In order to help your students understand the change in the population of the U.S. since the arrival of Pilgrims in 1620, share the following statistics with them: According to the 1999 World Almanac, there are 270 million people in the United States (as of August 1998). There are approximately 223 million Caucasian, 34 million African-American, 10 million Asian, and 2 million Native American people making up this population. In groups, have students figure out what percentage of the population each group represents. Have them discuss how these percentages have changed since 1620. What happened to bring about these changes?