ABSTRACT
The historical record of the longevity and mortality of the American population parallels closely to that of the peoples of several countries of Western Europe. The second half of the nineteenth century witnessed the birth and growth of the public health movement in the United States, with initial emphasis on sanitation and preventive measures against the common infections. Several distinct factors may be recognized in the improving postwar longevity record for the United States. First, there are not only the advances in the scope and quality of health goods and services, but also the growth in their quantity; typical is the increase in the construction of medical-care and public-health facilities. Second, the financing of the costs of medical care to its consumers has been greatly eased by the rapid growth of voluntary health insurance among the self-supporting and by the development of public welfare programs for the indigent.
