Northeastern United States

The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States of America. Geographically, it is located in the upper northeast part of the nation. The region borders Canada to the north and west. The Atlantic Ocean is the eastern border of the region. The southern part of the region borders the states that are farther south. However, the exact boundary varies. Some sources say the region stops above the Mason-Dixon Line. The Mason-Dixon Line defines the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland as well as parts of the borders of Delaware and West Virginia. Some say the border drops below the Mason-Dixon Line, making Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Delaware part of the Northeast. Others drop the southern border even farther, putting Virginia and West Virginia in the Northeast too.

The U.S. Census Bureau designates nine states as belonging to the Northeast region. These states are Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The Census Bureau further separates the region into two smaller divisions, called New England and Middle Atlantic. The New England division includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The Middle Atlantic division includes New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

The Northeast is culturally and ethnically diverse. People from different countries immigrated to the United States, and many settled in the large cities of the Northeast, especially in New York City, because it has historically been one of the major points of entry into the United States. Many newcomers settled in neighborhoods near other immigrants like themselves. Therefore, they were able to maintain much of their old ways of life in their new country. Their customs, languages, music, and food were handed down through the generations. Many Irish-Americans, for example, live in Boston, Massachusetts; and Brooklyn, New York, is home to many Italian-Americans. A major Jewish-American population lives in New York City. The Northeast also has one of the largest populations of Roman Catholics in the nation, as well as large numbers of Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs.

New York City also has neighborhoods where people speak Chinese or Spanish. The German people called Pennsylvania Dutch settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where many of them are Amish or Mennonite; these groups do not use modern technologies such as cars or electricity. They are just a few examples of the many ethnically diverse people who live in the Northeast.

Historical Perspective

For centuries, Native Americans lived in the Northeast. The two largest groups were the Algonquin and the Iroquois.

European explorers and colonists came to the region in the 1500s and 1600s. Many colonists were in search of religious freedom. In 1620, English settlers called Pilgrims formed the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, and Puritans formed the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1628. In 1609, Henry Hudson explored the area of New York and claimed it for the Netherlands. However, in 1664, King Charles II of England took the area for England, and it became the colonies of New York and New Jersey. In 1681, William Penn founded Pennsylvania for the Quakers, and settlers soon moved into other parts of the Northeast.

The colonies fought against the British and gained their freedom. After winning the Revolution in 1783, they formed the United States of America. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was an important city at the time. Both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were written there.

Throughout the 1700s, the Northeast was an important center for politics, culture, and the economy. As people continued to arrive from other nations in the 1800s, the United States grew. Large cities formed, and canals and railways were built to connect them.

From 1861 to 1865, the Northeast states fought as part of the Union in the American Civil War. Most of the battles of the Civil War were not fought in the Northeast region as defined by the Census Bureau. However, the battle fought in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, from July 1 to July 3, 1863, is considered by many to be the most important skirmish of the Civil War. In this battle, the Confederate army was stopped from advancing farther into the north.

Geography and Climate

The Northeastern United States has a diverse geography. It has mountains, plateaus, plains, and valleys. The region borders the Atlantic Ocean, which is to the east. The coastline is mostly rocky in the northern states, but the southern part of the coastline is mostly sandy. Several large islands lie off the coast of the Northeast, including Nantucket and Long Island. There are also small islands with no one living on them.

Part of the Appalachian mountain range stretches from the southern to the northern part of the region. The range actually begins in Alabama and ends in Canada. There are four major rivers in the Northeast region as defined by the Census Bureau—the Connecticut River, the Delaware River, the Hudson River, and the Kennebec River. All four rivers empty into the Atlantic Ocean. Waterfalls and lakes exist throughout the region. Some of the larger Northeast lakes include the Finger Lakes in New York, as well as Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, which both border New York. Niagara Falls is a famous waterfall on the border of New York and Ontario, Canada.

The climate of the Northeast is classified as a humid continental climate. In such climates, summers are warm, and winters are cold and snowy. Precipitation falls in all seasons in the form of rain or snow. The Northeast has four seasons—spring, summer, fall, and winter. In the winter, the upper reaches of the region can receive many feet of snow, whereas the coastal areas may only get rain. Sometimes, a severe kind of storm called a nor’easter will impact the region. Such storms can carry rain or snow and have strong winds. Hurricanes can also hit the area, bringing wind, rain, and floods.

The Northeast has evergreen forests, with trees such as pines and spruces. Deciduous trees that drop their leaves, such as sugar maples and oaks, also grow in the region. Flowering shrubs such as mountain laurel and roses have been named state flowers.

With the diverse geography of the region, the animal life is equally diverse. Moose and elk can be found in the northern portions of the area. Lobsters live near the coastline, as do crabs and clams. Many water birds also live near the coastline. Eastern bluebirds, chickadees, and eastern gray squirrels live in the wooded areas. Bears have sometimes wandered into the New Jersey bedroom communities that are within commuting distance of Manhattan.

Economy

The first American factory, a textile plant, was built in 1790 in Rhode Island. The states in the Northeast became industrialized but in different ways. Textile mills were numerous in New England. Manufacturers of machinery, guns, and hardware sprang up in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Deposits of iron, especially in Pennsylvania, led to an emphasis on metal manufacturing. Pennsylvania was also the site of the nation’s first oil well, which was drilled in 1859. The mining of coal led to iron and steelmaking in Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was called Steel City. When the iron and steel industries declined at the end of the 1970s, many people lost their jobs. However, computers, biotech, educational, and health care centers began rising in their place.

The Northeast region has a long coastline, which leads to an important fishing industry. The ocean ports support the region’s economy with the importing and exporting of goods to and from other countries.

Farming is not as important as it was in the past, but farms are found throughout the Northeast. Apples, mushrooms, cranberries, and blueberries are grown, and dairy farms produce milk, cream, and cheese.

New York City is the center of finance, with Wall Street and the stock market. This city is also an important center for theater and fashion.

Tourism is a strong industry in the Northeast. Many people visit the historical locations throughout the region, and they also enjoy the spectacular fall scenery, coastlines, and entertainment.

In 2013, U.S. Census Bureau statistics indicated that the Northeast region had the highest median household income in the United States. The Northeast region also had the lowest percentage of people living below poverty level in 2013.

Demographics

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of the Northeast region is slowly increasing. In 2000, the population was about fifty-four million, and in 2015, it had grown to about fifty-six million. In 2014, New York City was the most populous city in the United States, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was the fifth largest. Overall, however, the Northeast region in 2015 had the smallest percentage of the population of the United States. The percentage dropped from 19 percent in 2000, which was still the smallest, to 17.5 percent in 2015.

New York City was ranked number one for the city with the largest number of African Americans in the United States in 2010. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was ranked third.

Among the four regions of the United States, the Northeast region had the lowest percentage of Native American people in its population in 2010. The percentage rose slightly from 9.1 percent in 2000 to 9.7 percent in 2010.

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