Influences on the Bill of Rights

The West

The South

The Midwest

New England

IV The main industries and cities.

American manufacturing began in the Northeast. The first factories were in New England. They produced cotton cloth, supplied coal, natural gas, oil and water power to other regions.

Fishing has been important in the Northeast. Many towns began as a fishing community: Boston, Portland, New Bedford and Gloucester.

The eastern part of the Midwest is corn country. This region is called the Corn Belt. Farming is the leading industry.

The northern part of the Midwest is a hay and dairy region. Wisconsin is the leading dairy state.

The drier western parts of the Midwest are wheat lands. There is a big supply of raw materials – iron ore, livestock, wheat, timber, etc.

Meat packing and flour milling are big Midwestern business. Buffalo, at the eastern end of Lake Erie in New York State, is a milling centre. It is cheaper to transport goods by water than by rail.

Detroit is the centre of automobile industry. Over half the motor vehicles and equipment made in the USA comes from the Midwest.

The South is rich in natural resources: sulphur, salt, phosphate, natural gas, iron ore, coal. Birmingham is an important producer of iron and steel. Oil and natural gas help refinery and chemical industry to develop in the South.

The three states of the West Coast – California, Oregon and Washington – have important farm lands. The crops in California are cotton, wheat, rice and barley. Los Angeles is famous for its oil, aircraft and tire manufacturing, automobile assembly plants.

Another West Coast manufacturing centre is the San Francisco Bay area with its food processing, oil refining and electronics.

Answer the questions:

1. What are the main physiographic divisions of the US?

2. Name the main mountain ranges, the highest peaks and the lowest points in the US.

3. What are the major rivers and lakes of the USA?

4. How does the climate vary throughout the country?

5. What natural resources are found in the USA?

6. Can you remember the most important cities and industries developed in the US?

The United States Bill of Rights consists of the ten amendments added to the Constitution in 1791, as supporters of the Constitution had promised critics during the debates of 1788. The English Bill of Rights (1689) was an inspiration for the American Bill of Rights. Both require jury trials, contain a right to keep and bear arms, prohibit excessive bail and forbid "cruel and unusual punishments." Many liberties protected by state constitutions and the Virginia Declaration of Rights were incorporated into the Bill of Rights.

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