![]() The 1940 population census consisted of 34 questions-name, age, place of birth, etc.-but for the first time one out of every 20 individuals, or about five percent of the total population, was then asked 16 additional questions to create a ‘sampling line.’ These questions allowed the 1940 census to look deeper into the American population without unduly increasing the overall burden on individuals or enumerators. All of these answers and more were contained within the census, as was the annual diphtheria death rate, the production rates of oleo, butter and margarine, households lacking indoor plumbing, and the number of cases of identical twins.Īll of this, however, would amount to little more than statistical trivia for the layperson had it not been for the 1940 census’ introduction of sampling techniques. An automobile accident fatality occurred every 15 minutes. 5.1 million Americans lived on farms they either owned or lived on as tenants. In 1940, only 5 percent of Americans held a bachelor’s degree or higher. The average life-expectancy improved to 62.9 years. ![]() The proportion of Americans living in urban areas grew to 56.5 percent. The median annual wage or salary for men and women stood at $956 and $592 respectively calculated for inflation, amounting to about $15,000 for men and $9,000 for women in today’s money. The population of the United States was determined to be 132,164,569, an increase of 7.3 percent over the previous 10 years, and the first decade in American history in which immigration was not a factor in population growth owing to restrictive and exclusionary immigration legislation enacted in the 1920s and 30s.ġ940 marked the first occasion in which the population of every US state-48 at the time-claimed a population of at least 100,000. Of course, the 1940 census answered the broad questions. Though the amount of questions included on the standard questionnaire of both the 19 census were close in number, it was the types of questions and questioning techniques developed for the enumerators of the 1940 census that makes it such a valuable tool and treasure trove of information today. The 1930 census sought to measure the impact of the 1929 stock market crash and the effects of the ensuing economic crisis by utilizing both a standard questionnaire as well as a supplementary survey to collect additional information regarding periods of employment and unemployment. In 1930 and in 1940, the enumerators would record information such as household size, home ownership, age, occupation, literacy, place of birth, marital status and race the last proving as complicated and controversial an issue in 1930 as it would be again in 1940 and even today. Similar to the methods undertaken in the 1930 census, responsibility for tabulation of the number of the nation’s citizens in 1940 fell entirely upon individual enumerators-mostly college graduates-collecting information in visits door-to-door. Following behind New York were Chicago and Philadelphia these same three cities stood in the same order in 1940 as they had a decade earlier. In 1940, New York stood as the most populous city in the union (population 7,454,995), just as it had in every census taken since 1790. Nevertheless, some things had not changed. Much had changed since the previous enumeration of 1930 and those changes were reflected in the data gathered by the 1940 census: it showed a growing nation moving out of the Great Depression, but still deeply feeling the effects of almost a decade of uncertainty. ![]() 'Enumerate all men, women and children (including infants)'…'use black ink, write legibly and keep your schedules neat and clean' ….'enumerate all persons in hotels, tourist or trailer camps, missions, and cheap one-night lodging houses (flophouses).' ![]() This introduction formed only part of the instructions given to the over 120,000 enumerators charged with conducting the 1940 census across the United States, including its territories of Alaska, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, the Panama Canal Zone, and the American Virgin Islands. So read the preface to the pamphlet “Abridged Instructions To Enumerators” signed by the Director of the Census Bureau, William Lane Austin of Mississippi, from his headquarters in Washington D.C. ![]()
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