Chapte r ⅡAmerican Population
ⅠComposition of the US composition
A. T otal amount
1. The United States is the third most populous nation in the world. According to the US Census Bureau, 2008, the population was 303,820,000 people.
2. About 211 million were classified as the white, 34.6 million as the black, 32 million as of Hispanics origin, and 10 million as Asians and Pacific Islanders.
B. Immigration
1. The United States is known as a “melting pot”, meaning that it is composed of immigrants from different nations all over the world.
2. Prior to 1875 anyone from any foreign country could enter the US freely and take up permanent residence there. Over the next 60 years after 1875, the US government passed the laws restricting immigration on the basis of morality, race and national origin.
3. The first US census was taken in 1790; over 3 million of the early Americans were mostly of British Ancestry.
C. Immigration Act
1. In 1952 the Immigration and Nationality Act reaffirmed national origin as the chief criterion for eligibility and established a preferential system for skilled workers and for relatives of US citizens.
2. For many years the US restricted the total number of immigrants to 270,000 each year, although the real immigrants numbered much greater than the limit. About 700,000 immigrants were received by the US each year during the 1980s.
3. The 1990 Immigration Act limited the total number of immigrants to 700,000 from 1992 to 1995 and 675,000 thereafter. The 1990 Act also abolished the 1952 immigration law that prohibited communists from visiting the US.
D. Races
1. The White Anglo-Saxon Protestants
(1) The people of the US are predominantly white, accounting for an estimated 80.3% of the total
population in 1990.
(2) The most powerful and influential group is the W ASPs who are the descendents of early
English settlers. They make up 45% of the American population and control most of the national wealth and political power in nation.
2. The black people
(1) The most numerous minority in the US whose forefather were from Africa and estimated
12.4% of the American population. The first blacks arrived in Jamestown in 1619 as
indentured servants but soon after 1619 they were brought to colonies as slaves.
(2) The blacks were formally freed in 1863, but continued to suffer the segregation for about a
century. The official racial segregation continued to be the law of the US until 1954.
(3) Today many blacks still live in the south. Some have entered the middle class, but one third of
all black families still live below the poverty-line.
3. American Indians
(1)In 1990 census, there were about 1.87 million Indians living in the US. About 46% of them
live in the South, 17.8% in the Midwest, only 6.5% in the Northeast. American Indians were the original inhabitants on the continent.
(2)Ever since the discovery of the New World in 1492, they have been cruelly treated and they
were driven to barren desert regions, the so-called “Indian Reservation”.
(3)Congress’ Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) reported in 1986 that American Indians
are in far worse health than the rest of the population, dying earlier and suffering disproportionately from alcoholism, accidents, diabetes and pneumonia.
4. American Hispanics
(1) In 1990 census, there were about 21.1 million living in the US. They are the Spanish-speaking
immigrants from Latin American countries. They are mainly from Mexico, Cuba and Puerto Rico.
(2) The Mexican background people living in the US formed the largest group of Hispanics. Most
of them live in California and Texas.
(3) Puerto Rican are in worst economic conditions than any other Hispanic group who mainly live
in the barrios of New Y ork, Chicago, and other northern cities.
(4) Cuban mainly live in south Florida. Hispanics are one of the fastest growing minorities at
present in the US.
5. Chinese-American
(1) Beginning in 1847, when the young male peasants came to get away from poverty and to work
in America in mines, on railroads, and in agricultural fields, the Chinese ran into economic and cultural fears of the white majority who did not understand them or their culture. Facing this and considering their intentions to return home, the Chinese didn’t try to assimilate but instead gravitated to “Chinatown”.
(2) They have proved to be industrious and intelligent. They are viewed as “model minority” in
the US.
(3) According to 1990 US census, there were over 1.6 million Chinese-Americans living in the US.
This figure was more than twice what it was in 1980.
ⅡPopulation Distribution
1.The most densely populated region is the northeastern part of the country, which includes the
states of New England, the Middle W est and the Middle Atlantic.
2.The West now leads in percentage increase in population. The south leads in numerical
increase in population.
3.T exas is the second most populous state in the US.
ⅢInternal Migration
1.Americans are and have always been a highly mobile people. The desire for economic
betterment is generally the most important force inducing migration
--economic betterment
--geographic differences
--economic opportunities
--climate
--family ties
--racial attitude
2.The trend in migration from cities to suburbs now prevailed in all regions except the south,
where the metropolitan areas had the highest growth rate of population.
--the widespread use of automobiles and the construction of express high ways
--the telephone
--more living space
--lower crime rate
--less population
--superior schools。
