US Regions and Census

US Census Bureau

• US Census Bureau collects information and data about the states, including population, which has important political implications.

US Regions

• The Northeast (New England, Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, etc.) has very small states.
• The South (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, etc.) has a specific culture, identity, and history, especially due to the history of slavery.
• The Midwest is both urban and rural, with agriculture being extremely important to economic development.
• The Midwest is called the "fly-over states" because people on the coast look down upon it.
• The west's states were integrated later.
• The West is traversed by the Rocky Mountains.
• Pacific states include Washington, Oregon, and California.
• Alaska and Hawaii are the only two states integrated in the 20th century, around the 1950s, making them the last integrated into the US.

US Federal System and Statehood

• The US is a federal country; there is a federal government and state governments.
• At the Declaration of Independence in 1776, there were 13 original states/colonies, and then the US expanded west.
• When land was conquered and became a territory, it could apply for statehood once it had enough population.
• Each state has a capital (where political organizations are located) and its own political organizations mimicking federal institutions/systems.
• Each state has a governor instead of a president.

Federal and State Government Structure

• The federal system separates legislative, executive, and judicial branches at the federal and state levels.
• The legislative branch is Congress.
• The judicial branch is the Supreme Court.
• The executive branch is the President.

State Capitals

• State capitals include:
• California: Sacramento
• Florida: Tallahassee
• Texas: Austin
• Georgia: Atlanta
• New York: Albany
• Pennsylvania: Harrisburg
• Illinois: Springfield
• Virginia: Richmond
• Arizona: Phoenix
• A state capital is not necessarily the biggest city but often the first city founded, well-located, or / and at the center of the state for easy access.
• There are no precise rules to decide on a capital, and some have even changed.

State Capitals Reflect

• The state capital reflects how the National territory was built, reflecting where people decided to settle and live.
• It reflects the functioning of American democracy, showing where institutions were installed.
• It reflects the evolution of the ‘American City’ as a concept, showing how urbanisation happened and why some cities became big while others didn't.
• It is a combination of how people evolved, what the environment offered, and how the territory developed.
• Washington DC is the capital of the US, founded with the single purpose of being the capital and is outside of all other states intentionally.
• The names of the capitals reflect how US history and geography are interrelated and the diversity of people who traveled/settled in America.
• Toponymy studies place names.
• Some capital names sound French because they used to be French territory.
• The name Boise, Idaho, comes from the presence of French Canadian trappers.
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana, comes from the presence of a French explorer in 1699.
• The French influence persisted because Louisiana was characterized by French speakers and part of the French Empire until the early 19th century when the US bought it in 1803.
• Little Rock, Arkansas, was called Petit Roc.
• Montpellier, Vermont, reflects James Madison's (a Founding Father) fascination for France.
• Some capital names sound Spanish because the areas used to belong to Spain or Mexico.
• Santa Fe, New Mexico, is the oldest state capital used to belong to the Spanish empire (early 17th century) then Mexico (up until the mid-19th century).
• Other Spanish influenced cities include multiple cities in California (Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Francisco, etc.)
• Some capitals are named after their geography, such as Sacramento, California, named after a river.
• Salt Lake City, Utah, is named after a salty lake discovered in 1847 by a religious community (Mormons) that settled there and maintained a strong presence.
• Some capital names are rooted in English settlements, such as Boston, Massachusetts, and Dover, Delaware.
• Some capitals were named after famous/national heroes, such as:
• Columbus, Ohio, named after Christopher Columbus.
• District of Columbia, also named after Christopher Columbus.
• Raleigh, North Carolina, named after an English explorer who tried to create a settlement in the region in the late 16th century.
• Jackson, Mississippi, named after Andrew Jackson, a war hero who fought against England in 1812 during the Second War of Independence, who was also President in the 1830s and participated in the Indian Removal.
• Some capital names reference Native Americans.
• Tallahassee, Florida
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Some capital names are rooted in religion: Providence, Rhode Island, was founded by a religious community.

Washington DC

• Washington DC is the Federal capital of the United States.
• The Lincoln Memorial is at the end of the National Mall, facing the Capitol (Congress), surrounded by National Avenue, museums, and memorials.
• Washington DC is not a very touristic destination, as tourists gravitate towards cities like New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, National Parks, and Florida for beaches and DisneyLand.
• A flight from Europe to Washington DC is 9 hours.
• The accessible Airports are Dulles International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
• A suggested 5 day visit of Washington DC includes:
• Day 1: Political buildings
• Day 2: National Mall
• Day 3: Museums
• Days 4 and 5: Neighborhoods/reflecting changes in the US

Washington DC Characteristics

• Washington DC is more popular with US visitors but has a special status.
• The city has historic, cultural, and political interest, with architectural specificity and popular culture.
• Politics plays a significant role.
• Washington DC sparks fascination and rejection in Americans due to its political nature.
• The figure of the president has changed the perception of the city.
• The city is featured in blockbusters where the US is attacked and is often in the spotlight for political reasons in pop culture/media.
• Since the 20th century, the central role of the President has impacted the image of the city.
• There were 25.95 million visitors in 2023, 24 million of those were domestic travels mostly from the Northeast for local tourism.
• Architecturally, it has horizontal buildings rather than vertical skyscrapers.
• The architect Pierre Charles L’Enfant (late 18th century, early 19th century, French) imagined extremely long avenues to connect political buildings with parks, squares, and give the city perspective.
• L'Enfant is buried in Arlington Cemetery, overlooking Washington D.C.

Key stats and people

• Washington DC has 700,000 inhabitants
• 44.4% black
• 46.6% white
• 12% Hispanic
• 4.9% Asian
• The Great Migration during the 20th century led African Americans to leave discriminatory Southern states.
• The city is politically a democratic stronghold with African American voters.
• Muriel Bowser has been the mayor since 2015 due to a single mayor system implemented in 1974, resulting in a black democrat as a mayor.

Washington DC Politics

• Washington DC's Black inhabitants gained the right to vote in 1961 and voted for the first time in 1964.
• It's creation required the 23rd Amendment because it is technically not a state.
• Ever since they could vote, only voted for democrat candidates.
• Whether Washington DC should be a state has been publicly divided for years and defended within the Democratic party.
• For some, it is a logical evolution.
• For others, it goes against the original intention of the city's creation..
• The Washington DC Admission Act was suggested in 2021 but did not gain a majority in the Senate.
• Republicans are firmly opposed to Washington DC's statehood because it is mainly Democrat, and they know they would lose elections due to the heavy Black populace.
• Washington DC is not represented in the US Congress but still pays taxes.
• Washington DC was created with a lot of politics and strategy in mind because of the instability of the US stemming from the American Revolution.
• Washington DC is the result of a series of compromises which include the choice between a federal and different states’ government.
• It is situated on both Maryland and Northern Virginia and crossed by the Potoma River which comes from the Algonquian Native American tribe.
• It is named after John Washington, the first US president.

Reasons for Washington DC Creation

• Neutrality: it is a compromise between the Northern and Southern states and between the smaller/bigger and free/slave states.
• Role: it stabilizes the Union and gives a sense of national belonging.
• Position: central position and the presence of the Potomac River facilitates trades and transportation.
• District of Columbia: named after Christopher Columbus.
• Washington's role is crucial and Congress validated the idea through the Residence Act in 1790.
• There was a need for buildings for American institutions such as the executive and legislative branches (White House and Capitol) and multiple memorials.

The White House

• The White House is the president's house and located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
• Its name was given in 1901 by Theodore Roosevelt.
• Visits are very limited and mostly are through state congressmen.
• Construction started in 1800.
• John Adams was the first president to live there.
• George Washington wanted the building to feel closer to the people, unlike European palaces
• The 2 main architects were Pierre L’Enfant and James Hoban and construction involved Black people, slaves, and Scottish immigrants.

White House Building modifications

• First modifications occurred in 1814 after the war against England, accommodating the president with new ideas and projects.
• In the 1890s, there was electricity.
• In 1909, there was an Oval Office (president Taft).
• In 1930, there was a swimming pool (president FDR's handicap).
• In 1947, there was a bowling lane (president Truman).
• Obama replaced a bust of Churchill with a bust of Martin Luther King, but Trump changed it back.
• Exterior modifications were little on the façade but showed an example neoclassical architecture.
• Stones were white-washed for protection.

Three main sections include

• The East Wing for the First Lady has office space.
• The Executive Residence is for the First Family and has private apartments.
• The West Wing is for the President, including the Oval Office, situation room, and press briefing room.

National Mall

• The Washington Monument was designed by Robert Mills and completed by Thomas Casey from 1848 to 1884 measuring 169 meters (555 feet) tall in an obelisk shape.
• It is operated by the National Park Service since 1933 and has more than 600,000 visitors each year.
• The National Mall is a series of monuments that represent the diversity/complexity of US history and contains artifacts from national history.
• George Washington was a war general who fought in the War of Independence and was a Founding Father.
• The Washington Monument was privately and publicly financed is the tallest building in Washington DC (limited height) and is one of the highest obelisk in the world.
• It symbolizes the grandeur and importance of George Washington.
• The building hasn't changed except for mainly earthquake renovations.

Lincoln Memorial

• The Lincoln Memorial honors President Lincoln (1861-1865) and recognizes the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation.
• He was assassinated in 1865.
• The Lincoln Memorial is designed as a temple with a statue by Daniel Chester French.
• Its Dedication was in 1922 by President W. Harding.
• The major event was August 28, 1963, and was the day of the ‘I have a dream’ speech by Martin Luther King.
• Lincoln was elected when the country was extremely divided and he was mostly elected by Northern states that had an abolitionist movement.
• The Southern states separated from the Union and formed the Confederacy, which led to the Civil War.
• Lincoln wanted to ensure that the Union was preserved.
• The Emancipation Proclamation was a message to black slaves encouraging them to leave southern states to join the North Army.
• Lincoln was assassinated by a Southerner at a play, which reinforced a hero narrative.
• The Memorial is modeled after the Pantheon in Greece, and Lincolns famous speeches are carved into the walls, with the statue revealing itself as you walk towards it.

Martin Luther King Memorial

• Dedicated in 2011 by President Barack Obama.
• The first African-American was honored on the National Mall.
• The project was initiated in 1996.
• The architect was a Chinese sculptor.
• Stones had Extracts from King’s speeches.
• Honoring civil rights movement
• Symbol in the Obama era
• The memorial is slightly behind the other monuments and out of the center of the National Mall.
• The 3rd Monday of January is the national Martin Luther King day.

Washington DC Museums

• The Smithsonian Institution
• Gift to the United States courtesy of James Smithson.
• It was an act of Philanthropy and speculation.
• In 1835 President Andrew Jackson was notified of the gift.
• In 1846 The Act of Congress validated the project.
• It's vision was Creating an American cultural identity
• Its focus lies amongst art, culture, humanities, and the science institute.

The Impact of the Smithsonian Institution

• Became touristically attractive thanks to National buildings on the National Mall and museums.
• Most are regulated by the Smithsonian Institution and honors James Sminthson, an English chemist who never traveled to America.
• Smithson’s will stated his estate would go to his nephew; if he were to die childless, it would go to the US.
• Smithson's nephew did die childless in 1835 allowing President Andrew Jackson to fulfill Smithson’s wish by spreading culture, knowledge, and science throughout the US.
• The US did not know what to do with the gift, as it was a yound and divided country lacking a strong cultural identity.
• Congressmen, scholars, educators and the public debated over a university, scientific institute, a library, or a museum.
• The end result was a cultural institution for cultural identity and heritage in art and humanity.

The Smithsonian Institution contains:

• 19 museums
• National zoo
• 9 research facilities
• 1946: National Air Museum
• 1964: National Museum of American History
• 1968: National Portrait Gallery
• 2004: National Museum of the American Indian
• 2016: National Museum of African American History and Culture

The National Air Museum:

• Located on the National Mall Independence Avenue since 1976.
• Consistently reaches 7 to 8 million visitors per year.
• The museum follows the History of aviation and space race
• Example Apollo 11 ( 1969 : first human on the Moon )
• Example Spirit of Saint Louis ( 1927 : Charles Lindbergh, first non-stop transatlantic flight )
• The museum struggles to recover from the pandemic but is dedicated to the evolution of US technology.

The National Museum of American History:

• Established in 1964.
• It Follows cultural, political, and social heritage themes.
• Social events
• Example Greensboro lunch counter-sit ( 1960 )
• Incorporates Historical objects and artifacts which are in Constant evolution, covering wide range of themes and adopts the point of view of minorities
• Example Civil Rights movement which makes it an interactive museum:
• Example Star-Spangled banner
• ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ : US’ national anthem ( Francis Scott Key ) 1931

The National Portrait Gallery

• Has 1 million visitors.
• Is home to More than 20,000 works of art
• Features Only portraits with ‘The Hall of Presidents, famous room

The National Museum of African American History and Culture:

• The Smithsonian Institution's 19th museum
• Is a $540 million dollar building
• Features 400,000 square feet and 35,000 artifacts
• Its original conception was as far back at 1915
• A suggestion in the the 1960s and 1970s was revived with Congressman John Lewis in 1980s to build one on the National Mall
• In 2003 the law was signed by President G.W Bush which.
• Granted history of race relations and African American experience
• Understanding complexity of US history has seen the darker aspects (violence, slavery, tension, etc.) VERSUS black experience=national experience
• Created a need to compose with different perspectives.
• The director Kevin Young is a poet and Author) who has held the post since January 2021
• The art/culture historian Sarah Lewis mentions 'the battleground of art and culture has been used throughout the country's history to create narratives that would legitimate who counts and belongs to society.'
• Because of this history no Museum is never completely neutral and symbolic unlike The Martin Luther King Memorial.
• It was inaugurated by Barack Obama.

Other Museums and National Archives:

• International Spy Museum
• National Gallery of Art
• National Museum of Natural History
• National Postal Museum
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
• Founding documents : Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Articles of Confederation are held here

U Street: A Washington DC Neighborhood

• Is emblematic of Washington DC.
• Represents the evolution of the specificity of Washington DC culture.
• Reps a world of US cities as Urban centers w/ specific demographics and is known as the stronghold of the African American AA communities.
• It's existence is a derivative demographic that started the beginning of the 20th century named The Great Migration.
• It saw millions of AA leave the southern states to settle down in major urban areas such as NYC, Philly, Boston. Detroit, Chicago, or Indianapolis.

US Population

• As of 2023 the US Population stands at 341 million and is the 3rd mostly populated country behind China and India.
• Births occur every 9 seconds and deaths every 10.
• The population is not evenly dispersed across the territory with very densely populated regions near historically urban centers in the Atlantic coast and the northern bordering urban centers.
• In the 20th century it also saw population booms in the West/South which have the likes of California, Texas or Florida.
• Roughly, 2/3 of the American citizen live within 150 miles of the border (Land or Maritime) Most of these populate in The following States California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan (majority southern).
• The Major Cities with the largest populace consist of NY City, LA, Chicago, Houston, Pheonix, and Philadelphia in that order. There are other unincorporated/incorporated territories that the US holds despite not being States with different living conditions.

These are:

• American Samoa
• Guam
• Northern Mariana Islands
• Puerto Rico (which has the highest population)
• Virgin Islands

Territorial Status

• The people of these territories do not have the right to vote despite being citizens without any representation by representation in the higher congress. They are primarily there for economic interest by holding a military base that allows the US to hold a global presence. The Virgin Islands were bought from Denmark in 1917, and Puerto Rico was was annexed as a result of American-Spanish War in 1898.

The US Borders are:

• About 9000 kilometers with Canada+ parts of Alaska the is partially frozen.
• Issue: a difference in immigration rules with Mexico roughly at 3000 kilometers and massive illegal immigration.
• Also the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean Borders, the US is shaped by its transportation particularly Railroad Transportation in the especially the west.
• US Longest Road stretches for 5000 km in the US-20, cutting through various States such as Minnesota. Boston rapidly urbanized after its colonial history.

The Midwest

• Suffered industrial loss.
• More rural.
• Consists of rocky mountain ranges and the Pacific Ocean but controversy surrounds its Alaska range.
• Has various mountain ranges that impacted the pioneers for building paths and cities on it.
• This can be proven from the Northeastern Appalachian Mountains and mid-Canada in Alabama, which were tough forests to build roads and cities in.