Welcome to my Genealogy Research Series: 1940 FEDERAL CENSUS. In this post, I will walk you through the 1940 FEDERAL Census and some of the information we can learn from it as genealogists.
What is a Census Record?
A census record is a survey taken by a government, (county, state, or Federal). The Census aims to count the population of the country, in the location where each person lives.
The first Federal Census was taken in 1790 and continued to be taken every 10 years since.
Valuable to Genealogists
The Census records can help genealogists learn details about ancestors and their family groups. They give us a glimpse into the personal lives of our families and how they may have lived. Researching the U.S Census is a great tool that helps us move backward from generation to generation and the details we learn will enrich the stories of our histories.
The 1940 census was the most recently released census. It was released on April 2, 2012. This census gives us a look at what the United States looked like in April 1940.
America was coming out of the Great Depression of the 30s and was embarking on economic recovery.
The country’s population had grown by over 7% since the previous census of 1930.
Door to Door
Census enumerators went door to door to collect the information. If no information was obtained from a certain household, the enumerator would revisit the house at a later time.
The 1940 Census asked all the normal questions like name, age, relationship, places of birth, citizenship, occupation, and employment status, as well as questions about education.
Internal Migration
The 1940 Census is particularly interesting because it asked new questions about internal migrations. The Census included a question that asked where he or she lived 5 years before, in April of 1935.
The question helped the government track trends in migration within the country.
Education Questions
The 1940 census asked if the person was attending school, and what was the highest grade completed.
Employment Questions
The 1940 census asked 13 questions relating to employment, such as employment status at the time of the census, type of work, and hours worked.
FACTS ABOUT THE 1940 CENSUS
This census was the first Federal census in which every state (48) had a population over 100,000.
Most populated state in 1940 was New York
Least populated state in 1940 was Nevada
In a top 100 US Cities Report, New York City was the largest city by population with over 7 million people.
Little Rock ranked 100 on the list with a population of 88, 000.
After the completion of the census, the original enumeration sheets were microfilmed. Some of the sheets were filmed out of focus and are unreadable, which is unfortunate because after the sheets were filmed the originals were destroyed leaving no chance to refilm.
A Breach of Confidentiality
The 1940 Census was noted for breach of confidentiality.
Sadly, information from the 1940 census was used to round up Japanese-Americans for imprisonment in internment camps in California and six other states during WWII. The government denied sharing the information for that purpose. In 1947 lawmakers restored the confidentiality of census data.
In 1988 President Ronald Reagan signed into law the CIVIL LIBERTIES ACT OF 1988 which served as an apology for the internment of behalf of the US Govt. and authorized $20, 000 payment to each camp survivor. The govt eventually paid more than $1.5 billion in reparations to over 82, 000 Japanese Americans who had been interred and their heirs.
In 2000 former Census Bureau director Prewitt also issued a public apology and had this to say. “…I’m sad to learn it…It would be sadder yet to continue to deny that it happened, if, as now seems clear, it did happen. You cannot learn from and correct past mistakes unless you know about them.”
For more reading about the Japanese-American internment of the 1940s, you can click HERE, and HERE.
More Information
This post just touched on the highlights of the 1940 Federal Census. The 1940 census also had a supplemental schedule for two people on each page. which contained extra questions that revealed additional details about the individual.
For a complete list of questions asked on the 1940 census and the supplemental forms, you can click HERE.
To look at an actual 1940 Federal Census form, click HERE.
Stay Tuned!
Stay tuned to the Genealogy Research Series for tips on how to trace your family tree.
I will be adding more posts about the Census Records and the specific information we can gather from them.
Remember, I will teach you what records will help you learn about your ancestors and where to find them.
So, if you are interested in tracing your family tree and don’t know where to begin, or if you have been just dabbling with genealogy a little bit and are ready to get serious about it, then stick around for lots of information to guide you on your journey.
Go to this PAGE for a list of other posts and videos in the GENEALOGY RESEARCH SERIES that are guaranteed to guide you in your search for ancestors!
Until then,
Happy Hunting!
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