POPULATION. Instead of providing simply for an enumeration of the population in 1790 according to the number of "free persons" and the number of "all other persons, excluding Indians not taxed," which would have answered all the requirements of the Constitution, the schedule prescribed by the census act called for a return of the population, in connection with the name of the head of the family, in each case, according to five specifications of age, sex, and condition, thus recognizing at the very outset the desirability of using the census as a means of securing data beyond the mere statement of population needed for apportionment purposes. Following this general principle, the number of specifications relating to the population at each enumeration thereafter up to and including that of 1840 was constantly increased, and at the latter census the schedule prescribed called for a return of the number of persons in each family according to 50 specifications of color, sex, age, and condition, in addition to other particulars with respect to their occupation, illiteracy, mental and physical condition, etc. The manner in which the enumeration was made, following the provisions of the census act by which the details of population to be returned by the marshals and their assistants was fixed and determined, did not admit of any combination of color, sex, and age other than as prescribed by the schedule, and the printed results of these earlier. enumerations followed closely the form in which the return was made by the marshals, as required by law. The change at the census of 1850 in the method by which the return was made concerning each person enumerated, calling for an individual statement, in each case, of the color, sex, and age, place of birth, occupation, etc., did away with the necessity of specifying in the census act the detail in which the return of population should be made, for purposes of presentation, and charged the work of classifying and arranging the data secured upon the central office at Washington. In determining, therefore, the number of inquiries or details asked at each census concerning population, it is manifest that the returns made by the marshals at the first six enumerations, which were published in practically the same form as transmitted by them, must be brought to the basis of the individual return required at the censuses since and including 1850. In accordance with this interpretation, the following table is obtained, in which the number of inquiries or details asked concerning population at each census from 1790 to 1840, inclusive, are classified according to the specific items for which a return was required to be made: NUMBER OF INQUIRIES OR DETAILS RELATING TO POPULATION: 1790 TO 1840. b Also, by three age periods, viz, under 14; 14 to 25; 25 and upward. In bringing the inquiries prescribed at the first six enumerations to the basis of the individual inquiries made at the later censuses, as previously explained, an attempt has been made in the above table to show at the same time the class or classes of the population at each census for which a return as to color, sex, and age was required to be made. For instance, the above table shows that at the first three censuses the population was subdivided into three classes, namely, free white, other free persons, and slaves, and that at each of these censuses a subdivision by sex was called for concerning free whites, and a further classification by age for free white males in 1790 and for free white males and females in 1800 and 1810. At the next three censuses, those from 1820 to 1840, the population was divided into free white, free colored, and slaves, which were in turn subdivided by sex, and that for each class by sex a further classification of age was required. The detail in which the subdivisions by sex and age were required at each census from 1790 to 1840, and for which the return of population was made and presented in the printed report, is shown for each of the three classes of persons in a second table, as follows: With respect to the additional information called for at the various censuses, the first table (page 90) shows the classes of occupations for which a return was required in 1820 and 1840; the special inquiries that were made concerning citizenship in 1820 and 1830 and concerning illiteracy and pensioners in 1840, and the classes of the population for which a statement was required at the censuses specified of the number who were deaf and dumb or blind or who were insane or idiots at public and private charge, respectively. The inquiries relating to population at the first three censuses, therefore, comprehended four items only, namely, name of head of family, color, sex, and age, and at the next three enumerations (1820 to 1840) these four items were not only retained on the population schedules but, in addition, as shown by the above table, inquiries were made as to citizenship, occupation, illiteracy, etc., representing, in all, 6 items of inquiry in 1820, 7 items of inquiry in 1830, and 14 items of inquiry in 1840. The inquiries relating to population at the censuses from 1850 to 1890, inclusive, in accordance with the plan of individual enumeration in vogue from and after 1850, are summarized as follows: NUMBER OF INQUIRIES OR DETAILS RELATING TO POPULATION: 1850 TO 1890. (In 1850 and 1860 the inquiries related to free inhabitants only.) Sick or temporarily disabled, etc Soldier, sailor, or marine (United States or Confederate) in civil war, or widow of such person.. Value of estate owned: d For all persons 10 years of age and over. e Not including 4 inquiries on schedule for slaves not common to free inhabitants. At the census of 1850 there were 18 inquiries or details required concerning population, and this number was not very much increased until the census of 1890 when there were 45 inquiries or details called for on the general population schedule. The various items of inquiry comprehended, and the detail'in which the inquiries concerning them was made in each case, are summarized in the preceding table, showing, as far as possible, their nature and extent, and, in certain cases, their limited application at each of the census periods specified, without attempting to adhere strictly to the form in which the inquiry may have been made at each particular census. Under color," for instance, at the censuses of 1850 and 1860, an inquiry was made, for each person enumerated, according to whether white, black, or mulatto, and this inquiry at the next two censuses was modified to distinguish Chinese and Indians, as well as whites, blacks, and mulattoes, but at the census of 1890 the schedule called for a further distribution of color according to whether black, mulatto, quadroon, octoroon, and, in addition, required a return of the Japanese as a separate element of the general population. Similarly, under "parentage," inquiries were made at the census of 1870 as to whether the father or mother of each person enumerated was of foreign birth, but at the censuses of 1880 and 1890 these inquiries were extended to include the place of birth of the father and mother, in each case, so as to show the number of persons of foreign parentage according to their respective nationalities. Again, the return of the profession, occupation, or trade was limited. to free males over 15 years of age in 1850, to free white males and females over 15 years of age in 1860, and to all persons 10 years of age and over in 1870, 1880, and 1890. These three illustrations will suffice to show the general purpose of the table, and a more extended analysis does not seem necessary. At the censuses of 1850 and 1860 there was a separate schedule provided for the enumeration of the slaves, in which inquiries were made as to their age, sex, color, and whether deaf and dumb, blind, insane, or idiotic, the same as for free inhabitants, to which were added four or five inquiries calling for special information pertaining to slaves. The inquiries relating to the slave inhabitants in 1850 and 1860 are summarized as follows: |