United States Census, 1880
Encyclopedia
The United States Census of 1880 was the tenth United States Census
conducted by the Census Bureau
during June 1880. It was the first time that women were permitted to be enumerator
s. The Superintendent of the Census was Francis Amasa Walker
.
Schedule 4 (Social statistics) was the responsibility of experts and special agents, rather than the enumerators. The majority of the data came from correspondence with officials of institutions providing care and treatment of certain members of the population. Experts and special agents also were employed to collect data on valuation, taxation, and indebtedness; religion; libraries; colleges, academies, and schools; newspapers and periodicals, and wages.
Special agents were also charged with collecting data on specific industries throughout the country, and included the manufactures of iron and steel; cotton, woolen, and worsted goods; silk and silk goods; chemical products and salt; coke and glass; shipbuilding; and all aspects of fisheries and mining, including the production of coal and petroleum.
Full documentation for the 1880 population census, including census forms and enumerator instructions, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.
from the 1880 population census are freely available through the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. Aggregate data
for small areas, together with compatible cartographic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System
.
to be 50,189,209, an increase of 30.2 percent over the 39,818,449 persons enumerated
during the 1870 Census
. The mean center of United States population for 1880 was in Boone County, Kentucky
.
The results from the census were used to determine
the apportionment
for the 48th
, 49th
, 50th
, 51st
, and 52nd
sessions of the United States Congress
.
The 1880 census took so long (seven years) that the Census Bureau contracted Herman Hollerith
to design and build a tabulating machine
to be used for the next census
.
The 1880 census also led to the discovery of the Alabama paradox.
United States Census
The United States Census is a decennial census mandated by the United States Constitution. The population is enumerated every 10 years and the results are used to allocate Congressional seats , electoral votes, and government program funding. The United States Census Bureau The United States Census...
conducted by the Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
during June 1880. It was the first time that women were permitted to be enumerator
Enumerator
Enumerator may refer to:*Iterator *a census taker, a person performing door-to-door around census, to count the people and gather demographic data.*Enumerator polynomial...
s. The Superintendent of the Census was Francis Amasa Walker
Francis Amasa Walker
Francis Amasa Walker was an American economist, statistician, journalist, educator, academic administrator, and military officer in the Union Army. Walker was born into a prominent Boston family, the son of the economist and politician Amasa Walker, and he graduated from Amherst College at the age...
.
Data collected
Five schedules were authorized by the 1880 census act, four of which were filled out by the enumerators:- Schedule 1 (Population), which was similar to that used for the previous censusUnited States Census, 1870The United State Census of 1870 was the ninth United States Census. Conducted by the Census Bureau in June 1870, the 1870 Census was the first census to provide detailed information on the black population, only years after the culmination of the Civil War when slaves were granted freedom. The...
, with a few exceptions. - Schedule 2 (Mortality), which used the same inquiries as in 1870, and added inquiries to record marital statusMarital statusA person's marital status indicates whether the person is married. Questions about marital status appear on many polls and forms, including censuses and credit card applications.In the simplest sense, the only possible answers are "single" or "married"...
, birth place of parents, length of residence in the United States or territory, and name of place where the disease was contracted, if other than place of death. - Schedule 3 (Agriculture), which greatly expanded inquiries concerning various crops (including acreage for principal crop), and included questions on farm tenure, weeks of hired labor, annual cost for fence building and repair, fertilizer purchases, and the number of livestock.
- Schedule 5 (Manufacturing), which expanded to include information on the greatest number of hands employed at any time during the year, the number of hours in the ordinary work day from May to November and November to May, the average daily wages paid to skilled mechanics and laborers, months of full-and part-time operation, and machinery used.
Schedule 4 (Social statistics) was the responsibility of experts and special agents, rather than the enumerators. The majority of the data came from correspondence with officials of institutions providing care and treatment of certain members of the population. Experts and special agents also were employed to collect data on valuation, taxation, and indebtedness; religion; libraries; colleges, academies, and schools; newspapers and periodicals, and wages.
Special agents were also charged with collecting data on specific industries throughout the country, and included the manufactures of iron and steel; cotton, woolen, and worsted goods; silk and silk goods; chemical products and salt; coke and glass; shipbuilding; and all aspects of fisheries and mining, including the production of coal and petroleum.
Full documentation for the 1880 population census, including census forms and enumerator instructions, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.
Data availability
MicrodataMicrodata (statistics)
In the study of survey and census data, microdata is information at the level of individual respondents. For instance, a national census might collect age, home address, educational level, employment status, and many other variables, recorded separately for every person who responds; this is...
from the 1880 population census are freely available through the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. Aggregate data
Aggregate data
In statistics, aggregate data describes data combined from several measurements.In economics, aggregate data or data aggregates describes high-level data that is composed of a multitude or combination of other more individual data....
for small areas, together with compatible cartographic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System
National Historical Geographic Information System
The National Historical Geographic Information System is a historical GIS project to create and freely disseminate a database incorporating all available aggregate census information for the United States between 1790 and 2000...
.
Results
The 1880 census determined the resident population of the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to be 50,189,209, an increase of 30.2 percent over the 39,818,449 persons enumerated
Enumeration
In mathematics and theoretical computer science, the broadest and most abstract definition of an enumeration of a set is an exact listing of all of its elements . The restrictions imposed on the type of list used depend on the branch of mathematics and the context in which one is working...
during the 1870 Census
United States Census, 1870
The United State Census of 1870 was the ninth United States Census. Conducted by the Census Bureau in June 1870, the 1870 Census was the first census to provide detailed information on the black population, only years after the culmination of the Civil War when slaves were granted freedom. The...
. The mean center of United States population for 1880 was in Boone County, Kentucky
Boone County, Kentucky
Boone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1798. The population was 118,811 in the 2010 Census. Its county seat is Burlington. The county is named for frontiersman Daniel Boone...
.
The results from the census were used to determine
Apportionment Bill
The Apportionment Bill is an act passed by the Congress of the United States after each decennial census to determine the number of members which each state shall send to the United States House of Representatives. The number of the members of the first House was 65...
the apportionment
United States congressional apportionment
United States congressional apportionment is the process by which seats in the United States House of Representatives are redistributed amongst the 50 states following each constitutionally mandated decennial census. Each state is apportioned a number of seats which approximately corresponds to its...
for the 48th
48th United States Congress
The Forty-eighth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1883 to March 4, 1885, during the last two years...
, 49th
49th United States Congress
The Forty-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1885 to March 4, 1887, during the first two years...
, 50th
50th United States Congress
The Fiftieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1887 to March 4, 1889, during the third and fourth...
, 51st
51st United States Congress
The Fifty-first United States Congress, referred to by some critics as the Billion Dollar Congress, was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C...
, and 52nd
52nd United States Congress
The Fifty-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C...
sessions of the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
.
The 1880 census took so long (seven years) that the Census Bureau contracted Herman Hollerith
Herman Hollerith
Herman Hollerith was an American statistician who developed a mechanical tabulator based on punched cards to rapidly tabulate statistics from millions of pieces of data. He was the founder of one of the companies that later merged and became IBM.-Personal life:Hollerith was born in Buffalo, New...
to design and build a tabulating machine
Tabulating machine
The tabulating machine was an electrical device designed to assist in summarizing information and, later, accounting. Invented by Herman Hollerith, the machine was developed to help process data for the 1890 U.S. Census...
to be used for the next census
United States Census, 1890
The Eleventh United States Census was taken June 2, 1890. The data was tabulated by machine for the first time. The data reported that the distribution of the population had resulted in the disappearance of the American frontier...
.
The 1880 census also led to the discovery of the Alabama paradox.