header by Emerson Taymor, 2005
1. The Colonial Era: 1607-1763
2. The Revolutionary Era: 1763-1789
3. The Early National Period: 1789-1824
4. Jacksonian America: 1824-1848
5. Antebellum America: 1848-1860
6. The Civil War Era: 1861-1877
9. The Twenties
10. Depression and New Deal: 1929-1939
14. The Sixties
Census Bureau Publishes Compendium for Millennium
1999 Statistical Abstract Highlights 20th Century Changes
Over the past 100 years, the nation's population nearly quadrupled, the number of divorced people grew nearly a hundredfold, the number of married women in the workforce increased more than 40 times, motor vehicles moved from a novelty to a necessity and the air we breathe became nearly 10 times more polluted, according to the 1999 Statistical Abstract of the United States released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau.
From 1900 to 1998, the new Abstract reports, the country's resident
population grew from 76 million to 270 million; the currently divorced
population jumped from less than 200,000 to 19.4 million; married women
in the workforce rose from less than 800,000 to 33.9 million; gasoline-
fueled vehicles climbed from 8,000 to 208 million (1997); and nitrogen
dioxide emissions soared from 2.6 million tons to 23.6 million tons
(1997).
Population
More than 10 times as many Americans were 65 and over in 1997 (34
million) than in 1900 (3 million).
In 1900, 60 percent of the people lived in rural areas and 40 percent lived in urban areas. In 1990, only 25 percent lived in rural areas, with 75 percent in urban areas.
In 1998, the population of Florida (14.9 million) was 28 times larger
than in 1900 (530,000). California (32.7 million) was 22 times larger than
in 1900 (1.5 million).
Between 1901 and 1910, 2 million immigrants came from Italy and
50,000 from Mexico. Between 1991 and 1997, 1.8 million came from
Mexico and 54,000 from Italy.
The number of foreign-born residents in the United States grew from 10.3 million in 1900 to 25.8 million in 1997.
The average household in 1900 had 4.8 people, and in 1998 it was 2.6 people.
Education
In 1900, about 1 in 10 (11 percent) of all 14- to 17-year-olds were enrolled in high school; in 1997, more than 9 in 10 (93 percent) were in grades 9-12.
In 1900, about 95,000 people graduated from high school and
28,700 earned bachelor's degrees. In 1997, 2.7 million people
received high school diplomas and 1.2 million were awarded bachelor's degrees.
Health and Mortality
Life expectancy increased from 46 years for men and 48 for women (based on data for 10 states) in 1900 to 74 years for men and 79 for women in 1997.
Death rates were cut in half, from 17.2 people per 1,000 population in 1900 (based on data for 10 states) to 8.6 deaths per 1,000 in 1997.
Influenza and pneumonia killed 202 out of every 100,000 persons in
1900 (based on data for 10 states); by 1997, the rate had fallen to 33.
Transportation and Communication
The first sustained powered airplane carried two passengers on Dec. 17, 1903, when Orville and Wilbur Wright flew 120 feet in 12 seconds at Kitty Hawk, N.C. In 1998, commercial airlines carried 614 million passengers.
There were 36 highway traffic fatalities in 1900; 41,967 in 1997.
The 1920 census (first available data) showed that 35 percent of
households had telephone service. This reached 94 percent in 1997.
In 1930 (again, first time data collected), 4 in 10 households had a radio. Since 1970, nearly all households had at least one radio.
Government
The U.S. government had $567 million in receipts in 1900. In 1999,
the government took in $1.7 trillion.
National defense and veteran expenditures were about $300 million in 1900 and $307 billion in 1998.
The largest budget deficit of the 20th century was $290.4 billion in fiscal year 1992; the $9.5 billion surplus of 1999 was second only to the $11.8 billion surplus in 1948.
Presidents receiving the highest percentage of popular votes in the 20th century were Lyndon Johnson (61.1 percent in 1964), Franklin Roosevelt (60.8 percent in 1936) and Richard Nixon (60.7 percent in 1972).
The Economy and Agriculture
Standard and Poor's 500 composite stock index for 1900 was 6.2, rose to 26.0 for 1929, fell to 9.0 for 1933, and was at 1,085.5 for 1998.
With $1 (in terms of 1982-84 dollars), an American could buy $10.08 worth of consumer goods in 1913, compared with 60 cents worth in 1998.
In 1900, there were 5.7 million farms encompassing 841 million acres;
in 1998 there were 2.2 million farms covering 954 million acres.
The average farm was 147 acres in 1900 and 435 acres in 1998.