Difference between revisions of "Northeastern United States" - New World Encyclopedia

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[[Image:US map-Northeast.PNG|thumb|300px|Regional definitions vary]]
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[[Image:US map-Northeast.PNG|thumb|400px|Regional definitions vary]]
 
The '''Northeastern United States''', as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, covers nine states: [[Maine]], [[New Hampshire]], [[Vermont]], [[Massachusetts]], [[Rhode Island]], [[Connecticut]], [[New York]], [[New Jersey]], and [[Pennsylvania]]. All were among the original thirteen colonies settled in the seventeenth century (though Maine and Vermont were considered part of other colonies at the time) and joined the [[United States of America]] upon independence in 1776.
 
The '''Northeastern United States''', as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, covers nine states: [[Maine]], [[New Hampshire]], [[Vermont]], [[Massachusetts]], [[Rhode Island]], [[Connecticut]], [[New York]], [[New Jersey]], and [[Pennsylvania]]. All were among the original thirteen colonies settled in the seventeenth century (though Maine and Vermont were considered part of other colonies at the time) and joined the [[United States of America]] upon independence in 1776.
  
The first [[Europe]]ans to settle New England landed in present-day Massachusetts. These settlers were primarily non-conformists (later called [[Pilgrims]]) and [[Puritans]] from [[England]] seeking religious freedom.
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The first [[Europe]]ans to settle New England landed in present-day Massachusetts. These settlers were primarily non-conformists (later called [[Pilgrims]]) and [[Puritans]] from [[England]] seeking religious freedom. Massachusetts was also one of the key colonies in the events that led up to the break away from the [[British Empire]]. The Battle of Lexington and Concord took place April 19, 1775, when the British sent a regiment to confiscate arms and arrest revolutionaries in Concord, Massachusetts. It was the first fighting of the [[American Revolution]].
Massachusetts was also one of the key colonies in the events that led up to the break away from the [[British Empire]]. The Battle of Lexington and Concord took place April 19, 1775, when the British sent a regiment to confiscate arms and arrest revolutionaries in Concord, Massachusetts. It was the first fighting of the [[American Revolution]].
 
  
The Northeast is bordered to the north by [[Canada]], to the west by the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]], to the south by the [[Southern United States|South]], and to the east by the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. Its largest city, [[New York City]], is also the largest city and metropolitan area in the United States. The region's population was estimated to be 54,741,353 in 2006.
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The Northeast is bordered to the north by [[Canada]], to the west by the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]], to the south by the [[Southern United States|South]], and to the east by the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. Its largest city, [[New York City]], is also the largest city and metropolitan area in the United States.  
 
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{{toc}}
The Northeast is also the richest region of the United States. In 2007, the wealthiest states included New Jersey (second), Connecticut (third), and Massachusetts (fifth), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.[http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/103432/The-Richest-(and-Poorest)-Places-in-the-U.S.?mod=oneclick]
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The Northeast is also the richest region of the United States. While they rank high in income, they are predominantly small in overall population and area, with only New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania ranking in the top ten states in population and no state ranking in the top ten in size.
New York alone accounts for nearly 8 percent of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) as of 2005.<ref>http://www.bea.gov/bea/newsrel/GSPNewsRelease.htm</ref> While they rank high in income, they are predominantly small in overall population and area, with only New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania ranking in the top ten states in population and no state ranking in the top ten in size.
 
  
 
==Geography==
 
==Geography==
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[[Image:Niagara3573.jpg|400px|thumb|right|Horseshoe Falls, one of the three [[Niagara Falls]]]]
 
The Northeast is the smallest Census Bureau-defined region in the country though it has the most states. The landscape varies from the rocky coast of [[New England]] to the fertile farmland of the [[Ohio River]] Valley. Jagged cliffs rise up to a hundred feet above the [[ocean]] on Maine's northern coast; south of the state's West Quoddy Head Peninsula, the easternmost point in the United States, the coastline subsides to sandy beaches that extend along the rest of the Northeast's Atlantic coastline. Between [[Cape Cod]] in Massachusetts and [[Cape May]] in New Jersey are a series of large islands, including [[Nantucket]], [[Martha's Vineyard]], [[Block Island]], [[Long Island]], [[Manhattan Island|Manhattan]], and [[Staten Island]].
 
The Northeast is the smallest Census Bureau-defined region in the country though it has the most states. The landscape varies from the rocky coast of [[New England]] to the fertile farmland of the [[Ohio River]] Valley. Jagged cliffs rise up to a hundred feet above the [[ocean]] on Maine's northern coast; south of the state's West Quoddy Head Peninsula, the easternmost point in the United States, the coastline subsides to sandy beaches that extend along the rest of the Northeast's Atlantic coastline. Between [[Cape Cod]] in Massachusetts and [[Cape May]] in New Jersey are a series of large islands, including [[Nantucket]], [[Martha's Vineyard]], [[Block Island]], [[Long Island]], [[Manhattan Island|Manhattan]], and [[Staten Island]].
  
 
The mouths of four major rivers pierce the coastline to empty into the Atlantic:
 
The mouths of four major rivers pierce the coastline to empty into the Atlantic:
* [[Delaware River|Delaware]] at the New Jersey-Delaware border;
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* Delaware River: flows south from its source between the Pocono Mountains and the Catskills, forming the border between Pennsylvania and New Jersey and passing through the Trenton and Philadelphia area before emptying into Delaware Bay on the Delaware-New Jersey border;  
* [[Hudson River|Hudson]] empties into New York Harbor at the New York-New Jersey border; extends north between the Berkshires and the Catskill Mountains to its source in the [[Adirondack Mountains]].
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* [[Hudson River|Hudson]]: empties into New York Harbor at the New York-New Jersey border and extends north between the [[Berkshire Mountains|Berkshires]] and the [[Catskill Mountains]] to its source in the [[Adirondack Mountains]];
* [[Connecticut River|Connecticut]] in Connecticut,
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* Connecticut River: runs along the border of New Hampshire and Vermont between the Green Mountains and White Mountains before flowing through Springfield, Massachusetts, and Hartford, Connecticut, on its way to empty into Long Island Sound.
* [[Kennebec River|Kennebec]]: extends over 60 miles (100 km) past Augusta into the thick [[pine]] [[forest]]s of Maine.
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* Kennebec River: extends over 60 miles (100 km) past Augusta into the thick [[pine]] [[forest]]s of Maine.
 
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* Susquehanna River begins in the Catskill Mountains of New York and winds down a valley between the Allegheny Plateau and the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania before crossing the border into Maryland and emptying into the [[Chesapeake Bay]].
Two of the [[Great Lakes]], [[Lake Ontario]] and [[Lake Erie]], also border the region.  
 
  
The Connecticut River flows south, running along the border of New Hampshire and Vermont between the [[Green Mountains (Vermont)|Green Mountains]] and [[White Mountains (New Hampshire)|White Mountains]], before flowing through Springfield, Massachusetts, and Hartford, Connecticut, on its way to empty into [[Long Island Sound]]. In the White Mountains of New Hampshire is [[Mount Washington (New Hampshire)|Mt. Washington]], the tallest mountain in the Northeast and the [[wind]]iest location in the United States. The White Mountains were also the location of the famous geological formation called the [[Old Man of the Mountain]], which collapsed in 2003. To the west of the Green Mountains on the New York-Vermont border, and extending into Canada, is [[glacier]]-formed [[Lake Champlain]], where Vermont's largest city [[Burlington, Vermont|Burlington]] is located. The Lake Champlain area drains north into the [[St. Lawrence River|St. Lawrence]] river valley.
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To the north and west of the Susquehanna are the Finger Lakes of New York, so called because they resemble human fingers, and the Northeast's borders with the [[Great Lakes]] of [[Lake Ontario]] in New York and [[Lake Erie]] in both Pennsylvania and New York. On an isthmus between the two Great Lakes on the New York-[[Ontario]] border, near Buffalo, New York, is one of the most famous waterfalls in the world, [[Niagara Falls]].
  
The Delaware River flows from its source between the [[The Poconos|Pocono Mountains]] and the Catskills down, forming the border between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and passing through the [[Lehigh Valley]], [[Trenton, New Jersey|Trenton]], and [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]] areas before emptying into [[Delaware Bay]] on the Delaware/New Jersey Border. The [[Susquehanna River]] begins in the Catskill Mountains of New York and winds down a valley between the [[Allegheny Plateau]] and the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania before crossing the border into Maryland and emptying into the [[Chesapeake Bay]].
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In the White Mountains of New Hampshire is [[Mount Washington]], the tallest mountain in the Northeast and the [[wind]]iest location in the United States. The [[White Mountains]] were also the location of the famous geological formation called the Old Man of the Mountain, which collapsed in 2003. To the west of the Green Mountains on the New York-Vermont border, and extending into Canada, is [[glacier]]-formed [[Lake Champlain]], which drains north into the [[St. Lawrence River|St. Lawrence]] river valley.
  
To the north and west of the Susquehanna are the [[Finger Lakes]] of New York, so called because they resemble human fingers, and the Northeast's borders with the Great Lakes of Lake Ontario in New York and Lake Erie in both Pennsylvania and New York. On an isthmus between the two Great Lakes on the New York/[[Ontario]] border near [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]] is one of the most famous waterfalls in the world, [[Niagara Falls]].
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To the south, the [[Ohio River]] flows from the Allegheny Plateau through Pittsburgh and on into the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]], where it merges with the [[Mississippi River]]. The Ohio was one of the main routes of travel west in early American history.
  
To the south, flowing out of the Allegheny Plateau is the [[Ohio River]] which flows through [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]] and on into the [[U.S. Midwest]] where it ultimately merges with the [[Mississippi River]].
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===Climate===
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The northeastern states possess a wide range of climates. [[Rain]]fall varies from over 50 inches annually in some coastal areas to 32 inches in the western part of Pennsylvania and New York. [[Snow]]fall can range from over 100 inches per year in Upstate New York to only trace amounts in the coastal areas of Maryland. Generally, northern New England, the parts of New York north of the Mohawk River, highland areas in the [[Appalachian Mountains|Appalachians]], and some coastal areas have warm, humid summers and snowy, often bitterly cold winters.  
  
==Climate==
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Below this line, much of the region (except for the higher elevations) has hot, humid summers and moderately cold, snowy winters. Most of the major cities of the Northeast lie within this zone, including Pittsburgh, New York, and Boston. The area around the [[Chesapeake Bay]], (as well as the states of Maryland, Delaware, and extreme southeastern Pennsylvania) has hot, humid summers and more mild winters.
Despite being geographically one of the smallest regions of the [[United States]], the northeastern states possess a wide range of climates.  Rainfall varies from over 50 inches annually in some coastal areas, to 32 inches in the western part of [[Pennsylvania]] and [[New York]]. Snowfall can range from over 100 inches per year in Upstate New York to only trace amounts in the coastal areas of [[Maryland]]. Generally, northern New England, the parts of New York north of the Mohawk River, highland areas in the [[Appalachians]] and some coastal areas possess a warm summer humid continental climate, with warm, humid summers and snowy, often bitterly cold winters. Cities in this zone include Syracuse, NY, Burlington, VT, and Portland, ME. Below this line, much of the region (except for the higher elevations) has a hot summer humid continental climate, with hot, humid summers and moderately cold, snowy winters. Most of the major cities of the Northeast lie within this zone, including Pittsburgh, [[New York City|New York]], and [[Boston]]. The area around the [[Chesapeake Bay]] which is only sometimes called Northeast as well as the states [[Maryland]], [[Delaware]] and extreme southeastern [[Pennsylvania]] possess a humid subtropical climate, with hot, humid summers and more mild winters. Cities that lie in this zone include [[Baltimore]] and [[Washington, D.C.]], with [[Philadelphia]] lying on the transition zone.
 
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
 
===New England===
 
===New England===
New England is perhaps the best-defined region of the U.S., with more uniformity and more of a shared heritage than other regions of the country. New England has played a dominant role in American history. From the late seventeenth century to the mid to late righteenth century, New England was the nation's cultural leader in political, educational, cultural, and intellectual thought. During this time, it was the country's economic center.
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[[New England]] has more of a shared heritage than other regions of the country. It has played a dominant role in American history. From the late seventeenth century to the late eighteenth century, New England was the nation's leader in politics, education, culture, and intellectual thought as well as the country's economic center.  
 
 
The earliest European settlers of New England were [[England|English]]  [[Protestantism|Protestants]] who came in search of religious liberty. They gave the region its distinctive political format &mdash; [[town meeting]]s (an outgrowth of meetings held by church elders), in which citizens gathered to discuss issues of the day. Town meetings still function in many New England communities today and have been revived as a form of dialogue in the national political arena.
 
  
Education is another of the region's strongest legacies. The cluster of top-ranking universities and colleges in New England&mdash;including four of the eight schools of the Ivy League, as well as MIT, Tufts, and numerous other elite colleges and universities&mdash;is unequaled by any other region. America's first college, Harvard, was founded at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1636. Many of the graduates from these schools end up settling in the region after school, providing the area with a well-educated populace and its most valuable resource, the area being relatively lacking in natural resources, besides "ice, rocks, and fish". True to their enterprising nature, New Englanders have used their brains to make up the gap, for instance, in the 19th century, they made money off their frozen pond water, by shipping ice in fast clipper ships to tropical locations before refrigeration was invented.  
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The earliest [[Europe]]an settlers of New England were [[England|English]] [[Protestant]]s who came in search of [[freedom of religion|religious liberty]]. They gave the region its distinctive political format &mdash; town meetings (an outgrowth of meetings held by church elders), in which citizens gathered to discuss issues of the day. Town meetings still function in many New England communities and have been revived as a form of dialog in the national political arena.
  
As some of the original New England settlers migrated westward, immigrants from [[Canada]], [[Ireland]], [[Italy]], and [[eastern Europe]] moved into the region. Despite a changing population, New England maintains a distinct cultural identity. It can be seen in the simple woodframe houses and quaint white church steeples that are features of many small towns, and in the traditional lighthouses that dot the Atlantic coast. New England is also well known for its mercurial weather, its crisp chill, and vibrantly colored foliage in autumn. The region is a popular tourist destination. As a whole, the area of New England tends to be liberal in its politics, albeit restrained in its personal mores.  
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[[Image:Landing-Bacon.PNG|thumb|400px|The traditional landing of the [[Pilgrims]] at Plymouth Rock.]]
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The cluster of top-ranking universities and colleges in New England&mdash;including four of the eight schools of the [[Ivy League]], as well as the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT), [[Tufts University]], and numerous other elite colleges and universities&mdash;is unequaled by any other region. America's first college, [[Harvard]], was founded at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1636 as a church school. Many of the graduates from these schools end up settling in the region, providing the area with a well-educated populace.
  
The extreme southwestern part of [[Connecticut]] is sometimes considered culturally and demographically more like the Mid-Atlantic region because of its proximity to [[New York City]].
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As some of the original New England settlers migrated westward, immigrants from [[Canada]], [[Ireland]], [[Italy]], and [[eastern Europe]] moved into the region. Despite a changing population, New England maintains a distinct cultural identity. New England is also well known for its mercurial weather and vibrantly colored foliage in autumn. The extreme southwestern part of Connecticut is sometimes considered culturally and demographically more like the Mid-Atlantic region because of its proximity to [[New York City]].
  
 
===Mid-Atlantic===
 
===Mid-Atlantic===
These areas provided the young United States with heavy [[industry]] and served as the "melting pot" of new immigrants from Europe. Cities grew along major shipping routes and waterways. Such flourishing cities included [[New York City]] on the [[Hudson River]], [[Philadelphia]] on the Delaware River, and Baltimore on the [[Chesapeake Bay]].
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This area provided the young United States with heavy [[industry]] and served as the "melting pot" of new immigrants from Europe. Cities grew along major shipping routes and waterways, including [[New York City]] on the [[Hudson River]] and [[Philadelphia]] on the Delaware River.
  
[[Netherlands|Dutch]] immigrants moved into the lower Hudson River Valley in what is now [[New Jersey]] and [[New York State]]. [[Sweden|Swede]]s went to [[Delaware]]. The [[Rngland|English]] [[Catholic]]s settled in [[Maryland]]. An English [[Protestant]] sect, the Friends ([[Quakers]]), settled [[Pennsylvania]]. In time, all these settlements fell under English control, but the region continued to be a magnet for people of diverse nationalities.  
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[[Netherlands|Dutch]] immigrants moved into the lower Hudson River Valley in what is now New Jersey and New York in the early seventeenth century. An English [[Protestant]] sect, the Religious Society of Friends ([[Quakers]]), led by [[William Penn]], settled [[Pennsylvania]]. His colony gave equal right to people from different races and [[religion]]s. In time, all these settlements fell under English control, but the region continued to be a magnet for people of diverse nationalities.  
  
Early settlers were mostly farmers and traders, and the region served as a bridge between North and South. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania midway between the northern and southern colonies, was home to the [[U.S. Continental Congress]], the convention of delegates from the original colonies that organized the [[American Revolution]]. The same city was the birthplace of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] in 1776 and the [[U.S. Constitution]] in 1787.
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Early settlers were mostly farmers and traders, and the region served as a bridge between North and South. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, midway between the northern and southern colonies, was home to the [[U.S. Continental Congress]], the convention of delegates from the original colonies that organized the [[American Revolution]]. It was also the birthplace of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] in 1776 and the [[U.S. Constitution]] in 1787.
  
The Mid-Atlantic with two of America's largest cities, New York City and Philadelphia, contains vast importance in the region. A major center of [[business]], [[mass media|media]], [[education]], the [[art]]s, and [[cuisine]], the area could be considered one of America's most prominent regions. With all these attractions, many immigrants are lured to the region. New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware are rich in immigrant culture throughout their history, beginning with the [[Europe]]ans. The region now boasts large [[Asia]]n and Hispanic populations. [[Africa]]n immigrants have many strongholds in urban areas.
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With two of America's largest cities, New York and Philadelphia, the region is a major center of [[business]], [[mass media|media]], [[education]], the [[art]]s, and cuisine. Though initially settled by [[Europe]]ans, the region now boasts large [[Asia]]n and Hispanic populations. [[Africa]]n immigrants have many strongholds in urban areas.
  
 
==Culture==
 
==Culture==
===Language, ethnicity, and religion===
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===Religion===
Culturally, the Northeast is somewhat different from the rest of the United States. While some regions of the United States, such as the [[U.S. South]], are predominantly [[Protestant]], half of the states in the Northeast are predominantly [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]], with [[Rhode Island]] having the highest percentage of Catholics in the Continental United States. This is largely due to substantial levels of immigration the region received in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries from [[Ireland]], [[Italy]], [[Quebec]], and other Catholic regions. The Northeast is home to many other religious groups. For example, [[New York]] has the highest percentage of [[Jew]]s in the nation, followed by [[New Jersey]] and [[Pennsylvania]]. [[Connecticut]] and [[Massachusetts]] also have a significant percentage of Jews relative to most other U.S. states, as does [[Maryland]]. The Northeast also contains the highest concentration of Italian-Americans and Irish-Americans in the United States.
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While some regions of the United States, such as the [[Southern United States|South]], are predominantly [[Protestant]], half of the states in the Northeast are predominantly [[Roman Catholic]]. This is largely due to substantial levels of immigration the region received in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries from [[Ireland]], [[Italy]], [[Quebec]], and other Catholic regions. The Northeast is also home to many other religious groups. It has the largest concentration and percentage of [[Jew]]s in the United States.
  
The Northeast is an ethnically diverse region, with high populations of [[African-American]]s, [[Hispanic]]s, and [[Asia]]ns, though it has a generally low number of [[Native Americans of the United States|Native Americans]]. The high level of diversity has much to do with [[New York City]], which was and still is an entry point for many immigrants; however, the other major cities of the region have significant ethnic diversity as well. The three largest cities in the census-defined Northeast ([[New York City]], [[Philadelphia]], and [[Boston]]) have the same four largest ancestries African American, [[Italy|Italian]], [[Ireland}Irish]], and [[Puerto Rico|Puerto Rican]].  
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The region also has the highest number of [[Hinduism|Hindus]] and [[Sikhism|Sikhs]] in the nation. This is due to the fact that the Northeast has more people of [[India]]n descent than any other part of the country, and in the world outside India.  
  
As is the case in much of the United States, people from many European American backgrounds live in the Northeast, although white northeasterners frequently identify with their ethnic background more strongly than do U.S.-born whites from other U.S. regions. Massachusetts, particularly in the Boston area, is regarded as the Irish capital of the United States. New York City, Philadelphia,Baltimore, and [[New Jersey]] have long been known for their many Italian-Americans (many of whom have moved to outlying suburban areas). The New York City borough of Brooklyn also historically is a major center of the Jewish-American population; while a significant community still lives there, in the mid-twentieth century Jews made up over 50 percent of the borough's white population (the city as a whole also contained over 50 percent of the entire country's [[Jewish]] population at the time).  
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The region is also home to one of the largest populations of [[Muslim]]s, [[Buddhism|Buddhists]], and many other religions, including the highest amount of Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians, due to the many [[Eastern Europe]]ans who have immigrated to the region.
  
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania is home to the famous [[Amish]] (who are of German descent), but now a large, vibrant Hispanic population lives there as well. Overall, the Northeast has a high percentages of people of Jewish, [[Germany|German]], Italian, Irish, [[Portugal|Portuguese]], and French-Canadian descent. The cities of New Bedford, Massachusetts, Fall River, Massachusetts, Kearny, New Jersey, and Newark, New Jersey, each has high populations of people of Portuguese and [[Brazil]]ian descent; increasingly so does Mount Vernon, New York, a small city that borders New York City to the north which also has a significant African American and [[Caribbean]]&ndash;West Indian community.
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===Ethnicity===
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The Northeast is an ethnically diverse region. It contains the highest concentration of Italian-Americans and Irish-Americans in the United States and high numbers of [[African-American]]s, [[Hispanic]]s, and [[Asia]]ns. It has a generally low number of [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]].
  
The Northeast has the second largest Asian population in the United States, after the West Coast. The largest of these groups are [[India]]n, [[China|Chinese]], [[Korea]]n, and [[Philippines|Filipino]], in that order. There are also significant populations of [[Japan]]ese, [[Vietnam]]ese, [[Thailand|Thai]], and [[Cambodia]]ns.
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The high level of diversity has much to do with [[New York City]], which was and still is an entry point for many immigrants; however, the other major cities of the region have significant ethnic diversity as well. The three largest cities in the Northeast (New York City, Philadelphia, and Boston) have the same four largest ancestries: [[African American]], [[Italy|Italian]], [[Ireland|Irish]], and [[Puerto Rico|Puerto Rican]].  
[[Image:Philadelphia skyline August 2007.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Downtown [[Philadelphia]]]]
 
Almost all the Asians are concentrated in five states: New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. However, Connecticut and Delaware are seeing a rapid surge in Asians.  
 
  
The Northeast has the third largest Hispanic population, after the West Coast and the [[Southwest United States|Southwest]]. The majority of the nation's Puerto Ricans reside in the region, chiefly in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and [[Connecticut]]. Also, the Northeast has the most people of "Other Hispanic" heritage in the country, with the majority of them being [[Dominican Republic|Dominican]], [[Central America]]n and [[Colombia]]n. The Northeast also has the second-largest population of [[Cuba]]n Americans of any region, but their concentration is more widespread (the [[Southern United States|South]] has the largest Cuban population, but it is almost completely concentrated in southern [[Florida]]). Hudson County, New Jersey, has the highest Cuban population outside South Florida. The neighborhood of Washington Heights in [[Manhattan]] is regarded as the center of the Dominican diaspora and Paterson, New Jersey is considered the center of Peruvian immigration. The Baltimore/[[Washington, D.C]] area has the second largest population of [[El Salvador|Salvadorians]] in the U.S after [[Los Angeles]]. While the Northeast has one of the smallest populations of [[Mexico|Mexican]] Americans of any U.S. region, its Mexican population is growing at a faster rate than that of any other region in the country, and there are many cities and towns with significant populations.  
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As is the case in much of the United States, people from many European American backgrounds live in the Northeast, although white northeasterners frequently identify with their ethnic background more strongly than do U.S.-born whites from other U.S. regions. Massachusetts, particularly in the Boston area, is regarded as the Irish capital of the United States. New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New Jersey have long been known for their large populations of Italian-Americans, many of whom have moved to outlying suburban areas. The New York City Borough of [[Brooklyn]] historically is a major center of the Jewish-American population; while a significant community still lives there, in the mid-twentieth century Jews made up over 50 percent of the borough's white population (the city as a whole contained over 50 percent of the entire country's [[Jewish]] population at the time).
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[[Image:Philadelphia skyline August 2007.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Downtown [[Philadelphia]]]]
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Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is the center of the area settled by the [[Amish]] (who are of Swiss German descent), but now a large, vibrant Hispanic population lives there as well. Overall, the Northeast has a high percentages of people of Jewish, [[Germany|German]], Italian, Irish, [[Portugal|Portuguese]], and [[France|French]]-[[Canada|Canadian]] descent.  
  
The Northeast also has the second largest population of [[African-American]]s, only behind the South. Most of the black population resides in New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, or New Jersey. New York has more blacks than any other state, Pennsylvania is ranked tenth in number of African Americans, and New Jersey is ranked fifteenth. Maryland is the state with the largest percentage of blacks in the region. Massachusetts and Connecticut also have large black populations, along with Delaware having a large percentage of its population African American, but a relatively smaller total population. The Northeast also contains the bulk of the [[Africa]]n immigrant population in the United States.
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The Northeast has the second largest Asian population in the United States, after the West Coast. The largest of these groups are Indian, [[China|Chinese]], [[Korea]]n, and [[Philippines|Filipino]], in that order. There are also significant populations of [[Japan]]ese, [[Vietnam]]ese, [[Thailand|Thai]]s, and [[Cambodia]]ns.
  
The Northeast has the largest concentration and percentage of Jews in the United States, and their presence is most notable in the areas of Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City,and southern New England. The region also has the highest amount of [[Hinduism|Hindus]] and [[Sikhism|Sikhs]] in the nation, with a slight lead over the west. This is due to the fact that the Northeast has more people of Indian descent than any other part of the country, and in the world outside India.  
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Almost all the Asians are concentrated in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. However, Connecticut and Delaware are seeing a rapid surge in Asians.
  
The region is also home to one of the largest populations of [[Muslim]]s, [[Buddhism|Buddhists]], and many other religions, including the highest amount of [[Roman Catholic]]s and [[Eastern Orthodox]] Christians, due to the many Eastern Europeans who have immigrated to the region in the past thirty years.  
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The Northeast has the third largest Hispanic population, after the West Coast and the Southwest. The majority of the nation's Puerto Ricans reside in the region, chiefly in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Also, the Northeast has the most people of "Other Hispanic" heritage in the country, with the majority of them being [[Dominican Republic|Dominican]], [[Central America]]n, and [[Colombia]]n. The Northeast also has the second-largest population of [[Cuba]]n Americans of any region, but their concentration is more widespread (the [[Southern United States|South]] has the largest Cuban population, but it is almost completely concentrated in southern [[Florida]]). Hudson County, New Jersey, has the highest Cuban population outside southern Florida. The neighborhood of Washington Heights in Manhattan is regarded as the center of the Dominican diaspora, and Paterson, New Jersey, is the center of [[Peru]]vian immigration.
  
While much of the region is highly diverse, the Northeast also contains the three states with the highest percentage of European Americans: [[Maine]] (96.9 percent white), [[Vermont]] (96.9 percent), and [[New Hampshire]] (96.2 percent). These three states all have high concentrations of French Canadians, and many descendants of English immigrants.
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While the Northeast has one of the smallest populations of [[Mexico|Mexican]] Americans of any U.S. region, its Mexican population is growing at a faster rate than that of any other region in the country, and there are many cities and towns with significant populations.
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The Northeast also has the second largest population of [[African-American]]s, only behind the South. Most of the black population resides in New York, Pennsylvania, or New Jersey. New York has more blacks than any other state, Pennsylvania is ranked tenth in number of African Americans, and New Jersey is ranked fifteenth. Massachusetts and Connecticut also have large black populations. The Northeast also contains the bulk of the [[Africa]]n immigrant population in the United States.
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While much of the region is highly diverse, the Northeast also contains the three states with the highest percentage of European Americans: Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire. These three states all have high concentrations of French Canadians and many descendants of English immigrants.
  
 
===Cuisine===
 
===Cuisine===
The Northeast has from colonial times relied on [[fishing]] and seafare as a major source of its economic strength. The result has been an intensely developed seafood sector, which today booms with two centuries of experience behind it and produces some of the most famous dishes in the world. Maine's excellent [[lobster]] is shipped around the nation. [[Boston]], one of the oldest seaports in America, makes what the locals consider the finest [[clam]] chowder. New England is also famous for fried and steamed clams.
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The Northeast has from colonial times relied on [[fishing]] and seafaring as a major source of its economic strength. The result has been an intensely developed seafood sector, which produces some of the most famous dishes in the world. Maine's excellent [[lobster]] is shipped around the nation. Boston, one of the oldest seaports in America, makes what the locals consider the finest [[clam]] chowder. New England is also famous for fried and steamed clams.
  
[[Philadelphia]]'s large immigrant population has contributed to a large mixture of tastes to mingle and develop. This city is known for its soft pretzels, cheese steaks, and hoagies. Philadelphia has also been ranked as one of the top restaurant cities in the country.
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The region's large immigrant populations have contributed to a mixture of tastes mingling.
  
Baltimore, a vibrant metropolis set on the teeming [[Chesapeake Bay]], has been highly successful in capitalizing on its marine history and is arguably the current center of the American seafood market. Patrons from the world over come to the Inner Harbor to enjoy Maryland blue [[crab]]s, Maryland crabcakes, crab soup, seafood lasagna, raw [[oyster]]s, [[rock fish]], and the state's own brand of potato chips, crab chips.
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===Urban and suburban===
 
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[[Image:Top of Rock Cropped.jpg|thumb|right|400px|[[New York City]], the largest city in both the Northeastern United States and the United States as a whole]]
===Urban, suburban, and rural===
 
 
Much of the history of the Northeast is characterized by archetypical medium and large manufacturing cities. The sometimes urban character of the region gives it a strange mix of reputations, and many view Northeastern cities as places of economic opportunity. In major northeastern cities, ethnic enclaves are not uncommon. Most of the cities have large [[art]]istic and [[theater|theatrical]] scenes.  
 
Much of the history of the Northeast is characterized by archetypical medium and large manufacturing cities. The sometimes urban character of the region gives it a strange mix of reputations, and many view Northeastern cities as places of economic opportunity. In major northeastern cities, ethnic enclaves are not uncommon. Most of the cities have large [[art]]istic and [[theater|theatrical]] scenes.  
[[Image:Top of Rock Cropped.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[New York City]], the largest city in both the Northeastern United States and the United States as a whole]]
 
Older religious and ethnic factionalism has become a relatively minor concerns. At the same time, the major cities are expensive and have large economic disparities. The decreased importance of manufacturing has left many of the cities without an economic base, giving some of them a reputation for [[urban decay]]. Notable examples of cities left damaged and often severely depopulated from loss of manufacturing include Yonkers, Utica, Buffalo, Syracuse, and even parts of [[New York City]] in [[New York State]]; Newark in [[New Jersey]]; Baltimore in [[Maryland]]; Lowell in [[Massachusetts]]; Hartford and Bridgeport in [[Connecticut]]; and Pittsburgh in [[Pennsylvania]]. However, examples dot the entire region and much of the neighboring region of the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]].
 
 
Some of these cities have enjoyed revivals in recent years, replacing their economic reliance on manufacturing with job development in the medical, technical, and educational industries.  Pittsburgh, for example, now counts only 23 percent of its workforce in blue-collar occupations according to a 2005 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And the last of the city's steel mills closed in 1998. 
 
  
Though it generally is seen as having a very [[urban area|urban]] character, at least in its most populated areas, the Northeast was one of the first regions to undergo heavy post-[[World War II]] suburbanization. The most notable of these early suburbs was Levittown in the Long Island region of New York, east of [[New York City]]. The suburban spawl of [[New Jersey]] is, likewise, famous, as is New Jersey's reputation for [[urban decay]], despite the region having the lowest murder rate in the United States.<ref>http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=169&scid=12</ref>
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At the same time, major cities are expensive and have large economic disparities. The decreased importance of manufacturing has left many of the cities without an economic base, giving some of them a reputation for [[urban decay]]. Notable examples of cities left damaged and often severely depopulated from loss of manufacturing include Yonkers, Utica, Buffalo, Syracuse, and even parts of New York City in New York State; Newark in New Jersey; Lowell in Massachusetts; Hartford and Bridgeport in Connecticut; and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. However, examples dot the entire region and much of the neighboring region of the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]].  
  
Today, suburbanization is a rampant trend in United States housing development driven by widespread use of the [[automobile]] and deemphasis on [[mass transit]] and commuter railroads as a viable form of transportation. Nonetheless, the iconic New York subway system is widely used, as is the PATH system connecting Newark, Hoboken, Jersey City, and Manhattan. The New York metropolitan area's Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad, and New Jersey Transit commuter rail are the three largest regional rail systems in the country and together transport about one-third of commuters who use rail transportation in the United States each day.
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Some of these cities have enjoyed revivals in recent years, replacing their economic reliance on manufacturing with job development in the medical, technical, and educational industries. Pittsburgh, for example, now counts only 23 percent of its workforce in blue-collar occupations, according to a 2005 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The last of the city's [[steel]] mills closed in 1998.
  
Many of the major and secondary cities in the region also utilize mass transit. Systems that provide both rail and bus service include Baltimore's MTA-Maryland (which serves much of the state of Maryland but is centered on Baltimore), Boston's MBTA, Buffalo's NFTA, Philadelphia's SEPTA and PATCO, Pittsburgh's PAT, and Washington D.C's WMATA.  Many other smaller cities have smaller, bus-only systems.  In Pennsylvania, new commuter rail projects, such as CorridorOne, are being undertaken to expand service between Harrisburg and Lancaster. Syracuse's OnTrack transit service makes Syracuse the smallest city in the United States to have its own transit system, though it is not widely used.  Five states - Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Rhode Island - have transit providers that cover much or all of their respective states.
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Though it generally is seen as having a very [[urban area|urban]] character, at least in its most populated areas, the Northeast was one of the first regions to undergo heavy post-[[World War II]] suburbanization. The most notable of these early suburbs was Levittown, east of New York City, built in the late 1940s and early 1950s to provide homes for returning soldiers. Today, suburbanization is a rampant trend in United States housing development, driven by widespread use of the [[automobile]]. Many of the major and secondary cities in the region also utilize mass transit.
[[Image:DOWNTOWN BMORE 1.jpg|thumb|left|200px|City center of Baltimore]]
 
  
 
===The Northeast as a megalopolis===
 
===The Northeast as a megalopolis===
Today, the coastal Northeast is said to resemble a megalopolis, or megacity, an interdependent network of cities and suburbs that blend into each other. Economically, the region provides many of the financial and government services the rest of the country and much of the world depends on, from New York's [[Wall Street]] to Boston's academia to Washington's K Street lobbying firms. The megacity is called BosWash, for ''Boston-Washington'' describing the width of the region from one metropolitan area to another, or Bosnywash, for ''Boston-New York-Washington'', describing the northern and southern anchor cities and most important metropolitan region in the middle. It is linked largely by the I-95 [[Interstate Highway System|Interstate]], which runs from [[Florida]], through [[North Carolina]], [[Virginia]], around [[Washington, D.C.]], through Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and up to Boston and into Maine. By rail, the cities are linked by Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. Suburbs of Boston as far north as [[New Hampshire]] and even [[Maine]], as well as Washington's southern suburbs in Virginia are arguably all part of Bosnywash.
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Today, the coastal Northeast is said to resemble a megalopolis, or megacity, an interdependent network of cities and suburbs that blend into each other. Economically, the region provides many of the financial and government services the rest of the country and much of the world depends on, from [[New York City|New York]]'s [[Wall Street]] to [[Boston]]'s academia. It is linked largely by the I-95 [[Interstate Highway System|Interstate]], which runs from [[Florida]] through [[Philadelphia]], New York, and Boston and into [[Maine]]. By rail, the cities are linked by Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. Suburbs of Boston as far north as [[New Hampshire]] and even Maine, as well as [[Washington, D.C.]]'s suburbs in [[Virginia]] are arguably all part of this megacity.  
 
 
Some argue, notably political scientists Ruy Teixeira and John B. Judis in their book ''The Emerging Democratic Majority'', that city and suburb in Bosnywash and in other regions of the country are moving towards a state of economic and cultural seamlessness. Teixeira and Judis use the increasingly similar voting and demographic patterns of city and suburbs to make their argument. However, it is also evidenced in increasing population density and tightly linked infrastructure. Along the Gold Coast, the area across the [[Hudson River]] from New York City, of New Jersey, population density has become so great that the state built the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system to decrease traffic congestion. This system complements the PATH system, New Jersey Transit commuter bus and rail service, a complex highway transportation system, and Port Authority Airports. Future expansion of Hudson-Bergen Light Rail could see it go to Staten Island in New York City to the south and throughout Bergen and southern Passaic Counties to the north and northwest. Similarly, both Boston's and Philadelphia's transit systems links those cities with their surrounding suburbs very seamlessly. Further, much of the Northeast region is heavily linked by state-run commuter trains and Amtrak.
 
  
Despite the heavy urban/suburban characteristics of the region, many [[rural]] characteristics survive. Much of Upstate New York, and even as far south as Westchester County have decidedly rural characteristics. The Pine Barrens and the part of northwestern New Jersey known as the Skylands<ref>http://www.njskylands.com/</ref> are known as retreats from the urban areas of the Northeast. In fact, New Jersey is more rural than most people realize despite its stereotype of urban and suburban sprawl. Both Long Island and northern New York have relatively well-known wine producing regions. New York is a heavily agricultural state, and even New York City's boroughs of Queens and Staten Island had some sort of farm production well into the late 20th century. Small towns and cities dot western Massachusetts' Berkshire region, as well as [[Vermont]], [[Pennsylvania]], western [[Maryland]], and [[New Hampshire]]. While formerly important rural industries like farming and [[mining]] have decreased in importance in recent decades, they persist.
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Despite the heavy urban/suburban characteristics of the region, many rural characteristics survive. Much of Upstate New York has decidedly rural characteristics. The Pine Barrens in southern New Jersey as well as the northwestern part of the state are known as retreats from the urban areas of the Northeast. New York is a heavily agricultural state, and even New York City's boroughs of Queens and Staten Island had some sort of farm production well into the late twentieth century. Small towns and cities dot western [[Massachusetts]]' Berkshire region, as well as [[Vermont]], [[Pennsylvania]], and [[New Hampshire]]. While formerly important rural industries like [[farming]] and [[mining]] have decreased in importance in recent decades, they persist.
  
 
==Economy==
 
==Economy==
 
Until [[World War II]], the Northeast's economy was largely driven by industry. In the second half of the twentieth century, most of New England's traditional industries have relocated to states or foreign countries where goods can be made more cheaply. In more than a few factory towns, skilled workers have been left without jobs. The gap has been partly filled by the [[microelectronics]], [[computer]], and [[biotechnology]] industries, fed by talent from the region's prestigious educational institutions.  
 
Until [[World War II]], the Northeast's economy was largely driven by industry. In the second half of the twentieth century, most of New England's traditional industries have relocated to states or foreign countries where goods can be made more cheaply. In more than a few factory towns, skilled workers have been left without jobs. The gap has been partly filled by the [[microelectronics]], [[computer]], and [[biotechnology]] industries, fed by talent from the region's prestigious educational institutions.  
  
Like New England, the Mid-Atlantic region has seen much of its heavy industry relocate elsewhere. Other industries, such as drug manufacturing and communications, have taken up the slack. The economy of the [[New York City]] and [[Washington, DC]] sub-regions are more complex; the fortunes of the former are heavily (but far from completely) dependent on the financial industry and the stock market, the latter's economy is heavily reliant on the U.S. federal government and related services.
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Like New England, the Mid-Atlantic region has seen much of its heavy industry relocate elsewhere. Other industries, such as drug manufacturing and communications, have taken up the slack.
 
 
As the service sector is less dependent on heavy labor than the formerly dominant industrial sector, the incentive unskilled immigrants and unskilled laborers once had to move to the Northeast has largely diminished. They lack the skills to compete in, for example, the financial, technical, educational, and medical markets. However, the Northeast remains a magnet for skilled workers from around the world.
 
  
The Northeast area is the wealthiest region of the country. The Upper East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan arguably hosts the largest concentration of individual wealth in the world. Maryland, Connecticut and New Jersey are the wealthiest states in the union in terms of both per capita and household income.
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As the service sector is less dependent on heavy labor than the formerly dominant industrial sector, the incentive that unskilled laborers and immigrants once had to move to the Northeast has largely diminished. They lack the skills to compete in, for example, the financial, technical, educational, and medical markets. However, the Northeast remains a magnet for skilled workers from around the world.
  
 
==Politics==
 
==Politics==
The Northeast region is known for its political [[liberalism]]. For example, every state in the region voted for John Kerry in the 2004 election. However, Pennsylvania is considered a Battleground state, meaning that either a Republican or Democratic presidential candidate could win Pennsylvania. In 2000, Pennsylvania voted 51-47 for Al Gore; in 2004, it voted 51-49 for John Kerry. New Hampshire, with its unique tradition of [[libertarian]] politics, has also recently been considered a battleground state. In 2000, it went to George W. Bush 48-47, but in 2004, John Kerry won New Hampshire 51-49.
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The Northeast region is known for its political [[liberalism]]. For example, every state in the region voted for [[John Kerry]] in the 2004 presidential election. Pennsylvania, however, is considered a state that either a Republican or Democratic presidential candidate could win.
  
 
===Historical===
 
===Historical===
Traditionally, the Northeast was a [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] stronghold. During the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, the Republicans were economically and socially liberal, advocating open markets and endorsing the concept of free labor (a belief that laborers have the right to sell their labor in exchange for wages); therefore, the Republicans of the time generally opposed [[labor union]]s and [[slavery]]. From the [[American Civil War]] until the [[Great Depression]], American politics were largely dominated by Northeastern Republicans and their business interests. The wealth and power of the Northeast during this period generated a great deal of animosity in other regions of the country with more agrarian interests in part because of Republican domination. Some of that animosity still persists today.  
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Traditionally, the Northeast was a [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] stronghold. During the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, the Republicans were economically and socially liberal, advocating open markets and endorsing the concept of free labor (a belief that laborers have the right to sell their labor in exchange for wages); therefore, the Republicans of the time generally opposed [[labor union]]s and [[slavery]]. From the [[American Civil War]] until the [[Great Depression]], U.S. politics was largely dominated by Northeastern Republicans and their business interests. The wealth and power of the Northeast during this period generated a great deal of animosity in other regions of the country with more agrarian interests, in part because of Republican domination. Some of that animosity persists.
 
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[[Image:Tammany Hall LC-USZ62-101734.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Tammany Hall on East 14th Street, [[New York City]], between Third Avenue and Irving Place]]
The major cities were more likely to support the rival [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic Party]] and often were under the control of the powerful political machines that dished out patronage (the most famous of these machines was [[Tammany Hall]] in [[New York City]], which even held some political power into the 1960s). Immigration to Northeastern cities rapidly pushed the population of the region upwards from the 1790s until [[World War II]] and the Democratic Party often won the support of these immigrants through political patronage. The Democratic Party was also the prevailing party in the [[Southern United States|South]]; despite occasional disagreements between the regional party factions, there was little interference between the two even if there were at times vast differences in ideology. The coalition between the cities of the North and the agrarian South was perhaps ironic in the sense that the Northern Democratic Party was made up of ethnic interests (often Irish [[Catholic]]) and unions while the Southern Democratic Party was the party of the white Anglo-Saxon [[Protestant]] and enforcer of Jim Crow laws designed to keep blacks from advancing after the Civil War. What the two factions shared were distaste for the Republicans. Southern Democrats, as well as counterparts in western farming states, wanted to pursue populist and agrarian policies in opposition to Republican industrial interests. Their Northern counterparts wielded vast control over political machines controlled at times by ethnic interests, particularly the Irish in New York and Boston, and supported policies that weren't necessarily anti-industrial, but ostensibly designed to alleviate working class poverty. (Racism was sometimes a shared trait between Northern and Southern Democrats as well. While the South promoted slavery and later Jim Crow laws, the ethnic labor force of the North feared [[African Americans]] would threaten their employment if they migrated to the cities and took their jobs.)
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The major cities were more likely to support the rival [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic Party]] and often were under the control of the powerful political machines that dished out patronage (the most famous of these machines was [[Tammany Hall]] in [[New York City]], which held some political power into the 1960s). Immigration to Northeastern cities rapidly pushed the population of the region upward from the 1790s until [[World War II]], and the Democratic Party often won the support of these immigrants through political patronage.
  
From the 1930s to the early 1990s, despite the power of labor unions, the Democratic Party was regarded as too economically illiberal (that is, supportive of heavy government interference in the economy and overly supportive of social programs) for a region that had a large professional class. After World War II, many professionals relocated to suburbs, causing them to take on decidedly Republican leanings as the cities remained largely Democratic enclaves. As a result, the Republicans remained competitive in the northeast during much of the remainder of the 20th century. Much of the remainder of the country was heavily supportive of the Democrats from the 1930s until [[Richard Nixon]]'s Southern Strategy sundered regional party loyalty. When the Democrats began softening their economic policies in the early 1990s, suburban northeastern voters responded favorably and became more supportive of them. On the federal level, many northeastern voters have abandoned the Republican Party, sometimes associating it with reactionary and oppressive policies and other times merely preferring Democratic economic solutions. However, the local Republican Party affiliates in much of the Northeast remain more socially liberal than their counterparts in other regions of the country.
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From the 1930s to the early 1990s, despite the power of [[labor unions]], the Democratic Party was regarded as "too economically illiberal" (that is, supportive of heavy government interference in the economy and overly supportive of social programs) for a region that had a large professional class. After World War II, many professionals relocated to suburbs, causing them to take on decidedly Republican leanings as the cities remained largely Democratic enclaves. As a result, the Republicans remained competitive in the Northeast during much of the remainder of the twentieth century. When the Democrats began softening their economic policies in the early 1990s, suburban Northeastern voters responded favorably and became more supportive of them.
  
 
===Present===
 
===Present===
Since the late 20th century, the region's politics have been largely explained by a strong coalition of demographics predominant in the North that are overwhelmingly Democratic. These groups include the majority [[Catholic]] population with a significant urban, Democratic legacy (this would apply to the [[Jewish]] population as well), artists, educators, and intellectuals of [[New York City]], [[Boston]], [[Philadelphia]], [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]], [[Baltimore]], [[Washington D.C.]] and the [[Ivy League]]; the large minority populations of those same cities; a large socially conservative but economically liberal [[blue-collar]] population throughout the region; and the often socially liberal suburbanites of [[New Jersey]], [[Connecticut]], [[Maryland]], and [[New Hampshire]]. Pro-business policies espoused by the national Democratic Party since the election of [[Bill Clinton]] in 1992 have drawn many upper-class white professionals into the Democratic fold who would have been Republicans as late as the 1980s.  
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Since the late twentieth century, the region's politics have been largely explained by a strong coalition of demographics predominant in the North that are overwhelmingly Democratic. These groups include the majority [[Catholic]] population with a significant urban, Democratic legacy (this would apply to the [[Jewish]] population as well); artists, educators, and intellectuals of the major cities; the large minority populations of those same cities; a large socially conservative but economically liberal blue-collar population throughout the region; and the often socially liberal suburbanites of [[New Jersey]], [[Connecticut]], and [[New Hampshire]]. Pro-business policies espoused by the national Democratic Party since the election in 1992 have drawn many upper-class white professionals into the Democratic fold who would have been Republicans as late as the 1980s.
  
This also continues its contrast and rivalry with the conservative [[U.S. South|South]] that has existed since the founding of the United States. Within the Northeast, there are great political rivalries between the cities and the suburbs that surround them. This is particularly prominent in [[Philadelphia]], and [[New York City]] (which even has [[New York City secession|a secession movement]]), where the cities must compete with the suburbs and rural areas for state funding.  
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Ideological differences have softened between city and suburb in recent decades, strengthening the Democratic Party overall. Over time, residents of the suburbs have begun facing challenges once regarded as uniquely urban: street gangs, urban crowding, and [[drug abuse]], while becoming increasingly ethnically diverse.
  
However, because of the increasing integration of the [[BosWash]] megacity combined with the more centrist [[Democratic Leadership Council]]'s appeal to free trade advocates, ideological differences have softened between city and suburb in recent decades, strengthening the Democratic Party overall. Over time, residents of the suburbs have begun facing changes once regarded as uniquely urban, such as gangs, urban crowding, and drug abuse, while becoming increasingly ethnically diverse.
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Postwar migration patterns weakened the Northeast's economic power considerably. Industry often relocated to the West Coast and South regions which were less expensive, less crowded, and were less prone to unionization. By the 1970s, [[California]] had surpassed [[New York]] as the most populous state, and by 1994 [[Texas]] had pushed New York to third place. While [[New York City]] remains by far the largest city in the United States and a large recipient of immigrants, most immigration now comes from [[Latin America]] to border states such as [[Arizona]], Texas, California, and [[New Mexico]]. Secondary cities in the Northeast, like Buffalo, never regained their economic foothold after the decline of industry, though larger and more famous cities such as New York, Boston, and Philadelphia developed sophisticated service economies.
  
Post-war migration patterns weakened the Northeast's power considerably. Industry often relocated to the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] and South since they were less expensive, less crowded, and were less prone to [[labor unions]]. By the 1970s, [[California]] had surpassed [[New York]] as the most populous state and by 1994 [[Texas]] had pushed New York to third place. By 2020, Florida is predicted to push New York to the rank of fourth most populated state. While [[New York City]] remains by far the largest city in the United States and a large recipient of immigrants, most immigration now comes from [[Latin America]] to border states such as [[Arizona]], Texas, California, and [[New Mexico]]. Secondary cities in the region, such as [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]], never regained their economic foothold after the decline of industry, though larger and more famous cities such as New York, Boston, and Philadelphia developed sophisticated service economies.  
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==References==
 
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* Alexander, Lewis M. ''The Northeastern United States.'' New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1976. ISBN 978-0442297497
Today, along with the West Coast and upper Midwest, the Northeast is one of three regions dominated by the Democratic Party.
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* Gottmann, Jean. ''Megalopolis: The Urbanized Northeastern Seaboard of the United States.'' Literary Licensing, LLC., 2012. ISBN 978-1258416836
 
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* Raymo, Chet, and Maureen E. Raymo. ''Written in Stone: A Geological and Natural History of the Northeastern United States.'' Chester, CT: Globe Pequot Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0871066800
==Notes==
 
<references/>
 
 
 
==Resources and Further reading==
 
  
 
[[Category:Geography]]
 
[[Category:Geography]]
 
[[Category:United States]]
 
[[Category:United States]]
 
[[Category:North America]]
 
[[Category:North America]]
 
  
 
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Latest revision as of 23:24, 28 June 2022


Regional definitions vary

The Northeastern United States, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, covers nine states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. All were among the original thirteen colonies settled in the seventeenth century (though Maine and Vermont were considered part of other colonies at the time) and joined the United States of America upon independence in 1776.

The first Europeans to settle New England landed in present-day Massachusetts. These settlers were primarily non-conformists (later called Pilgrims) and Puritans from England seeking religious freedom. Massachusetts was also one of the key colonies in the events that led up to the break away from the British Empire. The Battle of Lexington and Concord took place April 19, 1775, when the British sent a regiment to confiscate arms and arrest revolutionaries in Concord, Massachusetts. It was the first fighting of the American Revolution.

The Northeast is bordered to the north by Canada, to the west by the Midwest, to the south by the South, and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. Its largest city, New York City, is also the largest city and metropolitan area in the United States.

The Northeast is also the richest region of the United States. While they rank high in income, they are predominantly small in overall population and area, with only New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania ranking in the top ten states in population and no state ranking in the top ten in size.

Geography

Horseshoe Falls, one of the three Niagara Falls

The Northeast is the smallest Census Bureau-defined region in the country though it has the most states. The landscape varies from the rocky coast of New England to the fertile farmland of the Ohio River Valley. Jagged cliffs rise up to a hundred feet above the ocean on Maine's northern coast; south of the state's West Quoddy Head Peninsula, the easternmost point in the United States, the coastline subsides to sandy beaches that extend along the rest of the Northeast's Atlantic coastline. Between Cape Cod in Massachusetts and Cape May in New Jersey are a series of large islands, including Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Block Island, Long Island, Manhattan, and Staten Island.

The mouths of four major rivers pierce the coastline to empty into the Atlantic:

  • Delaware River: flows south from its source between the Pocono Mountains and the Catskills, forming the border between Pennsylvania and New Jersey and passing through the Trenton and Philadelphia area before emptying into Delaware Bay on the Delaware-New Jersey border;
  • Hudson: empties into New York Harbor at the New York-New Jersey border and extends north between the Berkshires and the Catskill Mountains to its source in the Adirondack Mountains;
  • Connecticut River: runs along the border of New Hampshire and Vermont between the Green Mountains and White Mountains before flowing through Springfield, Massachusetts, and Hartford, Connecticut, on its way to empty into Long Island Sound.
  • Kennebec River: extends over 60 miles (100 km) past Augusta into the thick pine forests of Maine.
  • Susquehanna River begins in the Catskill Mountains of New York and winds down a valley between the Allegheny Plateau and the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania before crossing the border into Maryland and emptying into the Chesapeake Bay.

To the north and west of the Susquehanna are the Finger Lakes of New York, so called because they resemble human fingers, and the Northeast's borders with the Great Lakes of Lake Ontario in New York and Lake Erie in both Pennsylvania and New York. On an isthmus between the two Great Lakes on the New York-Ontario border, near Buffalo, New York, is one of the most famous waterfalls in the world, Niagara Falls.

In the White Mountains of New Hampshire is Mount Washington, the tallest mountain in the Northeast and the windiest location in the United States. The White Mountains were also the location of the famous geological formation called the Old Man of the Mountain, which collapsed in 2003. To the west of the Green Mountains on the New York-Vermont border, and extending into Canada, is glacier-formed Lake Champlain, which drains north into the St. Lawrence river valley.

To the south, the Ohio River flows from the Allegheny Plateau through Pittsburgh and on into the Midwest, where it merges with the Mississippi River. The Ohio was one of the main routes of travel west in early American history.

Climate

The northeastern states possess a wide range of climates. Rainfall varies from over 50 inches annually in some coastal areas to 32 inches in the western part of Pennsylvania and New York. Snowfall can range from over 100 inches per year in Upstate New York to only trace amounts in the coastal areas of Maryland. Generally, northern New England, the parts of New York north of the Mohawk River, highland areas in the Appalachians, and some coastal areas have warm, humid summers and snowy, often bitterly cold winters.

Below this line, much of the region (except for the higher elevations) has hot, humid summers and moderately cold, snowy winters. Most of the major cities of the Northeast lie within this zone, including Pittsburgh, New York, and Boston. The area around the Chesapeake Bay, (as well as the states of Maryland, Delaware, and extreme southeastern Pennsylvania) has hot, humid summers and more mild winters.

History

New England

New England has more of a shared heritage than other regions of the country. It has played a dominant role in American history. From the late seventeenth century to the late eighteenth century, New England was the nation's leader in politics, education, culture, and intellectual thought as well as the country's economic center.

The earliest European settlers of New England were English Protestants who came in search of religious liberty. They gave the region its distinctive political format — town meetings (an outgrowth of meetings held by church elders), in which citizens gathered to discuss issues of the day. Town meetings still function in many New England communities and have been revived as a form of dialog in the national political arena.

The traditional landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock.

The cluster of top-ranking universities and colleges in New England—including four of the eight schools of the Ivy League, as well as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Tufts University, and numerous other elite colleges and universities—is unequaled by any other region. America's first college, Harvard, was founded at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1636 as a church school. Many of the graduates from these schools end up settling in the region, providing the area with a well-educated populace.

As some of the original New England settlers migrated westward, immigrants from Canada, Ireland, Italy, and eastern Europe moved into the region. Despite a changing population, New England maintains a distinct cultural identity. New England is also well known for its mercurial weather and vibrantly colored foliage in autumn. The extreme southwestern part of Connecticut is sometimes considered culturally and demographically more like the Mid-Atlantic region because of its proximity to New York City.

Mid-Atlantic

This area provided the young United States with heavy industry and served as the "melting pot" of new immigrants from Europe. Cities grew along major shipping routes and waterways, including New York City on the Hudson River and Philadelphia on the Delaware River.

Dutch immigrants moved into the lower Hudson River Valley in what is now New Jersey and New York in the early seventeenth century. An English Protestant sect, the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), led by William Penn, settled Pennsylvania. His colony gave equal right to people from different races and religions. In time, all these settlements fell under English control, but the region continued to be a magnet for people of diverse nationalities.

Early settlers were mostly farmers and traders, and the region served as a bridge between North and South. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, midway between the northern and southern colonies, was home to the U.S. Continental Congress, the convention of delegates from the original colonies that organized the American Revolution. It was also the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the U.S. Constitution in 1787.

With two of America's largest cities, New York and Philadelphia, the region is a major center of business, media, education, the arts, and cuisine. Though initially settled by Europeans, the region now boasts large Asian and Hispanic populations. African immigrants have many strongholds in urban areas.

Culture

Religion

While some regions of the United States, such as the South, are predominantly Protestant, half of the states in the Northeast are predominantly Roman Catholic. This is largely due to substantial levels of immigration the region received in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries from Ireland, Italy, Quebec, and other Catholic regions. The Northeast is also home to many other religious groups. It has the largest concentration and percentage of Jews in the United States.

The region also has the highest number of Hindus and Sikhs in the nation. This is due to the fact that the Northeast has more people of Indian descent than any other part of the country, and in the world outside India.

The region is also home to one of the largest populations of Muslims, Buddhists, and many other religions, including the highest amount of Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians, due to the many Eastern Europeans who have immigrated to the region.

Ethnicity

The Northeast is an ethnically diverse region. It contains the highest concentration of Italian-Americans and Irish-Americans in the United States and high numbers of African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians. It has a generally low number of Native Americans.

The high level of diversity has much to do with New York City, which was and still is an entry point for many immigrants; however, the other major cities of the region have significant ethnic diversity as well. The three largest cities in the Northeast (New York City, Philadelphia, and Boston) have the same four largest ancestries: African American, Italian, Irish, and Puerto Rican.

As is the case in much of the United States, people from many European American backgrounds live in the Northeast, although white northeasterners frequently identify with their ethnic background more strongly than do U.S.-born whites from other U.S. regions. Massachusetts, particularly in the Boston area, is regarded as the Irish capital of the United States. New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New Jersey have long been known for their large populations of Italian-Americans, many of whom have moved to outlying suburban areas. The New York City Borough of Brooklyn historically is a major center of the Jewish-American population; while a significant community still lives there, in the mid-twentieth century Jews made up over 50 percent of the borough's white population (the city as a whole contained over 50 percent of the entire country's Jewish population at the time).

Downtown Philadelphia

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is the center of the area settled by the Amish (who are of Swiss German descent), but now a large, vibrant Hispanic population lives there as well. Overall, the Northeast has a high percentages of people of Jewish, German, Italian, Irish, Portuguese, and French-Canadian descent.

The Northeast has the second largest Asian population in the United States, after the West Coast. The largest of these groups are Indian, Chinese, Korean, and Filipino, in that order. There are also significant populations of Japanese, Vietnamese, Thais, and Cambodians.

Almost all the Asians are concentrated in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. However, Connecticut and Delaware are seeing a rapid surge in Asians.

The Northeast has the third largest Hispanic population, after the West Coast and the Southwest. The majority of the nation's Puerto Ricans reside in the region, chiefly in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Also, the Northeast has the most people of "Other Hispanic" heritage in the country, with the majority of them being Dominican, Central American, and Colombian. The Northeast also has the second-largest population of Cuban Americans of any region, but their concentration is more widespread (the South has the largest Cuban population, but it is almost completely concentrated in southern Florida). Hudson County, New Jersey, has the highest Cuban population outside southern Florida. The neighborhood of Washington Heights in Manhattan is regarded as the center of the Dominican diaspora, and Paterson, New Jersey, is the center of Peruvian immigration.

While the Northeast has one of the smallest populations of Mexican Americans of any U.S. region, its Mexican population is growing at a faster rate than that of any other region in the country, and there are many cities and towns with significant populations.

The Northeast also has the second largest population of African-Americans, only behind the South. Most of the black population resides in New York, Pennsylvania, or New Jersey. New York has more blacks than any other state, Pennsylvania is ranked tenth in number of African Americans, and New Jersey is ranked fifteenth. Massachusetts and Connecticut also have large black populations. The Northeast also contains the bulk of the African immigrant population in the United States.

While much of the region is highly diverse, the Northeast also contains the three states with the highest percentage of European Americans: Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire. These three states all have high concentrations of French Canadians and many descendants of English immigrants.

Cuisine

The Northeast has from colonial times relied on fishing and seafaring as a major source of its economic strength. The result has been an intensely developed seafood sector, which produces some of the most famous dishes in the world. Maine's excellent lobster is shipped around the nation. Boston, one of the oldest seaports in America, makes what the locals consider the finest clam chowder. New England is also famous for fried and steamed clams.

The region's large immigrant populations have contributed to a mixture of tastes mingling.

Urban and suburban

New York City, the largest city in both the Northeastern United States and the United States as a whole

Much of the history of the Northeast is characterized by archetypical medium and large manufacturing cities. The sometimes urban character of the region gives it a strange mix of reputations, and many view Northeastern cities as places of economic opportunity. In major northeastern cities, ethnic enclaves are not uncommon. Most of the cities have large artistic and theatrical scenes.

At the same time, major cities are expensive and have large economic disparities. The decreased importance of manufacturing has left many of the cities without an economic base, giving some of them a reputation for urban decay. Notable examples of cities left damaged and often severely depopulated from loss of manufacturing include Yonkers, Utica, Buffalo, Syracuse, and even parts of New York City in New York State; Newark in New Jersey; Lowell in Massachusetts; Hartford and Bridgeport in Connecticut; and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. However, examples dot the entire region and much of the neighboring region of the Midwest.

Some of these cities have enjoyed revivals in recent years, replacing their economic reliance on manufacturing with job development in the medical, technical, and educational industries. Pittsburgh, for example, now counts only 23 percent of its workforce in blue-collar occupations, according to a 2005 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The last of the city's steel mills closed in 1998.

Though it generally is seen as having a very urban character, at least in its most populated areas, the Northeast was one of the first regions to undergo heavy post-World War II suburbanization. The most notable of these early suburbs was Levittown, east of New York City, built in the late 1940s and early 1950s to provide homes for returning soldiers. Today, suburbanization is a rampant trend in United States housing development, driven by widespread use of the automobile. Many of the major and secondary cities in the region also utilize mass transit.

The Northeast as a megalopolis

Today, the coastal Northeast is said to resemble a megalopolis, or megacity, an interdependent network of cities and suburbs that blend into each other. Economically, the region provides many of the financial and government services the rest of the country and much of the world depends on, from New York's Wall Street to Boston's academia. It is linked largely by the I-95 Interstate, which runs from Florida through Philadelphia, New York, and Boston and into Maine. By rail, the cities are linked by Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. Suburbs of Boston as far north as New Hampshire and even Maine, as well as Washington, D.C.'s suburbs in Virginia are arguably all part of this megacity.

Despite the heavy urban/suburban characteristics of the region, many rural characteristics survive. Much of Upstate New York has decidedly rural characteristics. The Pine Barrens in southern New Jersey as well as the northwestern part of the state are known as retreats from the urban areas of the Northeast. New York is a heavily agricultural state, and even New York City's boroughs of Queens and Staten Island had some sort of farm production well into the late twentieth century. Small towns and cities dot western Massachusetts' Berkshire region, as well as Vermont, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire. While formerly important rural industries like farming and mining have decreased in importance in recent decades, they persist.

Economy

Until World War II, the Northeast's economy was largely driven by industry. In the second half of the twentieth century, most of New England's traditional industries have relocated to states or foreign countries where goods can be made more cheaply. In more than a few factory towns, skilled workers have been left without jobs. The gap has been partly filled by the microelectronics, computer, and biotechnology industries, fed by talent from the region's prestigious educational institutions.

Like New England, the Mid-Atlantic region has seen much of its heavy industry relocate elsewhere. Other industries, such as drug manufacturing and communications, have taken up the slack.

As the service sector is less dependent on heavy labor than the formerly dominant industrial sector, the incentive that unskilled laborers and immigrants once had to move to the Northeast has largely diminished. They lack the skills to compete in, for example, the financial, technical, educational, and medical markets. However, the Northeast remains a magnet for skilled workers from around the world.

Politics

The Northeast region is known for its political liberalism. For example, every state in the region voted for John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election. Pennsylvania, however, is considered a state that either a Republican or Democratic presidential candidate could win.

Historical

Traditionally, the Northeast was a Republican stronghold. During the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, the Republicans were economically and socially liberal, advocating open markets and endorsing the concept of free labor (a belief that laborers have the right to sell their labor in exchange for wages); therefore, the Republicans of the time generally opposed labor unions and slavery. From the American Civil War until the Great Depression, U.S. politics was largely dominated by Northeastern Republicans and their business interests. The wealth and power of the Northeast during this period generated a great deal of animosity in other regions of the country with more agrarian interests, in part because of Republican domination. Some of that animosity persists.

Tammany Hall on East 14th Street, New York City, between Third Avenue and Irving Place

The major cities were more likely to support the rival Democratic Party and often were under the control of the powerful political machines that dished out patronage (the most famous of these machines was Tammany Hall in New York City, which held some political power into the 1960s). Immigration to Northeastern cities rapidly pushed the population of the region upward from the 1790s until World War II, and the Democratic Party often won the support of these immigrants through political patronage.

From the 1930s to the early 1990s, despite the power of labor unions, the Democratic Party was regarded as "too economically illiberal" (that is, supportive of heavy government interference in the economy and overly supportive of social programs) for a region that had a large professional class. After World War II, many professionals relocated to suburbs, causing them to take on decidedly Republican leanings as the cities remained largely Democratic enclaves. As a result, the Republicans remained competitive in the Northeast during much of the remainder of the twentieth century. When the Democrats began softening their economic policies in the early 1990s, suburban Northeastern voters responded favorably and became more supportive of them.

Present

Since the late twentieth century, the region's politics have been largely explained by a strong coalition of demographics predominant in the North that are overwhelmingly Democratic. These groups include the majority Catholic population with a significant urban, Democratic legacy (this would apply to the Jewish population as well); artists, educators, and intellectuals of the major cities; the large minority populations of those same cities; a large socially conservative but economically liberal blue-collar population throughout the region; and the often socially liberal suburbanites of New Jersey, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. Pro-business policies espoused by the national Democratic Party since the election in 1992 have drawn many upper-class white professionals into the Democratic fold who would have been Republicans as late as the 1980s.

Ideological differences have softened between city and suburb in recent decades, strengthening the Democratic Party overall. Over time, residents of the suburbs have begun facing challenges once regarded as uniquely urban: street gangs, urban crowding, and drug abuse, while becoming increasingly ethnically diverse.

Postwar migration patterns weakened the Northeast's economic power considerably. Industry often relocated to the West Coast and South regions which were less expensive, less crowded, and were less prone to unionization. By the 1970s, California had surpassed New York as the most populous state, and by 1994 Texas had pushed New York to third place. While New York City remains by far the largest city in the United States and a large recipient of immigrants, most immigration now comes from Latin America to border states such as Arizona, Texas, California, and New Mexico. Secondary cities in the Northeast, like Buffalo, never regained their economic foothold after the decline of industry, though larger and more famous cities such as New York, Boston, and Philadelphia developed sophisticated service economies.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Alexander, Lewis M. The Northeastern United States. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1976. ISBN 978-0442297497
  • Gottmann, Jean. Megalopolis: The Urbanized Northeastern Seaboard of the United States. Literary Licensing, LLC., 2012. ISBN 978-1258416836
  • Raymo, Chet, and Maureen E. Raymo. Written in Stone: A Geological and Natural History of the Northeastern United States. Chester, CT: Globe Pequot Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0871066800

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