US Geography for US History Classes - Free Educational videos for Students in K-12

US Geography for US History Classes - By Lumos Learning

Transcript


00:0-1	Hi and welcome to Mr Raymond's Social Studies Academy for
00:03	US history , the first in our series for those
00:06	taking early United States history . And today we will
00:09	look at how the geography of the United States helped
00:12	shape us history . The U . S is the
00:15	third largest country in the world , after Russia and
00:18	Canada , with over 3.8 million square miles . Made
00:22	up of flat coastal plains , rolling hills , mountains
00:26	, deserts and productive farmland , the U . S
00:28	shares land borders with Canada to its north and Mexico
00:33	To its south , it has the Atlantic Ocean on
00:35	its east coast , the Gulf of Mexico to the
00:38	south , east and the Pacific Ocean on the West
00:40	Coast . This is what's known as a physical map
00:44	, and you can see a wide variety of topography
00:47	or natural features across this vast country . In addition
00:51	to providing fishing and shipping opportunities to the United States
00:56	, the Atlantic Ocean has historically provided a large buffer
01:00	to world events that took place in Europe , home
01:02	of the first settlers to America and the location of
01:06	many world conflicts . The Pacific Ocean provides similar economic
01:11	opportunities and separation from events in Asia , providing the
01:15	backdrop to the Pacific campaign of World War Two against
01:18	the Japanese . The Gulf of Mexico provides another location
01:22	for ports , fishing and tourism and offshore oil drilling
01:26	, which has been controversial since the BP oil spill
01:30	of 2000 and 10 . The United States has a
01:32	vast river system , some of which you will need
01:35	to identify for your class , including the mighty Mississippi
01:39	, which connects to the Missouri and Ohio rivers .
01:42	The Rio Grande running along our border with Mexico .
01:45	The Colorado River , which runs through the Grand Canyon
01:49	. The ST Lawrence , which borders Canada , and
01:52	the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest , which is
01:55	also shared with Canada . Of course , there are
01:57	many other smaller rivers that run throughout the United States
02:02	. One river that we didn't mention that would play
02:04	an important role in the founding of the United States
02:07	is the Hudson River , with New York City located
02:10	right at its base , which would be occupied by
02:12	the British crossing . The Hudson , controlled by British
02:15	ships , would be a challenge for General Washington's troops
02:19	throughout the Revolutionary War , which we will be learning
02:22	about soon . The Rio Grande was also the scene
02:25	of military conflicts in the Mexican American War . Originally
02:29	part of Mexico , the Rio Grande was negotiated as
02:33	the border between the US and Mexico . The Mississippi
02:36	River was especially important to the development of the United
02:40	States as it runs right through what is referred to
02:43	as the bread basket of the U . S .
02:45	It's rich farmland . As you can see , many
02:49	Midwestern cities are located along the Mississippi and its tributaries
02:53	, including Minneapolis , Chicago , Indianapolis , Kansas City
02:58	, ST Louis , Cincinnati , Louisville , Nashville ,
03:03	Memphis and , of course , New Orleans . At
03:06	the base of the Mississippi . These rivers again played
03:08	a crucial role to the development of the U .
03:10	S . Because they allowed farmers to transport their goods
03:14	to the East Coast and then maybe off to Europe
03:17	or other destinations . In the days before cars and
03:20	trucks and railroads , the river supplied the crucial transportation
03:24	networks needed for the building of America . When the
03:27	early settlers left the East Coast in search of new
03:31	farmlands , the Midwest supplied the fertile flat lands that
03:34	they were looking for in this area continues to supply
03:37	much of the food that we eat today . Much
03:40	of this area is known as the Great Plains ,
03:43	a plane is a large , flat area with few
03:46	trees . The Great Plains , where the setting of
03:48	a lot of conflicts with the Native Americans living there
03:51	conflicts that you will be learning about later this year
03:54	. Located in the north of the Midwest on the
03:57	border with Canada are the Great Lakes . Some of
04:00	you are going to have to memorize the Great Lakes
04:02	. The largest is Lake Superior , and you can
04:05	remember that by its name , Lake Michigan is where
04:07	Chicago and Milwaukee are located . Lake Huron is the
04:11	second most northern of the Great Lakes , and it's
04:14	attached to Lake Michigan . Remember Lake Ontario and Erie
04:18	As the smallest of the five , Lake Erie is
04:20	the southernmost , with Ohio and Pennsylvania on its borders
04:24	, and Lake Ontario is north of Erie and the
04:27	farthest east , with the Canadian city of Toronto located
04:30	on its coast , the Great Lakes are massive .
04:33	If you've ever been to Chicago looking out at Lake
04:36	Michigan , it's almost like you're staring out in the
04:38	notion the lakes provide shipping opportunities . And we're the
04:41	location of several battles during the French and Indian War
04:45	and the War of 18 12 , both involving the
04:47	British Navy . In 18 25 the Erie Canal was
04:51	completed , opening up a transportation system between the Great
04:55	Lakes and the Eastern Seaboard . This incredible feat of
04:58	civil engineering cut transportation costs dramatically for commercial shipping from
05:04	the northern Midwest to the East Coast , with over
05:07	12,000 miles of coastline bays , harbors and inlets have
05:11	also played an important role in the development of the
05:14	United States . One of these that was crucial during
05:17	the Revolutionary War was Chesapeake Bay , located between Virginia
05:21	, Maryland and Delaware . The Chesapeake was the center
05:24	for the pivotal battle of the war . Yorktown ,
05:27	in which French ships providing aid to the United States
05:30	blocked English troops from escaping Virginia and helped clinch the
05:34	victory for the United States . Another inlet that played
05:37	a role in the Revolutionary War was Long Island Sound
05:41	. A sound is a longer sea or ocean inlet
05:44	, and Long Island Sound is located between New York's
05:47	Long Island and Connecticut . The British used Long Island
05:50	Sound to attack several Connecticut towns . We will also
05:54	be covering . The pilgrims this year landed first on
05:58	Cape Cod before settling in Plymouth . A cape is
06:01	a body of land extending into the Sea . Cape
06:05	Cod is located just south of Boston and provided the
06:07	backdrop for one of America's earliest historic events . As
06:11	we mentioned , America has several different mountain rages ,
06:15	and to that , you will be asked to identify
06:17	are the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains . The Appalachians run
06:22	along the east coast of the United States , and
06:24	these mountains provided a dividing line for early settlers to
06:28	the U . S . Who set up their farms
06:30	to the east of these mountains while America was still
06:33	part of England . The British Parliament passed the Proclamation
06:37	Act of 17 63 forbidding the colonists to settle lands
06:41	west of the Appalachians . This act was one of
06:44	the causes of tensions between the colonists in England that
06:48	you will need to identify later in the year .
06:50	The Rocky Mountains , located much further west , would
06:53	not play a big role until much later in U
06:56	. S history . When gold was discovered near San
06:59	Francisco in 18 48 and nine , Eastern settlers flocked
07:03	to the west coast of the United States . But
07:05	the Rocky Mountains provided a serious challenge to settlers traveling
07:10	by horse drawn wagons . Now we showed you before
07:13	a physical map of the United States . But you're
07:15	probably more familiar with this one , which is known
07:18	as a political map dividing the country into its 50
07:21	states . My class will be asked to identify all
07:24	50 states and a map , and you might ,
07:26	too . Another thing you might be asked to identify
07:29	is what's known as an absolute location . This uses
07:33	latitude and longitude lines to identify an exact location on
07:37	a map . You might also be asked to identify
07:40	regions of the United States , which are often divided
07:43	into the Northeast , the South , the Midwest and
07:47	the West . Your teacher might want you to get
07:49	more specific and identify New England , the Middle Atlantic
07:53	, the South Atlantic and so on . Now ,
07:56	the last thing to consider when looking at us geography
07:59	is how territorial expansion took place from the original 13
08:04	colonies . As more and more immigrants came to America
08:07	, people moved west as most of the land on
08:10	the East Coast was taken . States were added as
08:13	more people moved to a certain location in 18 oh
08:15	three . The amount of land owned by the United
08:18	States was almost doubled when President Thomas Jefferson pushed through
08:22	the Louisiana purchase from France for a measly $15 million
08:27	. You can see that in 18 19 , Florida
08:30	was acquired from Spain about 30 years later , the
08:33	war between the US and Mexico provided another massive amount
08:36	of land , including present day Texas , New Mexico
08:40	, Arizona and California . Around that same time ,
08:43	the Pacific Northwest was officially acquired from the British again
08:48	. This westward expansion was fueled as massive amounts of
08:51	Europeans fled to the United States . The idea that
08:55	America should expand west was known as manifest destiny that
09:00	we were destined to populate this land from coast to
09:03	coast free or cheap land was offered by the homestead
09:07	acts to spur settlers to populate this area . When
09:11	the first transcontinental railroads were built , travel time across
09:15	the country decreased dramatically . The Panama Canal , completed
09:19	in 1914 , also greatly reduce the shipping time and
09:23	travel time by boat between the two coasts . Nowadays
09:26	, Americans can travel across the country on a variety
09:29	of interstate highways , opening our vast country to everyone
09:33	, and that's where we'll end our brief look at
09:35	the geography of the United States . So let's review
09:38	what are the two major mountain ranges in the United
09:41	States ? The Appalachian and the Rockies . This major
09:45	river runs through the middle of the country into New
09:48	Orleans . The Mississippi . This cape was where the
09:52	pilgrims first landed . Cape Cod . This river runs
09:57	through New York City and was important during the Revolutionary
10:00	War . The Hudson . This river separates the U
10:04	. S . From Mexico . The Rio Grant .
10:07	This massive purchase of land from France almost doubled the
10:11	size of the United States . The Louisiana purchase .
10:15	These developments greatly decrease the amount of time it took
10:19	to travel across the country , the transcontinental railroad ,
10:23	the Panama Canal and the interstate highway system . Here's
10:27	a typical state exam review question . This one's for
10:30	the New York region's river systems were important to the
10:34	development of the United States because they , a allowed
10:37	Americans to travel easily between the East Coast and the
10:41	West Coast . Be prevented . Foreign invasion of US
10:44	territory . See provided routes for shipping , agricultural and
10:49	manufacturing products , or D made southeast the major destination
10:53	for immigrants , which one was important to the development
10:57	that would be C provided routes for shipping , agricultural
11:01	and manufacturing products . The Homestead Act and grants of
11:05	land to railroads were used to a raise money to
11:09	finance the federal government , be limit the influence of
11:12	monopolies and trusts . See support the development of state
11:16	universities or D encouraged settlement of the West . Remember
11:21	, the Homestead Act gave people freelance to move west
11:24	, so this was d encourage the settlement of the
11:29	West , and that's it . I want to thank
11:32	you guys for watching . Be sure to subscribe .
11:34	This is just the beginning of our look at us
11:37	history . Just reminder teachers that this power point with
11:40	lesson plans , activities and other resources are available .
11:44	Teachers pay teachers . Just click the link in the
11:46	notes below , or go to teachers , pay teachers
11:49	and search for Mr Raymond's Civics Academy .

Summarizer

DESCRIPTION:

This PowerPoint, with activities, and lesson plans are available @: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/S...â This lesson teaches students about how U.S. geography has shaped events throughout the history of the United States. This lesson was designed for students taking US History classes. Students will be asked to identify major geographical features including our major rivers, mountain ranges, the Chesapeake Bay, Cape Cod, and Long Island Sound. Students will be exposed to physical maps, political maps, and absolute location. Students will also learn how territorial expansion took place and how land was acquired. Like most of the videos on Mr. Raymondâs Civics and Social Studies Academyâs lessons, this video ends with a review âquiz.â Remember that the PowerPoint in this video as well as a variety of lesson plans, worksheets, smartboard files and activities, are available at Teachers Pay Teachers. As a social studies teacher, I have often looked for good YouTube video clips to show my students. I hope these videos will serve as a supplement to lessons for civics teachers, US history teachers, US government teachers and their students. I have also thought that these videos could help those who are going to take the naturalization test to become US Citizens.

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