Warmup Take out your notes. Why is the United States so great? Why are we one of the top 13 places to live? Is it luck or is it something else?

Are We Lucky? “We are the only country born of an idea. We are not here because of geography or religion or race or even economics. We are here because everybody agrees on an idea. Freedom. It’s that idea that is imperishable.” Ken Burns

Infant Mortality Rate # of infant deaths for every 1,000 live births Western Europe Western & Central Africa World Average

Life Expectancy Average length (in years) a person lives Western Europe Western & Central Africa World Average

Literacy Rate Age 15 and older can read and write Western Europe Western & Central Africa World Average

GDP Per Capita The value of all goods and services produced within a country in a given year, divided by total population Western Europe Western & Central Africa World Average

Arable Farmland Land that can be used for growing crops (in hectares)1 hectare=2.4 acres Germany Burkina Faso World Total

Intentional Homicide Rate The number of intentional deaths per 100,000 people in a given area Western Europe Southern Africa World Average

Are We Lucky? The United States and Canada are unique in the world “geographically speaking”.

Are We Lucky? Both are physically large, but not overpopulated. Both are affluent (wealthy).

Economics Both are productive economically and industrialized in most regions. –Canada = mixed economy –U.S. = capitalist economy What economic activities do these countries likely do? P,S,T,Q All four

Governments United States Federal republic Canada Parliamentary democracy Both guarantee many individual rights to their people. –Bill of Rights

Government Both are democratic countries. U.S. = president (Barack Obama) Canada = prime minister (Stephen Harper) Citizens have a large say in government processes. U.S. Congress Canadian Parliament

Political Stability Both the U.S. and Canada have a history of peaceful coexistence. (though we are 0-2 against them) The longest unguarded border in the world is the U.S. / Canada border. Why don’t we have an illegal immigration issue with Canada?

Resources Both countries are blessed with a wide variety of natural resources.

Geographic Advantages Good water resources. –Great Lakes –St. Lawrence Seaway –Mississippi and Colorado River systems –Etc. –isolated

Geographic Advantages Productive soils. –Especially in the Great Plains region. Top soil – what is needed to grow crops is deep in most areas. Glaciation – pushed most of Eastern Canadian top soil down into the U.S.

Geographic Advantages A variety of latitudes provides several climatic regions and growing climates.

Disadvantages! Distance. It is hard to get goods to the markets. Canada and the U.S. built trans-continental railroads in the 1800s. We later built highways.

We benefit one another Who do you think the U.S. exports the most goods to? Answer: Canada Canada ranks 2 nd to Japan in U.S. imports.

We benefit one another Canadian firms do more business with U.S. companies than with each other!

We benefit one another Culture U.S. culture influences Canada and vice-versa. Food, clothing, music, film, etc. Canadian ‘imports’ to the US

We are like brothers (or sisters) We may quarrel, but when the fight is on, we stick together. I Am Canadian Canada is Really Big

Are We Lucky?