Historical Census Information at Princeton University
Presented by
Ann Gray & John Hernandez
July 16, 2003
Sources of
Information:
Factfinder for the Nation: History and Organization.
Washington,
D.C.: Bureau of the Census, 1988.
C 3.252:4/4 (SSRC DOCS)
Provides
a brief history of the Census from 1790-2000, including the development of the
Census Bureau and its various statistical programs. Additional reports in the Factfinder series are available in SSRC
DOCS and online at: http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/factfind.html.
Measuring America: The Decennial Censuses from 1790
to 2000.
Washington, D.C.: Bureau of
the Census, 2002.
C 3.2M 46.2 (SSRC DOCS)
HA37.U62 M43 2002a (Stokes) & HA37.U62 M433 2002
(Stokes)
http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/pol02marv-pt1.pdf
http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/pol02marv-pt2.pdf
http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/pol02marv-pt3.pdf
http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/pol02marv-pt4.pdf
http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/pol02marv-pt5.pdf
http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/pol02marv-pt6.pdf
http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/pol02marv-pt7.pdf
Discusses the text of Census questionnaires since 1790 as
well as instructions to enumerators. Provides a history of each individual
census with definitions and a chart listing population items asked 1790-2000.
Anderson, Margo J. The American census: a Social
History.
HA37.U55 A53 1988 (Firestone
& Stokes)
Anderson, Margo J. Encyclopedia of the U.S.
Census.
HA37.U55 C66 2000 (SSRC &
Stokes)
Keys to Finding Census Information:
·
Topics
·
Geography
·
Universe
·
Granularity
·
Time
Frame
Definitions – How the questions were asked, coded, and
summarized.
How
Censuses Were Conducted:
Administration:
- 1790-1879
– Administered by President or Secretary of State, 1810 by Secretary of
Treasury (Coxe).
- 1848
– Creation of a Census Board with Joseph C.G. Kennedy appointed as Secretary
of the Board.
- 1879
– Census Office given control over field operations.
- 1890
– Introduction of mechanical tabulation of census data.
·
1902 – Census Bureau established as a permanent federal
agency.
Collection Method:
· 1790-1840 – Census tallied and tabulated in the field.
- No
individual level data was collected (each household reported the name of
the head).
- Data
were published in much the same order as they were received by the
enumerators (marshals and assistant marshals).
·
1850 – Introduction of Census schedules.
o tabulation is no longer done by the
enumerators.
· 1870 – Census Office.
A Chronology of the Census:
1790 Census (3.9 million
persons)
·
Geography:
State, County, Township. 13 original states plus Kentucky, Maine,
Vermont, and Western Territories (Tennessee)
- Content: Name of head, number of free white
males under 16 yrs, over 16 years, number of free white females, number of
other free persons, number of slaves.
Tabulated by county.
- Publications: 56 page report to Congress.
- Return
of the whole number of persons within the several districts of the United States: First census. U.S. Census Office. HA201.1790.C45 1976 (Stokes- reprint)
- Return
of the whole number of persons within the several districts of the United States, according to "An
act providing for the enumeration of the inhabitants of the United States," passed
March the first, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one. Philadelphia: Printed by Joseph Gales,
no. 23 South Third street, 1791. HA201.1790 .A32 (Rare- facsimile)
1800
Census (5.3 million persons)
- Geography:
State, County, Township or city.
Add Tennessee, North West Territory, Indiana Territory, Miscopy
Territory, and District of Columbia.
- Publications: 74 page report to Congress. Newspaper
summaries.
- Return
of the whole number of persons within the several districts of the United States: Second census. HA201.1800.C45
1976 (Stokes- reprint)
- Return
of the whole number of persons within the several districts of the United States, according to an act
... passed February the 28th, one thousand eight hundred. Washington City: Printed at the Apollo
Press, by Wm. Duane & Son, 1802.
HA201.1800 .A3 (Rare)
1803 Louisiana Purchase
1810 Census (7.2 million
persons)
- Geography: Ohio, East Tennessee, West Tennessee,
Territories of Orleans, Mississippi, Louisiana, Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan.
- Add a
census of manufactures due to fear of embargo due to Napoleonic Wars, but
the data collection was flawed – many marshals did not collect all the
data and it was difficult for them to categorize industries.
- Publications: 180 page report.
- Aggregate
amount of each description of persons within the United States of America, and the
territories thereof, agreeably to actual enumeration made according to
law, in the year 1810. HA201.1810.C45.1976 (Stokes- reprint)
& Oversize HA201 1810q (Rare)
- A
statement of the arts and manufactures of the United States of America, for the
year 1810:
digested and prepared by Tench Coxe. Philadelphia: Printed by A. Cornman,
1814. HD9724 .A51 1810 (Rare);
HA201.1810.C45.1976 (Stokes- reprint)
1812-1814 War
of 1812
1818
- Publication
of statistical data collected since 1789 as well as some local data:
- Statistical
Annals: Embracing Views of the Population, Commerce, Navigation,
Fisheries, Public Lands, Post-Office Establishment, Revenues, Mint,
Military and Naval Establishments, Expenditures, Public Debt and Sinking
Fund, of the United States of America Founded on Official Documents. 800 pages by Adam
Seybert. HA215 .S51
(Firestone)
1820 Missouri Compromise
1820 Census (9.6 million persons)
·
Geography: Add
Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana.
- Content:
Slave and free black population classified by sex and age. Broad
occupational categories and unnaturalized foreigners are counted.
- Publications: 160 page report on population, 100
pages on Manufactures.
- Aggregate
amount of each discription [sic] of persons in the United States and
their territories, according to the census, taken in virtue of the acts
of Congress of 1820-1821: together with a list of the taxable
inhabitants, slaves, and deaf and dumb. HA201 1830 .A3e (Annex A)
- Census
for 1820. Published by authority of an act of Congress, under the
direction of the secretary of state. HA201 1830 .A3q
1830 Census (12.9 million persons)
·
Geography:
- Content:
Manufactures census abandoned. Added to population census number and race
of deaf, dumb, and blind persons. Uniform printed forms sent to all
enumerators. Still lack of consistency and increased size of nation makes
accurate count impossible.
- Publications: 163 page report, 3,000 copies printed
with comparative data from earlier years.
- Fifth
census,
or, Enumeration of the inhabitants of the United States,
1830: to which is prefixed, a schedule of the whole number of persons
within the several districts of the United States,
taken according to the acts of 1790,
1800, 1810, 1820: published by authority of an act of Congress.
Oversize HA201 1830 1990f (reprint)
o
Fifth census; or, Enumeration of the inhabitants of the United States
as corrected at the Department of State. 1830. Pub. by the authority of an act
of Congress, under the direction of the Secretary of State. HA201 1830 A3e (Annex A)
1839 American
Statistical Association is founded in Boston
1840 Census (17 million persons)
U.S. population is now greater than England’s
- Geography: Add Michigan, Arkansas.
·
Content: Many items added to census form (80 columns of
information for each household) Included were age groups, 7 industry groups,
Revolutionary war pensioners, deaf, dumb, blind and insane by race, schools and
colleges and literacy.
·
Publications:
10,000 copies of the census and a compendium.
- Statistics
of the United States of America, as collected and returned by the
marshals of the several judicial districts, under the ... act for taking
the sixth census; corrected at the Department of State. June 1, 1840.
Published by authority of an act of Congress. HA201 1840 A2e (Annex A)
- Sixth
census or
enumeration of the inhabitants of the United States, as corrected at the Department of
state, in 1840. Published, by authority of an Act of Congress, under the
direction of the secretary of state.
HA201 1840 A3f (Annex A)
- Compendium
of the enumeration of the inhabitants and statistics of the United States
as obtained at the Department of State, from the returns of the sixth
census, by counties and principal towns ... to which is added an abstract
of each preceding census. HA201 1840 A1q
o
Census of pensioners for revolutionary or military services, with their
names, ages, and places of residence, as returned by the marshals of the
several judicial districts, under the act for taking the sixth census. 1081.921 (Rare)
1843
- Publication
of: Tucker, George. Progress of
the United States in population and wealth in fifty years, as exhibited by
the decennial census.
HC105.T79 (Firestone).
1845
- Census
of Boston by Lemuel Shattuck of American Statistical Association. Report to the committee of the City
Council appointed to obtain the census of Boston for the year 1845. New York: Arno Press, 1976. HA730.B7 S6 1976
1850 Census (23.2 million persons)
- Geography: Add Florida, Texas, Iowa, Wisconsin.
Territories of California, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah.
- Content: Tabulation of Census schedules is done
by Census staff in Washington.
Coding for occupation is introduced for about “450 different
pursuits”. Schedules provided name
for all free persons (slaves were listed by number only). Separate
schedules for free, slave, deceased persons, agriculture and manufacturing
and social statistics (taxes, schools, newspapers, crime, religion,
libraries, etc.) First questions about place of birth, married in past
year, value of real estate.
·
Loss of schedules from California (burned) delays
reapportionment.
- Publications:
- Seventh
Census of the United States: 1850. Washington, D.C.: Robert Armstrong, 1853. HA201 1850 1990 (Firestone – reprint)
o Compendium
to the 1850 Census ( a condensed version of the earlier publication)
Statistical View of the United States, Being a Compendium of the Seventh Census. Washington, D.C.: A. O. P. Nicholson,
1854. HA201.1850.A4 (Stokes 2 copies). HA201 1850 1990 (Firestone – reprint)
- Tucker,
George. Progress of the United
States in population & wealth in fifty years. With an appendix, containing
an abstract of the census of 1850.
HC105.T79.1964 (Stokes – reprint)
1853 First
International Statistical Congress
1860 Census (31.4 million persons
with 4 million slaves)
·
Geography: Add
California, Minnesota, Oregon, Kansas.
- Publications: 5 vols.
- Preliminary
report on the eighth census. 1860. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1862. Oversize HA201 1860 .A4q
- Population
of the United States in 1860: compiled from the original returns of the
eighth census.
Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1864. Oversize HA201 1860 .A3q
- Statistics
of the United States, (including mortality, property, &c.) in 1860;
compiled from the original returns and being the final exhibit of the
eighth census, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior.
Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1866. Oversize HA201 1860 .A5q
- The
United States on the eve of the Civil War: as described in the 1860
census. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Civil War Centennial
Commission: Government Printing Office, 1963.
- Other
publications dealing with slavery issues:
o
Map Showing the Distribution of the Slave Population of the Southern
States of the United States ... 1860. (Heynen,
Agricultural Maps; available in Cartographic Archives Division, National
Archives. RG 29.)
1861-1865 Civil War
1868 First Census of
Hawaii conducted by local government every 6 years
1870 Census (39.8 million persons)
·
Geography: Add Nevada, Nebraska
·
Content: Drop
slave questions, add eligibility to vote, citizenship, drop paupers and
convicts, value of personal property.
- Publications five vols.
- Census
reports compiled from the original returns of the ninth census (June 1,
1870,) under the direction of the secretary of the interior, by Francis
A. Walker, superintendent of census. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing
Office, 1872. Oversize HA201.1870 .A2q
- A
compendium of the ninth census (June 1, 1870).
Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1872 . HA201 1870 .A3
- Statistical
atlas of the United States based on the results of the ninth census 1870:
with contributions from many eminent men of science and several
departments of the government. New York: Julius Bien, lith., 1874. Oversize HA201 1870 .A5e (Annex A)
- Undercount
of southern states was about 1.26 million.
1874
- Term
“urban” appears in Statistical Atlas of the United States based on the
results of the Ninth Census.
It is defined as places with populations of 8,000 or more.
1880 Census (50.1
million persons)
·
Geography:
Add Colorado, Alaska as a territory.
1890 Census (62.9 million persons)
- Geography: Add Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North
Dakota, South Dakota.
- First
coverage of Indian Territory.
- Publications: 32 vols.
1893 Fredrick
Jackson Turner & the Closing of the Frontier
1899
- First
Census of Puerto Rico conducted by
War Department. (Spanish had conducted periodic censuses from 1765-1887).
1900 Census (75.9 million persons)
·
Geography: Add
Utah, Hawaii as a territory.
·
Publications:
10 vols. and an abstract.
1903
·
Census of the Philippine Islands was conducted. (The
Spanish had had censuses in 1818 and 1876).
Philippine Islands became an independent republic in 1946. Other
territories have had periodic censuses.
1910 Census (91.9 million persons)
·
Geography: Add Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma.
- Publications: 11 vols. plus abstract and Statistical
Atlas of the United States, The Blind in the United States, Deaf
Mutes in the United States, & Indian Population in the United
States and Alaska.
- U.S.
has conducted decennial censuses in Puerto Rico since 1910.
1914-1918
World War I
1920 Census (105.7 million persons)
·
Geography: New York City designates small area
tabulations for what would later become Census tracts.
·
Publications: Continued to publish monographs on special
topics.
1929-1939 Great
Depression
1930 Census (122.7 million persons)
·
Census
date changed to April 1. Collected data on population, agriculture,
manufacturing, distribution of business, construction and unemployment on about
300 million punch cards.
·
Publications: 32 vols. including 2 vols. on
unemployment. Ceased publication of
census monographs.
1939-1945 World
War II
1940 Census (131.7 million persons)
·
First
use of “sampling” and first housing schedule, employment and unemployment added
to the population schedule and inquiries on migration. Tabulated city data by
“blocks”.
- Publications: Due to war, publications were limited.
About 1,600 libraries were designated as depository center for Census
Bureau publications.
1950 Census (150.7 million persons)
·
Employed “test” censuses. Counted college students at place of college, not at parental
home. Defined “enumeration districts”.
Many new innovations such as evaluations (post-enumeration survey).
·
Publications:
Nearly 73,000 pages of reports plus 13 monographs by specialists on
various topics dealing with families, immigration, labor force, income, and
housing.
1950-1953
Korean War
1955-1975 Vietnam
War
1960 Census (179.3 million persons)
- Geography:
Add Alaska, Hawaii as states.
- Content: First use of the “long form.” First numeric summary data for Census
tracts.
1970 Census (203.3 million persons)
·
Most public use data made available on magnetic tape.
1980 Census (226.5 million persons)
·
Reduction in number of questions due to concerns over
respondent burden. Census Bureau offers
software to prepare tables.
1990 Census (249.6 million persons)
1990-1991
Persian Gulf War
2000 Census (281.4 million persons)
- “Born
online.” Probably the last full
census using the Long Form supplemental questionnaire.
Historical Census Data Available Online:
Selected Historical Decennial Census Population and Housing Counts
Bureau of the Census
http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/hiscendata.html
Provides links to online versions
of selected historical reports. Reports are available in different formats
(PDF, TXT and HTML) but no multiple copies of reports.
Current Population Reports and Other Population
Reports Index
Ohio State
University Libraries – Government Documents
Provides a convenient listing of
Current Population Reports back to 1947, based on the Subject Index to
Current Population Reports and Other Population Report Series with links to
current reports available online and scanned versions of many older reports.
Historical Census Browser, 1790-1960
University of Virginia & ICPSR
Provides selected national,
state, and county statistics through a user-friendly forms interface. Earliest censuses include total population,
age, sex, free or slave. Beginning with
1840 additional details for occupation, education, churches, mortality, and
wealth are available.
Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS)
University of Minnesota
Provides access to PUMS data of the Decennial Census for
1850-1990. Data can be downloaded in
compressed format, and recoding permits users to compare various years.
Historical Statistics on the Foreign Born Population
of the United States: 1850-1990
Bureau of the Census
Tables include country of birth,
mother tongue, race, age and sex at the national level. Also provides nativity
data (foreign or native born) for metropolitan areas, counties, and 50 large
urban areas.
Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban
Places in the United States: 1790-1990
Bureau of the Census
Cities ranked by population size,
beginning with 24 urban areas in 1790 up to 100 areas in 1990.
ICPSR
Provides raw data files for manipulation and analysis. See
their Thematic Category I - Census Enumerations: Historical and Contemporary
Population Characteristics.
Race and Ethnicity:
· Ethnicity – early concerns
· Slave Population
· Terminology
· Persons of Hispanic Origin
· Asians and Pacific Islanders
· American Indians and the U.S. Census
Factfinder for the
Nation: Statistics on Race and Ethnicity
Washington, D.C.: Bureau of the Census, 1991.
C
3.252:1/4 (SSRC DOCS)