Historians have long appreciated the value of the U.S. Census as a source of statistical data for studying nineteenth- and twentieth-century American history. However, in ways that many other primary source documents do not, the census reflects and addresses social, political, and economic issues on national, state, and community levels…

The author describes how high school students can use Google Tour Builder to track the impact of local Civil War veterans by conducting research with primary and secondary sources. In the article, there is a description of an example from Larned, Kansas where more than one hundred Civil War veterans settled a community on the plains. Digitized…

In high school American history classrooms all over the country, the Civil War is a staple in the curriculum. Of course, that is to be expected given the pivotal place that the Civil War occupies in the nation's history. Indeed, it is not unusual for high school teachers to devote weeks of instruction to exploring the causes leading up to the war,…

While working on the development of literacy in Portugal and comparing it with other European societies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, I not only saw how late Portugal had been in achieving this process, but also how inaccurate the available numbers about it were. I decided that as part of securing a better understanding of the…

During the summer of 1787, when the delegates to the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia, the issue of representation in Congress was strongly debated. Delegates from the large states favored the Virginia Plan's proposal for two houses of Congress with representation based on population. Delegates from the small states favored equal…

This publication provides census questionnaires and instructions for decennial censuses beginning in 1790 and ending in 2000. It also presents a history of the decennial censuses from 1790 to 2000 and offers individual histories of the U.S. census from the first (1790) to the sixteenth (1940). The publication discusses the seventeenth (1950),…

The Small Area Statistics (SAS) are a standard set of census statistics for small areas throughout Great Britain. The SAS are a valuable teaching resource with many different applications. As an illustration, how the SAS were used to prepare college students in an urban geography course for fieldwork is described. (RM)

Focuses on helping students develop historical skills in a U.S. history survey course using active learning strategies that incorporate small group work with primary sources. Describes four activities used to teach women's history: (1) visiting a museum exhibit; (2) attending a convention; (3) deciphering census data; and (4) examining political…

Outlines background information on census taking in North America, including the constitutional mandate for the U.S. census and the first census in 1790. Delineates the way that the data for the 1990 Census will be collected. Includes text of a letter written by George Washington concerning an undercount in the 1790 census. Concludes with a…

Surveys changes in the content of the U.S. census from 1790 to 1990. Focuses on how the information collected changed with the growth and development of the country. Lists principal topics covered in the population census since 1790, and in the housing census since 1940. Includes facsimiles of 1910 and 1990 census forms. (LS)