Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 23.djvu/858

820 marked change. These three longitudinal belts comprised nine-tenths of the population of 1870 which was west of the general frontier line. The remainder were scattered about in the valleys and on the mountains of Montana, Idaho, and Arizona, in military posts, in isolated mining camps, and on cattle ranches.

In the east the traditional westward movement proceeded at less than its usual rate during 1860-70. Whereas the centre of population moved 81 miles in 1850-60, it accomplished a journey of only 42 miles in the succeeding decade. In part this was due to the discouragement of pioneer enterprise by the state of war, portions of the frontier being involved in Indian hostilities, or becoming the scene of guerilla atrocities, all the way from Minnesota to Arizona; in part, to the absorption into the army of the restless portion of the population which had been wont to lead the race in opening up new regions. In larger part, however, it was due to the prodigious growth, under the artificial encouragement afforded by war, of the manufacturing industries of the east. Nevertheless, in southern Minnesota population had gone to the boundary of the State, and had poured up the Big Sioux river in south-eastern Dakota; Iowa had become entirely occupied; through Kansas and Nebraska population had moved westward, following, in general, the courses of the larger streams and of the newly constructed Pacific railroads.

The tenth census (1880) disclosed a population of 50,155,783. The first thing which strikes one is the vast extent of territory brought under occupation for the first time. The settled area has risen sharply to 1,569,570 square miles, so that, with nearly twelve millions added to the population, the average density of settlement has only increased from 30.3 to 32. The settlements in the Cordilleran regions and on the Pacific show enormous accessions of occupied territory. In the east we note changes which are far greater in absolute importance, though less conspicuous in comparison with the extent of previously existing settlement. In Kansas and Nebraska a broad tide has spread westward over the plains, annexing vast tracts before unoccupied. At several points the pioneer line has reached the boundary of the Humid Region, so that further extension must hereafter be governed by the supply of water in the streams. Hence we already see the principal river marked by long ribbon-like bands of population. In Minnesota and east Dakota the building of railroads and the remarkable wheat-producing capabilities of the region have caused a rapid development of population. Besides the agricultural region of east Dakota, we note the formation of a body of settlement in the Black Hills, in the south-west corner, the result of important discoveries of gold deposits. In Wisconsin the unsettled area has rapidly decreased as railroad construction has advanced. In the upper peninsula of Michigan the copper and iron interests, and the railroads which subserve them, have peopled a large extent of territory. In the lower peninsula not only have settlements surrounded the head of the peninsula, but there remains only a small body of unsettled lands in the interior, the vast pine forests having been swept away by the activity of the lumbering industry. In the south Texas has made great strides, through the extension of railroads and the development of the cattle and sheep interest. The unsettled area in the peninsula of Florida has decreased decidedly, while the vacant spaces heretofore seen along the upper coast of Florida and Louisiana have disappeared. The centre of population moved 58 miles westward between 1870 and 1880, making the total journey 457 miles since 1790.

The following tables (III., IV.) show the distribution of population by drainage basins and according to altitude:—

From the latter table it appears that nearly one-fifth of the inhabitants of the country lived below 100 feet, i.e., along the immediate seaboard and in the swampy alluvial regions of the south; more than two-fifths lived below 500 feet, more than three-fourths below 1000 feet, while 97 per cent. lived below 2000 feet. Within the area below 500 feet is included nearly all that part of the population which is engaged in manufacturing, in the foreign commerce of the country, and in the culture of cotton, rice, and sugar. The interval between the 500 and the 1500 contours comprises the greater part of the prairie region and the grain-producing States of the north-west. The mean elevation of the surface of the United States is roughly computed at 2600 feet. The mean elevation of the actual population of 1880 is estimated at 700 feet.

At the date of the census of 1880 there were 6,679,943 persons residing in the United States who had been born in foreign lands, while at the same time there were 9,593,106 born in the United States who were living in other States than those of their birth. Generally speaking, the migrations of natives of the country have been, if not as usual directly along parallels of latitude, at least within the immediate zones of the individuals thus seeking new homes. Historically the statistics of the foreign elements are very incomplete. For only four censuses (1850-80) has the place of birth been returned in the enumeration of inhabitants. From 1850 backwards to 1820 we have only tables compiled from the passenger lists of vessels bringing in emigrants, data notoriously imperfect. Prior to 1820 there are only scraps of evidence. The following tables (V., VI.) show the arrivals at United States ports from 1820 to 1850 by decades, and the total population and total number of persons of foreign birth, with the proportions subsisting between the two, at each of the four censuses taken since this class of statistics began to be collected:—

The foreign-born have settled mainly between the 38th and 45th degrees of latitude; more than two-thirds of them are found between the 39th and 43d degrees.

The following table (VII.) shows the proportion per 10,000 of the natives of the foreign countries named:—

The occupations most affected by foreigners will appear from the following table (VIII.), in which the units represent thousands:—

In the following table (IX.) a few of the more important single occupations are selected for a further comparison:—