Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
K
Ku Klux Klan (KKK or the Klan)
: White supremacist and protestant organization
founded in the defeated Confederate states at the end of 1865, but extended to the
entire United States during the First World War. This extreme right secret society
uses terror (lynching) to fight against ethnic and religious minorities. Officially
dissolved in 1944, the KKK has not totally disappeared and various racist and
xenophobic groups continue to use the organization's symbols and “folklore”,
mainly in the southern states.
L
Latinos
: Nickname formed from the Spanish
latino americano
designating
people of immigrant origin from the countries of Latin America. Synonym for
Hispanic just as Negro is synonymous with black.
Lowlands
: This designation is usually reserved for the extensive maritime plains
in the southern United States as opposed to the uplands of the South.
M
Manufacturing Belt
: A regional composite extending over 1,400 km from Boston
to Chicago, including most of the industrial cities of the 19th century. This historical
heart of the United States is divided into two subregions, one on either side of the
Appalachians. To the east, lies the Eastern seaboard megalopolis whose principal
cities are Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. To the west, the lower
Great Lakes metropolitan area which includes metropolitan areas such as Pittsburgh,
Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago.
Mayflower
: In 1620 the
Mayflower
landed 100 settlers from Plymouth, England,
in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Although Plymouth was the second English colony in
North America after Virginia (1584-1607), the pilgrim fathers of the
Mayflower
are
considered the founders of the American nation, for they, unlike the founders of
Virginia, formed a dissenting puritanical sect in conflict with the British Crown.
Saved from famine by the Indians who taught them to grow corn and eat turkey, an
animal unknown in Europe, the Pilgrim tradition ultimately led to the feast of
Thanksgiving (the 4th Thursday in November).
