What did people eat in the 1800s in the U.S.?

People ate mostly what was found or grown locally because shipping wasn't happening much in the early 1800s. However, what I found even more interesting was life expectancy which was very very low at that time here in the U.S. For example, England's defeat in the War of 1812 accelerated western expansion and unfortunately native American removal from their lands.

By 1815 there were 8,419,000 people in the U.S. including about 1.5 million slaves. The country's entire population had doubled since it was taken in 1790. The country's population would continue to increase by 30% each decade during the 1800s.

They ate a lot of corn and beans along with salted pork. To preserve food without refrigeration required salting or pickling a lot of the food both of meat and vegetables. Root cellars also were used to preserve food as well.

A white man who had reached 20 in1815 could expect to live only another 19 years then. and a white woman who had reached 20 could expect to live only another 18.8 years. If you measure from birth this life expectancy would be much much lower.

A family typically would have 7 or 8 children in the 1800s because a few would likely die from accidents or disease then too. This was just a normal part of life then.

For example, more soldiers during the War of 1812 died from disease than from fighting. A similar thing happened in World War I to American soldiers caused by the Spanish Flu epidemic then.

Most fruits and vegetables were grown on the farmstead, and families processed meats such as poultry, beef, and pork. People had seasonal diets. In the spring and summer months, they ate many more fruits and vegetables than they did in the fall and winter.

Cooking in the 1800s (from Tar Heel Junior Historian) | NCpedia

https://www.ncpedia.org/culture/food/cooking-in-the-1800s

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What Did People Eat In The 1800s? – Ancestry Blog

https://blogs.ancestry.com/cm/what-was-life-like-200-years-ago/

Corn and beans were common, along with pork. In the north, cows provided milk, butter, and beef, while in the south, where cattle were less common, venison and other game provided meat. Preserving food in 1815, before the era of refrigeration, required smoking, drying, or salting meat.

Cooking in the 1800s (from Tar Heel Junior Historian) | NCpedia

https://www.ncpedia.org/culture/food/cooking-in-the-1800s

Most fruits and vegetables were grown on the farmstead, and families processed meats such as poultry, beef, and pork. People had seasonal diets. In the spring and summer months, they ate many more fruits and vegetables than they did in the fall and winter.