Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Graphs, Maps, and Tables
- Introduction
- 1 Paleo–Indians, Europeans, and the Settlement of America
- 2 Colonization and Settlement of North America
- 3 The Early Republic to 1860
- 4 The Creation of an Industrial and Urban Society, 1860–1914
- 5 The Evolution of a Modern Population, 1914–1945
- 6 The Baby Boom and Changing Family Values, 1945–1980
- 7 A Modern Industrial Society, 1980–2003
- Appendix: Tables, Graphs, and Maps
- Bibliography
- Index
5 - The Evolution of a Modern Population, 1914–1945
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Graphs, Maps, and Tables
- Introduction
- 1 Paleo–Indians, Europeans, and the Settlement of America
- 2 Colonization and Settlement of North America
- 3 The Early Republic to 1860
- 4 The Creation of an Industrial and Urban Society, 1860–1914
- 5 The Evolution of a Modern Population, 1914–1945
- 6 The Baby Boom and Changing Family Values, 1945–1980
- 7 A Modern Industrial Society, 1980–2003
- Appendix: Tables, Graphs, and Maps
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The period from the beginning of World War I to the end of World War II is marked by several major developments. Probably the most profound of these demographic changes is the very rapid and sustained decline in mortality. Mortality rates began to fall in the last decades of the 19th century but then started to decline at an unprecedented pace. This trend was spearheaded by a precipitous drop in deaths from infectious diseases, which affected all groups within the population but was most dramatically experienced by the very youngest persons in the population. Deaths of infants and of young children, previously one of the most vulnerable groups in terms of mortality, declined at a faster rate than for all other age groups. The result of this change in traditional mortality was a steady and rapid rise in life expectancy for every new generation born in this period. The cause for this unprecedented and massive decline in mortality is much debated, but it was undoubtedly related to important changes in sanitation and later to the introduction of new medical practices. Chlorine treatment of water became the norm in this period and proper waste and garbage disposal in the major urban centers was now part of every municipal agenda. Public health campaigns organized by newly founded city and state health departments also led to improvements in the preservation and quality of food, and the pasteurization of milk and other dairy products became standard practice everywhere.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- A Population History of the United States , pp. 145 - 173Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2004