The U.S. at 300 (million, that is): the 300 millionth American arrived in October. How does America today compare with 1915 and 1967, when the population passed the 100 million and 200 million marks?

• Author: Roberts, Sam

On October 17, around 7:46 a.m. Eastern time, according to the Census Bureau, the American population hit 300 million. The 300 millionth American was probably born in a hospital, but theoretically, he or she may have arrived from overseas, or been smuggled across the Southwestern border with Mexico.

By one count, more than half of all the people who have ever lived in the U.S. are alive today. And on any given day, 11,000 babies are born and 3,000 immigrants arrive, outnumbering the people who die or emigrate.

The recent surge of immigration makes America's diversity today closer to what it was in 1915, when the 100 millionth arrived, than it was in 1967, when the 200 millionth was born. (The odds are nearly even that a baby born today will be Hispanic.) And an American born today will likely have fewer siblings, marry and retire later, and live longer.

Look for the arrival of the 400 millionth American sometime around 2050.

LESSON PLAN 2

BACKGROUND

A comparison of America today with 1967, when the population was 200 million, and 1915, when it was 100 million, shows dramatic social and economic changes. Overall, statistics reveal a healthier, wealthier, longer-living, better-educated population that is becoming more ethnically and racially diverse.

CRITICAL THINKING/RESEARCH

* The charts and graphs in this article provide the opportunity for wide-ranging class discussion and research.

* What might account for rising life expectancy? (Improved health care, better nutrition, higher standards of living.) Why are there so many fewer road deaths than in earlier eras? (Safer cars and better roads.)

* Why did the military grow and then shrink dramatically? (The Vietnam War followed by the end of the draft.) Why are more women working? (New cultural attitudes and the economic need for both husband and wife to work.)

RESEARCH

* Refer to Upfronts October 23 issue, the World Affairs Annual. Why might there be low and even negative population-growth rates in Europe, while in Africa populations are growing up to 309 percent faster than in the U.S.?

* (In Europe, people have chosen to have fewer children. In the U.S., immigration is the major reason for the growing population. In poor places like Africa, people have more children so that those children can contribute to family income.)

WRITING PROMPT

* Write a letter to the 300-millionth American telling him or her what the world is like today.

FAST FACT

[right arrow] In the U.S., there are about 105...