NORTHEASTERN STATES

emp'd the Northeast was the first region to be settled it has been the threshold to the nation's interior for millions of immigrants among its natural features the Appalachian Mountains extend the entire length of the region leaving a strip of sandy coastal plain along the Atlantic above this plane are the rocky uplands large rivers drain towards the south and southeast from the mountains and abundant rainfall has created several richly productive valleys which also serve as trade highways the northeastern region is made up of ins historic New England's Maine New Hampshire Vermont Massachusetts Connecticut Rhode I and the Middle Atlantic states New York New Jersey Pennsylvania Delaware Maryland the District of Columbia and West Virginia the first English and Dutch colonists came to this region after them in a steady ever-increasing flow people of all nationalities and cultures most recently many have come from other regions especially the southeast today about 1/3 of our total population is concentrated in the Northeast its metropolitan centers blend into a continuous district stretching from Washington up to Boston these cities have the largest numbers of our foreign-born citizens in all disappear at Estelle industrial area the city's dominate the Northeast but they depend on the surrounding areas for food they need fresh dairy products in bulk milk butter eggs and poultry are produced locally to fill this demand making dairy farming the region's leading type of Agriculture because this area cannot supply enough fodder locally much of the feed is brought in from other regions the nearby city markets have also encouraged extensive truck farms all use is made of the good soil a generally favorable climate and constantly improving transportation facilities among agricultural exports to other regions are apples from the middle eastern states cranberries from Massachusetts and New Jersey tobacco from Connecticut and from Maine 30 percent of the nation's white potato crop seafood has always been one of the Northeast's important natural resources cod and haddock come from off new england's great fishing banks lobsters come from the inshore waters of Maine and neighboring Nova Scotia in Canada [Applause] greyjoy stir farms are cultivated off Long Island in Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay local factories meanwhile are busy processing canning or packing these seafoods or distribution within the region or to other regions the Northeast has extensive forays of limestone slate asbestos and granite Vermont's fine marble is used in construction throughout the nation although much of these materials are used in the bustling cities of this region much of the nation's oil and natural gas still comes from West Virginia and Pennsylvania but coal is this region's most valuable natural resource nearly half a million men drill into the earth to mine this fuel coal for heat coal to power the giant industries of this active region : up for the needs of half the nation the Northeast is supreme in industry two-thirds of all the people are employed in industry and the region has nearly a third of the nation's industrial labor force working either in the middle eastern states heavy industry or in New England's specialized industry New England's wool industry for example dominates the national market wool fiber imported from the West Australia and South America is spun into thread later the thread is spun into thousands of miles of different sized yarns the yarn is fed into power looms emerging as wolves the millions of textile workers also make cotton linen silk and rayon goods ready-made clothes produced in cities of the Northeast are shipped to stores from Maine to California and New York City has become a fashion center for the nation most of America shoes are made in factories clustered in the areas surrounding Boston hides from the West and Argentina are tanned and treated cut and shaped by a combination of hand labor and machine into Footwear to be sent to all regions and even exported to foreign countries the Northeast's basic industry is its steel production in this the region leads the nation from Minnesota iron ore is brought by barge on the Great Lakes down to the Appalachian coal fields here the ore is reduced to pig iron then steel the steel is shipped to manufacturing centers to be made into boilers engines dredges heavy machinery for many uses Steele and the Northeast skilled labor pool also make possible its leading role in the manufacture of intricate electric motors in New England's cities and towns small finely made instruments are turned out by men and women with a long tradition of special skills these products destined for sale at home and abroad are both the pride and livelihood of millions of northeasterners the Northeast cements industrial concentration would be impossible without its closely knit transportation facilities raw materials flow into the Northeast through the bustling ports of New York Boston Philadelphia and Baltimore finished products flow out through these same ports to foreign markets as in colonial times these ports are still a doorway to America for arriving Europeans railroads bring other raw materials from and carry away the finished goods air freight is increasingly important and heavy passenger traffic crowds the region's airports skilfully engineered highways funnel truck and auto traffic the highways provide rapid passage for industry as well as for convenience of the region's millions of car owners [Music] perhaps one makes as much use of the Northeast's natural beauty as the people who died Agra Falls New England spectacular Hill heads in autumn New York's upstate lakes and excellent oceanfront beaches Atlantic City's boardwalk hundreds of other vacation spots these attract millions of visitors each year and provide income for many people engaged in tourist trade first region to be settled in our nation's history the northeastern states have used their location and accumulated skills to build the area in conduct really Empire studded with leading metropolitan centers Boston New York Philadelphia Baltimore and Washington from this region the most heavily populated area in the Western Hemisphere Springs cultural leadership in the worlds of the French music leadership and mass communications like books magazines radio and television as well as leadership and business enterprise and investment wealth that helps build our nation the northeastern states regional leader in commerce and industry regional leader in international relations and world contacts our nation's political hub and our window on the world [Music]