© 1991 by Society for the Social History of Medicine
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The US Bureau of the Census in the Nineteenth Century
*Department of History, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201, USA
SUMMARY The history of vital statistics and census-taking in nineteenth-century, USA, was largely determined by the federal Constitution of 1787. By its decree that the number of Representatives in Congress be proportional to the population size of each state, the decennial census from 1790 onwards was invested with an overwhelmingly political significance. Despite this it was not until 1850 that a truly modern individual level nominal census was introduced. This followed the first substantial advisory input from social scientists, such as Dr Edward Jarvis of Massachusetts. Although successful with the census, Jarvis was unable to prevail with the new nation's vital registration. Again as a direct result of the federal nature of the constitution, vital registration remained subject to the varying enthusiams of the different states. A reliable, uniform national system was not created until the 1930s. The census therefore remained of limited value as a medical, public health resource. It was instead seen primarily as a political and economic exercise. The latter aspect was particularly strongly developed by General Francis Walker, the foremost US economist of his generation, who was in charge of the 1870 and 1880 censuses. When the US Census Bureau was finally granted a permanent establishment, it was placed in 1903 within the Department of Commerce and Labour.
Keywords: US Census Bureau; social science; social statistics; US Constitution; vital statistics; Francis Walker; mechanical tabulation
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