Louisiana Geography Chapter 2 Summary

Dear Editor: I think that Thomas Jefferson and the United States Government should buy the port of New Orleans because they need the get the port so that we can trade and expand the United States.

The Louisiana purchase was one of the biggest land purchases in history. In 1803, the United States paid around $15 million dollars for around 800,000 square miles of land. This was arguably the greatest achievement of thomas jefferson’s presidency. The louisiana territory was a wild card in the european game of imperialism. The land mass was first claimed by france, ceded to Spain in 1762, and then ceded back to France nearly 40 years later.

Hispanic Americans have played a large role in shaping the Florida we know today. However, the Florida we know today is vastly different from the Florida that was around not too long ago. The person who was primarily responsible for the colonization of the wild, untamed Florida was none other than Spanish Conquistador Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. Menéndez de Avilés brought forth the overall development of Florida by establishing St. Augustine, the oldest continuously-inhabited settlement in the United States, as well as bringing European culture over to the state of Florida.

Harm de Blij’s Why Geography Matters: More Than Ever explains the necessity of geographic knowledge in today’s society and the need to further expand interactions within the United States and other countries. This novel expands on the economic, cultural, physical, and political geography of our nation. De Blij outlines on the importance of geographic thought by focusing on climate change, terrorism, the rise of states, and development in Africa.. I believe that while geography has proven to make a noticeable difference in the knowledge of our vast world, it will require an extensive amount of effort in order to make geography known.

Louisiana has lost 1900 years ago of land because of pollution from landfills, factory waste, and erosion. Due to the major loss of land Louisiana’s land many animal populations have decreased dramatically and are either endangered or exist. The land loss has lead to other major problems such as easier chances of being hit by natural disasters like hurricanes.

In the chapter “Geography Matters”, Thomas C. Foster explains the effect of geography on a story. Geography contributes greatly to themes, symbols, and plot, and most authors prefer to use setting as a general area with a detailed landscape rather than a specific city or landmark. In Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, he does not reveal the actual region of America that the man and boy are traveling in, but describes the mountains and eventual beaches of their path. McCarthy might not have revealed their location because it might ruin the reader’s interpretation of the setting. For example, the pair come across a generic “gap” between mountains and this is a turning point because it confirms the man’s planned path to the south. In addition, going south symbolizes hope, a new beginning,

The Louisiana Purchase was the purchase of the Louisiana territory by the United States from France in 1803. The U.S. paid fifty million dollars and a cancellation of debts worth eighteen million dollars which averages to less than three cents per acre. The Louisiana territory included land from fifteen present U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. The territory contained land that forms Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska, portions of Minnesota, large portions of North Dakota; large portions of South Dakota, parts of New Mexico, the northern portion of Texas, the area of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. The Louisiana Purchase was smart move by the United States.

There are many different types of climates and landscapes in different parts of the United States. Some regions might have freezing temperatures and damp forests. Other regions might have blistering temperatures and dry deserts. We will discuss the similarities and differences of the climate and landscape between Florida and Massachusetts.

America is popularly known for its fifty states that span across the North American content. All the states are governed by autonomous state governments that are all under the central authority of federal government. The history of how America came to unite the fifty states is fascinating considering that the means of acquisition of these states were not similar. The content of this paper will compare and contrast the acquisition of two major territories by the United States commonly known as the Louisiana Purchase and the Mexican Cession.

Every civilization throughout history has their ups and downs. What if these ups and downs could all be connected back to one main factor, to one influence? Throughout history, it can be noticed that the location of a civilization affects the shape of its culture, economy, trade, and security of its borders. It defines which societies rise to power and which lose power. Geography influences history in many ways, as can be seen in the Indus Valley, Greece, and Aksum civilizations. The Indus Valley built large mud walls and drainage systems to lessen the effects of massive flooding. In Greece, many wars occurred between city states due to the differences in culture caused by separation by mountain ranges. In Aksum, they utilized their access to different bodies of water to become the head of trade. Each of these civilizations utilized their geography and its advantages, but also eventually fell victim to its disadvantages.

Geography is the number one factor in shaping a region! The resources you have is all because of the geography and with that can make or break a region. Geography gives us industries, and industries make money, with less valuable resources or very little quantity of it can make your economy shrink while lots of valuable resources can lead your economy to great things. The geography is the single most important thing about a region.

Ch.2’s illustration displays Louisiana’s natural region, weather symbols, and lines of latitude and longitude. The image contains the five major natural regions, which refers to elevation and relief. The natural regions aid the understanding Louisiana’s geography. Representing the signs for rain, temperature, sun, and hurricane, the weather symbols benefit Louisiana’s geography because the weather can change the physical appearance of the land, therefore benefiting the depiction of the geography. The lines of latitude and longitude help illustrate geography because they represent boundaries (p.37-61). These figures all supply the illustration with the ability to depict LA’s

In Prisoners of Geography, Tim Marshall argues that geography constrains and shapes all nations and their leaders. Their actions are limited by mountains, rivers, seas, and concrete. He argues that to really understand world events, one must also consider geography. Physical characteristics affect the strengths and vulnerabilities of regions. In his book, Tim Marshall examines Russia, China, the Middle East, Latin America, the United States, Africa, Western Europe, Japan and Korea, and Greenland and the Arctic. In his examination of Latin America, he notes that bringing “Old World” knowledge and technology does little to improve a region if the geography is counterproductive. In the chapter on the Arctic, Marshall examines the Arctic’s unforgiving environment and the indisputable effects of global warming in the region.

When Louisiana was first settled in 1699 by French immigrants, the colonies of the newly formed state were in an impoverished, unprofitable position. The colonies' destitution was due to the lack of resources provided by their new land and government, as well as France's political and economic negligence. However, after long years of poverty, the colony would one day turn a profit by trading their naturally occurring precious metals for paper money and land.

Growing up, I have always had an interest in geography and thinking about different countries and what makes them the way that they are. I have not been in a geography class since middle school and Human Geography was a class that made me think about things I have never thought of before. The readings of both Kropotkin and Mackinder brought up very interesting points, some that conflict and others that agree. Each author writes in a way that stimulates and makes you think about geography and certain topics in different ways which I find to be very rare in writings from this time period. Discussing Kropotkin’s and Mackinder’s general ideas, points they disagree or agree on, and my own views on the topic will all be discussed in this final paper.