Category: Final project

How have the demographics of the U.S. Rust Belt been affected by economic change in the region? For example, did the expansion of coal mining in West Virginia impact population density and GDP per capita in the state’s rural areas? Did the decline of Michigan’s automotive industry drive residents away from the area? How have the major natural and industrial resources of the Rust Belt impacted the region’s settlement patterns since the organization of the Northwest Territory? Ultimately, the goal of my project is to compare states, or sub-regions of states, on the basis of their primary (non-agricultural) economic products. I will map changes and continuities in industry over time, alongside basic data on population numbers and average household income (adjusted for inflation).

The states of study will be New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. This region of the United States has long been associated with manufacturing and mining (as opposed to the agriculture of the American South and West), with major historical products including steel, coal, and automotive goods. These products fueled the urban expansion and transportation revolutions of the United States in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. However, the popular narrative contends that the Rust Belt’s economy is in decline as technology evolves and industry moves overseas. Starting from 1800, only about a decade after the Great Lakes region was officially organized for settlement with the Northwest Ordinance, I will trace the rise and supposed fall of manufacturing to discover if population and economic well-being are linked to the famous industries (or at least the most valuable and prolific industries) located in the Rust Belt states.

References

Jeff Wallenfeldt, “Rust Belt,” Encyclopedia Britannica, January 15, 2024, https://www.britannica.com/place/Rust-Belt.

Library of Congress, “Rise of Industrial America, 1876-1900,” accessed February 28, 2024, https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/rise-of-industrial-america-1876-1900/.

United States Census Bureau, “Economic Census,” accessed February 28, 2024, https://www.census.gov/history/www/programs/economic/economic_census.html.

The question I will seek to answer in my final project is: How has the changing population and demographic of Omaha, Nebraska affected the opening and closing of schools (both public and private)?

The presence of compulsory education in the United States has roots tracing to the late 19th century in Massachusetts, however, it began to take its more modern form in the 20th century (particularly post World War II). Schools across the country have opened and closed when demand has changed. Since 1950, the population of Nebraska has increased by about 600,000 people, changing the demand for schools state-wide. Over half of this population growth has come from the Omaha Metro area, changing both population size and demographics. In class, we have discussed red lining, segregation, and other issues impacting access to equal resources. Has the population growth in Omaha impacted access to schools? Has the demographic changes in Omaha had any effect on this (race, religion, or age)? Does access to different schooling options (Public versus Private) change across areas in Omaha with different demographic populations (South Omaha, North Omaha, West Omaha)?

In 2024, Omaha has 63 private schools, many of which are religious (with about 17,000 students), and 179 public schools (with about 88,000 students). Omaha has a higher than-average population of K-12 students attending private schools than the rest of the state. How has the growing population contributed to adding schools in the area? Has a demographic change impacted the creation of public versus private schools differently? Where are the most public schools situated in the Omaha area? Where are most private schools situated in the Omaha area? Has this changed significantly in the 1950s? By mapping changes in population and demographics, as well as doing historical research on education provided in Omaha, I hope to be able to answer these questions.

Some Sources

Data USA. “Omaha, NE.” https://datausa.io/profile/geo/omaha-ne/ Accessed on Feb. 28, 2024.

Dwellics. “Beyond the Numbers: Understanding the Population of Omaha through Demographics.” https://dwellics.com/state/nebraska/community-in-omaha Accessed on Fab. 28, 2024.

Private School and Public School Review. “The Top 10 Best Omaha Public/Private Schools (2024).” https://www.publicschoolreview.com/nebraska/omaha and https://www.privateschoolreview.com/nebraska/omaha Accessed on Feb. 28, 2024.

Yeben, Jade. “Compulsory Education Laws: Background.” FindLaw. https://www.findlaw.com/education/education-options/compulsory-education-laws-background.html Accessed on Feb. 28, 2024.

How did the installation of interstates within the Omaha metropolitan area reinforce systematic redlining in historically black and latinx neighborhoods?

Starting from the 1910s, black people in the South began to leave their generational homes due to discriminatory Jim Crow laws, seeking out jobs in the meatpacking plants of the Midwest and in the manufacturing jobs of the Northeast. Omaha, almost dead-center in the middle of the US, intersected the industries of meatpacking, manufacturing, and transportation (Union Pacific Railroad boasted multiple rail-yards around the city). Although small, Omaha needed hard labor more than most. This led to an increase of black people moving to the city. Tensions were already high between the differing populations of white nationalities. The Greeks formed a small community in South Omaha, along with the city’s Italians. At this point, the boundaries of race were forming, but were barely visible. When the new black population of Omaha moved into neighborhoods in North Omaha, the boundaries of race were defined, seemingly written in permanent marker, on HOLC maps- insinuating to white newcomers: “DO NOT LIVE ABOVE 24TH STREET.” Jim Crow was traded for a seemingly less nefarious, but equally vicious enemy: the HOLC.

The introduction of diversity to North Omaha saw the white population leaving at rapid rates, settling in what is now Dundee. The rapid “white flight” meant lower property value and workers within Omaha’s industry bought the houses at a feverish pace. The HOLC, or Home Owners’ Loan Corporation, determined which areas in cities were more “desirable” for future inhabitants and shaded in red areas that were “undesirable.” Naturally, in 1920s America, most of the areas in red were areas with large populations of minoritized groups. HOLC was a great proponent of redlining and their map of Omaha was a racist’s guidebook to living in a perfect, white neighborhood. Redlining is now illegal, but still reinforced in systematic ways. In this case, Omaha’s Highway 75 (built in 1975), takes the place of the non-physical boundaries depicted in the HOLC map, to draw a physical boundary between the black neighborhoods of North Omaha and the downtown, white-frequented business district. This project was a joint-effort by both the city of Omaha and the United States Department of Transportation. Properties were seized by the government, claiming they were using “slum clearance.” Homes, churches, and businesses were destroyed and communities were torn apart. Whilst the transportation developments of Downtown and Western Omaha stitches the two parts of the city together (ORBT, for example), the freeway of the North forcefully cleaved the the upper-half of the city apart.

(I have sources for these, but most of this is stuff I researched during the creation of my exhibit at the Durham, which is coming next year. I ended up not doing redlining for my exhibit, but I still have the research. I emailed my old boss in collections for access to my OneDrive to find my old files and to cite my sources.)

In my final project, I will seek to answer the following question: How rapid was population growth in mining boom towns built near newly discovered deposits of precious metals and minerals in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains in the 1800s? Did the type of mineral or precious metal mined near a mining boom town and a mining boom town’s ease-of-access by roads, trails, or waterways impact the rate of population increase they experienced?

In the 1800s in Colorado, white settlers in the Rocky Mountains found deposits of gold, silver, lead, and other valuable metals that caused an influx of white settlers into what is now the Colorado Rocky Mountains. [1] This massive influx of immigrants and settlers hoping to strike it rich by mining precious metals and minerals in the Rockies created numerous mining boom towns whose population growth rates exploded. One of these boom towns, Leadville, grew so large that when the Territory of Colorado was applying for statehood in 1876 it was the second most populous city in the state. [2]

However, particularly in the 1800s, the Rocky Mountains were a challenging place to traverse. Peaks thousands of feet high rise above canyons that dip into the shadows of those frigid, treeless peaks. Roads in the Rockies today often take somewhat winding routes through canyons, valleys, and tunnels which remain difficult to traverse and maintain today. In the 1800s the road, trail, and waterway networks in the Rocky Mountains were certainly not as efficient or developed as they are today providing an extreme challenge to settlers hoping to penetrate into the mountainous interior of the state. For this reason, I want to investigate whether mining boom towns that were located near the eastern edge of the Rockies or in other easier-to-access locales attracted larger numbers of migrants and settlers which in turn increased their population growth. Additionally, I want to investigate whether the type of mineral or precious metal mined near these boom towns led more migrants and settlers to move to certain boom towns despite their potentially difficult-to-reach locations. To analyze this, I will investigate and map census records of the Territory and State of Colorado, mining districts and mineral and precious metal deposits in the state, road and navigable waterway network maps of Colorado in the 1800s, topographic maps of the Rocky Mountains, and possibly diaries or journals kept by settlers which I can use to analyze how they chose where to settle and the travel challenges they faced along the way.

Bibliography

[1] Colorado Geological Survey, “Metals,” Colorado Geological Survey, accessed Feb. 27, 2024, https://coloradogeologicalsurvey.org/minerals/metals/.

[2] Trevor Mark, “Was Leadville Almost the State Capital?” Herald Democrat (Leadville, CO), Nov. 8, 2017. https://www.leadvilleherald.com/news/article_0276a8c6-c4ba-11e7-a26a-4fa814987988.html

How has increased deer hunting in Iowa affected (both doe and antlered) populations within each county?

In the late 19th and early 20th century, the deer herd in Iowa was nonexistent. James Dinsmore, a prevalent professor at Iowa State University, said that the deer was extirpated by the year 1900. The Department of Resources did far little far too late, which led to this near absence within Iowa. By 1860, eastern counties had little to no deer. By 1898, the DNR finally had stepped in to protect the species; but again, this was much too late [1]. By that time, deer populations within the whole state had plummeted to zeros. From here on there was absolutely no hunting of deer within the Iowa state lines. The species was fully protected under law.

Then came brighter days. In 1953, the state supported a program allowing sanctioned hunting of white-tailed deer. However, it was only 5 days and started after 9 A.M. on each of these days. Each kill was taken to a local check-point for strict observation and data collection [1]. I desire to be a hunter in this situation–getting the chance to hunt deer who have been undisturbed for 50 years. Anyways, there were ~3,000 deer killed state-wide within those five short days. If that sounds high, 109,544 were killed in the 2020-2021 season alone. But I worry, could we be pushing the herd too hard? Are we headed towards another population crash? How has all of this hunting affected the deer population? Have we created imbalances in gender-alignment as hunters chase trophy bucks and let the antlerless walk; has this caused breeding issues? I look to further investigate this cause through mapping and historical data. 

[1]: Hanson, John Lawrence. “Deer Hunting’s ‘Good Old Days’ Are Now.” The Gazette, 5 Jan. 2023, www.thegazette.com/sports/these-are-the-good-old-days-of-deer-hunting/#:~:text=Iowa%20State%20professor%20emeritus%20James,was%20evident%20in%20the%20rules.

How has differential access to COVID-19 vaccines among neighborhoods in Omaha affected the overall health of these neighborhoods?

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the subsequent creation of vaccines for the virus, there have been disparities across the United States in the proportions of demographics that have received the initial vaccine and have followed up with boosters. According to the CDC, individuals from minority backgrounds were half as likely to receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine than white individuals were [1]. I would like to study data from the last 4 years to investigate if this trend has been apparent in the city of Omaha. I am interested in understanding if Omaha’s minority communities have not received the same degree of vaccination in comparison to white communities.

Additionally, it is important to put this investigation in context with access to health-related resources. For instance, pharmaceutical chains, such as Walgreens or CVS, have been moving out of minority areas across the US and establishing locations in white neighborhoods [2]. Observing the spatial locations of pharmacies, clinics, hospitals, etc. in Omaha over the recent years may offer insight into the disparities present in COVID-19 vaccination rates. By observing data on the vaccinations in particular areas of Omaha and viewing the locations (or changes of locations) of health resources in Omaha, some evidence in the form of unequal access to health care may be apparent. Lastly, this can be connected to an observation of COVID-19 incidents over the last 4 years. I am interested in finding if certain areas of Omaha were more susceptible to the illness based on the availability and accessibility of health materials and vaccines.

[1] https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/whats-new/vaccine-equity.html
[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/10/22/drugstore-close-pharmacy-deserts/
[3] https://www.douglascountyhealth.com/covid-19