5
Demographics
Population
Estimated 2009 population is 3o5 million, plus a few million undocumented workers. California, New York and Texas are the most populous states and a majority of Indians and Asians live there. Silicon Valley, the IT capital of the world is in Northern California.
Population Distribution
Today three out of four Americans live in cities and towns. Over 60 million live in rural areas.
The States of New York, California, Texas and Illinois are the most populous. New York city is the largest, followed by Los Angeles and Chicago in that order.
A large number of Asians live in the states of California,
Florida, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. They are concentrated in larger cities. However a small number can be found in cities all across the country.
TABLE 1
Source U.S. Census Bureau: State and County QuickFacts. Data derived from Population Estimates, 2010.
People Quick Facts. USA
Business Quick Facts USA. 2009.
10 Largest Cities by Population. 2010
Uncle Sam
The origin of the phrase Uncle Sam symbolizing the Federal Government is unknown. A popular theory has it that during the war of 1812, a Troy, NY businessman by name Sam Wilson was a supplier of beef to the Government. The barrels were labeled U.S. and one of his workers used to say that the barrels came from Uncle Sam Wilson. And the sobriquet stuck. In 1961 Congress recognized that Sam Wilson was the person behind this symbolism. Uncle Sam is portrayed as a man dressed in the colors of the American flag- red, white and blue. And, sporting a white goatee. The picture shown here was designed during World War I and extensively used during WWII in a US Army recruitment poster.
6
Religions
The Constitution (first amendment) of the United States says “ Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…..”.
Religion plays an important role in American society. Americans in every state have the same freedom to worship. Religious activity is through private funding and the government gives no direct subsidy to any faith.
Over 85 percent of the population is Christian and a majority of them are Protestants. However every religion of the world has its adherents in America.
Americans are more likely to believe in God and rebirth. According to a recent Gallup survey
98% of Americans surveyed say they believed in God compared to 84 in Switzerland, 73 in France, and 60 in Sweden.
Roughly 60% of Americans are members of some religious group like a Church or a synagogue and about 40% attend religious service regularly compared to 20% in Britain. American religious bodies are large, powerful and highly influential in social and political life.
Population breakdown by major religions. 2007. In millions.
Protestants. 113.
Catholics. 57.
Mormon. 3.1.
Jewish. 2.7
Buddhists. 1.2.
Muslims. 5.7.
Hindus. 1.5.
Protestants are divided into many denominations
Baptists are the dominant group with about 27 million followers. Baptists are found both among whites and blacks and their churches exist separately. The southern Baptist convention has nearly 12 million members and is predominantly white. About 9 million black Americans have their own National Baptist Conventions.
White Baptist group is so powerful that all US presidents have been and are protestants Except John F. Kennedy who was a Catholic. It is often said that America is ruled by WASPS (White Anglo Saxon Protestants).
Black Baptists. Over 90% of African- Americans attend black churches that have existed as separate entities for hundreds of years. Black churches have produced several noted religious and political leaders like Reverend Martin Luther King Jr and Reverend Jessie Jackson. Black churches have contributed enormously to America’s musical heritage with soul and gospel music.
Methodists. The second largest protestant group is the 13 million strong Methodists. They are socially very active and run a number of missions, colleges and hospitals. Methodism has its roots in eighteenth century England and
The teachings of John Wesley. There are several educational institutions run by this denomination in India. The city of Mysore in South India has a Wesleyan Mission School established nearly 200 years ago.
Other dominant Protestant groups are: Lutherans (9 million), Presbyterians (4 million) Congregationists (2 million) and Disciples of Christ (1.3 million).
Mormons. One other Christian Group that has a following of about 3.5 million needs special mention. These are the Mormons also called, Church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints. Founded in New York State in 1860 by Joseph Smith, Mormons believe both in the Bible and their own scripture -The Book Of Mormon. Mormons were persecuted in their earlier years and had to move from New York to Nauvoo/Carthage Illinois from where they were driven out, till they finally settled down at Salt Lake City in Utah.
Roman Catholics. This 50 million strong community is the single largest individual religious denomination and is made up largely of persons of Irish, Italian, Eastern European and Hispanic descent. Just like the Mormons Catholics were discriminated through out their History.
Jewish. Judaism is an ancient religion. Just like Catholics and Mormons the
