The American Census: A Social History

The American Census By Margo J. AndersonThe year 2000 will be memorable political year. Not only will we elect a new Congress, new Legislatures and a new President, but we will also be counted.The census will determine how many seats in Congress and how many electoral votes each state has. It will trigger redistricting in most states and many cities and counties. The census will determine how about $180 billion a year in federal aid is allocated among the states.No wonder the issue is so controversial. This book is essential to understanding the issue. Margo Anderson takes us through past such controversies -- some fairly ludicrous. After the Civil War, the Republicans in Congress were afraid that counting all the newly freed slaves for purposes of apportionment would increase Southern representation in Congress. (It didn't. Southerners were undercounted and the western states grew more rapidly than the decimated south.)The 1920 census showed much urban growth that Congress simply ignored the Constitution and did not reapportion at all.The tables summarizing the census history of each state and its representation in Congress are particularly valuable, as is the bibliographic essay at the end..

This book is a classic that has stood the test of time. As insightful today as it was when it was first published.