Chapter 3 - Lesson 3 One People, Many Cultures The United States

A Mosaic of People pg 114 - 116 Immigrant – a person that comes to live in a country after leaving their homeland From the beginning the United States has been a country of immigrants Even early Native Americans may have come over from Asia People in the U.S. are the most diverse in the world Some people describe the U.S. as a mosaic Mosaic suggests that the people of the U.S. do not blend into one culture but have pieces of different cultures shared and and made a part of the American Culture

A Mosaic of People pg 114 - 116 The largest group of Americans have ancestors from Europe In the years between 1860 through 1920 during a time of industrial growth, 30 million new immigrants came to the U.S. from Eastern and Western Europe

A Mosaic of People pg 114 - 116 Hispanic Americans make up the fastest growing group of American people About 1 in 6 Americans are of Hispanic or Spanish-speaking culture Most Hispanics live in the South and the West California and Texas have the largest Hispanic populations and New Mexico has the highest percentage at 40% of the population

A Mosaic of People pg 114 - 116 About 1 in 8 Americans are of African culture (35 million) The first Africans arrived as slaves in the early 1600s to work on Southern plantations After the Civil War some Africans moved to the West, after WWI most moved to the Northeast and Mid-West to work in factories The Asian population in the U.S. began arriving in the 1850s The Chinese immigrated first during the California Gold Rush Japanese and Filipino people came In the late 1800s and settled mainly In the West, along the Pacific coast And in Hawaii

What major groups make up the United States population? (pg.116)

A Changing Population pg 116 - 117 Of the More than 320 million people in the U.S. slightly more than half of the population is female Although the population is nearly equal in number between male and female, men and women have not always been treated equally

A Changing Population pg 116 - 117 Many years ago women could not own property, hold certain jobs, or vote based on discrimination Women gained the right to vote in 1920 by way of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution Discrimination – unfair treatment of certain people or groups, such as women

A Changing Population pg 116 - 117 By the 1970s other new laws required men and women to be treated equally There are also more older people in the U.S. today than younger people The average age of Americans to day is 37, the oldest it has been in the country’s history Life expectancy for males in the U.S. is 77 Life expectancy for females in the U.S. is 82 What do you think is the cause of the longer life-span of American citizens?

A Changing Population pg 116 - 117 Literacy – the ability to read and write As the life expectancy increases so does the retirement age of the U.S. citizens As the number of older people increases so does their voting power The U.S. population is also better educated than it ever was The Literacy Rate for the U.S. is about 97 % In addition to the Increased Literacy rate of Americans, more citizens Are attending college

How has discrimination against women in the U.S. changed over time? (pg.117)

Remember Literacy Discrimination immigrant