Question

Short essay questions.

Typed answers, please

6) Why and how did the South and the West of the U.S. catch up with the Northeast in terms of population, economic growth, and industrial output?

7) How does California differ from the other states?

8)  Why has Quebec sought separation from the Canadian federation?

9) How does Canada differ from the United States?

10) What is NAFTA? What have been the benefits of NAFTA to its members?

Answer 1

6. The period between the American Civil War (1861–65) and the end of the nineteenth century in the United States was marked by tremendous expansion of industry and agriculture as well as the spread of settlement across the continent. The population of the United States more than doubled during this period. In its report on the 1890 census the Bureau of the Census declared the frontier closed. Most of the economic growth was concentrated in the Northeast, Midwest, and plains states. The South remained largely agricultural, its total industrial production totaling about half that of New York State. The Northeast clearly emerged as the industrial core of the nation with 85 percent of the nation's manufacturing, processing raw materials from the Midwest and West.

Northern control of Congress after the War led to ever higher tariffs, reaching an average of 57 percent with the Dingle Tariff of 1897. These rates remained in effect until 1913. Behind the protective wall of these tariffs U.S. industry grew and agriculture expanded westward to feed the growing populations of industrial cities. The United States was the largest free trade market in the world. Northern and Midwestern populations grew much faster than those of the South and the expansion of the nation's railroad system tied those two regions closely together. A large part of the industrial expansion during the post Civil War years was based on connecting the industrial northeast with the farm and grazing areas of the Midwest and Plains states and completing the transcontinental railroads. Railroad mileage in the United States doubled between 1865 and 1873 and increased by an additional 50 percent between 1873 and 1881. Transported freight increased from 2.16 billion ton/mile in 1865 to 7.48 billion in 1873 and 16.06 billion in 1881. The iron and steel industry was one direct beneficiary of the expansion of the railroad system. Steel production increased from 19,643 long tons in 1867 to 198,796 long tons in 1873 and 1,588,314 in 1881. In 1874 the United States was second to Great Britain in pig iron production. By 1900 the U.S. produced four times as much as Britain. Carnegie Steel alone produced more than the British. The expansion of iron and steel production led to comparable increases in iron and coal mining.

The backbone of the rapid industrial growth of the U.S. economy during these years was the nation's natural resources. The United States had huge reserves of coal, iron ore, copper and other metals, petroleum, timber, and water power, as well as fertile land for agriculture. Iron reserves in northern Minnesota and along the Michigan–Wisconsin border were developed to augment those on the south shore of Lake Superior. Coal reserves in the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee were developed. Silver and gold mines were developed in Nevada and Colorado. Copper found in Montana replaced that of Michigan as the main source of this increasingly important metal needed for the transport of electricity. An expanding range of uses for petroleum was discovered, its many components being used as lubricants and cleaning solvents. Its use as a fuel began only at the very end of the period. There was little in the way of raw material necessary for industrial expansion at this time that was not abundantly available in the United States.

7. California is different than the 22 land-locked states because it is one the coast, it is different than the 26 states without many mountains because of the Sierra Nevada, it is different than the 43 states without desert because of California's border on the Colorado river in east California, it is different than the 46 states without a Mexican border, and it is different than the 47 states that don't border the Pacific. So California is significantly different than the other states. California has a fairly unique culture and identity, even with the inter-state cultural differences between the southern and northern portions and the rural and urban portions.

8. The 1995 Quebec independence referendum was the second referendum to ask voters in the Canadian French-speaking province of Quebec whether Quebec should proclaim national sovereignty and become an independent country, with the condition precedent of offering a political and economic agreement to Canada.

Controversies over both the provincial vote counting and direct federal financial involvement in the final days of the campaign reverberated in Canadian politics for over a decade after the referendum took place. In the aftermath of the close result, the federal government, after unilaterally recognizing Quebec as a distinct society and amending the federal constitutional veto procedure, referred the issue to the Supreme Court of Canada, which stated that the unilateral secession contemplated in the referendum was illegal.

9. The United States Constitution vests the federal government with only specific powers. Powers not enumerated in the U.S. Constitution are reserved to the states under the Tenth Amendment. This system of federalism is intended to preserve each state’s autonomy, but more importantly to protect individual rights. To that end, the Founding Fathers also spelled out some of our fundamental rights in the Bill of Rights. Among other rights, these specially protected rights include protections against unreasonable searches and seizures of property, a guarantee that private property will not be taken but for a public purpose without just compensation, and an assurance of the right to free speech. Furthermore, the Founding Fathers sought to protect all other natural rights against usurpation by adopting the Ninth Amendment, which provides that the Constitution shall not be construed as disparaging other rights retained by the people.

California’s initiative process has led to many other changes to the state constitution over the years, all of which affect your rights as a citizen. Importantly when dealing with public entities, Proposition 209 prohibits the state and her political subdivisions from discriminating against, or offering benefits to individuals on the basis of sex, race or ethnicity. This has been interpreted in the courts as prohibiting local and state government from taking these considerations into account when making employment decisions, in public contracting and in education.

Yet even without the initiative process, California courts have understood the state Constitution as providing greater protections for certain rights than the federal constitution. For example, the Federal Constitution does not always protect owners against unintended physical damage to private property, even where the government is clearly responsible. By contrast, courts recognize that the state and her municipalities may incur liability for reasonably foreseeable damages caused to private property during the course of public works projects, even if the damages were unintended.

10. The North American Free Trade Agreementcreated the world’s largest free trade area of 450 million people. It's an economic powerhouse of $23.72 trillion in gross domestic product. It links the economies of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. As of 2017, the U.S. economy was worth $19.49 trillion; Canada, $1.77 trillion; and Mexico, $2.46 trillion. NAFTA's trade area produces more than the 28 countries in the European Union.

1. Quadrupled Trade

Between 1993 and 2018, trade between the three members quadrupled from $297 billion to $1.23 trillion. That boosted economic growth, profits, and jobs for all three countries. It also lowered prices for consumers.

During that time, the United States increased its exports of goods to the other two from $142 billion to $564 billion. That's 34% of its total exports, making Canada and Mexico its top two export markets. It shipped $299 billion to Canada and $265 billion to Mexico.

U.S. imports from its NAFTA partners were $665 billion. That's 26% of total U.S. imports. It's also more than triple the $151 billion imported in 1993. Mexico shipped $346 billion to the United States and Canada shipped $319 billion.

NAFTA boosted trade by eliminating all tariffs between the three countries. It also created agreements on international rights for business investors. That reduced the cost of commerce. It spurs investment and growth, especially for small businesses.

2. Lowered Prices

Lower tariffs also reduced import prices. That lessened the risk of inflation and allowed the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low.

That's especially important for oil prices since America's largest import is oil. The U.S. Census reports that Mexico and Canada shipped $115 billion in oil and petroleum products in 2017. Thanks to greater U.S. shale oil production, this figure was down from $154 billion in 2008.

NAFTA reduced U.S. reliance on oil imports from the Middle East and Venezuela. It was especially important when the United States banned oil imports from Iran. Why? Mexico and Canada are friendly countries. Other oil exporters, such as Venezuela and Iran, use oil as a political chess piece. For example, both started selling oil in currencies other than the petrodollar.

NAFTA lowered food prices in much the same way. The U.S. Census reports that food imports totaled around $50 billion in 2017, up from $33 billion in 2008. As a result, NAFTA lowered the prices of food imports by $5.3 billion annually.

3. Increased Economic Growth

NAFTA boosted U.S. economic growth by as much as 0.5% a year. The sectors that benefited the most were agriculture, automobiles, and services.

U.S. farm exports to Canada and Mexico quadrupled from $11 billion in 1993 to $43 billion in 2016. It made up 25% of total food exports and supported 20 million jobs. This trade leveraged another $54.6 billion in business investment.

NAFTA increased farm exports because it eliminated high Mexican tariffs. Mexico is the top export destination for U.S. beef, rice, soybean meal, corn sweeteners, apples, and beans. It is the second largest export destination for corn, soybeans, and oils.

NAFTA modernized the U.S. auto industry by consolidating manufacturing and driving down costs. Most cars made in North America now have parts sourced from all three countries. The increase in competitiveness allows the industry to fend off Japanese imports. Mexico exports more cars to the United States than Japan. Before the 2008 recession, Japan exported twice as many as Mexico. By 2020, Mexico will manufacture 25% of all North American cars.

4. Created Jobs

NAFTA exports created 5 million net new U.S. jobs. Most of those jobs went to 17 states, but all states saw some increases. U.S. manufacturers added more than 800,000 jobs between 1993 and 1997. Manufacturers exported $487 billion in 2014. It generated $40,000 in export revenue for each factory worker.

Even imports from NAFTA partners created jobs. That's because almost 40% of U.S. imports from Mexico originated with American companies. They designed the products domestically, then outsourced some portion of the process in Mexico. Without NAFTA, they would have gone to China. They may not have been created at all.