America

"The social condition of the Americans is eminently democratic.
This was its character at the foundation of the Colonies."
Alexis de Tocqueville
Of democraty in America, January 1835

"If there is anyone out there
who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible;
who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time;
who still questions the power of our democracy,
tonight is your answer."
Barack Obama
November 2008

"The United States and the war form an insoluble couple,
born of a war of independence, worked with the liking of a fatal expansionism with the Indian people,
become modern at the time of the Civil War, principal actor American of the World Wars in the 20th century,
the American nation seems to exist especially when it fights."
Thomas Rabino
Of war in America, Mai 2011

L’histoire :
Until the middle of the 18th century the history of the USA is common to all the area in North America. Then it differs from that of Canada at the time of the taxes imposed by the colonial power. Bostonian's free Speech was at the origin of the independence of the USA, but why here and not there. A brief reply is given by Alexis de Tocqueville:

"The entire man is, so to speak, to be seen in the cradle of the child.…
… The growth of nations presents something analogous to this: they all bear some marks of their origin;
and the circumstances which accompanied their birth and contributed to their rise affect the whole term of their being."

---- 20,000 Before the arrival of Europeans approximately from two to 18 million Indians occupied the territory of the USA speaking 300 languages. The theory of the settlement commonly allowed of the area considers that Asians arrived by the terrestrial bridge between Siberia and Alaska.
---- 10,000/ 8,000 first Paleo-Indian were Clovis and Folsom.
---- 3,000 BC/1300 AD the Mound builders were the most significant cultures in Ohio and the Mississippi River.
---- 100AD/1300 In south-west Puebloans occupied the Colorado plateau (Mesa Verde) and are the most former occupants without interruption.

Indians, First Nations, were the last to become citizens in 1924 after long litanies of treaties, wars, extermination volunteers or not. They acquired the voting rights in 1948.
---- 1492 Christopher Columbus, elected by Spain to open the road to the Indies approached in the Bahamas. He was followed by the large Spanish explorers, Hermann the Cortes in Mexico, Francisco Pizarro in Peru. They left in their wake diseases for which Indians did not have any immunity while killing more than wars, slavery or famine.
---- May 14, 1607 the first settlement was established in Jamestown. The three quarters of the newcomers died of disease and famine.
---- The 1619 first African slaves were brought to compensate the lack of labor.
---- November 11 the 1620 Pilgrims, Puritan, unloaded at Plymouth (MA) fleeing persecutions of the Anglican church. They signed Mayflower Compact, the first text of the American democracy to govern themselves by consensus.
---- The 1675 Indians and the pilgrims lived in harmony to the war by King Philip who killed more than 5,000 people as a majority of Indians, the others were off-set in slavery in the Caribbean. Thus starts the paradox of the American democracy, White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP). It should be noted that the Catholic Irish were excluded of whom President J. F. Kennedy.

During the two following centuries the European powers entered in competition to conquer the New World, England, Spain, France and Portugal. After the end of the Seven Year War in 1763 England dominates North America. Royal Navy controls the North Atlantic in the quadrilateral – Gibraltar, the Bahamas, Halifax, England In 17th and the 18th centuries slavery was legalized, for this period a person among five was a slave.

The increase of taxes to finance the Crown and the wars against France was the departure of the awakening of American. From 1763 to 1776 political discussions committed themselves protesting and to boycott the English policies, the place of meeting was The Old South Meeting House in Boston.
---- March 5, 1770 the English army killed Bostonian, Boston Massacre.
---- December 16, 1773, 5,000 Bostonian threw bundles of tea in the port.
---- The 1774 first congress of the 13 colonies meets in Philadelphia.
---- the 1775 second congress in Philadelphia chooses George Washington to manage the American army stripped of means as a man and material.
---- July 4, 1776 Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence of the colonies:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: That men are created equal; that there are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable Rights;
that among these are Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness. That to ensure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men,
deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

---- Winter 1777 to 1778 the American army was cut off in Valley Forge close to Philadelphia.
---- 1778 Benjamin Franklin persuaded France to be combined to the revolutionists providing material and maritime power.
---- 1781 the British surrendered at Yorktown (VA).
---- September 3, 1784 the Treaty of Paris recognized the USA.
---- September 17, 1787 a third conference was taken place in Philadelphia to write a new constitution. It ratified the American paradox, exclusion of Indians, slaves and women…

---- 1793 Various inventions allowed the mechanization of agriculture.
---- 1803 Purchase of Louisiana in France doubling the surface of the USA.
---- 1812 The USA declared the war to England, without overcome nor winner.
---- 1823 Monroe Doctrines: America is closed to European colonists.
---- 1836 Texans fomented a revolution against Mexico.
---- 1846 Annexation of Texas by the USA.
---- 1848 Transfer of California to the USA and discovered gold involving Gold Rush.

The constitution of the USA did not abolish slavery but it gave the capacity to the Congress to approve it or not in the new states.
---- 1860 Abraham Lincoln is elected President, it is favorable to the limitation of slavery.
---- The 1861 Confederation attacked Fort Sumter (SC).
---- The 1865 second message of A. Lincoln to the Union:

"Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive;
the other would accept war rather than let it perish. And the war came."

---- 1863 Emancipation Proclamation by A. Lincoln gave freedom to slaves.
---- 1865 13th amendment of the constitution.
---- April 1865 rendering of the Lee General to the Grant General put an end to the civil war.
---- 1870 The voting rights were granted to African American. The voting rights were given to women by the 19th amendments on August 26, 1920.
During the 19th century the USA paid attention westwards, construction of the telegraph and the railroad. Immigration reaches 25 million people coming from Europe. It was the time of the emergence of the called captains of American capitalism: Robber Barons. Mechanization and work in crumbs were a godsend for the development of farming, textile and car. The end of 19th lived the beginnings of the social dispute near to the IWW (Wobbies) but the development of the socialist parties in the world was rejected by the American citizens.

---- 1898 The war between Spain and the USA in the Pacific in the Philippines found its origin in regional safety to preserve the open market new forms imperialism.

---- 1917 President Wilson exceeded the Monroe doctrines to enter the conflict of the World War I. In spite of the bankruptcy of the League of Nations, the concept of concert of nations will be taken again after the World War II by the creation of UN.
---- 1920 were marked by the Prohibition of alcohol and granting of the vote to women.
---- 1929 Crash landing of Wall Street and beginning of the Great Depression which put 50% of the workers on pavement.
---- 1932 New Deal, Roosevelt launched great public work campaign to reabsorb unemployment by applying the economic theories of John Maynard Keynes.
---- 1939 new boot noises in Europe by the release of the World War II. Roosevelt in spite of the recrudescence of isolationism understood that there could not remain not impassive.
---- 07/12/1941 the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor gave him the argument to enter war.
---- May 1945 the turning of war in Europe occurred after D-Day on June 6, 1944. Germany surrendered in May 1945.
---- August 1945 the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki involved the death of +200,000 people and the surrender of Japan a few days afterwards.

The years after-war were an economic booming for the rebuilding of Europe and Japan, rampart against Communism. The USA and the Soviet Union entered the cold war and proxy war, Korea and Vietnam.

The end of the 20th century was marked by the assassinations of President J. F. Kennedy, of his brother Senator Robert Kennedy and Pasteur Martin Luther King. The beginning of the 21st century saw the explosion of international terrorism with the murderous terrorist attack of the Twin Towers, September 2001, 11.

Tracklog du voyage au Canada & aux USA

I Team:
Always the same one with staunch truck MAN and its driver, Guy… Of course the MAN started to create me concern in the end of the second season due to the absence of revision out the oil changes. Indeed, there is no MAN dealer in Canada and the USA. Repairs were done with the liking of the breakdowns by sending of spare parts from France. But the change of tires was the recurring problem of with the fact that Michelin privileged the contract with the American army to the detriment of the private customers. In addition assembles of tires 14.00R20XZL on rims 20” is not frankly the ideal to go round the world including +95% of paved roads. There never was problem with the Canadian customs on the other hand the American customs was captious for the change of the thrust of clutch, -release bearing- which will require outward journeys & return between UPS at Louisville, KY, MAN-France and MAN-Germany to fill the US-Customs form. There were minor failures concerning the candle of the diesel cooker, the thermostat of refrigerator etc.
There is a MAN dealer in Querétaro, Mexico, with which, by the means of two travellers Michel W. and Fermin Mr., I had made contact to carry out the revision of my truck before undertaking towards South America. No customs duties or taxes were applied to importation of spare parts from Fance

II Journey:
The trip initially envisaged was followed overall with specific alternatives. But with two stops, the first at Houston in August 2012 to find used American army tires and the second at Tucson in December 2012 waiting for US-Customs clearance of clutch bearing.

2.1 The circuit: The plan of road is given for Canada and the USA. The trip to Canada and the USA from January 20th, 2011 to the dd January 2013 was left again in two seasons stopped by four months a prolonged stay in France for medical reasons. In addition the limitation of the US visa within three months implied returns to Canada. In short the trip to Canada traversed 35556 km in 209 days, on average 170 km/day, that in the USA traversed 47541 km in 390 days, on average 121 km/day.
2.2 The road network: The road network is very vast composed of Hwys of very variable quality, from excellent to very bad, and gravel roads often of better quality than some Hwys. Vertical and horizontal signs are of very good quality, in some provinces in English and French. The road patrol, Mounties, is not very present.
2.3 American & Canadian drivers: The speed limits are 50km downtown and from 100 to 110km on the roads in open country. Downtown drivers are very careful on the other hand in the countryside they drive at the limited speed. Of course there is no road trains as in Australia but only long vehicles circulating at the limited speed.
2.4 The insurance of the vehicle: I had an insurance obtained by a German agency, Nowag Internationale Versicherungen, at Chartis for Canada and the USA.

III Bivouacs:
Booklets of Visitor Information Centers, VIC, give the addresses of  campgrounds with GPS co-ordinates and the dates of openings and closings, between end-August and mid-October. Out tourist season it is easy to bivouac on the carparks of closed attractions! In spite of prohibitions of some Walmart carparks I bivouacked there. Contrary to California the wild campground is tolerated by the neighbouring population, I was never dislodged by “Mounties”. All the places of bivouac are given with GPS co-ordinates, cf. campsite position.

IV Supply of food:
The supermarkets, Walmart and consorts, are present in all the country. They are parking for overnight. All McDo have free WiFi access with a connection from carpark. Some Visitor Centers offers a WiFi connection sometimes not free.

V Fluids:
Petrol stations distributing diesel, are primarily present outside of cities. It is necessary to be vigilant and envisage to fill the tank in good time. Oil changes of my truck were carried out by the Volvo workshops. For water I filled the tanks at the time of a stay on a campground to use the Laundromat in particular.

VI Money:
HSBC Bank is present in all capitals and large industrial towns.

VII Guide books:
As before I used Lonely Planet, Lp, with a critical eye. Tourist booklets are very abundant and well documented. The VIC generally practice English and French.

VIII Passport, visa, border crossing:
The entry Canada is a matter of form, almost without control of the vehicle. The visa on arrival, VOA, is six months and free. The Carnet de Passage en Douane, CPD, was required on departure at Brisbane and arrival at Vancouver. But it is not requested at land borders. The first entry the USA, at Vancouver, BC, was a test moreover in the rain. Thereafter while coasting from Canada to the USA it was very fast knowing that there is a taking away of the digital fingerprints of the ten fingers and the taking of the portrait for $6 for a three-month visa.

IX My appreciation:
9.1 I liked:
-- Landscapes are stunning. In the great northern areas settlements are seldom whereas in the south population is always omnipresent.
-- I discovered civilizations of the First Nations, Métis and Acadians, but too superficially awaited the closing of museums and attractions out the tourist period, July-August.
-- British colonial architecture is less ostentatious than in Australia, the Golden Rush poured less money.
-- Museums in large cities gather objects of First Nations and settlers. Art galleries are centered on Canadian artists
-- The motivation of first settlers was quite different from that of the ones in Australia inducing a specific social behaviour.
9.2 I hated:
-- The state of the roads is too often degraded by the succession of rigorous winters, but modern techniques can do roads out icy. The major problem is the financing of the road maintenance in this vast country.
9.3 I regretted:
-- Tourist season is very short, July & August. It is impossible to visit it uninterrupted, it would be necessary to make several two-month trips!

X Relevance of the trip by camper:
The visit of Canada with a motor home does not pose obviously any problem. American northern culture is made of nomadism to find work and for the third age fleeing the great agglomerations and the long winter months by heading to the USA, “snow bird”.

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