Digital Exhibit: Census 2020: Census History

The Census has been conducted in the United States since 1790. In the beginning, U.S. Marshals, under the direction of the Secretary of State, were the ones who conducted the Census.  The Census has changed a lot over the years. Who gets counted, what questions are asked, and even the method of responding have all changed and, generally, improved. 

There were six questions on the first Census, however, there was no uniform schedule or form to fill out, so the U.S. Marshals simply asked the six questions and recorded the information in the way they thought was best. In 1830, the Marshals started using uniform schedules when collecting data. In 1880, the U.S. Marshals were replaced by specially trained supervisors and enumerators who went door to door to collect data. The first time questionnaires were mailed to any part of the population was in 1960. The urban population was mailed a questionnaire before enumerators would show up to collect them. By 1980 about 95 percent of the population was receiving mail-out/mail-back questionnaires. Beginning this year, people all over the country have the option to respond to the Census online.

Not only have the methods of responding to the Census become easier and quicker than ever, but the process of processing and analyzing the data gathered has also improved. In 1872, the first tabulation machine was introduced and made processing the Census results much easier and faster. In 1890 the electric tabulator was introduced improving the process even more. The Census Bureau was also the recipient of the first non-military computer in 1951.  In 1958, the Data Processing Center was opened in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Later it was renamed the National Processing Center. 

There is much more to learn about the history of the Census and the Census Bureau. If you want to know more you can visit the Census Bureau History website.

The American Community Survey (ACS) was introduced in 2005. It replaces what was called the long form of the decennial Census. The long-form was a longer version of the Census questionnaire that was randomly given to a small percentage of the population during the decennial Census. The ACS asks more in-depth questions about the person's daily life such as commute time and education levels within the household. The ACS is randomly sent to a small percentage of the population every year and gathers data to help many different organizations during the years between the decennial Census.

This is a page from the Statistical Atlas of the United States, based upon the results of the eleventh Census. Atlases or abstracts like this are still made today based upon the results of the Census and are great resources for those studying a myriad of topics. To see the rest of this book just visit the Library of Congress website here.