Census data can provide historians with a wealth of information. Though many think of the census only in relation to population statistics, censuses also contain valuable information about manufacturing, agriculture, industry, housing, transportation, commerce, education, and more. UNLV Libraries offers a variety of ways in which to obtain census information. Consult these brief tutorials for overviews of how to search census resources:
In Into the West, historian Walter Nugent chronicled migrations in the western United States by looking at demographic data. Since most of the workers deported during Operation Wetback worked as agricultural laborers in California and Texas, let's take a cue from Nugent and look at agricultural information in the 1940, 1950, and 1960 censuses and track the increase in vegetable and fruit production. Our source for each is the Statistical Abstract of the United States (available from the Census Bureau). Consider these production values for "truck" (commercial vegetable) crops:
Print this sheet (.pdf) and answer questions based on evaluation of above census data.
Though the census is a powerful and valuable resource, like newspapers, it is not without limitations. Try searching California's Hispanic population in the 1930, 1940, and 1950 censuses. Is your search successful? Why or why not?
Take the Census Quiz.
Finished? Go here.