3. People

No country can match America’s rich mosaic of human diversity. People from every nation on Earth now call America their home. It has some flaws, but no other country has ever accepted and successfully integrated as many people from more diverse backgrounds than has the United States. The American social and cultural “melting pot” is one of the greatest human achievements in history. Most people who live in the United States—regardless of their racial, national, cultural, ethnic, or other heritage—consider themselves “American”. This achievement alone places the United States atop the world’s countries in terms of tolerance. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights, a stable democratic government, and a thriving market economy have combined to create an environment in which individuals of all backgrounds can pursue their dreams. Despite a population that passed 300 million in 2006, the country’s population density, growth rate, internal migration patterns, and other demographic indices present little cause for concern.

Some people who live within the United States today do not identify themselves as“American”. This is typical of some first-generation immigrants, who retain the national identity of their homeland. When a population feels a sense of belonging （nationality） to their country （state）, then they may identify themselves by their country name, as is the case in“America” and “Americans”.

The United States has been and continues to be a grand human experiment conducted on a colossal scale. It has often been called a “country of immigrants”, people who arrived from many distant lands in pursuit of a better life. By and large, their faith in the “American dream”was rewarded with good fortune, although for some it involved a long struggle and much sacrifice. Of course, the newcomers arrived in and rapidly took control of a land already long occupied by native peoples. Today, however, the majority population is of European ancestry.

With more than 300 million people, the United States ranks third in population behind China and India, yet with an area of 3.8 million square miles （9.8 million square kilometers）, the country—unlike its counterparts with high populations—is not crowded. In fact, the population density of about 80 people per square mile （30 per square kilometer） is well below the world average of about 115 （44）, and 90 percent of all Americans live in less than 10 percent of the country’s area! Space, good farmland, and other natural resources are abundant.

No country comes close to matching the United States in terms of human mobility. In fact,the average American moves about 12 times. Socioeconomically, few countries offer a greater opportunity for individual advancement regardless of racial, ethnic, religious, economic, or other background. The country’s population is a mosaic of people who have come from every country on Earth. In doing so, the population represents the world’s most ethnically diverse society in terms of ancestral “roots”. Despite this great diversity, the United States has been and continues to be much more a cultural “melting pot” than a “salad bowl”. Most Americans, regardless of ethnic, racial, or geographic origin, proudly think of themselves as “Americans”, without a hyphenated tie to their ancestral homeland. Cultural assimilation and social integration—although slower and more difficult for some than for others—has characterized the grand American experiment.

3.1　Population Data and Their Importance

In the United States, a census is a constitutional requirement, and one has been taken every decade （in years that end in 0） since 1790. Districts of the 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives are determined on the basis of population. California, the most populous state, has 53 members in that governing body, whereas seven states have only a single representative. Every 10 years, some states can lose and others gain seats in Congress based on new census data.

The 2010 Census reported 308.7 million people in the United States, a 9.7 percent increase from the Census 2000 population of 281.4 million. The U.S. population is approximately growing at an annual rate of about 1.2 percent per year. The rate of natural increase is about 0.9 percent, meaning that three-fourths of the growth is from the number of births compared to deaths. The other one-fourth is from immigration, both legal and undocumented. Today, the total fertility rate （TFR）¹¹, or number of children to which a woman gives birth, has dropped below the replacement level of 2.1. This means that, if the country’s population is going to continue to grow, either the birthrate must increase or the void must be filled by immigration. Experts believe that immigration will, indeed, continue at a rapid pace. They project a 40 percent increase in the U.S. population—to 420 million—by 2050 if the current rate of annual gain continues.

3.2　Human Resources

Cultural geographers have long recognized that a healthy, well-educated, productive population can and should be a country’s most important resource. In this regard, the UnitedStates is extremely fortunate. For the most part, its more than 300 million people are healthy. Life expectancy at birth is 78 years, 75 for males and 81 for females. This is slightly longer than the average in the developed world and much higher than that of the world’s less developed countries. The United States also has a high rate of literacy: 99 percent. Eighty percent of the population over 15 years of age has a high school education, and nearly 25 percent are college graduates. If a country is to be successful in a highly competitive postindustrial economy that involves skilled services, information exchange, and global networking, it is essential that its citizens be well educated.

An aging population creates several problems. First, there are fewer young people to join the workforce. This is particularly critical at the entry level with lower-paying jobs. Second, an aging population requires increasingly costly medical attention and facilities. Finally, an aging population means more retirees who need retirement facilities and will be drawing on retirement financial packages such as social security. In each case, an added burden is placed on the nation’s economy.

With declining fertility rates and an aging population, the most obvious solution to the problems is to increase immigration quotas. Currently, the United States not only accepts more immigrants than any other country, it receives more people than the rest of the world combined!

3.3　Settlement

Settlements patterns—the distribution of people within a defined area—are among the most revealing of all geographic conditions. They help tell us not only where people choose to live, but, often, why. Some areas, of course, are extremely crowded, whereas others remain almost vacant. Initially, most European settlement hugged the eastern seaboard. Gradually, it spread southward and westward into the Ohio and Mississippi valleys, the Great Lakes region, and adjacent areas. In the mid-nineteenth century, the country’s interior was leapfrogged as thousands of people migrated to the West Coast in pursuit of gold and, later, good farmland, a pleasant climate, and other attractions. Other than latecomer states Alaska and Hawaii, the nation’s “last frontier” was the central and western interior. Much of this region was not settled until the late 1800s.

Americans have always been “on the go”. Through time, however, ideas of where they want to live have changed greatly. As a result, there have been some remarkable changes in the country’s settlement patterns as populations shift from place to place. That millions ofAmericans followed nineteenth-century newspaper editor Horace Greeley’s advice to “Go West, young man, go West!” is evident by the westward shift through time of the “Mean Center of the United States Population”.

During recent decades, major changes in American culture and society have contributed to still another major shift in settlement. Until recently, people had little choice but to live where they could make a living. In retirement, they lived close to family members who cared for them during their twilight years. The result of these changes is that millions of people have chosen to settle in “amenity” locations. Today, coastal areas, mountain regions, and historical centers—which once offered the nation’s cheapest property and lowest population densities—are booming. Population is soaring and property values are now some of the nation’s highest.