Glancing over the census map, most of California, the Seattle area, and the Northeast appear to have the highest concentrations of Asian-Americans in the country. These results are not surprising given the history of Asian Americans. The first Asian Americans to arrive in America in large numbers were the Chinese during the middle of the 19th century. They came to California--arriving at the dock of San Francisco, where many Chinese still reside today--as gold prospectors and laborers on the transcontinental railroad. Prompted by fears of a "yellow peril," Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 to stem the growing Chinese population. This was followed by the Asiatic Barred Zone Act in 1917 to cut off immigration of other Asians into America. These xenophobic laws were not entirely repealed until 1965. After this, Asians began flooding into America en masse. Because many of these Asian immigrants were poor, they could not afford to buy land in the countryside and had to settle instead in the then more affordable urban centers--like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and New York City just to name a few. Today, nearly 11 million Asian Americans are mainly clustered along the coast, where the largest urban centers are located, and their numbers are rapidly growing--second only to Latin Americans.
People of African ancestry were among the earliest immigrants to what is now the United States. The first Africans arrived in America in the early 1600s as indentured servants who settled in Jamestown, Virginia. Some of these indentured Africans managed to work their way out of debt and eventually became relatively wealthy in the Americans colonies. Unfortunately, indentured Africans were also accompanied by enslaved Africans. But enslaved Africans did not arrive to the Americas in large numbers until the 1700s, when a thriving slave-based economy was firmly established in what is now the southern United States. There, Africans outnumbered their white masters, slaving away for them at cotton fields. When they were finally freed after the Civil War by Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, African Americans were allowed to move freely in numbers around the United States for the first time. Many settled in New York City and the Los Angeles area, but, even today, most of the 37 million African Americans still live on the same land in the southern United States where their enslaved ancestors toiled.
This category includes people who do not fall in the "White", "Black or African American", "American Indian and Alaska Native", "Asian" and "Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander" race categories. These respondents tend to be Hispanics, with origins in just about every Latin American country, including Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. People of Hispanic descent have had a long history in what is now the United States. In fact, most of the American southwest--California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas--was once part of Mexico but ceded by the country in 1848 after the Mexican-American War. Although many Mexicans left the ceded lands, some also stayed and became American citizens. Mexicans began returning to their former homeland in large numbers as contracted laborers in the early 19th century, attracted by the burgeoning American economy. Mexicans and other Hispanics have not stopped coming since, and their immigration rate and growth is unparallelled in the United States. Today, the 47 million Hispanic Americans are found all over America but primarily in the southwestern United States.
Conclusion
These demographic maps, based on data collected by the US Census in 2000, reveal the settlement patterns of various races in the United States. The settlement patterns observed in each map are not arbitrary, rather, they are highly indicative of the colorful immigration history of each respective race. The largest Asian populations reside along the coast, with especially large congregations in most of California, the northeastern United States, and the Seattle Metropolitan area. Black populations are prevalent and even a majority in many parts of the southern United States. Some other races alone, comprised mainly of Hispanics, have a strong presence in the southwestern United States, especially along the Mexican-American border.
GIS Reflection
This quarter, my learning about GIS and what constitutes it has been an insightful experience. Prior to taking Geography 7, I had only a vague idea about GIS. I knew it had something to do with maps, but that was about all I could say if some asked. I did not even know what the acronyms stood for. But after taking this course, not only do I now know what GIS stands for (Geographic information systems!) but I can also proudly explain--at the very least--the basic idea of GIS. It is any system that captures, stores, analyzes, manages, and presents data that are linked to location with the help of a computer. Fortunately, this course had a hands-on component to supplement the dry, abstract ideas so that I could experience the GIS process myself. This came in the form of a software known as ArcGIS, which many consider to be leading software in the field of GIS. Drawing from what little I know about GIS--relative to the breadth of the entire discipline of course--I have clicked and clicked my way through a fruitful, albet also frustrating at times, learning experience with ArcGIS. In the process, it has helped me to gain a more wholesome understanding of the implication of GIS. It is a burgeoning field with wonderful tools that will help people better understand the world. And that's a good thing.
