The U.S. Census has been in the headlines lately, as proposed changes to the 2030 count have sparked debate over who gets counted and what information should be recorded as part of that process. Few government records say more about a democracy than the census, the once-a-decade count that decides who is represented in Congress, which makes it a natural fit for Democracy’s Library, the Internet Archive’s effort to make government information freely available to everyone. Thanks to the Allen County Public Library, the Internet Archive holds the U.S. Census collection. This collection contains digitized microfilm of the United States federal population census, 1790 to 1930 (minus the lost 1890 Census), and including the Indian Census rolls of 1885 to 1940, which were compiled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The evolution of the U.S. Census
The United States Census is one of the few institutional structures that was written into the Constitution, with Article I, Section 2 specifying that an “actual Enumeration” would be made every ten years in order to divide seats in the House of Representatives and direct taxes among the states.
Since the first census which took place in 1790, the modes and methods of the decennial enumeration have evolved over time. The first census recorded only six things: the name of the head of household, and for that household the number of free white males 16 and older, free white males under 16, free white females, all other free persons, and enslaved people. Over time other changes were made, including expanded age brackets (1800), questions about occupation, counting foreign residents who had not naturalized (1820), and a failed experiment recording the status of “insane and idiotic” people (1840).
The 1850 census is considered the first professional census and was the first time every free person was listed by name, rather than just the head of household. It recorded each person’s age, sex, color, birthplace, and occupation. In 1850 and 1860 enslaved people were recorded on a separate schedule without names, only by age, sex, and color, under their enslaver’s name. Other racial categories were added over time: mulatto (1850), Chinese (1870), and Mexican (added in 1930, dropped in 1940). In 1970 the census shifted from from door-to-door interviews to mailed forms that people filled out themselves. In the interview era, enumerators usually recorded race based on their own observation, whereas with mail-in forms, people identified themselves. The ethnicity (rather than race) “Hispanic” first appeared on the 1970 sample form and moved to every household in 1980. For the 2030 census there have been plans to combine race and Hispanic origin into one question and add a Middle Eastern or North African category.
Before 1880, the census was run by U.S. marshals and their assistants – after that point the Census Office, as it was known, became more professionalized with “enumerators” recording data. As questions and data became more elaborate, processing time also increased. The results from the 1880 results took most of the decade to tabulate. In 1890 the census adopted an electric punch-card tabulating machine, which cut processing time dramatically. Sadly, most of the 1890 population schedules were destroyed in a 1921 fire. For its first century, the census was a temporary office staffed up every ten years and then disbanded. That changed in 1902, when Congress made the Census Office permanent. Over the years, the agency has moved from the Department of State to the Department of the Interior and now rests within the Department of Commerce.
During World War II, the agency gave the government data to help locate Japanese Americans for forced removal and incarceration. Title 13 of the U.S. Code now makes individual responses confidential, and a separate rule keeps records sealed for 72 years.
The Census has been much in the news recently, largely due to proposed changes to the 2030 Census, including removing questions on race and ethnicity (including those that have been recently proposed) and leaving noncitizens on temporary or other non-permanent status.out of the census enumeration exercise. The Bureau would also use tax records to help determine where people usually live, which could mean people who don’t file taxes would not be counted regardless of citizenship status. The proposed exclusion would impact the count used to apportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The U.S. Census on the Internet Archive
Looking at the material in this collection is fascinating – you can see the shift in questions asked, the expansion of states and territories covered by the census as the nation grew, and every individual listed by name from 1850 on. Because of the interest in these materials, and the challenges in searching handwritten historical documents, we have included a search tips page for this collection. We invite you to explore this collection – it may help you answer a question about your family, your community, or simply satisfy your curiosity about how the U.S. Census has evolved over time.
