Chapter 10 ? Launching the New Ship of State I. Growing Pains In 1789, the new U.S. Constitution was launched, and the population was doubling every 20 years. America?s population was still 90% rural, with 5% living west of the Appalachians. Vermont became the 14th state in 1791, and Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio (states where trans-Appalachian overflow was concentrated) became states soon after. Visitors looked down upon the crude, rough pioneers, and these western people were restive and dubiously loyal at best. In the twelve years after American independence, laws had been broken and a constitution had been completely scrapped and replaced with a new one, a government that left much to be desired.