NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS CURRICULUM SUPPORT
Modern Studies
International Issues: USA
[ACCESS 3]
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Acknowledgement
Learning and Teaching Scotland gratefully acknowledges this contribution to the National Qualifications support programme for Modern Studies.
The publishers gratefully acknowledge permission from the following sources to reproduce copyright material: Microsoft clipart © clipart reprinted by permission from Microsoft Corporation 2008; US map © created and provided by www.worldatlas.com; Map of USA © Forest Inventory and Analysis; World War II Marines poster © About.com; image of Twin Towers on 11 September 2001 © PA Photos; articlea ‘Mexico slams Georgia migrant law’ (19 April 2006), ‘US immigrants stage boycott day’ (2 May 2006), ‘US city gets tough on immigrants’ (14 July 2006), ‘Mexico anger over US border fence’ (27 October 2006) all © BBC News website.
Every effort has been made to trace all the copyright holders but if any have been inadvertently overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2008
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Contents
Background 5
What a big country! 5
What a lot of people! 6
It is hot, hot, hot and cold, cold, cold! 7
The flag 7
The population of the USA and its people 9
The different groups in the USA 9
Hispanics 11
Three main groups
Mexican Americans 12
Puerto Ricans 17
Cubans 21
Black Americans 25
Blacks in the South 26
Blacks in the North 28
Blacks in the inner-cities 28
Why do Black Americans live there they live? 30
Asian and Pacific Islanders (API) 33
Native Americans 35
Immigration to the USA 36
The American Dream 36
Who are these immigrants? 37
Why do people come to the USA? 37
Types of immigrants 38
Why do people worry so much about immigration? 41
How does the Government deal with immigration? 43
Economic inequalities and progress – Blacks and Hispanics 55
Problem 1: Employment and unemployment 57
Problem 2: Poverty 60
Social inequality and progress – Blacks and Hispanics 63
Problem 3: Health 63
Problem 4: Educational attainment 66
Problem 5: Housing 68
Problem 6: Crime and the law 72
Social and economic inequalities and progress – Asian and
Pacific Islanders (APIs) 76
Income and poverty 76
Education 77
Health 77
Political background 78
Great Britain and the USA 78
The Declaration of Independence 78
The signing of the American Constitution 79
The first president 79
Politics today 80
How does the Government of the USA work? 80
Representation in the USA 82
Black Americans and political progress 83
Hispanics and political progress 86
Asian and Pacific Islanders and political progress 88
Women and the US political system 89
How can the people of the USA get involved in politics? 90
Resources 96
Blank map of the USA 96
Immigration task 97
State Government group work task 98
Internet research help 99
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: USA (ACCESS 3, MODERN STUDIES) 29
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2008
BACKGROUND
Background
In 1776, Britain’s 13 American colonies formed a new nation, which they called the United States of America. Over the next couple of hundred years, 37 new states were added. The USA is now the world’s most powerful country.
What a big country!
The USA is a huge country. It has an area of 9,631,420 square kilometres. The USA is the third largest country in the world. Russia is first and Canada is second. The USA is almost two and a half times the size of the European Union.
http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/us.htm
What a lot of people!
The USA also has lots of people. Only China and India have larger populations. It has a population of around 298,444,215 and more and more people are coming in every day.
In July 2006, it was estimated that 20.4% of Americans were aged between 0 and 14 years. 67.2% were aged between 15 and 64 years, while 12.5% were aged 65 and over.
Activities
1. Write a short paragraph giving some details about the background of the USA.
Background of the USA – Did you know…?
2. Write a short paragraph giving some details about the size of the USA.
What a big country – Did you know…?
It is hot, hot, hot and cold, cold, cold!
The USA has lots of different kinds of weather. Alaska has long, dark, extremely cold winters and short, mild summers. It doesn’t rain often but is covered with snow and ice during much of the year. The eastern side of the USA, for example New York and Massachusetts, has lots of weather changes. The people living there experience spring, summer, autumn and winter. The south eastern part of the USA (for example, Florida) has a warmer average temperature. If you travel further west to states like New Mexico, you will find mostly mountain and desert country, which doesn’t have much rain at all.
The flag
The American flag is known as Old Glory. It has 13 red and white stripes. A blue rectangle in the top left corner has 50 small white stars. The 50 stars represent the 50 states; the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies.
Activities
1. Copy and complete the following chart.
Weather / State2. Draw a picture of the American flag.
3. What is the American flag sometimes called?
4. Explain why there are 13 stripes and 50 stars on the flag.
5. Collect a blank map of the USA. Using an atlas to help you, label the following states.
New York Massachusetts Illinois
Alaska Florida New Mexico
Washington California Texas
Arkansas Nebraska Georgia
Kansas North Carolina Wyoming
Arizona New Jersey South Dakota
Extension
1. Look at the following website: www.50states.com
2. Choose three or four states and find out the following information:
· The name of the state
· The capital of that state
· The population of the state
· The land area of the state
· Any other information you think is relevant
3. Present this information to the other members of your class.
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: USA (ACCESS 3, MODERN STUDIES) 29
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2008
THE POPULATION OF THE USA AND ITS PEOPLE
The population of the USA and its people
The population of the USA is mixed. There are five main groups of people in the USA today. They are Whites, Black or African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian and Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans.
You will learn many different things about these groups. White English-speaking Americans are the largest group of people living in the USA today. Even although many of these White Americans came from different countries, such as Germany, the UK, Ireland and Italy, this group has mixed well. Most people in this group now consider themselves American.
The different groups in the USA
Native American / A Native American is a person who has origins in any of the original peoples of North America. This group are sometimes known as American Indians. The name Christopher Columbus was the first person to call this group Indians. He believed mistakenly that the USA was part of the Indies, in Asia.Population: 2.5 million
Asians and Pacific Islanders / There are many different groups of Asian Americans. They come from China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, India and Pakistan. Pacific Islanders come from Hawaii, Samoa and other Pacific Islands.
Population: 12.5 million
Black / An American of African descent.
Population: 36 million
White / A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, North Africa or the Middle East.
Population: 202 million
Hispanic / A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race.
Population: 37 million
Activities
1. Draw a spider diagram showing the different groups of people currently living in the USA.
2. Enter the correct population beside each group.
Extension
1. Using the table above, add extra information about each group to your diagram.
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: USA (ACCESS 3, MODERN STUDIES) 29
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2008
HISPANICS
Hispanics
Hispanic factfile
Q: How many Hispanics live in the USA? What percentage of the US population is Hispanic?
A: 35 million live in the USA (13% of the population).
Q: Which part of the USA do Hispanics live in?
A: 34.8% of them live in the South.
13.3% live in the North East.
7.7% live in the Mid-West.
44.2% live in the West.
Q: Do Hispanics live in the towns or in the countryside?
A: 91.3% of Hispanics live in the towns (urban areas).
8.7% of Hispanics live in the countryside (rural areas).
As you can see, Hispanics live mainly in the South and West. A lot of Hispanics also live in big cities like New York and Chicago. Over half live in just two states, California (11.0 million) and Texas (6.7 million). Five more states have Hispanic populations of 1 million or more: New York (2.9 million), Florida (2.7 million), Illinois (1.5 million), Arizona (1.3 million) and New Jersey (1.1 million). The Hispanic population is growing much faster than the national average.
Activities
Using an atlas to help you, enter the number of Hispanics living in the following states on a blank map.
California Texas New York Florida
Illinois Arizona New Jersey
Hispanics can also be split into three main groups.
1. Mexican Americans
2. Puerto Ricans
3. Cubans
Mexican Americans
There are approximately 23 million Mexican Americans in the USA, and they make up 66% of all Hispanics. Most Mexican Americans live in the South and the West of the USA. The Mexican population of Los Angeles is second only in size to Mexico City.
Activities
Copy and complete the following paragraph using the word bank below.
There are many______why Mexicans come to live in the ______. Some move to the USA to find ______. Others are trying to escape ______and ______. Many Mexicans just want to ______their standard of living. Lots of Mexicans send the ______they ______back to their families in Mexico.
unemployment money improve reasons
poverty work earn USA
Extension
1. Read the following information.
2. Using the information above, write a short report on Mexican American jobs. You should include the following information.
· Why do Mexicans do the low paid jobs?
· What kind of jobs do Mexicans do?
3. Study Sources 1 and 2 on the next page, then answer the question that follows.
Source 1
Some people like the Mexicans
In California and Texas the farmers depend on this labour force and many pay for gangs of illegal immigrants to be smuggled into the USA. Border patrols are not above accepting favours from farmers or restaurant owners who employ illegal immigrants. Mexican workers earn low wages and work in poor conditions; however, the wages earned are still greater than those received back home in Mexico.
Source 2
Some people don’t like the Mexicans
Unhappy Whites have staged demonstrations recently against the failure of the American government to tackle immigration from Mexico. In 2005, 1,000 vigilantes, known as the Minutemen, placed volunteers along the US border between Arizona and Mexico to watch the immigrants trying enter the country illegally. When they saw Mexicans coming across the border, they phoned the border police to come and arrest them.
Sources 1 and 2 above give different views about how many American citizens feel about illegal Mexican immigrants.
Study the two sources and write down what these differences are. You should mention at least two differences in your answer. Your answer must be based on the sources above. (4 marks)
Problems for the Mexican Americans
Activities
Some Mexican Americans have serious problems when they come to the USA.
1. Explain some of the problems that Mexican Americans have when they come to the USA.
Puerto Ricans
There are 3.3 million Puerto Ricans in the USA. Most of them live in the cities in the North East of the USA.
Over one third of all Puerto Ricans in the USA live in New York. Others live in Chicago in the Mid West of the USA.
Puerto Ricans factfile
Fact 1 Puerto Rico is a Free Associated State of the USA; therefore, its citizens have dual nationality.
Fact 2 Puerto Ricans are free to enter the USA.
Fact 3 Puerto Ricans form the lowest income group in the US.
Fact 4 Many work in low paid service industries such as cab driving.
Activities
1. Copy and complete the following paragraph using the word bank below.
There are a number of ______why Puerto Ricans come to live in the ______. Some move to the USA to achieve the ______. Others want to come to the USA because they want to join their ______who are living there already. Many come to the USA to join the Puerto Rican ______that are already there.
American relatives communities reasons
Dream USA
2. Write down which of the following sentences are true.
· Puerto Rico is a Free Associated State of the USA
· Puerto Ricans are one of the richest groups of people in the USA.
· Many Puerto Ricans work in low paid jobs.
· Puerto Ricans have dual nationality.
· Puerto Ricans have many problems entering the USA.
· Puerto Ricans form the lowest income group in the USA.
· Puerto Ricans are free to enter the USA.
· Puerto Ricans usually work in the highly paid jobs in the USA.
Puerto Ricans in New York – Extension Group Activity