes and great forest products. The country has lot of

mineral and for example, more than 1/5 of the worlds coal. The corn beltextends from Ohio to Nebraska. Despite the riches, US continue to export huge

amount of minerals. It produces 65% of the petroleum it needs, and

paradoxically, agricultural exports tend to compensate mineral imports. Arable

land represents 19% of the surface, permanents pastures represent 25%, forest

and woodland 30% and other occupation: 26%.

Chapter two : American people

I. The American population today

305 million American people and the US is the third most populated country

after China and India. The birth rate is 15 for 100, the rate rises up the 20.5

from 100 for the blacks; and the death rate is 9 per 100 which is one of the

lower in the world.

Fertility rate is about 2.1. The proportion today in the US is 68 black men and

73 white men, and for the females 76 and 80 white. US represented 25% of the

population. The whites in 2000 represent: 72% of white men, in 2050: 52. Black pop: 13% and 16% in 2050. Chicanos: 11% in 2000, 22% in 2050 Asian: 3% and in 2050: 10%. Natives: 0.9% and 1.1% in 2050.

Density: there is a high density in the east and a low one in the est. With 2

states bearing record: Alaska has 0.6 inhabitant/km. N-J has 600.68. The urban

population represents 79% of the Americans. California has 46 million

inhabitants, followed by Texas: 22.8 million, n-Y states: 19.2 million and Florida:17.7. The less peoples states are: Wyoming (509 000) Vermont: 623 000, North

Dakota 626 000, Alaska 683 000.

II. The reality about the American population

Originally, the US was nicknamed a melting pot (san Jon de Creve Coeur

here, individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of man) historian

nowadays prefer the term mixed salad. From the beginning in the US, the

original population has dominated, composed of the Europeans, nicknamed

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wasp (white Anglo-Saxon people). So as a consequence, the American identity

is based on Anglo-Saxon culture. The US has had an official policy who admits

more immigrants from Europe than from Asia, Africa and Latin America.

III. Immigration policy

The very first phase of immigration began in 1845 and ended in 1955, the

people came from Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and Germany.

Chapter three: The government

The US is a federation of states. The political organization is the separation

of powers at three levels: federal, state, local; and separation between the

executive, legislave and judicial. All the government is hinged by the

Constitution.

I. The Constitution

> It was signed in 1787 in Philadelphia by the founding fathers (Thomas

Jefferson and George Washington), ratified in 1789.

> The first 10 amendments are called the Bill of Rights; there are 27 today.

> The Constitution is the result of the War of Independance (1775 1783); thedeclaration of independence was signe on July 4

th, 1776.

> The seperation of powers:

- executive branch: President

- legislative branch: Congress

- judicial branch: Supreme Court

Each branch controls the others (checks and balance).

> It is the only Constitution in the world which guarantees the right of

happiness.

II. The Executive branch: The President

George W. Bush and Richard Chesney (elected in 2000 and 2004) areelected for four years renewable once (22

ndamendment in 1951).

To be President of the USA, you must:- be aged 35 or more

- have lived 40 years at least in the USA

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The President is at the same time head of State, head of the Executiveand leader of his party. He lives in Washington DC, in the White House

(1600 Pennsylvania Avenue).

Elections are organized every four years, and before the electionsm thetwo parties organized a national conference to choose theirrepresentatives (they are given a ticket)

On the 1st Monday of November, the people vote for the ElectoralCollege, including 538 people who are going to vote for the President

(indirect suffrage). Those electors go to Washington, mid-December

where the President is officially chosen (winner takes all). The

candidate chosen becomes the President elected and he officially

becomes THE president on January, 20th, after the nomination ceremony.

Roles of the President:- He is head of the Federal state; he appoints his Government, his

officialsm his member of Justice

- He carries out the Government Program: He has been elected for

his program, he has to applicate it. He can veto the Bills of the

Congress.

- He is the Commandery Chief of the Army.

- He is the only one who can sign treaties.

But the President is not competent for everything: he has a PresidentialTeam:

- The Executive office: 12 Organizations (the National Security

Council)

- The Cabinet: 15 people (Vice President and 14 heads of

Department of health, treasury, etc.)

- The Federal agencies (50 federal agencies which depend on the

President. The member are appointed by the President, but not

the agencies, which are appointed by the Congress): NASA, FDA,

CIA, etc.

III. The Legislative branch: the Congress

The Congress sits in Washington DC. It is made of two houses:

- The House of Representatives

- the Senate

The house of representatives is composed of 435 members (one memberfor 570 000 inhabitants). A representative is elected for two years and to

be candidatem you must be 25 and have been a US citizen for at least [

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] years. It is chaired by the Speaker (one of the most important politician

in the USA). Since 2006, it is a woman, Nancy Pelosy.

The senate is composed of 100 members. There are two senators perstates, elected for 6 years and 1/3 is elected every two years. To be a

senator, you must be 30 and must have been a US citizen for 9 years.According to the Constitution, it is presided by the Vice President of the

USA, but there is also a President protempory, last elected in November

2006: Rober Byid (9 times). The real power is in the hands of the majority

floor-leader. The senate only can ratify the international treaties.

Roles of the Congress:- To pass/make laws with the Organization of the Standing Comitee

composed of 40 members, which duty is to accept/refuse the bills,

through several hearings. Then the bill must be adopted by the

Representatives with a majority of 50%. Same process goes to the

Senate. The US President signs the bill which becomes an Act. He

can also refuse the bill with his right of veto, but used very reraly.

A veto of the President may be overruled by the Congress with a

majority of 2/3.

- Right of impeachment: to impeach Senators, Representatives,

Justicies or the President. It depends of the House of

Representatives, which vote a bill of impeachment with a majority

of 2/3, and then it goes to the Senate. (The most famousimpeachments: 1954 Richard Nixon and 1999 Bill Clinton).

IV. The Judicial branch: the Supreme Court

Founded by the 3rd article of the Constitution, it is the highest court inthe US. It is made of 9 justices, among whom one chief justice and eight

associated justices. They are appointed for life by the President of the

USA.

It has the right to judicial review; they can choose whether a law isconsitutional or not. It is used in case of desagreement between a State

and the Federal State.

V. The State Government

Each state of the US is organized like the Federal Governement:- legislative branch: Senate and House of Representative

- executive branch: Governor, elected for 2 or 4 years, assisted by a

new-tement governor

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- judicial branch: state supreme court

Each state has its own constitution, passes the laws (about education,social policy, etc.). There are great differences between the laws from

one state to another for the great issued (death penalty, abortion,

commerce inside the State). It has its own capitol. It is forbidden for a state to conduct foreign organization, to enter

international treaty, to coin currency.

It exists Grand Programs, linking the States and the Federal State.

VI. Local government

They are free of State control. The states are divided into territorial units, called counties (parishes in

Louisiana and burrows in Alaska).

In each local government, you have a Sheriff.

VII. Political party

The Democratic Party (founded in 1801 by Jefferson) in favour of a stateautonomy. The electorates is in majority the Middle Class.

Famous democrates: Roosevelt, Kennedy.

Symbol: Donkey

Color: Blue

The Republican Party (1854) in favour of a strong federal government.The electorate is the Upper middle class and the Business class.

Nicknamed: the Grand Old Party

Symbol: Elephant

Colour: Red

Chapter four: Law and justice

Introduction

People arrested are considered innocent until proven guilty. When

someone is arrested, a judge or a grand jury (16 to 23 citizens) decides whether

they should go to trial. If someone is found guilty by a court, they can ask for

permision to appeal, only if there is enough evidence against him/her. The

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supreme judicial power is hold by the Supreme Court and the Inferior Courts.

Each state has its own judicial system.

I. State Courts

- Criminal Court (dealing with midemeanors)- Juvenile Court (dealing with juvenile delinquency)- Private Court (settles descendants in states)- Trial Court of General Juridiction (dealing with disputes over business

organizations, contracts on property)

- Appeal Court (in charge of reviewing the decisions of other courts)- State Supreme Court (last resort at State level)II. Federal Courts

They have the same structure than the others. They deal with featuresinvolving with federal system.

90 district courts of original juridiction. 13 US courts of appeal (= Circuit Courts). The Supreme Court, giving a sentence by a majority vote of its 9

members. If no majority is reached, the decision of the lower Court is

kept.

The Appeals system in the US

Federal Courts State Courts

The Supreme Court

13 Circuit Courts

90 distric Courts

The State Supreme Court

Appelate Courts

County/Truals Court

Courts Decisions:- 1896: Plessy VS Fergusson. Separate but Equal; this decision was the

officialization of segregation in USA. The Blacks and the Whites were

given separate places in public sites, they had the same services.

- 1954: Brown VS Board of Education Topeka. End of segregation in USA. Itreplaced the 1896 decision.

- 1973: Roe VS Wade. Some state laws making abortion a criminal offensebecame unconstitutionnal.

Chapter five: The media

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Introduction

They are called the 4th power. Economically, 1500 daily papers, 8000

weekly papers, 1500 TV channels, 10000 radio stations.

I. The Press

Freedom of expression is guaranteed in the US by the 1st amendment ofthe Constitution.

95% of the American press is local, due to the size of the country. Thereare very few national papers.

In the late 1980s, 64% of the Americans read the paper regularly. Themost important daily papers in the US are:

- USA today

- The New York Times

- The Los Angeles Times

- The Washington Post

- The New York News

The 3 main magazines are:- Time (4.1 million copies)

- Newsweek (3.1 million copies)- US news and World Report (2.2 million copies)

The American press is objective. The greatest price for an Americanjournalist is the Pulitzer price given as an award for the best report of the

year.

II. The Television

- 1927: 1st TV set began to appear (1958 in France)

- 98% of the households have at least one TV set

- 40% of their leisure time in front of TV (3 to 6 hours a day)

- The major channels are: CBS, NBC, ABC.

- The most famous specialized channels are: CNN, MTV.

- It exists also Cable TV and Payperview Channels.

- There is no tax on TV; it is financed by advertissment, which represents 20%

of the time on TV.

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- 1st

TV debate in 1960 between Nixon and Kennedy, for the presidential

elections. Since that time, all the American candidates have decided to be good

looking on TV.

- the TV besides radio broadcasts a lot of religious celebration followed by

people.- 1980s: notion of televangelism.

III. The Radio

- Golden ae: appearance of the radio in thew 1930s.

- Today, the average American holds 6 radio sets.

- 10000 radio stations; 1 national station (voice of America), is broadcast in 16

languages all over the world

Chapter six: The US at workIntroduction

In 1999, the US working population was 137 million people. Rise by 2% a

year, it is the faster rate than any other industrialized country. The aging

population is in average 36 years old and will reach 40 in 2010. 20% of the

minorities work and 46% of the women. Primary industry is declining: 3% of the

working population is employed in agriculture. Manufacturing industry is at a

stance steel. Service industry is booming: 78% of the jobs and 71% of the GNP

(Gross National Product) PNB

I. A contrasted picture

The old myth: the great American job machine

> True

20 million new jobs in the 1980s (Reagan)Unemployment rate: 9% in the late 1970s (Carter) to 4.5% in the 1980s

(Reagan)

> False

The unemployment benefits are very inadequate with half of the unemployed

receiving compensation.

Part time work has increased and espicially in the service industry with a great

number of women part timers. 20 million of the working population is part

timer. The general tendency is that more and more people have several part

time jobs, they are called multiple job holders.

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Polarisation: There is an increasing discrepancy between contingent jobs (lowly

qualified, with a low salary) and on the other hand highly qualified jobs and

well paid jobs, held by people coming out from famous university.

II. Trade Union

The trade union system in the US is different from the European model,

because trade union are not affiliated with a political party.

American are very suspicious of collective actions and something special in the

USA is the flexibility of the social classes. An American worker considers

hymself as a middle class.

Trade union are regarded as partners because instead of having blaming

problems, they deal with bargaining to establish rules in the firms regarded

wages, pensions and the wellfare of workers.Ther are no federal convention about trade union. They negociate salaries in

each branch and each factory. There are trade unions in each company.

Workers vote for the trade union every three years and the trade union is

elected by majority win the vertification (legal existence). But if it isnt elected,

the trade union is discertificated and it disappears.

Regarding the way to enter a trade union:

- Union shop: a worker can be recruited if he/she has decided to join the

trade union in the company.

- Open shop: a worker is recruited by the boss and he can join or not the

union.

In the company, the shop-stuart organizes the life of the trade union.

Chapter seven: California

Introduction

It is the 31st American state which enters the union in 1850. It is the 3rd

largest (424 002 km2). The first neame given to California was Baja California

Peninsula; then it was name California because of the novel written by Gara

Ordenez de Montalbo, in which the hero discovers a land called California. The

name Golden gate was first given to the opening mountains giving access to

San Francisco, where the Gold Rushers arrived in 1889. In Chinese, California is

Jin Shan (= la montagne dor). California is as large as Sweden and as

populated as Canada (35 million inhabitants, which represent 12% of the total

US population. Immigration is an important factor: 1/3 of Hispanics, of US

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Asians and 7% of Blacks live there. With New Mexico and Hawaii, California is

the only state with anglo minority.

The Californian climate is similar to that of Sicily; the tourists are attracted

by the mountains, the sea, the sun, the beaches, etc. Because of the climate,

California is number One in agriculture products.

I. A Mexican past

The first explorer was Spanish (1542). After 1750, the state started to

develop following five stages:

- 1769 1823: development of 21 Franciscan missions founded by a man

called Junipero Serra

- 2 pueblos were settled: San Jose (1777) and California (1781)

- A military organization was settled with presidious, to protect themissions and the pueblos.

- Construction of the Royal Track, which is now number One of the state.

- Mexican aristocrats established big ranchoes after 1750.

The Anglosaxon immigration started in [ . ] and in 1845, represents 20% of the

population. In 1854, Sacramento became the State Capitol. The big

transformation of the state started in 1848 with the Gold Rush. San Francisco

which had 3000 inhabitants in 1849 saw its population groq up to 150 000 in

1850. It became the 6th

town in the USA, while Los Angeles was at the rank

146th

. In 1869, the railway linked San Francisco to the rest of the country, but in

the 1900s, the interest moved to Los Angeles because of the oil rusj,

petroleum had just been discovered.

II. Two California: Past and Present

San Francisco is the city of the past. It has a Victorian style and stands in

sharp contrast with Los Angeles. California is no longer a paradize but

represents the failure of the American Dream. The area is devoted to bigconurbations. The traffic is completely saturated from night today, even in the

desert. There is much atmospheric pollution from September to January. The

Sillicon Valley has turn San Francisco into the most expensive city in the USA.

The urban development manices agriculture lands and the recession affecting

military and industrial sectors threatens the equilibrium of California. The cost

of living and the dangerous life you live in San Francisco and Los Angeles

encourage people to leave the cities and to settle in the mountains and the

desert.

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III. Los Angeles

1781: Spanish settlement. 40 people, 2 Spanish families and 9 Indian families.

1850: Cinema

1917: World War I1950: Most of the area was organized and industralized and it is now a big

network of motorways.

Chapter eight: east coast

Introduction

The density of population is the highest of the USA between Boston and

Washington DC. The cities on the East Coast are spread over 1000 km (=megalopolis). Boston and Philadelphia are historical places because its where

the first fights for the independence of the USA took place. New York City and

Washington DC are important cities in economic and political affairs. The

Economy of the East Coast is based on information techniques and new

technology, but its power is immense in all sectors.

I. Spatial representation of the East Coast

The Urban area is composed of Massachussets, Rhode Island, Connecticut,

New Jersey, Marylandm Delaware, District of Columbia, large parts of

Pennsylvania and New York and parts of New Hampshire and Virginia. 50% of

this area is a forest, used as recreational places for urban people. Different

tasks are located to different citiesm depending on their size, so that they

become complementary. Each city is part of a role. The distinction between

town and country is thin. The megalopolis (= main street of the country) is a

hinch between the USA and the rest of the world. It symbolizes the shift from

the industrial era to the service area (4th

sector).

II. New York

It is the first American city with 19.3 million inhabitants. The story of New

York City is based on emigration. It is a city where trade is important, due to

the port. Activities are concentrated around Brooklyn and Manhattans port

and now around New Jersey. It is a financial and cultural center (because of the

ONU). But people start to leave the place because of the price in Manhattan. It

is also difficult to have a true social policy because of the debts and public

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expenditures, to help the poors and the homeless. Investment and activity of

the new immigrants have transformed New York City in the best, but the

architecture has shown fragility after 9-11.

III. Washington DC

It is the federal capitol and it is not very dynamic. The demographic growth

has lated for 30 years and today, there are 4 million inhabitants. There are lots

of internation organizations.

IV. Boston

1632: 1st

funders of America

Beginning of the Independence War (Boston Tea Party). It is the first Americancity to deserve the nickname of the capitol of the American industrial

revolution. There are lots of great universities: Massachussets Institute of

Technology, Cambridge, MA (Mathematics), Harvard, MA (Human sciences).