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There are two primary demographic locations or settlement patterns -- rural and urban. The decadal census provides a detailed record of the growth of America from a rural people on the edge of a vast, undeveloped frontier to a highly developed urban colossus. At the time of its founding (1780s), the United States was almost entirely a rural, mostly agricultural society. The first Census showed that some 95 percent of Americans lived in rural areas (1790). This was one reason that the British failed to subdue the rebellious American colonists. The British could occupy the major cities (New York, Philadelphia, Charleston, etc.), but this was a minuscule part of the colonial population. Most Americans lived on small, largely self sufficient family farms, largely unaffected by any British occupation of the few, still small urban centers. The British could occupy the cities, but occupying the countryside where most Americans lived was beyond the scope of British power. Unlike the Soviets in Afghanistan and now Ukraine, the British were unwilling to pursue genocide and destroy the population. The urban population of the early American Republic grew only slowly at first by only 1 percent or less a year (1780s-1830s). As a result, by the time of the Civil War (1860s), America was still 80 percent rural. This is a little misleading. The Northeast was only 65 percent rural while the South was still 90 percent rural. This would largely determine the outcome of the Civil War as it had determined the outcome of the Revolutionary War. The economy of the rural South could not generate a war effort on the scale of the more urbanized, industrialized North. The South even lagged behind the still developing Midwest and West. After the Civil War the shift to urbanization picked up. Many of the European immigrants coming from rural areas gravitated to the growing industrial cities where jobs paying far greater wages than available in rural areas. At first many of these immigrants were attracted by the inexpensive land that could be had which is why the Germans were so important to the settlement of the Mid-West. But over time the immigrant flow primarily gravitated to urban areas creating distinct ethnic communities in many American cities. Thanks to the economic and cultural advantages America offered and a very impressive public school system, the flood of immigrants was gradually assimilated into the American mainstream. Finally America made the transition from a majority rural population to a majority urban population (192os). With the growth of urban life, the Census had to redefine its definitions, to accommodate not only the inner cities, but alsosmall towns and suburbia. In addition, the nature of rural life changed. The people on small farms were isolated from the rapid developments in the cities. Trips into the cities to purchase necessities were limited by transportation technology. The railroads transformed the American economy, but still did mot affect the isolation of rural people. But a string of important developments fiudamentally changed the nature of rural life, including the mail order catalog (1880s), the Model-T Ford (1907), commercial radio (1920s), rural electrification (1930s), and the consolidation of small rural schools (1940s). Notice how fundamentally American all these development were. The two world wars had a huge impact on the country's demographics.
There are two primary demographic locations or settlement patterns -- rural and urban. The decadal census provides a detailed record of the growth of America from a rural people on the edge of a vast, undeveloped frontier to a highly developed urban colossus. At the time of its founding (1780s), the United States was almost entirely a rural, mostly agricultural society. The first Census showed that some 95 percent of Americans lived in rural areas (1790). This was one reason that the British failed to subdue the rebellious American colonists. The British could occupy the major cities (New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Charleston, etc.), but this was a minuscule part of the colonial population. Most Americans lived on small, largely self sufficient family farms, largely unaffected by any British occupation of the few, still small urban centers. The British could occupy the cities, but occupying the countryside where most Americans lived was beyond the scope of British power. Unlike the Soviets in Afghanistan and now Ukraine, the British were unwilling to pursue genocide and destroy the population. And the small family farm was a fixture that the founding fathers based on the traditions of the Roman Republic sought to perpetuate as the United Stats began to settle the vast frontier. The Northwest Ordinance (1785) sought to proportionate the land for family farms rather than to vast plantations/haciendas. This was just as revolutionary as the creation of a democratic republic. For the first time in modern history, an important economy would not be based on forced labor (a landless peasantry). Rather the land would be worked by the people who owned it. The southern states developed on a different basis, burdened by the institution of slavery. This set up a conflict between free and forced labor that would defy solution by the political process. This would eventually be resolved only by the Civil War. And in the conflict between free and slave labor, it would be the dynamism of free labor leading to the industrialization of the northern states that would be the deciding factor. Industry would play a major role in the development of agriculture. First canals and steam boats mean that farmers had a way of getting their crops to market. But it was the rail road that eventually solved that problem. And Congress would extend the family farm pattern to the vast frontier West of the Mississippi River with the Homestead Act (1862)-- a major step along with the abolition of slavery that would signal the beginning of the end of forced labor in the world economy--one of America's great gifts to mankind. Industrialization fed by the inventive spirit of led to mechanization, some thing that could not be fully achieved until Henry Ford set the process of putting American on wheels. But the mechanization of the American farm had already began by the time of the Civil War. The railroads had solved the farmer's market problem, but left the farmer hostage to the railroad tycoons. This would be a major problen in the Progressive Era. America by the turn of the century was not only an industrial colossus, but the greatest producer of agricultural products in the world--a phenomenon that would prevent famine in Europe after two terrible World Wars. That created major problems after World War I. American farmers expanded production during the War leading to boom and bust -- a depression after the War. These problems were not addressed until the the Roosevelt Administration's New Deal which developed major initiatives for the American farmer. The nature of rural life changed over time. The people on small farms were isolated from the rapid developments in the cities. Trips into the cities to purchase necessities were limited by transportation technology. The railroads transformed the American economy, but still did mot affect the isolation of rural people. But a string of important developments fundamentally changed the nature of rural life, including the mail order catalog (1880s), the Model-T Ford (1907), commercial radio (1920s), rural electrification (1930s), and the consolidation of small rural schools (1940s). Notice how fundamentally American all these development were.
At the time of the Revolution, only 5 percent of the American population lived in cities. And that did not change for some time. The urban population of the early American Republic grew only slowly at first by only 1 percent or less a year (1780s-1830s). Only as inventions and industrial processes from Europe, mostly Britain, began to flow into America did that begin to change--igniting the Industrial Revolution in America. Here immigration was a major transmitter. A huge step in this process was the railroad. The railroads solved the problem of getting farm produce to market--opening up the vast agricultural ares of the far-fling frontier, but also making industrialization possible, bringing raw materials to factories and finished goods to market. Previously this was only possible along rivers and canals. Thus the pace of urbanization quickened (1840s-50s), at least in the Northern states. As a result, by the time of the Civil War (1860s), America was 20 percent urbanized. This is a little misleading. The Northeast was only 35 percent urban while the South was still only 10 percent urban. This of course was a reflection of industrialization. And industry would largely determine the outcome of the Civil War as the lack of urbanization had determined the outcome of the Revolutionary War. The economy of the rural South could not generate a war effort on the scale of the more urbanized, industrialized North. The South even lagged behind the still developing Midwest and West--further evidence of the dead hand of forced labor, in this case slavery. After the Civil War the shift to urbanization picked up as did immigration. Many of the European immigrants coming from rural areas gravitated to the growing industrial cities where jobs paying far greater wages than available in rural areas. At first many of these immigrants were attracted by the inexpensive land that could be had which is why the Germans were so important to the settlement of the Mid-West. But over time the immigrant flow primarily gravitated to urban areas providing the labor needed by the rapidly expanding industrial work force. Well before the turn-of-the 20th century, America had become the greatest industrial power in the world and sky scrappers began to trust the urban landscape upward. While America at theturn of thec20 century had exceeded the ndyustruak orioducriion of any Eurioean country, it was Henry Fird and the venerable Tin Lizzy that would propel America to levels of industrial producion that would approach all of Euoope combined. The American industrial behemoth would be the deciding factor in defeating the challenge of the great totalitarian powers of the the 20th century.--another of America's great gifts to mankind. The flow of European immigrants creating distinct ethnic communities in many American cities. Thanks to the economic and cultural advantages America offered and a very impressive public school system, the flood of immigrants was gradually assimilated into the American mainstream. Finally America made the transition from a majority rural population to a majority urban population (1920s). With the growth of urban life, the Census had to redefine its definitions, to accommodate not only the inner cities, but also small towns and suburbia.
U.S. Census. The population data we use here comes from the U.S. Censu, a continuous record mandated by the Constitution, and beginning in 1790. In using the Census data, it is important ti recognize changes in the definition of urban areas.
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