Introduction
Census is carried out in America every ten years and thus it is called the decennial census. During the census, the Census Bureau collects information and data from all households in the United States and its territories. The data collected is normally about the households, education, and income, and homeownership. This data is used to apportion seats in the House of Representatives. (US Census Bureau, 2008). The United States is divided into three regions i.e. the North, the South, and the West.
Description of the North
The north of America is composed of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri. This region had the highest urban population compared to the West and the South. Connecticut was leading with 89% of its population being urban and Illinois had 3,476,929 people in the urban area that represented 61% of the state’s population. In Massachusetts, 92% of the population was urban. There were very few Indian, Chinese, Japanese & persons of all other races in the north in 1910.
There were few illiterate males who could vote in the northern part of America. The highest rates of illiteracy were only 6.78% in Connecticut and 6.06% in Massachusetts of the total males who could vote. The north had the lowest amount of farmland that was run by share tenants. New Hampshire had only 0.56% and Massachusetts had 0.58%, Maine had 0.48% while Connecticut had 1.07%. There was a large amount of farmland owned by white natives.
The rate in Vermont was 85.57%. In 1900, the amount of land in the northern part of America was low compared to the other areas. Massachusetts had an average of 83 acres while New Hampshire had an average of 123 acres. The north had the highest number of manufacturing companies compared to the other regions. The states with the highest number were Pennsylvania with 52,185, Ohio with 32,398, and New York with 78,658.
The north had the highest number of wage earners in the year 1900 in comparison to the other two regions. Pennsylvania had 733,834 and New York had 849056. The north had the highest average wage earners in manufacturing. The north had a high number of valuable products of all manufacturing establishments with Pennsylvania having 1834791 and New York having 2,175,727. (University of Virginia Library)
Interpretation of the North
The north was highly developed as most people lived in the urban area. There were also few illiterate people who could vote. This area did not depend much on agriculture as a means of gaining economic benefits. The north was the most developed region as seen from the high number of manufacturing industries and wage earners.
Description of the South
The United States Census Bureau described the Southern region of the United States as including 16 states and the District of Columbia. The states in the southern region include Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Oklahoma, Delaware, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas. Oklahoma had 0.89 percent of foreign-born white people and Arkansas had only 1.07%.
It can be seen that the Southern part had very few white people who were born in foreign countries. The Negroes in the southern part of America were very many with most of the states have a large number of blacks. The Southern States had a low urban population in the year 1910 with Alabama having 17.33% and Arkansas having only 12.87%. The southern part had more illiterate men than the other States. Alabama had the highest with 124,494 who were 24% of the total voting male population.
The Southern part of America had the highest percentage of farms being run by share tenants. Texas has 44.22%, Delaware had 33.43% and Alabama had 25.62%. The south had more manufacturing firms than the West. It also, therefore, had higher average wage earners in manufacturing than the West. The south had a high number of valuable products of all manufacturing establishments. (University of Virginia Library, 2008)
Interpretation of the south
The south was highly populated with black people because this is an area where the slaves were first brought. They lived and worked on the farms around these areas. The whites born in other countries were also few in the 1910 period. The areas had a low urban population because there was little development and little industrialization.
Description of The west
The West comprises Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. The states in the west had a relatively high urban population in the year 1910 with California having 2,377,549 people, which was 61.82% of the city’s population. Generally, the population of Indians, Chinese, Japanese & persons of all other races was low. California had the highest number of Indians, Chinese, Japanese & persons of all other races and they were 96,232, which was 4% of the population. There were few men of voting age who are illiterate in the Western area.
There were few farms being run by the share tenants in the western part of American. California had a percentage of 6.96% while Oregon had 6.43%. A large percentage of the farms in the Western part was owned by white natives. In California, it was 77.69% while Washington had a percentage of 82.51. The western part had a high amount of farmland compared to over regions in the USA. Wyoming had 1333 acres on average, which was the highest amount in America.
The west had the lowest number of manufacturing establishments. The state with the highest number was California with 12,582. Idaho was the lowest number of only 591. The west had the lowest average wage earners in manufacturing. The west had the lowest number of valuable products of all manufacturing establishments (University of Virginia Library, 2008)
Interpretation of the West
The western part of America must have been highly developed because it had very few people who were illiterate. Probably due to industrialization, there was insufficient land for use in agriculture. In the period 1900, there were few foreigners in the country therefore there were few foreign landowners.
Conclusion
In summary, the census in the United States is important because it can reveal different aspects of the country such as the state’s population, information on households, education, income, and homeownership. The census can assist in determining the development of a certain state and the comparison of the data in the different states. This will assist in adequately allocating scarce resources. It is also possible to find out the areas that need to be developed and the means we can achieve this development (University of Virginia Library, 2008).
References
US Census Bureau. (2008). Census and Surveys. Web.
University of Virginia Library. (2007). Historical Census Browser. Web.