U.S. Population Milestones
The population of the United States has surpassed 300 million. Track its steady increase since the colonists landed.
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Population Around 52,000
Jamestown, Va., was settled by English colonists in 1607 and the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth, Mass., on the Mayflower in 1620. In 1650, colonists were still arriving and they began populating the East Coast.
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Population Just Under 4 Million
Although the United States was a new nation and just won independence from Great Britain, it already had a long legacy of African slavery. Slaves account for much of the population growth.
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Population Around 31 Million
On the eve of the Civil War, the U.S. population was about 31 million people; 22 million lived in the North, 9 million in the South. Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, setting the stage for the near partition of the country.
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Population Reaches 100 Million
Europe was at war, but the United States was thriving due to the Industrial Revolution. Only 2.5 million people drove cars, but with the invention of the Ford Model T in 1908, Americans' love affair with the auto had begun.
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Population At 132 Million
World War II established the United States as a superpower, but the population scarcely increased. America scrimped by during the war. By 1950, the population hit 151 million as the country experienced prosperity again.
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Popuation Reaches 200 Million
These soliders are patroling in Vietnam, which proved to be the most controversial war in U.S. history. In 1967, the war escalated while Lyndon Johnson was president. He did not run for relection the next year.
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Population Hits 300 Million
In 2006, a birth takes place every seven seconds and a death occurs every 13 seconds. Every 31 seconds, an international migrant arrives. The result is a net gain of one person every 11 seconds, according to the Census Bureau.
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Minorities Top 100 Million
Ethnic and racial minorities in the United States top 100 million for the first time, according to Census Bureau data. Hispanic was the fastest-growing minority group, and California led the way with a minority population of more than 20 million.
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Credits:
CBS
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