Why has our life expectancy increased so much since the American Revolution?

According to Presidential candidate Rick Santorum: "Because God says they have rights."

What about the role of sanitation, nutrition, education, medicine?

This is an example of religious faith clashing with reason, with all due respect to those with faith.

From "Human Longevity: The Major Determining Factors" by Joseph A. Knight, M.D.:

Wealth, and an affluent environment, significantly correlate with life expectancy as shown by a marked increase in life expectancy over the past century due to the marked improvement in sanitation, nutrition, education and medicine.

And from American Scientist:

As early as 1840, life expectancy started increasing in Sweden. Soon, the trend appeared in other developed countries, too. In the United States, for example, white females in 1900 lived an average of 48 years; by 2000, they lived an average of 87 years. This 39- year increase in average lifespan really took hold by mid-century, largely due to reduced mortality before puberty, which killed 24 percent of the women born in 1900. Young girls-no longer taken by accidents or infectious diseases- survived to die as old ladies.

In the 1920s, extensive public- health measures, including sanitary sewers and clean drinking water, triggered this decreased mortality. Later, antibiotics and improved medical care increased average life spans even more. As the 20th century rolled by, the elderly grew more healthy and mentally independent than their parents at the same ages. In addition, the average person lived longer than ever. Consequently, the probability of some proportion of them surviving for more than a century increased, as well.

Follow this link:
Rick Santorum: Live Longer with God [Dean's Corner]