America by the Numbers

by Frey, William H.; Abresch, Bill; Yeasting, Jonathan

• ISBN13: 9781565846418
• ISBN10: 1565846419
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-08-01
• Publisher: New Pr

Summary

Three demographers offer an eye-opening, at-a-glance guide to the myths and realities of American demography. From the new immigration to the aging of the country, this book reveals how the ebb and flow of population shapes every public and private decision people make. Charts & graphs throughout.

Author Biography

William H. Frey is a demographer on the faculty of the University of Michigan Population Studies Center, where he founded the Social Science Data Analysis Network He is also a senior fellow at the Milken Institute in Santa Monica, California. Bill Abresch and Jonathan Yeasting are associates of the Social Science Data Analysis Network

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Is Demography Destiny?	p. xiii
Generations: Popular Vanguards
Population Growth: Demography Is Destiny	p. 2
The Architecture of Population	p. 5
The Greatest Generation	p. 6
The Lucky Generation	p. 7
The Baby Boom's Demography: Strength in Numbers?	p. 9
Generation X	p. 10
Generation Y	p. 13
Sexes: Gender and Sexuality
Glass Ceilings, Sticky Floors, Pink Collars	p. 16
Sex x Race	p. 18
Out of the Home: Into the House?	p. 20
Women in Time	p. 23
Feminist Values and the Fear of "Feminism"	p. 24
Counting in the Closet: Does It Matter How Many Americans Are Gay?	p. 27
Lavender Ghettos and the Rights Closet	p. 28
From Mattachine to Stonewall to Queer	p. 31
Peoples: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity
African Americans: Race, Racism, and the Census	p. 34
A Revolution in White Attitudes	p. 36
White People: Molding and Melting Nationalities	p. 39
Native Americans: Demography and Decisions	p. 40
What Is "Hispanic"?	p. 43
Asian American Diversity	p. 44
America's Developing Diversity	p. 47
Immigrants: Crossing Borders
The History of Immigration: "Close the Door Behind You"	p. 50
Origins: From North to South	p. 53
Destinations: Gateway Cities and Immigrant Clusters	p. 54
A Land of Many Tongues: The Politics of Speaking	p. 56
Diaspora Politics	p. 59
Refugees and Asylum Seekers: Yearning to Breathe Free	p. 60
Illegal Immigration: American Fantasies of the South	p. 62
Emigration: Migrant Laborers and Belabored Emigres	p. 65
Getting Through the Door	p. 66
Movers: Mixing and Division within America's Borders
Imagining the City	p. 68
Contemporary Urban Growth and Demographic Balkanization	p. 71
Sprawl and Suburban Desire	p. 72
Beyond Black Cities and White Suburbs	p. 75
Multiethnic Metros and the Diversity Myth	p. 76
Today's Domestic Migrant Magnets	p. 79
The Black Return South	p. 80
The Young and the Restless	p. 83
Technopolises: Today's Emerging Industry Towns	p. 84
Elderly Movers and Stayers	p. 86
Classes: Wealth and Poverty
How Americans Classify Themselves	p. 90
The Rich-Poor Divide	p. 93
Wealth and the Wealthy	p. 94
Poverty and Policy	p. 97
The Working Poor and the Production of Poverty	p. 98
Poor Beginnings	p. 100
Workers: Labor's Continuing Necessity
Changing Collars	p. 102
Women at Work	p. 104
From Field Hands to Harvesters	p. 107
A Postindustrial Society with Factories	p. 108
From Assembly Line to Sales Floor	p. 111
A New Economy?	p. 112
Fighting for a Piece of the Pie	p. 114
The "Right-to-Work" South	p. 116
Families: Renegotiating Norms
Whatever Happened to Marriage?	p. 120
The Mythical Normal Family	p. 122
Cohabitation as an Alternative to Marriage	p. 125
Single-Parent Households	p. 126
Interracial Marriage	p. 129
Growing Up Is Different These Days	p. 130
Abortion	p. 133
Teen Pregnancy	p. 134
Students: Schoolbooks and Skills
Is America Behind?	p. 138
Staying In, Dropping Out	p. 141
The Alternatives: Private Schooling and Learning at Home	p. 142
Minorities and College	p. 145
Enrollment Roller Coaster	p. 146
The Elderly: Age and the Graying of America
What Is "Elderly"?	p. 148
The Widow Gap	p. 149
The Last White Majority?	p. 151
Elderly Poverty and the Weight of History	p. 152
From Work to Retirement and Back	p. 155
Where the Boomers Will Retire	p. 156
How to Stay Healthy	p. 158
Neglected Violence	p. 159
The Healthy: Illness and Well-Being
American Lives: Long and Healthy	p. 162
Medicine's Charge	p. 165
Infant Mortality: Wealth Brings Health	p. 166
The Demography of Destiny: Genetic Diseases	p. 168
People with AIDS	p. 171
The Uninsured	p. 172
Smoking: The Apolitical Consequences of Inhaling	p. 174
Disabled America	p. 177
Evading Death: New Threats, New Tactics	p. 178
Criminals: Violence and Confinement
Guns and the American Dream	p. 180
America the Violent?	p. 182
Murder Rates Vary by Region	p. 183
But Things Aren't Getting Worse	p. 184
An Eye for an Eye: Capital Punishment in America	p. 187
The Prison Boom	p. 189
Punishment: Life Without the Vote	p. 190
Justice and the Color Line	p. 192
Prisons as Factories	p. 193
Violence Against Women	p. 195
The Violence of Hate	p. 196
Voters: The Demography of Democracy
The Making of the American Electorate	p. 198
Who Are the Democrats?	p. 201
Who Are the Republicans?	p. 203
Who Remains Independent?	p. 204
Are We Growing Apart?	p. 206
90210 and the Buying of the Presidency	p. 208
Voter Apathy	p. 211
Class Participation: Grade: F	p. 212
Sources	p. 213
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