Answers to Thinking Geographically Questions

Figure 5.1: They help build group solidarity. The Hispanic festival, by incorporating an American flag, also helps portray the immigrants as loyal, patriotic Americans.

Figure 5.2: Both Asia and Latin America have had rapid increases in population in the late twentieth century. In both areas, cultures have close family ties, leading to families bringing their relatives after one member immigrates. The number of Asian immigrants was also increased by refugees from warfare in Southeast Asia in the 1970s.

Figure 5.3: The percentage of the U.S. population that cites Hispanic origin is likely to increase in the next few decades for several reasons. The economies of countries such as Mexico and many Central American states are projected to continue to shrink in coming decades, offering citizens of those countries fewer and fewer opportunities for livelihood. Therefore, increasing numbers of these individuals are likely to seek economic opportunity in the (nearby) United States. Further, individuals of Hispanic origin already living in the United States tend to be, on average, younger than members of some other racial and ethnic groups within the country. Therefore, they are more likely to be of childbearing age in the coming decades, further increasing the Hispanic-origin population in comparison to groups experiencing lower birthrates.

Figure 5.4: Many aspects of social and economic position depended on “race.” Europeans had not previously been in contact with many peoples of nonwhite races to the degree that they were when they settled in the Americas.

Figure 5.5: Race in the United States has traditionally been defined by ancestry, not necessarily appearance.

Figure 5.6: The large areas of the Tibetans, Turkic peoples, Mongols, and Hui would be homelands. There are numerous ethnic islands in the south, such as those of Miao-Yao peoples. In the Northeast are islands of Tungus-Manchu peoples. The peripheral location of the ethnic areas relates to China’s having absorbed these areas as it expanded through its history from its origins in the Yellow River (Huang He) valley.

Figure 5.7: The 1939 map shows an extension of the Cajun-speaking area toward the northwest and an area north of Lake Pontchartrain. It also shows more Cajun speakers in the eastern part of the Mississippi Delta. Differences in the 2000 map may be related to changes in the population, but they may also reflect the use of English by people with Cajun surnames, so that they would not report themselves as Cajun-speaking.

Figure 5.8: Characteristic types of houses, barns, and houses of worship may remain. Place names are another fairly permanent part of an ethnic homeland. Although field patterns were greatly influenced by the survey system, other aspects of fields may have been developed by the ethnic group.

Figure 5.9: When most Germans and Scandinavians immigrated in the middle to late nineteenth century, they were seeking either good farmland or mine or factory employment. Both were more likely to be found in the North. The South had little industry, and most land was already claimed. Scandinavians were also willing to settle in cold climates.

Figure 5.10: A large section is labeled “Ghetto Nuovo” and a street in the lower right corner is “Calle di Ghetto Nuovissimo.” Nuovo means new in Italian.

Figure 5.11: There is nothing about the buildings themselves to show that they are Chinese. The traditional Chinatown was probably built by others and then acquired by Chinese immigrants. Although Chinese entrepreneurs may have built the suburban shopping center, they used popular architectural styles in the area.

Figure 5.12: Answers will vary.

Figure 5.13: The Southwest is closest to Latin America and was under Spanish, then Mexican, rule before it became part of the United States. Puerto Rico, likewise, was a Spanish colony. Puerto Ricans have migrated to the major cities of the Northeast in search of jobs, and Cubans migrated in large numbers to Florida after Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba. Both Mexicans and Puerto Ricans have settled in Chicago. Hispanics are spreading out in the Southeast and Midwest, primarily in response to job opportunities.

Figure 5.14: California and Hawaii are physically closest to Asia; California began attracting Asian immigrants during the Gold Rush. The Northeast has attracted Asians looking for good jobs, especially in technology. Chicago, in Illinois, is also a draw for this reason, as is Washington State. Nevada is a migration destination for many Americans because of the growth of jobs in general.

Figure 5.15: States with the highest percentages of white population tend to be in the North, where settlement was primarily by European immigrants; other, later immigrants have not settled in large numbers. Places like northern New England, Iowa, North Dakota, and Wyoming lack large cities and large numbers of factory jobs that attract later nonwhite migrants. West Virginia is well known as a place of poverty with few jobs other than coal mining. New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and Michigan have lower white percentages because they have attracted blacks to factory jobs.

Figure 5.16: The major region of black population is still composed of the former Confederate states where slavery was practiced. Northward migration for factory jobs is also evident in the larger percentages in New Jersey, New York, Michigan, and Illinois, and to a lesser extent, California and Nevada, which are farther away from the major concentration of blacks.

Figure 5.17: In defining “American Indian and Alaska Native,” the U.S Bureau of the Census includes people whose origins are from the original people of North, South, and Central America (excluding Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islander groups). These populations are most prevalent in several midwestern, southwestern and Great Plains states such as New Mexico, Arizona, Montana, North and South Dakota, and Oklahoma, which have comparatively large areas of land designated as American Indian reservations. Alaska is also home to many native groups, including Alaska Athabascan, Eskimo, Aleut, and Tlingit-Haida.

Figure 5.18: Polynesians have no tradition of retailing, and theirs is a communal society that shares wealth. If a Polynesian were to open a store, all of his or her relatives would have the right to come and take merchandise for free, sharing the wealth. The store would fail within a month. The way was left open for the Chinese, who have a very different culture.

Figure 5.19: The states that contributed the most migrants are close by; more distant states are hardly represented. The exception is Baja California, where migrants would have other opportunities, such as moving to California.

Figure 5.20: Answers will vary, but you may consider the following challenges and conditions that refugees frequently encounter: racism and discrimination; poverty and unemployment; lack of access to education and other services; and separation from, and loss of contact with, family members in their home country.

Figure 5.21: Many refugees, in fleeing war-torn regions, take up residence illegally in neighboring countries that may not be officially hospitable to them. Therefore, these individuals are likely to keep their presence unknown to officials if possible. Furthermore, movements into and out of designated refugee camps and other sanctioned settlement areas are likely difficult to monitor due to chaotic conditions.

Figure 5.22: The Finns found the forested region similar to the land they had left. The Native Americans survived there because few other groups wanted such infertile land.

Figure 5.23: Political boundaries do not necessarily accommodate ethnic differences, as in the case of the enclave Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan. Divided ethnic groups may want to join together, as in the case of North and South Ossetia, and groups may desire independence from rule by different ethnic powers, as in the case of Chechnya.

Figure 5.24: Many ethnic neighborhoods began as areas of poor, substandard housing, for example, the Lower East Side of New York City. Ethnic neighborhoods tended to develop in areas that wealthier residents did not want.

Figure 5.25: Waste disposal, sewage treatment plants, and industries that cause noise, fumes, or odors.

Figure 5.26: It is suggested that the Finns’ fondness for smoked fish may help explain their high cancer rate.

Figure 5.27: Culture regions are based on several traits, each of which may have a slightly different distribution and boundaries.

Figure 5.28: Americans have traveled in Mexico and in Italy and brought back a fondness for those types of cuisine, which nonmembers of the ethnic groups concerned have learned to reproduce (usually in a modified fashion). Both Mexican and Italian foodways have been adopted by major corporations for chain brands.

Figure 5.29: Corn (maize) is the traditional staple food of the indigenous peoples, while the Spanish prefer wheat, their traditional staple food.

Figure 5.30: Examples include the flag of César Chávez’s farm-labor movement, the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Mexican flag, and indigenous clothing styles.

Figure 5.31: Such neighborhoods tend to have very strict regulations regarding exterior decoration in order to maintain an image of upper-class mainstream America. Bright red paint and grape arbors would probably be against these regulations.

Figure 5.32: The major message to be conveyed was that Brazil was a modern, forward-looking country.

Figure 5.33: Because the flow of Ethiopian migrants continued over an extended period of time, and because large numbers within this total flow of individuals relocated to the Washington, D.C., area, it is likely that there are many noticeable imprints on the local cultural landscape. For example, there are likely to be clothing stores specializing in Ethiopian fashion; salons catering to African hairstyles and styling techniques; and services in native languages targeted toward Ethiopian clients and businesses, such as accounting firms and legal services.

Figure 5.34: Answers will vary, but you may think of Polynesian cuisine in Hawaii, which blends many traditionally East Asian ingredients and preparations with those of several South Pacific island cultures. You may also suggest Tex-Mex cuisine in the American Southwest, which blends traditional Mexican foodways with those of American cowboy culture.

Figure 5.35: Students will relate different experiences depending on their location. The closer they live to Mexico, the more likely they are to report corn tortillas or at least more authentic Mexican tortillas. While large numbers of Mexican immigrants have resulted in large numbers and widely spread Mexican restaurants, they vary greatly in the authenticity of the food they serve.